Drove an SC'd S2K tonight
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Joined: Feb 2001
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From: You wish
Many thanks to SCS2k (Jim) for allowing me first to ride along in his Comptech machine and then allowing me to make a couple of runs through the gears. Hopefully my perspective, as someone who is still driving a basically stock S2K and also has a Jackson supercharged Honda of indeterminate type will shed some more light on the kit.
First impressions:
1. Jim is a lucky guy (and/or perhaps a very hard worker). In his garage are two supercharged Hondas, one being a beautiful NSX. About 600 wheel hp between the two of them. Envy him!
2. The Comptech kit is louder than I expected, at least with the top up (all S2Ks sound better with top down apparently). The blower makes a lot of noise, and apparently the braided fuel line for the kit was bumping the firewall because there was a slight throbbing buzz at idle. Holding the fuel line seemed to indicate that it was probably the cause. A little rubber padding should cure that. Coming from an Eaton blower, I wasn't expecting the noise (not like the S2K is quiet to begin with though). Jim says his NSX blower is also much quieter.
3. If someone handed you a Comptech equipped S2K and made you shift at 5k-6k you'd have a hard time telling it was different (except the noise perhaps). There is more power there, and I felt a bit of a surge at 5000 rpm, but the gain is gradual and therefore hard to notice without driving a stock S2K back to back.
4. Hit VTEC and the car is a rocket! Jim made a few passes through the gears and the car definitely puts you back in VTEC, and it keeps you there all the way to the redline.
Driving it:
As this was Jim's car and he likes to avoid standing start clutch drop launches, I didn't try any. And who can blame him, with that extra power the clutch would be hurting.
So I made a couple passes from 15 mph up to about 90 mph maximum. The first time I tried it, I kept hitting the limiter. The damn engine revs so fast from 6000-9000 rpm that you must completely recalibrate your shifting. The first time, I had my eyes glued to the tach and still hit the limiter - it revs that quick.
Despite that quick revving though, the car is deceptive. Because torque is still relatively low (compared to a big V8 for example), the car doesn't hit you with a strong slug in the back when you punch it. Rather, the engine just spools like a turbine and keeps pulling harder as the revs climb. And the car feels like it needs another 1000 rpm because there is no letup at the redline. It's almost disappointing because you can feel another 15-20 hp lurking in there if you could just delay your shifts. The feeling is almost like, "damn, I've got to shift already? I'm having too much fun to shift!" - and the stock F20C is no slouch when it comes to revving.
What was interesting is that Jim's S2K, especially with both Jim and I in it (I'd estimate about 360 lbs of people and let's say that one of us is much heavier than the other - I'm not saying who, but he doesn't own an NSX) has a slightly worse torque to weight ratio than my supercharged Honda with just me in it (140 lbs-ft to the wheels, 2400 lbs vs. 173 lbs-ft and probably 3100 lbs). Which explains why my posterior dyno was saying it doesn't hit that hard and why I say the power is deceptive. Because when I got back into my car and headed down the road, it felt as quick as Jim's S2K, until I realized that I was travelling a good 10-15 mph slower than what we'd been doing in the S2K. Just another lesson about not trusting your butt, and trusting the clocks and the dyno instead. Torque _feels_ fast, but hp _is_ fast.
In conclusion, the Comptech SC accentuates the F20C engine characteristics. You must still keep the car in VTEC, you must still be an attentive driver, etc. and you'll be rewarded by going much faster than you did before. I'd say that on a good day, Jim's car should be capable of a quarter mile time anywhere from 12.7-13.2 on street tires, with a trap speed somewhere north of 110 mph. Short of a Viper or 911 Turbo, that makes you pretty dominant on the roads and the car is no less drivable and quite stealthy. The power is also very progressive and usable and should be tractable on the road course (Jim mentioned something about getting sideways alot autocrossing :-).
I'd like to mention something else too. Jim and I were talking about the development I had to undertake to make my Jackson kit work the way I wanted (one reason why I'm so critical of supercharger kits these days). Jim then said that's why he buys Comptech products, because he doesn't have the time or the mechanical knowledge to engineer solutions to problems with aftermarket kits. Which is a good point. Companies like Comptech and Mugen, while expensive, do tend to back their products pretty well, which makes them worth it for many.
Personally, I'd still like to see better engine management, but there is no denying the accelerative benefits of the Comptech kit. And if better engine management does come out, forced induction is going to be hard for me to avoid. Nearly 300 wheel hp in a car like the S2K is quite addictive.
Jim, thanks again. And thanks for being the first to shake down this kit. Your efforts will make things easier for those to follow.
UL
First impressions:
1. Jim is a lucky guy (and/or perhaps a very hard worker). In his garage are two supercharged Hondas, one being a beautiful NSX. About 600 wheel hp between the two of them. Envy him!
2. The Comptech kit is louder than I expected, at least with the top up (all S2Ks sound better with top down apparently). The blower makes a lot of noise, and apparently the braided fuel line for the kit was bumping the firewall because there was a slight throbbing buzz at idle. Holding the fuel line seemed to indicate that it was probably the cause. A little rubber padding should cure that. Coming from an Eaton blower, I wasn't expecting the noise (not like the S2K is quiet to begin with though). Jim says his NSX blower is also much quieter.
