Which Supercharger to go with?!?!
Registered User
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 535
Likes: 8
From: Melbourne
I have the Kraftwerks kit and overall it is a really nice kit. I have had a few hiccups along the way as I'm sure you may see here on the forums if you do some looking around in this forum, but that was more about the way my situation was handled.
Anyway, the kit comes with basically everything you need so you don't have to piece things together like with other kits.
Here are two videos I made of mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9H2fHfgp-A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbv_byfScjw
Anyway, the kit comes with basically everything you need so you don't have to piece things together like with other kits.
Here are two videos I made of mine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9H2fHfgp-A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbv_byfScjw
MATE YOU JUST MADE MY DAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Now I really cant wait to get my car supercharged, just waiting for more parts to arrive.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,941
Likes: 47
From: Baraboo, WI
Summary of all of the above and other threads:
There are two major supercharger kit suppliers in the US. These are SOS with the Paxton blowers and an aftercooler, and Kraftwerks with the Rotrex blowers and an intercooler. The TTS kit from the UK is similar to the Kraftwerks kit. The older Comtech and Vortech kits are similar to the SOS kit.
The SOS and Kraftwerks kits are both quality kits and are pretty straight forward to install.
Many posters who spent several thousand dollars on a kit defend their choice and a few attack the other one. Disclosure: I bought the Kraftwerks kit.
The SOS kit comes in various configurations from lower HP to higher HP up to about 500 hp using E85. The KW kit comes in a standard form that makes a little over 400 hp. You can special order larger KW pulleys to reduce the boost. The KW kits also make up to about 500 hp using E85.
The KW kit is a bit less expensive than the SOS kit. The TTS kit is currently more expensive (probably largely due to exchange rates).
The SOS kit uses Paxton blowers which have a lot more gear noise than the Rotrex blowers in the KW kit. Some like the "supercharger sound" that the Paxton blowers make. I personally don't and this was a factor in my choice.
The aftercooler in the SOS kit provides less pressure drop from the compressor to the manifold than the intercooler. The Rotrex compressors are more efficient than the Paxton compressors and the end result is that the SOS kits with small pulleys and aftercoolers and the KW kits with the intercooler put about the same power. The Rotrex systems seem to put out more power for the same boost level than the Paxton based kits. This tends to verify that the Paxton blowers absorb more engine power to compress the air than the Rotrex blowers.
The aftercooler uses water to cool the air. Water holds a lot of heat energy and this water acts like a heat storage tank. For street driving or drag racing this water does not heat up much before it has a chance to cool off again. Thus, it makes a very good cooling device for these purposes. On track the water heats up and becomes less effective at cooling the charge air. The intercooler does not have this heat storage device and its effectiveness remains more constant on track.
The TTS race kit is very similar to the KW kit with the C38-91 option but uses larger piping so it is more efficient and puts out a bit more power than the KW kit.
While the KW (and TTS) kits out of the box are nearly maxed out because they spin the blower near its limit, these kits are putting out about 420 whp with the C38-81 and 460 whp with the C38-91 blower respectively on 93 octane pump gas. They make 400+ whp with 91 octane out of the box.
The SOS kits come with larger pulleys out of the box and make less power, however, they can be upgraded with different blowers and pulleys to make similar power as the KW kits.
For much above 500 whp, the SOS kit has the advantage.
I have done my best to summarize what I have read on these forums concerning these two kits and presented a comparison in an unbiased manner.
Bottom line is that they are both very good kits but take slightly different approaches to creating power.
There are two major supercharger kit suppliers in the US. These are SOS with the Paxton blowers and an aftercooler, and Kraftwerks with the Rotrex blowers and an intercooler. The TTS kit from the UK is similar to the Kraftwerks kit. The older Comtech and Vortech kits are similar to the SOS kit.
The SOS and Kraftwerks kits are both quality kits and are pretty straight forward to install.
Many posters who spent several thousand dollars on a kit defend their choice and a few attack the other one. Disclosure: I bought the Kraftwerks kit.
The SOS kit comes in various configurations from lower HP to higher HP up to about 500 hp using E85. The KW kit comes in a standard form that makes a little over 400 hp. You can special order larger KW pulleys to reduce the boost. The KW kits also make up to about 500 hp using E85.
The KW kit is a bit less expensive than the SOS kit. The TTS kit is currently more expensive (probably largely due to exchange rates).
