Posting here b/c I posted in pipes/juice/boost and got no answers after a week and lots of bumps.
I am getting a vortech h/o w/12psi pulley kit. I would like to know if you think 255 width tires in the rear is wide enoughfor good traction? Thanks ahead and if you could answer any of these ?'s it willbe greatly appreciated:
1. I will be getting a dyno tune, do you think I will be able to get a 12psi tune from vortech or a mail-order tuner to get to the dyno or will I have to run the stock pulley that came with the system and the stock Xpsi tune?
2. How hard is it to stay out of boost?

 

I'm not familiar with supercharger kits, but from my experience:
255s are fairly wide, I think that's what I run on my IS300. The wider the better really, but I think the actual type of tire you choose is going to make a much bigger impact on tractionthan going slightly wider. Going wider is just icing on the cake.
1. If the kit comes pre-programmed with a tune for a specific pulley, you'll want to run that until you get to the dyno. Most off-the-shelf or "canned" tunes are very very rich and conservative to account for variances between each car, so you should be fine running it until you get it customized to your car. If you're planning on installing a higher hp pulley, I wouldn't recommend running it with your canned tune. Let the guys at the shop who are tuning your car install it before the tune, if they can. Otherwise, just be really cautious about staying out of boost.
2. On a turbocharged car, it's easy. On a supercharged car, I don't know. I'd imagine if you just keep your RPMs below 3500 or so if you can you should really keep out of most of the boost. Do you have a boost gauge? That will help you monitor boost / vacuum.

 

Thanks for the help! I will not have a boost gauge,I think the tune will be able to take care of any boost problems, I might get one later if it's really needed.Thanks again!

 

No problem! I should clarify the 3500rpms thing... that would be remaining at like 1/4-1/5 throttle...don't like goWOT up to 3500rpms

In my opinion you really should invest in a couple of gauges:

Boost

EGT

Air / Fuel or a wideband

Oil pressure isn't a bad idea either, but those three are almost mandatory imo for boosted applications =) Just because you get a good tune, doesn't mean you can't boost spike or have something go wrong.

 

I agree with WRX. Get some gauges. With the Vortech, you will not be guaranteed 12PSI. You will probably get between 10-12.

1. You will be in very low boost driving normally. If you hit it, the boost lever will skyrocket. Just driving normally. If you are driving this thing during winter, get some winter tires.
2. The wider the tire, the better the traction. I had 285/35/20 on my car before the season changed, and my traction was amazing. However, you might want to look at getting a very good tire. That will have the majority of the say on how your tractions prevails. Now, if you are driving with wide tires in snow, that is bad. The wider the tire, the less your car will move, and the less traction you will have. Go with a skinnier tire
3. Again, with the Vortech, do not change pullies. If you change the Crank pulley, your warranty will not be void. You could go with a bigger one, but right now Vortech does not have one for S197's.There is a seal on one of the pullies. If the seal is broke, or cracked, your warranty is not voided, but will decrease to 1 year, instead of 3.
BTW, how much is this Vortech kit going to cost you, shipped and all? I might be able to get you one for around $3,200.00 Let me know.

 

H/O tuner kit will run $3.4k, 39lbinjectors $200-$350, BiggerThrottle Body $350,higher psipulley $80,install $800-$1,200, dyno-$200-$300. That's the budget pretty much. Tires will have to come when I get the money.