I am interested in putting a SC on my car. Although I do alot of the maintenance and know quite a bit about cars, supercharging and its associated upgrades is something I don't know alot about.

My question is, what are the 'basic' component requirements in addition the SC setup? I know with, say, the Comptech setup, you get the SC, fuel system upgrades, ESM, etc... What else do you need? I know you need PSI-boost and oil pressure guages. What else?

I know there are a myriad of other upgrades you could do like putting in a new exhaust system, headers, sway bars, etc, but I wanted to know in addition to the kit what the basic 'extra' requirements would be.

 

I'd say use the "search button" but since that doesn't work, here it go.

stronger clutch and diff housing is must. if possible, do the clutch before SC install.

for comptech or vortech, you don't need anything else special as most of what you mentioned is supplied.

 

On the first statement, if you plan to track the car or drive it hard all the time, then I will agree 100%. If you intend to drive the car in a more sedate manner most of the time, then many of us have had our cars blown using the stock clutch and rear diff for many years without issue. It all depends on how much you will demand of your car on a regular basis.

On the second statement, I also agree. However, as insurance, if you have an older car with the older 2-hole oiljet bolts, then an upgrade to the newer 4-hole bolts would be wise.

 

ya know, i was going to link my supercharger install for dummies thread that might be some good reading, but i can't seem to find it since they upgraded the boards.

in any case, there's no additional 'requirements' for the comptech sc kit. or vortech as far as i know. as far as clutch, i still run on my stock one, and it has yet to give me any problems. it is a good idea to reinforce the diff though, if not just for peace of mind.

 

Unless you're dropping the clutch like a madman, I don't think a reinforced diff is a "must" item. Certainly desireable (heck, I want one too), but not necessary.

BTW, wortham, your new sig banner is frickin awesome...

 

hehe well, if you're doing some serious launches, THEN you'd want a new clutch. as xviper said, it's all about what you want to do with it, but the sc kit is plug and play and doesn't need anything additional to get you on the roads.

i just did that sig up last night when i was at the barn with the misses. there's not a lot for me to do when she's chasing around cows, so off to the laptop i went.

 

Thanks for the comments and replies. Wouldn't you say that monitoring guages would be a bit more of a requirement than a luxory? I don't plan on driving the car so hard as to need a bigger clutch or a reinforced diff housing.

Again, thanks for the comments.

 

Oh, I have an '02' model. Since the search is broken and I can't find anything on google, how does one know if they have the older or newer bolts?

 

How about an engine management system? Dyno's show that the basic setup runs lean; you'd be driving on borrowed time.

 

I've only seen 2 SC cars on the dyno, and both of them ran a little lean in VTEC, so that's definitely something to watch for. It may not be enough to kill the car (I put 40k on mine without tuning it) but then it might. I suggest you dyno it and check A/F ratios soon after installing the SC just to be sure.

I never put gauges on either. I can't think of anything that could cause too much boost, so a boost gauge is only going to tell you if there's a low boost condition, which is not a safety issue. Oil pressure is important, but your reasons for wanting an OP gauge would apply whether you SC or not.

I'm at 120k, 53k with the SC. Everything else is stock, except a tweak of the A/F by means of IAT, not exactly the safest thing to do, but I'll live with it till I figure out a better way.

Oh, I do mostly highway miles, maybe 2 track days a year, no clutch dumps, always do lift-throttle shifts, but I do drive, let's say, "competitively". The stock clutch lasted 70k miles (20k pre-SC), and the only symptom was slipping on 3-4 and 4-5 upshifts when I was being "competitive".

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