CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Just want help on deciding... I have my heart set on the vortech. Would be good to get views on these kits. Views from owners and those that what the install. Which and your personal views why? Some of you are going to hate on me for saying this.. "I don't want to go turbo"!. Why? Personally a s.c kit suits the base character of the car.I'm not looking for big numbers or power just enough omph and go. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Most people will know my answer to this as I typically always bring it up cos I'm just a big kid but if I had to choose a supercharger, the twin-screw Innovate would be my choice, like you I won't be chasing power (well I think I wouldn't but who knows when it comes to the modding bug) but for me, if going supercharger, it's all about the supercharger whine (like I said, big kid ). My knowledge of these systems are limited but the way I see it, if you're going centrifugal, then it would be hardly any different than going turbo. I understand where you're coming from with regards to superchargers suiting the base car in the sense of matching the same linear power and torque curves, but turbo's now day (and especially when tuned correctly via the ECUTek maps), you can still get that linear power and torque experience even from a Turbo, so I wouldn't necessary rule them out completely. You should definitely try them all out before you buy, Litchfield currently do the Vortech supercharger, Abbey do the Innovate Supercharger (but I'm sure he could fit others) and Fensport do the Avo Turbocharger. I've driven both the Innovate SC and the Avo TC, the Avo put a smile on my face because I was driving Pitman's beast of a car which had a boat load of umph and it delivered it in a very linear manner. The Innovate SC had less power and not as much pull but it still put a smile on my face whenever the whine kicked in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Cheers Keith. Been in robs and ian's. Much preferred robs : ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Doesn't Litchfield don't he rotrex?! I pic above on the blue brz is theirs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Tis isn't it.....my bad....no ideas on the difference as they're both Centrifugal though aren't they? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Yeah they are. What has pitman got in his bonnet? I am really liking the vortech kit. Done a lot of research on it. As for big turbo power comes the unknown variables. Big power vs longevity. More stress on parts, transmission engine internals and the rest. I just want a full bolt on kit make just enough power and know it will last and perform day in and day out. That where feel an s.c kit wins. I'm sure turbo systems are bomb proof in their own right. But from want i have experienced the supercharged gt86 wins all rounds. Sound, check. Delivery of power, check. Looks check. Suited to our cars character, check. Even pro racing drivers told me to go s.c. I personally cannot argue. But I am not taking anything away from turbo kits. Its just not for me as a driver. We are all different so we all want different things from our cars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 15, 2014 Yeah they are. What has pitman got in his bonnet? I am really liking the vortech kit. Done a lot of research on it. As for big turbo power comes the unknown variables. Big power vs longevity. More stress on parts, transmission engine internals and the rest. I just want a full bolt on kit make just enough power and know it will last and perform day in and day out. That where feel an s.c kit wins. I'm sure turbo systems are bomb proof in their own right. But from want i have experienced the supercharged gt86 wins all rounds. Sound, check. Delivery of power, check. Looks check. Suited to our cars character, check. Even pro racing drivers told me to go s.c. I personally cannot argue. But I am not taking anything away from turbo kits. Its just not for me as a driver. We are all different so we all want different things from our cars. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 I've driven all the variations, including the HKS vortech setup. Tbh, whilst the Vortech does give an increase in power it's almost like a non-event. There's no noise, no surge of power, the power is simply increased. I admit I was completely underwhelmed by it and this was what I thought the top system on my list of ones to try. I have tried the twin screw and that gives more of a wallop in torque, so it's better. But, the best of all the cars I've tried is the Stage 1 AVO turbo, not much in the way of lag, incredibly smooth and what I thought was a better power curve than either the Sprintex SC or the HKS Rotrex. Easier potential to up power should you so wish in the future too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lauren 2259 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Tis isn't it.....my bad....no ideas on the difference as they're both Centrifugal though aren't they? No, Rotrex is a centrifugal supercharger, think of it like a belt driven turbo. Twin screw Sprintex is a positive displacement supercharger that effectively pumps the air into the intake. They are a completely different design and work very differently in practice. The centrifugal is more about the top end, whilst the Twin screw will give a better mid range spread of torque and power if losing slightly at the top end. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Thanks Lauren. Good reply. More to think about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Was the avo faster? What do you think of the build and components in quality? Reliability? I had the opposite experience, felt robs car had the noise and drama and ian's car was the muted one. I do admit ian's car had a more stealthy approach in terms of sound. No denying ian's car put me back in my seat more. I guess more testing is needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rob275 1817 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 I think whatever decision you make has to be your own one, getting an opinion is great, but you will get GT86 Drivers having their own opinion on what they want and their reasons why, Adrian will say turbo, Mark will say Supercharger. This thread will be useful to lay out the Pro's and Con's though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 If I were to go for a centrifugal, I'd go for a Rotrex based system. Litchfield, Jackson Racing or Kraftwerks are all Rotrex based systems. If you want a PD blower that gives you similar top end but is better in the mid range then Sprintex will have a new bit of kit out soon. Stg.1 AVO will be very similar in power and performance to the Sprintex kit. Choose the right bolt ons (exhaust/pulley/uprated blower) with a S/C and you can add power quite easily, it's just not as easy as bolting on a better turbo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Special K 442 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 I seem to recall dialogue on the FT86 Forum regarding benefits of an intercooler for s/c. Would you not go for that as well, Steve? Interesting to note that LFA is going lower compression pistons/rods with his s/c BRZ... not sure if it's Sprintex but think Mark at Abbey is doing the work.. Spec K Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Most of the S/C kits have an I/C. In fact the only one that doesn't is the base Sprintex, which I wouldn't bother with. The PD blower creates enough charge temps that I'd want something to be compensating for it. I can see 50-60C intake temps on a few WOT pulls, that will slowly increase over time. And that's why the PD loses out at the top end. The updated unit (210+) is the same size but improved internals.... more efficient. So I can run a larger pulley for the same boost and less IAT, or run the same size pulley with similar IATs and more boost. Maybe LFA's going for the 335 blower, the big boy? That would destroy the stock engine, way too much boost at low RPM. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Knightrider, why the rotrex kits? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Well if we are going to spend 4.5k and above on these kits we should lay it all out now. I think a lot of us are going or want to go f.I.not much threads about staying n.a from what I see. All opinions and views are very educational. But if you say turbo as an example please state the reason why. Etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Knightrider, why the rotrex kits? Personal preference I guess. Teething problems aside, as they are newer, I think the kits seem to work better. I think the actual compressor is more efficient than the Vortech unit. The Litchfield looks like it's the most complete Rotrex kit, it's also the most expensive IIRC and no-one except them have got one on a car as far as I know as they aren't the easiest to get hold of. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GT86-Ian 351 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 James you need to come along to another meet & try the cars for yourself, I tested marks sc & its very good just wasn't what I was after. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Yeah think I do Ian. Why did you go turbo? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 James you need to come along to another meet & try the cars for yourself, I tested marks sc & its very good just wasn't what I was after. The thing is there are really only turbo and Sprintex S/Cs about. Mas' HKS car is the only centrifugal S/C car, unless you can get Chris' (TarmacSportz) Vortech car to it as well. I really need to drive your car Ian for comparison. I've only driven Dave's bonkers version. It does come down to what you prefer, I love the power delivery of the Sprintex. It's just instant power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Knightrider Litchfield don't even have one anymore, they sold their car. So no more test car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CHOSENMAN007 81 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Vortech have a lot of info on the net and YouTube. Yes I've seen that tarmacsports sell the kit. Its listed at £3.600. Which is not to bad really. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keethos 842 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 @Lauren - lol, I was referring to both the Vortech and the Rotrex both being centrifugal superchargers and not knowing the difference, I know the Sprintex/Innovate is a twin-screw which is completely different. @Chosenman007 - That's the problem with trying Ian's car out, he's after that stealth setup where it sounds like your not (same with me, I want all the sounds, drama etc) and that does have a big impact on the feel for the car in my opinion, I've been in Adrian's street turbo and when he booted it, there was hardly any sound at all and yet I could see the speedo climb rapidly, it just felt weird. But if you have a go in Pitman's or Special K's car, you'll feel the drama, the roaring exhaust and the pull of the cars even more (though granted they're stage 3 setups I think). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kodename47 446 Report post Posted April 16, 2014 Strange.... last I heard they were going to be building the engine out of theirs and it was being stripped down to inspect. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