The SOS kit uses Paxton blowers which have a lot more gear noise than the Rotrex blowers in the KW kit. Some like the "supercharger sound" that the Paxton blowers make. I personally don't and this was a factor in my choice.
The aftercooler in the SOS kit provides less pressure drop from the compressor to the manifold than the intercooler. The Rotrex compressors are more efficient than the Paxton compressors and the end result is that the SOS kits with small pulleys and aftercoolers and the KW kits with the intercooler put about the same power. The Rotrex systems seem to put out more power for the same boost level than the Paxton based kits. This tends to verify that the Paxton blowers absorb more engine power to compress the air than the Rotrex blowers.
The aftercooler uses water to cool the air. Water holds a lot of heat energy and this water acts like a heat storage tank. For street driving or drag racing this water does not heat up much before it has a chance to cool off again. Thus, it makes a very good cooling device for these purposes. On track the water heats up and becomes less effective at cooling the charge air. The intercooler does not have this heat storage device and its effectiveness remains more constant on track.
The TTS race kit is very similar to the KW kit with the C38-91 option but uses larger piping so it is more efficient and puts out a bit more power than the KW kit.
While the KW (and TTS) kits out of the box are nearly maxed out because they spin the blower near its limit, these kits are putting out about 420 whp with the C38-81 and 460 whp with the C38-91 blower respectively on 93 octane pump gas. They make 400+ whp with 91 octane out of the box.
The SOS kits come with larger pulleys out of the box and make less power, however, they can be upgraded with different blowers and pulleys to make similar power as the KW kits.
For much above 500 whp, the SOS kit has the advantage.
I have done my best to summarize what I have read on these forums concerning these two kits and presented a comparison in an unbiased manner.
Bottom line is that they are both very good kits but take slightly different approaches to creating power.
This should be posted into all of the "which supercharger should I get" threads!
Joined: Feb 2014
Posts: 161
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by soulicious' timestamp='1433956333' post='23643475
You can just pay someone or revert partially back to stock if you're worried about SMOG checks. I've gone partially back to stock with my SOS kit for California SMOG checks. I've done it three times and it only takes about four hours. You can just leave the heat exchanger on the car.
I've never had any experience with Kraftwerks, but you might wanna read this thread.
I don't think I have read any negative reviews on the SOS kit, but I could be wrong...
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 927
Likes: 35
From: ATL, GA
Kraftwerks actually has great customer service as well. We've installed their kits on multiple customer cars and had a lot of positive feedback on these. We've seen their kits be reliable, make good power gains, and not cost an arm and a leg. Sales pitch or not, there are a lot of great things to say about the Kraftwerks kits.
Kraftwerks does offer smaller pulleys for the C38-81 and most of their standard superchargers for those looking to push more PSI.
Kraftwerks does offer smaller pulleys for the C38-81 and most of their standard superchargers for those looking to push more PSI.
Summary of all of the above and other threads:
There are two major supercharger kit suppliers in the US. These are SOS with the Paxton blowers and an aftercooler, and Kraftwerks with the Rotrex blowers and an intercooler. The TTS kit from the UK is similar to the Kraftwerks kit. The older Comtech and Vortech kits are similar to the SOS kit.
The SOS and Kraftwerks kits are both quality kits and are pretty straight forward to install.
Many posters who spent several thousand dollars on a kit defend their choice and a few attack the other one. Disclosure: I bought the Kraftwerks kit.
The SOS kit comes in various configurations from lower HP to higher HP up to about 500 hp using E85. The KW kit comes in a standard form that makes a little over 400 hp. You can special order larger KW pulleys to reduce the boost. The KW kits also make up to about 500 hp using E85.
The KW kit is a bit less expensive than the SOS kit. The TTS kit is currently more expensive (probably largely due to exchange rates).
The SOS kit uses Paxton blowers which have a lot more gear noise than the Rotrex blowers in the KW kit. Some like the "supercharger sound" that the Paxton blowers make. I personally don't and this was a factor in my choice.
The aftercooler in the SOS kit provides less pressure drop from the compressor to the manifold than the intercooler. The Rotrex compressors are more efficient than the Paxton compressors and the end result is that the SOS kits with small pulleys and aftercoolers and the KW kits with the intercooler put about the same power. The Rotrex systems seem to put out more power for the same boost level than the Paxton based kits. This tends to verify that the Paxton blowers absorb more engine power to compress the air than the Rotrex blowers.
