Vortech V3 S/C: To HO or not to HO?

[Mudflap]

Yeah but the way you talk Riptide, the TS is somehow BETTER by default dollar to dollar than the centri, and thats where I disagree with you. Different, yes. Better? Depends on what you want. The only thing that HO Saleen would have bought me is instant wheel spin and a couple grand more spent in suspension upgrades. No thanks... According to Brenspeed, the differences I've outlined are it. 2 more pounds of peak boost, a slightly more aggressive tune in terms of spark/timing, and cooler intake charge. At this point, I'm leaning away from it I think. I'm having difficulty justifying those differences for $2400.

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[Riptide]

A couple grand? You shouldn't need more than tires and control arms... But anyhow no reason to start up with that debate at this point.

$2400 does seem like a lot to pay for the type of gains you'll be getting. I don't think I'd bother with it. As someone else mentioned there will always be someone faster and cars are probably going to keep getting faster as the years go by.

[isbe1]

Mudflap,

I have been reading all your posts trying to decide what to do myself well I just got back from brenspeed I got the Vortech non cooled supercharger along with Aluminum drive shaft, Torque Converter, 3.73 gears, Boost gauge, A/F gauge and a Steeda Heavy Duty Belt Tensioner. The car feels unreal I was able to get all this done for the price of a twinscrew installed so I figured I got alot more for what I would have paid for with a Saleen Stage 3 witch was my other choice but that would have cost 7000 grand our so installed by brenspeed. I am with u on the air/water cooler upgrade but I am going to wait until brenspeed installs the air to air cooler. I do not drag race I am basically a weekend driver like you I do not take it to the track so I feel a air/water cooler is not for me for the street use and getting on it once in a while an air to air cooler makes more sense for me. In the mean time I well just sit were I am at for now it is a totally different car now

[Mudflap]

Yeah the car feels really good overall. I've had so many fast cars over the years that I'm jaded, lol. Brenspeed told me today that the air-water cooler does a much better job than the air-air and is more compact in terms of tubing and whatnot. They really seem to prefer it.

I think the point I'm arriving at is the same as when I bought the kit a few months ago. That extra 40rwhp for 2 grand... I think I'll leave it alone. I lit the tires up at 60mph on Friday night, LOL.

I'm not getting into the twin screw debate again either. Some people prefer them, I just think that instant torque and boost plays hell on the car more so than the centri, and will require more money in mods to keep the power to the ground. I do think it would have been fun, but I don't regret not getting one. I do wonder about it sometimes, but not enough to make me go, gee, I wish I'd bought it.

[07GT/CSVERT]

I had alot of experience with this situation in my 94 gt I owned I had a non I/c powerdyne kit on it and after cruising around and a couple of hard runs the car just didnt react the same so i expirimented at the dyno shop one day got there and let the car sit for an hour started it up and ran it Icant remember exact #'s but it was around 365rwh
(it had heads,intake,cam,t.b., mass air anda slew of other things) then took it of the dyno and drove it around for a half hour then hooked it back up right after i got back to the shop and it laid down arorund 330rwh, so after some other testing the shop did the same test with a car with a vortech intercooled kit they installed and found that the car only lost 15hp after the drive and run. So basically what im saying is it will be worth more than just the 40rwh you'll initially see. Hope this helps a little by the way nice car I love that hood.

[Mudflap]

Thanks for the info! Yeah at this point, I'm not seeing that the rewards outweigh the costs. $2400 is no small amount of money, so I think I'm going to leave it alone. I don't drive the car hard often enough to make this worthwhile. This is the same reason why I bought the kit in the first place, so I'll stick with that.

As I mentioned before, I was able to get the tires to break loose at 60mph, and that was with a 135 degree IAT and 3 of us in the car.

[shanec]

I vote yes. Mainly because I'm as passionate about keeping the car safe as I am about getting more hp. I assume a cooler IAT would be less prone to detonation (not that you're detonating now, but still...) I could be wrong.

I assume you're still running stock 17 inch size tires?

Supercharger or not, 18 inch wheels are on my short list of mods to do. 18x10's in the back would have 285-40's which I understand would help traction a lot.

[Mishri]

Well.. thats why I am leaning away from the vortech v3. I'm afraid it just wont make enough power to satisify me. I like the price though. do like what 07gt/csvert did and drive it on a dyno after its nice and hot under the hood.. and see if you are only making like 350rwhp..

+1 Shanec.. wider tires.. get some nice 305 drag radials on there

[Mudflap]

I think assuming the kit is "unsafe" is wrong. The kit is running a tune appropriate for the blower. Sure, a lower IAT will be less prone to detonation, BUT, in addition to the HO upgrade Brenspeed makes the tune more aggressive and adds boost. The non-IC kit uses a conservative tune (and I still made 400rwhp). Is the HO really safer? I don't believe so. 6 of one, 1/2 dozen of the other. The HO makes more power... for an extra 2 grand.

I am not running stock tires. I have Falkens. 255/50/17's up front, and 275/50/17's on the back.

As far as whether the kit will be enough, only you can answer that. My car is fast by most people's standard. You have to take into account the fact that I've had many fast cars. I test drove a Viper once and the sales guy thought it was endlessly funny when I simply referred to it as "quick", lol. Take my experience with a grain of salt, I am jaded beyond most people. I NEVER said the car was slow, I was simply playing with the idea of adding the intercooler and getting feedback, which now I've again decided against.

I've said it many times, this kit can't be beat for the money. There is nothing else on the market that can touch 150rwhp gain running a rich/safe tune for $3800. The ONLY downside of any non-IC kit is if you plan to run the thing at WOT multiple times, over and over and over again. As I said, I was able to break loose 275s on a warm night at a 135 degree IAT with 3 people in the car. There are at least 4-5 others on this board running this setup. Take a look at their posts...I think all of them are pretty much like OMFG!... again, I'm jaded.

[Smooth_J]

Originally Posted by shanec

I vote yes. Mainly because I'm as passionate about keeping the car safe as I am about getting more hp. I assume a cooler IAT would be less prone to detonation (not that you're detonating now, but still...) I could be wrong.
...

+1 on that. I get around 100 degree IATs on 60-70 degree weather...this is in NJ. Where you are from, you are bound to see more heat, and higher IATs. IMHO its worth it cause like shanec said, you are prone to less detonation which in turn is a better running car. I remember we had this discussion a long time ago and it will change the values on the fly in the tune. I would rather keep it very safe than sorry.

Also, you don't even need to change the pulley. You can tell them you decided to keep the stock pulley. Thats what I was going to do before I picked the Edelbrock.