3. If someone handed you a Comptech equipped S2K and made you shift at 5k-6k you'd have a hard time telling it was different (except the noise perhaps). There is more power there, and I felt a bit of a surge at 5000 rpm, but the gain is gradual and therefore hard to notice without driving a stock S2K back to back.
4. Hit VTEC and the car is a rocket! Jim made a few passes through the gears and the car definitely puts you back in VTEC, and it keeps you there all the way to the redline.
Driving it:
As this was Jim's car and he likes to avoid standing start clutch drop launches, I didn't try any. And who can blame him, with that extra power the clutch would be hurting.
So I made a couple passes from 15 mph up to about 90 mph maximum. The first time I tried it, I kept hitting the limiter. The damn engine revs so fast from 6000-9000 rpm that you must completely recalibrate your shifting. The first time, I had my eyes glued to the tach and still hit the limiter - it revs that quick.
Despite that quick revving though, the car is deceptive. Because torque is still relatively low (compared to a big V8 for example), the car doesn't hit you with a strong slug in the back when you punch it. Rather, the engine just spools like a turbine and keeps pulling harder as the revs climb. And the car feels like it needs another 1000 rpm because there is no letup at the redline. It's almost disappointing because you can feel another 15-20 hp lurking in there if you could just delay your shifts. The feeling is almost like, "damn, I've got to shift already? I'm having too much fun to shift!" - and the stock F20C is no slouch when it comes to revving.
What was interesting is that Jim's S2K, especially with both Jim and I in it (I'd estimate about 360 lbs of people and let's say that one of us is much heavier than the other - I'm not saying who, but he doesn't own an NSX) has a slightly worse torque to weight ratio than my supercharged Honda with just me in it (140 lbs-ft to the wheels, 2400 lbs vs. 173 lbs-ft and probably 3100 lbs). Which explains why my posterior dyno was saying it doesn't hit that hard and why I say the power is deceptive. Because when I got back into my car and headed down the road, it felt as quick as Jim's S2K, until I realized that I was travelling a good 10-15 mph slower than what we'd been doing in the S2K. Just another lesson about not trusting your butt, and trusting the clocks and the dyno instead. Torque _feels_ fast, but hp _is_ fast.
In conclusion, the Comptech SC accentuates the F20C engine characteristics. You must still keep the car in VTEC, you must still be an attentive driver, etc. and you'll be rewarded by going much faster than you did before. I'd say that on a good day, Jim's car should be capable of a quarter mile time anywhere from 12.7-13.2 on street tires, with a trap speed somewhere north of 110 mph. Short of a Viper or 911 Turbo, that makes you pretty dominant on the roads and the car is no less drivable and quite stealthy. The power is also very progressive and usable and should be tractable on the road course (Jim mentioned something about getting sideways alot autocrossing :-).
I'd like to mention something else too. Jim and I were talking about the development I had to undertake to make my Jackson kit work the way I wanted (one reason why I'm so critical of supercharger kits these days). Jim then said that's why he buys Comptech products, because he doesn't have the time or the mechanical knowledge to engineer solutions to problems with aftermarket kits. Which is a good point. Companies like Comptech and Mugen, while expensive, do tend to back their products pretty well, which makes them worth it for many.
Personally, I'd still like to see better engine management, but there is no denying the accelerative benefits of the Comptech kit. And if better engine management does come out, forced induction is going to be hard for me to avoid. Nearly 300 wheel hp in a car like the S2K is quite addictive.
Jim, thanks again. And thanks for being the first to shake down this kit. Your efforts will make things easier for those to follow.
UL
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Joined: Feb 2001
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From: You wish
I meant that I was coming from an Eaton blown car, which is pretty quiet, and wasn't expecting the noise from the Comptech kit (I've never driven a Centrifugal blower car before).
Sorry for the confusion.
UL
Sorry for the confusion.
UL
Registered User
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 3,370
Likes: 4
From: Vancouver, WA USA
I'm still waiting for someone to post actual perf numbers on the Supercharger. I've seen dyno numbers and lots of talk about hp but I want to see some drag numbers! I'll buy one if Comptec can show that I can pull a high 12 in the quarter!
Registered User
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,375
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From: Los Angeles (SFV)
Yes, I have to agree, the SC S2000 is loud with the top up. I've ridin' in Comptech's test mule with everything on it, all their suspension work, headers, exhaust, vtec controller, etc! What a true race car that is! I was fearing for my life in the passenger seat going around twisty roads! 
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From: Woodstock
I'm interested in actual numbers on the super charger as well. Anyone know what the impact, if any, the super charger has on the life of the engine? Does it void the Honda warranty? (I assume it does).
2001 Spa Yellow with 600 miles.
pics at:
http://www.bobflix.com/carHTML/index.htm
2001 Spa Yellow with 600 miles.
pics at:
http://www.bobflix.com/carHTML/index.htm