My overall bad experience from Kraftwerks
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Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 137
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I'm curious if the BRZ/FRS and Civic Si kits are having similar issues. I believe they use the same unit n belt system. I only have 300 miles on my kit so far and i really don't know what to do to be proactive with this kit. Nothing I can do really to prevent the issues members have been having. I pray mine will be different. But I doubt that will be the case. 
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,244
Likes: 4
From: Northern KY
Sorry for op's issues, but there's a whole lot of unknowns here. Is the oil system routed properly, was the system primed properly, wad the blower ever counter spun, what ecu, rev limiter settings, does op bang on the rev limiter, was oil level checked and maintained, etc etc. Failures like his have been anything but common, but a ton of people on here are quick to jump kw's shit when anything bad happens.
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Miami, FL
Originally Posted by DRzS2k' timestamp='1443481790' post='23760340
I've been through hell and back with this kit already. I feel that I need to share my story with the s2000 community. Its been too long since I've been quiet with it. After giving so many chances, I feel like i have to put it on blast now. Ill try to keep my story short and simple.
Bought the kit from Moddiction on tax refund group buy on s2ki around late February 2015. Got this kit installed by known s2000 mechanic here in South FL (KAB customs). The kit came with the wrong 4 bar map sensor so I had to wait 2 days while having the car apart. While getting that done, mechanic also noticed the kit had a few different brackets than what the instruction manual stated. Got in touch with Scott from KW, turns out they updated a few brackets but haven't had the time to change the manual. Lucky for me my mechanic knew about the kit so he worked it out himself.A few headaches later, installation done, motor seems to run fine and dandy. I drive it to get tuned that same day at STP motorsport in Ft. Lauderdale by a well known Honda tuner, Kenny ( aka turbogixxer tuning). Everything ran good at the dyno, car made 431whp/ 280 tq, until my tuner had his last few runs, he noticed the AFR's where running super lean at high RPM. I check the Grams fuel pump and noticed that its overheating. Being that I didn't trust it anymore, I told my tuner I'll be upgrading to a Walbro 255. After a week of downtime, i get my Walbro installed, got my tuner to fix my AFRs, car runs super great.
Exactly one month goes by, driving normal I come to a a red light and my motor shuts off. Clicks but doesn't turn, I cut the belt and the motor runs normal. I noticed the shaft and pulley are stuck and I see metal fragments all over the piping and intercooler. I get my car towed to my Mechanic again, pulls it apart and sure enough everything has seized. I contact KW, CJ tells me to email pics and tell me he has to send it to Rotrex in Denmark to get it warrantied but also tells me it would be a down time of 5-6 weeks. Instead of waiting he gave me the choice of buying just the blower at core charge, then when Rotrex gives them the warranty, they will refund me. I decide to go that route, and CJ sends me a brand new blower with a core charge. After a week of downtime, I get the charger installed by KAB again, everything goes smooth. I get the car dynoed and it makes 429whp/ 280 tq. Cars running great, and i get my core charge refund, so at this point I'm a happy camper. I even went ahead and lowered the max RPM to 8k just to play it safe.
A few months go by and I really start enjoying this kit for what it really is. Car runs smooth for about 3 months (around 3k miles) until today, I go for a safe pull on the highway and I hear big snap. I pull over and I notice the belt has snapped. I wait till the motor cools down and while removing the belt i notice pulley still turns. At this point I'm wondering what might have happened. I remove the air filter and spin the shaft freely but then I notice the shaft and pulley doesn't spin at the same time. I get in touch with Scott from KW and he tells me the shaft itself might have broke. I go ahead and send him some pics through email, I have yet to hear from him.
I'm so done with these kits already, its not only happen to me once but TWICE. I stayed quiet for the first time around, but now I feel like I have to let fellow s2000 owners what to expect if they decide to go with this kit. After spending over 4k on this kit, nobody should be going through all this bullshit.