The aftercooler uses water to cool the air. Water holds a lot of heat energy and this water acts like a heat storage tank. For street driving or drag racing this water does not heat up much before it has a chance to cool off again. Thus, it makes a very good cooling device for these purposes. On track the water heats up and becomes less effective at cooling the charge air. The intercooler does not have this heat storage device and its effectiveness remains more constant on track.
The TTS race kit is very similar to the KW kit with the C38-91 option but uses larger piping so it is more efficient and puts out a bit more power than the KW kit.
While the KW (and TTS) kits out of the box are nearly maxed out because they spin the blower near its limit, these kits are putting out about 420 whp with the C38-81 and 460 whp with the C38-91 blower respectively on 93 octane pump gas. They make 400+ whp with 91 octane out of the box.
The SOS kits come with larger pulleys out of the box and make less power, however, they can be upgraded with different blowers and pulleys to make similar power as the KW kits.
For much above 500 whp, the SOS kit has the advantage.
I have done my best to summarize what I have read on these forums concerning these two kits and presented a comparison in an unbiased manner.
Bottom line is that they are both very good kits but take slightly different approaches to creating power.
There are two major supercharger kit suppliers in the US. These are SOS with the Paxton blowers and an aftercooler, and Kraftwerks with the Rotrex blowers and an intercooler. The TTS kit from the UK is similar to the Kraftwerks kit. The older Comtech and Vortech kits are similar to the SOS kit.
The SOS and Kraftwerks kits are both quality kits and are pretty straight forward to install.
Many posters who spent several thousand dollars on a kit defend their choice and a few attack the other one. Disclosure: I bought the Kraftwerks kit.
The SOS kit comes in various configurations from lower HP to higher HP up to about 500 hp using E85. The KW kit comes in a standard form that makes a little over 400 hp. You can special order larger KW pulleys to reduce the boost. The KW kits also make up to about 500 hp using E85.
The KW kit is a bit less expensive than the SOS kit. The TTS kit is currently more expensive (probably largely due to exchange rates).
The SOS kit uses Paxton blowers which have a lot more gear noise than the Rotrex blowers in the KW kit. Some like the "supercharger sound" that the Paxton blowers make. I personally don't and this was a factor in my choice.
The aftercooler in the SOS kit provides less pressure drop from the compressor to the manifold than the intercooler. The Rotrex compressors are more efficient than the Paxton compressors and the end result is that the SOS kits with small pulleys and aftercoolers and the KW kits with the intercooler put about the same power. The Rotrex systems seem to put out more power for the same boost level than the Paxton based kits. This tends to verify that the Paxton blowers absorb more engine power to compress the air than the Rotrex blowers.
The aftercooler uses water to cool the air. Water holds a lot of heat energy and this water acts like a heat storage tank. For street driving or drag racing this water does not heat up much before it has a chance to cool off again. Thus, it makes a very good cooling device for these purposes. On track the water heats up and becomes less effective at cooling the charge air. The intercooler does not have this heat storage device and its effectiveness remains more constant on track.
The TTS race kit is very similar to the KW kit with the C38-91 option but uses larger piping so it is more efficient and puts out a bit more power than the KW kit.
While the KW (and TTS) kits out of the box are nearly maxed out because they spin the blower near its limit, these kits are putting out about 420 whp with the C38-81 and 460 whp with the C38-91 blower respectively on 93 octane pump gas. They make 400+ whp with 91 octane out of the box.
The SOS kits come with larger pulleys out of the box and make less power, however, they can be upgraded with different blowers and pulleys to make similar power as the KW kits.
For much above 500 whp, the SOS kit has the advantage.
I have done my best to summarize what I have read on these forums concerning these two kits and presented a comparison in an unbiased manner.
Bottom line is that they are both very good kits but take slightly different approaches to creating power.
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,941
Likes: 47
From: Baraboo, WI
The reality is that the KW kit seems to be a really great kit, but due to the fact that it hasn't been out very long, it doesn't have any real reputation yet. The individuals who've had a bad experience doesn't help this situation. Over time the truth WILL come out.
SOS has a VERY good reputation and has proven themselves on this forum for MANY years. KW has a LONG way to go to match them...like it or not. Again, hopefully over time this will work itself out.
It's really too bad that SOS hasn't decided to accommodate working with Rotrex. I'm sure that they could perhaps adapt their current system to allow for the fitment of the C38 series blower units for those of us who prefer that.
