Hi all.

Continuing with my investigations before purchasing my supercharger, I was wondering what various SC owners' opinions are on having an aftercooler vs. not. Apart from the claimed 10-15 extra hp, what situations are an advantage with the aftercooler? I'm guessing that with hotter temperatures there is a greater advantage. But how does this advantage manifest itself? Is the car much less driveable in hot conditions without the AC? Is it rough and stumbly, or is it just less power and that's it. Is there more danger of doing harm to the engine in the form of detonation and the like without the AC? Or, again, are we just talking about less power. Let's assume for this conversation a standard Comptech SC install (standard pulley, etc).

I'm guess I'm trying to decide whether I really need to go for the AC at the moment, or whether I should save that money, buy an AEM engine control system, and go with a smaller pulley. Which brings me to the next question: Is getting a slightly smaller pulley and proper engine management preferable to a standard SC install with the aftercooler?

Thanks for any input that you guys can provide!

...Andrew

 

Personally I think the major reason Comptech developed the AC was that Vortech had one and it was perceived as market differentiator.

Comptech kits had been out there for over a year with no problems due to hotter AIT.

That said, if you are looking to up boost then I think some charge cooling is in order. Because of the way the SC works, with the standard kit you are only in boost for a few seconds at a time in VTEC. Use a smaller pulley and the 'in boost' range spreads further down the RPM curve and could lead to heat problems.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by gropos

Continuing with my investigations before purchasing my supercharger

 

ok... exactly what do you mean by "calibrated"? Is there a process you go through after installing the components?

 

I don't necessary agree with Simon's answer. If the early kits aren't suffering from detonation then the addition of an AC can't reduce detonation.

Of course if you intend to muck around with A/F ratios (VAFC, E-manage, AEM) or smaller pulleys then you might be going into detonation territory so an AC would be good.

As for 'calibrate/adjust', there's nothing much to adjust on a Comptech kit. The only thing you can adjust is the static/base fuel pressure. You could conceivably increase the raising rate ratio, but that would require new innards in the FPR.

 

BTW, I run a Comptech kit with no AC, 4" pulley, Greddy E-manage, 440cc injectors and SARD FPR. And it runs fine through an Australian summer.

 

The colder the intake charge the better. To through numbers at it for every 11deg you lower the charge you gain 1% hp increase. The more air, the more fuel. The ECU will add more timming.
All this even in a no or low boost condition.

 

Sure but there is power to be had by adding one.

 

I know what you are saying, and I will be adding an AC as my next upgrade.

But I think you have to read between the lines and see what the original question is. In my opinion it is: "It's hard enough to find the moolah for the SC. Do I really need the AC?".

I think the answer is "No, but it's a nice add on especially if you intend to do further upgrades."

 

comptech said that they are coming up with 8lb of boost pulley, bigger injectors, and upgrade FPR&EMS soon... but only god knows when...