Bought the kit from Moddiction on tax refund group buy on s2ki around late February 2015. Got this kit installed by known s2000 mechanic here in South FL (KAB customs). The kit came with the wrong 4 bar map sensor so I had to wait 2 days while having the car apart. While getting that done, mechanic also noticed the kit had a few different brackets than what the instruction manual stated. Got in touch with Scott from KW, turns out they updated a few brackets but haven't had the time to change the manual. Lucky for me my mechanic knew about the kit so he worked it out himself.A few headaches later, installation done, motor seems to run fine and dandy. I drive it to get tuned that same day at STP motorsport in Ft. Lauderdale by a well known Honda tuner, Kenny ( aka turbogixxer tuning). Everything ran good at the dyno, car made 431whp/ 280 tq, until my tuner had his last few runs, he noticed the AFR's where running super lean at high RPM. I check the Grams fuel pump and noticed that its overheating. Being that I didn't trust it anymore, I told my tuner I'll be upgrading to a Walbro 255. After a week of downtime, i get my Walbro installed, got my tuner to fix my AFRs, car runs super great.
Exactly one month goes by, driving normal I come to a a red light and my motor shuts off. Clicks but doesn't turn, I cut the belt and the motor runs normal. I noticed the shaft and pulley are stuck and I see metal fragments all over the piping and intercooler. I get my car towed to my Mechanic again, pulls it apart and sure enough everything has seized. I contact KW, CJ tells me to email pics and tell me he has to send it to Rotrex in Denmark to get it warrantied but also tells me it would be a down time of 5-6 weeks. Instead of waiting he gave me the choice of buying just the blower at core charge, then when Rotrex gives them the warranty, they will refund me. I decide to go that route, and CJ sends me a brand new blower with a core charge. After a week of downtime, I get the charger installed by KAB again, everything goes smooth. I get the car dynoed and it makes 429whp/ 280 tq. Cars running great, and i get my core charge refund, so at this point I'm a happy camper. I even went ahead and lowered the max RPM to 8k just to play it safe.
A few months go by and I really start enjoying this kit for what it really is. Car runs smooth for about 3 months (around 3k miles) until today, I go for a safe pull on the highway and I hear big snap. I pull over and I notice the belt has snapped. I wait till the motor cools down and while removing the belt i notice pulley still turns. At this point I'm wondering what might have happened. I remove the air filter and spin the shaft freely but then I notice the shaft and pulley doesn't spin at the same time. I get in touch with Scott from KW and he tells me the shaft itself might have broke. I go ahead and send him some pics through email, I have yet to hear from him.
I'm so done with these kits already, its not only happen to me once but TWICE. I stayed quiet for the first time around, but now I feel like I have to let fellow s2000 owners what to expect if they decide to go with this kit. After spending over 4k on this kit, nobody should be going through all this bullshit.
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Miami, FL
Sorry for op's issues, but there's a whole lot of unknowns here. Is the oil system routed properly, was the system primed properly, wad the blower ever counter spun, what ecu, rev limiter settings, does op bang on the rev limiter, was oil level checked and maintained, etc etc. Failures like his have been anything but common, but a ton of people on here are quick to jump kw's shit when anything bad happens.
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Also, Im not the type to "jump" on KW's shit everytime something bad happens, but since its actually the second time happening, I think they deserve some criticism.
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 996
Likes: 5
When I complained to kraftwerks and said we are the ones testing their kits cj said that they have done a lot of testing on their kit not just boulevard pulls ... Sorry op for your trouble I feel your pain.. Also I did receive a blower that seized on start up ... I haven't had any problems since reinstall and have not hit redline once I feel this is a big key with this kit .. Just did 2 track days also .. Hope you work it all out and it brings you a little joy .. Time will tell with these kits ..
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 77
Likes: 0
From: Miami, FL
Originally Posted by Habitforming' timestamp='1443490183' post='23760469
Sorry for op's issues, but there's a whole lot of unknowns here. Is the oil system routed properly, was the system primed properly, wad the blower ever counter spun, what ecu, rev limiter settings, does op bang on the rev limiter, was oil level checked and maintained, etc etc. Failures like his have been anything but common, but a ton of people on here are quick to jump kw's shit when anything bad happens.