TTS...while I personally have had a great experience with them the kit is quite a bit more expensive than either the SOS or KW kits. The customer service has been truly great! ...even from overseas!
My $0.02
SOS has a VERY good reputation and has proven themselves on this forum for MANY years. KW has a LONG way to go to match them...like it or not. Again, hopefully over time this will work itself out.
It's really too bad that SOS hasn't decided to accommodate working with Rotrex. I'm sure that they could perhaps adapt their current system to allow for the fitment of the C38 series blower units for those of us who prefer that.
TTS...while I personally have had a great experience with them the kit is quite a bit more expensive than either the SOS or KW kits. The customer service has been truly great! ...even from overseas!
My $0.02
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,244
Likes: 4
From: Northern KY
arm and a leg is a very subjective term, but I came up with about a $2000 premium on the sos kit for the same 400 hp power level as the kw kit, which was a big part of my decision. Against the $5500 investment for the kw, that's a pretty big premium in my book.
Additionally, iirc running the smaller pulleys to reach these numbers required a waiver or warranty voidance on the SOS kit, which finalized my decision on the kw.
Yes it was a bit of a pain getting the correct parts initially, but I would never heavily modify my daily driver so it wasn't more than irritating for me. Now that my car has been running flawlessly for about 6 months, I have no regrets in my decision.
Additionally, iirc running the smaller pulleys to reach these numbers required a waiver or warranty voidance on the SOS kit, which finalized my decision on the kw.
Yes it was a bit of a pain getting the correct parts initially, but I would never heavily modify my daily driver so it wasn't more than irritating for me. Now that my car has been running flawlessly for about 6 months, I have no regrets in my decision.
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,126
Likes: 7
From: Bay Area, CA
^^Not sure what warranty or waiver you're referring to, but SOS had no issues selling me a SOS 3.0" pulley for my N1200 blower. It's an available option. They felt assured after telling them that I was going to run E85 and my goal was 500whp. SOS is a reliable kit. The only issue I had was getting a self lubricated blower which took a crap. I exchanged that for an oil-fed unit. Other than the self lubricated blower issue, my SOS kit has been running reliably for over 6 years. 3 years at 10psi and 3 years at 18+ psi.
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,244
Likes: 4
From: Northern KY
^^Not sure what warranty or waiver you're referring to, but SOS had no issues selling me a SOS 3.0" pulley for my N1200 blower. It's an available option. They felt assured after telling them that I was going to run E85 and my goal was 500whp. SOS is a reliable kit. The only issue I had was getting a self lubricated blower which took a crap. I exchanged that for an oil-fed unit. Other than the self lubricated blower issue, my SOS kit has been running reliably for over 6 years. 3 years at 10psi and 3 years at 18+ psi.
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 927
Likes: 35
From: ATL, GA
arm and a leg is a very subjective term, but I came up with about a $2000 premium on the sos kit for the same 400 hp power level as the kw kit, which was a big part of my decision. Against the $5500 investment for the kw, that's a pretty big premium in my book.
Additionally, iirc running the smaller pulleys to reach these numbers required a waiver or warranty voidance on the SOS kit, which finalized my decision on the kw.
Yes it was a bit of a pain getting the correct parts initially, but I would never heavily modify my daily driver so it wasn't more than irritating for me. Now that my car has been running flawlessly for about 6 months, I have no regrets in my decision.
Additionally, iirc running the smaller pulleys to reach these numbers required a waiver or warranty voidance on the SOS kit, which finalized my decision on the kw.
Yes it was a bit of a pain getting the correct parts initially, but I would never heavily modify my daily driver so it wasn't more than irritating for me. Now that my car has been running flawlessly for about 6 months, I have no regrets in my decision.
But possibly the price difference may be a bit more if you buy both kits at full price. I also discussed a 3.6 or 3.4 pulley with SOS but they never mentioned it would void any warranties. I just went with 4.0 because of minimal boost and hopefully minimal problems. So far so good!
Habitforming / Andy is a great driver and knows how to push the car, so the KW seems to be holding up pretty good under some real world driving. I'd love to follow feedback for all s2k products because I don't want to miss out...if something better comes out, I eventually want it on my car!
Registered User
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 445
Likes: 2
From: Calgary, AB
Based on the mileages some of you are posting, I'm guessing many people DD their SC'ed S? I'm thinking of doing it in a year or 2, but I DD mine 5-6 months of the year (depending on when it starts snowing/gets too cold).