so you want your car/truck to go faster eh? well heres your guide to what you need and why its good and bad.
Let me be the first in this thread to say that the best option for you depends on your goals, desires, targets, money, etc. There is no one-size-fits-all FI solution and there never will be because each method brings its own inherit strengths and weaknesses to the table. Almost ANY FI kit offers the potential of going stupid fast.
Here are my pros/cons for each system I thought of (some of this may be out of date, so PM me with details if you see somethingand I will correct my list):
STS : Squires Turbo Systems : Rear mount turbos
Strengths:
1. power potential -- turbos in general have more potential to make big horsepower, most of the time exceeding the engines capability to make power
2. Well designed kit (and being refined all the time)
3. Kit price is inexpensive, but the kit itself is incomplete if you want to make big power
4. No parasitic drag (although an argument has been made that the increased exhaust pressure effects the engine's efficiency)
5. Variable boost -- at the flip of a switch (with an upgrade to the basic kit), you can have 'everyday' boost and 'race' boost
6. Capability to grow with you as your goals grow
7. Easily modded
8. Doesn't require $1000 in exhaust parts to make max power
9. 1 year warranty
10. STELLAR customer service
Weaknesses:
1. kit requires welding / minor fabrication
2. kit needs more parts to make big power (see #3 above), but most are available from STS as options (injectors, tune, fuel pump, cooling method)
3. No INTERCOOLER (hear me Rick? ) which leaves you to find a progressive meth kit, use STS's nonprogressive meth kit, or a FMIC on your own
4. no boost until the turbo spools up (I'm not going to talk about lag here, as lag is generally misunderstood / or assumed to be the same thing as a turbocharged 4 cylinder's lag).
5. Relatively new -- track record is about 1 year for Chevy cars / trucks, but Rick has been doing this forever and a day
Radix Magnacharger - Roots-hybrid supercharger
Strengths:
1. Instant torque -- any time, all the time
2. Intercooled
3. Very complete kit - intercooler, all necessary parts, pump included on 03 models
4. 'Easy' install -- no welding or fabrication, most people with basic wrenching skills can do this
5. Nice long warranty as long as you use the superchips tune -- 3 Year 36K mile Drivetrain warranty is additional cost ($200) and the install must be done by an ASE certified mechanic
6. Nice community support (Hey Brian!)
7. Someone weigh in here on customer support, but my feeling from talking to others is that it is STELLAR (comments from an owner: customer support is great, calls returned, you get to talk to technical people in the USA)
8. Great track record
Weakenesses:
1. Expense of the 'basic kit', which is probably the most complete FI kit except for the Whipple
2. Ultimate power potential is limited, but limited to ~500hp which is enough for 95% of the world
3. Changing boost is more difficult than with turbos (pulley change)
4. Belt slippage (although maybe not for 3.1" pulleys) -- Guys with Radix's please let me know if you have slippage issues - if not, let's get this one out of here
5. Needs full exhaust for maximum potential
Whipple - Twin Screw Supercharger
Strengths:
1. Very high abidactic efficiency
2. Complete kit
3. Because of #1, more power potential than Radix, but still less than a turbo
4. Instant torque from 1500 rpm up
Weaknesses:
1. No intercooler
2. ECM is a piggy back system
3. Only comes with two add on injectors
4. Customer service leaves a lot on the table
5. No resale value -- Whipple requires s/cs to be evaluated and updated in order to flash the computer... I was told this always leads to at least $1500 in charges by a whipple employee
6. Parasitic loss
7. belt slippage
8. Needs full exhaust for maximum potential
9. pulley change to change boost
ATI - Procharger - Centrifugal Supercharger (Strengths:
1. Higher power potential than Radix or Whipple, less than turbo
2. Great track record
3. Almost instant torque
4. Easy install
5. I've been told the cost of these has come way down to around $4k -- that's a good price
Weaknesses:
1. Kit needs more parts for maximum potential (injectors, intercooler -- although a FMIC is available from ATI as an option)
2. FMIC is not super efficient
3. Belt slippage requires special mounting brackets to turn up the boost
4. pulley change to change boost
5. Install is easy, but very involved.
6. Peak power only at shift point
Vortech - Centrifugal Supercharger
Stregnths:
1. Same as ATI
2. Vortech has been around forever... Chances are if there is some problem with a centrifugal s/c, vortech not only has a solution, but invented the problem
3. Available air-to-water intercooler
4. LOTS of available options
5. Complete kit
6. Good support in general.
Weaknesses:
1. Cost of the kit
2. Cost of maintenance
3. Peak power only at shift point
Front mount turbo kits
Strengths:
1. Most power potential of any FI option discussed here
2. The "in thing" in go fast
3. Generally these kits are complete, and ready to go
Weaknesses:
1. Underhood temps skyrocket
2. Need heat reducing steps in addition to FMICs
3. May require extensive fabrication, loss of A/C, etc.
4. Expense of the kit, plus install.
5. Need full and large diameter exhaust for maximum potential.
Nitrous
Strengths:
1. Most power per dollar (Nothing even comes close)
2. Instant tire shredding torque
3. Easy install
4. Tuning is almost not even required for a basic kit
5. Does not clutter under hood appearance
6. No limitation on the power potential other then what the drivetrain can handle.
7. New controller technoligy allows full progressive control in every gear. Takes away the punishment of just a hard all at once hit.
8. Very safe if set up correctly and used in the right hands
9. Power level adjustments are as easy as a jet change
10. There is no lack of nitrous knowledge available to the people, it has been used for quite some time
Weaknesses:
1. Bottle refills are expensive over time
2. Power is not always there, only when the bottle is full and has good pressure(950-1050)
3. Power level adjustments are as easy as a jet change...too easy to get greedy with power levels.
4. Dangerous in the wrong hands(look to number 3) Use and install.
5. Lean backfires that take out the top half of the motor. Usually caused by a poor install, wrong length of line from the n20 noid to the nozzle....
6. Also the occasional sticking noid. This can cause a melt down when the nitrous noid sticks open. Very rare and is usually a installation problem or a faulty noid.
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