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Also, Im not the type to "jump" on KW's shit everytime something bad happens, but since its actually the second time happening, I think they deserve some criticism.
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,244
Likes: 4
From: Northern KY
Originally Posted by Habitforming' timestamp='1443490183' post='23760469
Sorry for op's issues, but there's a whole lot of unknowns here. Is the oil system routed properly, was the system primed properly, wad the blower ever counter spun, what ecu, rev limiter settings, does op bang on the rev limiter, was oil level checked and maintained, etc etc. Failures like his have been anything but common, but a ton of people on here are quick to jump kw's shit when anything bad happens.
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Also, Im not the type to "jump" on KW's shit everytime something bad happens, but since its actually the second time happening, I think they deserve some criticism.
If you have the blower replaced again and keep running it, I suggest looking into softening your rev limiter settings. Unfortunately I have no experience with Kpro on our cars, so I can't give you any specific advice. But it has been theorized in the past that this can be a problem with the combination of cogged drive & the way the "transmission" in the Rotrex works. On my AEM my rev limiter is set somewhat soft.
As to the shop having done everything right, my personal experience - and that of numerous other members on this board over the years - is that you can never count on that. It's not anything against your shop specifically. I've had friends who are mechanics screw up my other friends cars, and I know they had no intention of doing so. Thus, I've done all of my own wrenching whenever possible from the age of 18 or 19. If I don't have the tools to do a job, I invest in the tools rather than giving my money to someone who might screw up my car again. One day I'll have an alignment rack, tire changer, and A/C machine, and I'll never need to go to a mechanic ever again!
Community Organizer
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 31,070
Likes: 566
Sorry for op's issues, but there's a whole lot of unknowns here. Is the oil system routed properly, was the system primed properly, wad the blower ever counter spun, what ecu, rev limiter settings, does op bang on the rev limiter, was oil level checked and maintained, etc etc. Failures like his have been anything but common, but a ton of people on here are quick to jump kw's shit when anything bad happens.
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Can't help thinking of the complaining about broken vtec solenoid bolts, only to find out those with the problem all guessed at torquing them, rather than use a proper torque wrench.
Lpbs2k and I have about 10k miles on the kit between us, no real issues other than my bad pulley and he just had a belt fail (which I do look at as a maintenance item). We both drive the car hard every time we go out, but we don't abuse it and we keep an eye on things.
Flame away, kw haters
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 2,099
Likes: 17
From: Miami
i really wish KW would give some feedback as to why the issues members have had are happening...
ie. blower seized because ______? belt snapped because______? bolt installed from Rotrex snapped because______?
I love the fact they send out replacement parts quickly, but it doesnt help if it happens again. Labor isnt free whether you wrench it yourself or pay someone to do it. It cost time and/or money to swap out parts that are breaking. Also, for the blower, if you dont want to pay for the core replacement as an I.O.U. when the claim is settled, possibly 5-6 weeks down time? That's bullshit to be honest.
I know when you double the horsepower things are bound to break and or wear out, but we are talking within 3,000 miles? and some even earlier. KW made a killing with that group buy and other sales that went on for the S2000 kit. They need to be more vocal with us.
For some of us who dont drive the car often, the 1 year warranty really wont be put to the test...and for this i'm uneasy.
ie. blower seized because ______? belt snapped because______? bolt installed from Rotrex snapped because______?
I love the fact they send out replacement parts quickly, but it doesnt help if it happens again. Labor isnt free whether you wrench it yourself or pay someone to do it. It cost time and/or money to swap out parts that are breaking. Also, for the blower, if you dont want to pay for the core replacement as an I.O.U. when the claim is settled, possibly 5-6 weeks down time? That's bullshit to be honest.
I know when you double the horsepower things are bound to break and or wear out, but we are talking within 3,000 miles? and some even earlier. KW made a killing with that group buy and other sales that went on for the S2000 kit. They need to be more vocal with us.
For some of us who dont drive the car often, the 1 year warranty really wont be put to the test...and for this i'm uneasy.
