mourad

I know cocoman was inquiring on whether it's worth turbocharging a DX and there was a conflict of opinion because of the pricetag and the negligeable gain in power.

I know Turbo's make more power than blowers but superchargers have advantages of their own that are more appealing to me moreso than turbos.

My 1.5L is 10 years old (first owner) but I have less than 67,000Miles on it and I do not want to swap it.

My question is: Is it worth the research and effort to supercharge a 1.5L 93 DX hatch? If so, can it be done easily? are there full kits for this or do I have to squander parts and fabricate?

I'm skeptical because of the position of the belt vs. the air intake, it looks very awkward positioning the blower in such a way that it is belt driven and maintain a link to the intake of the car - this is why I wonder if it's even possible.

I am looking to make very mild boost, just 50-80whp more - the car's power output is not really satisfactory right now.

The installation of the blower does not seem as complicated as that of a turbo - messing with exhaust does not seem appealing in tight places with electrical wires around. Tapping an oil line, upgrading fuel pump and ignition does not seem all that bad.

What do you guys think? Waste of time?

punkindrublic

they do have full kits... but turbos are so so much better

mourad

Do they really make that much more power?
Aren't they noiser too?

punkindrublic

well they can both make the same power... but the supercharger is powered by a belt connected to your engine... some engine loose 40% power just have a super charger attached.... so it has to stuff more air into the engine to compensate... so the engine while it might make hte same power as a turbo'd engine is actually making a lot more... so a lot more stress is put on the engine

but a turbo charger is powered by the exhust gas... so its like free power... you might loose a slight amount of power from the back pressure caused by having a turbo but not nearly as much as with a super charger

mourad

They say you lose about 10% HP due to the supercharger, I don't think the gap between the two is nearly as bad.
The backpressure from the turbo is very small - true, but again, you're playing with superhot components which just add to the already hot compressed air - this means more efficient intercooloers are needed and ... etc
Like I said, I am very familiar with the differences between the two, for someone looking for 50-80hp's, a supercharger will do fine. I just wasn't sure if they had full kits and apparently they do so my question is answered! Thanks

spracingsports

doesnt Jackson racing make kits for almost all civics?

vortec which is better is only for b-series though

mourad

I thought Vortec was for domestic only. I heard many good things about how complete their kits are, if they make one compatible with my block, I'll get one from them!
Of course that still means finding a reseller here.
Thanks dude

spracingsports

vortec only makes b16 and b18 supercharger kits, im pretty sure they dont have a d series kit

punkindrublic

believe it or not crappy tire sells the jackson racing superchargers.... its in there specialty book.... $4995


i would garuntee you can get them cheaper... they are just very rare on civics.... expessially d series since they are so weak internally

mourad

You guys are a fountain of knowledge:

http://www.mmrusa.com/Merchant2/merc...Code=JR989-100

spracingsports

thats a great price, thats like 500-1000 less than i normally see them.... but remember, that those are in US dollars lol

mourad

Indeed - But maybe now is a good time to buy keeping the exchange rate in mind.
According to today's rates, the kit would cost $3,193.61 CA

I'm baffled, the instruction manual is *very* precise.
They even include a good dyno chart

imported_Gatsby

Well, you should think about it this way: For say $3200 you get that supercharger, that gives you say, 160 Hp with a bigger exhaust system and a CIA. Now, you have that much power, right off the throttle, which DX trasmission (very short 1st gear and no LSD) will not be able to put to the ground. And not to mention loosing that 10% for driving the SC belt at the first place, I don't think $3200 would be worth it.

Now for say around $1500, you can find a used, complete Turbo kit. This won't compromise anything, and also, by the time the turbo spools up and gives you the 160 HP, you have already hookup the tires to the ground, having enough traction to use the power. I think a Turbo system is much more cost efficient and practical than a Supercharger....

Cynikal.Mindset

turbo kits require more work to install than its worth on most cars...tapping oil pans/block etc. then u have fuel management issues and they are a general pain in the ***...constant tuning and attention are needed for turbo applications...and from what I can understand from reading over this thread is that you want something simple to give you more power and I would go with a s/c for this...its an easy install for the most part its a bolt on affair...yes the JRSC kits are on the expensive side but they are more reliable...from the people I know with turbos and superchargers the turbo guys are always fixing somethin while the blower guys basically get in and drive the car like its stock (just more power now)

both setups have their advantages and disadvantages...but for reliability I'd go with supercharger

spracingsports

i agree with cynikal, if you are going for the ease of use approach ant dont really know how to keep a turbo in good working order, go with the JRSC

mourad

My thoughts exactly. Thanks for backing that up.

HAPPY

NO...

I disagree.

There are thousands of guys out there that install greddy kits and drive them for years without issue. S/C are no more reliable than turbo kits.

The reason turbo guys run into problems is they get greedy and want more power. Turbo kits allow a user to increase the boost very easily and as a result most guys put too much stress on the motor and blow it up. This is not the fault of the turbo kit...rather the tuner.

The reason you don't find many S/C guys having this problem is because raising the boost is not done easily. You need to worry about bigger pulleys and that change can not be done quickly. Therefore, most s/c stay boosting 6pounds.

Now, if you want to talk unreliable. Do a search for all those Jackson Racing guys using CRV pulleys to boost 10pounds. Can you say problems. The heat introduced by the blower usually fries motors in no time flat.

Therefore, you can't blame it on the turbo because 9 times out of 10 it is the driver/tuner not repecting all of the factors that result in breakage.

Cynikal.Mindset

Happy you bring up the point I forgot to mention...easy boost upgrades!

but its like almost impossible for most people to not wanna "See" what they can do with the turbo, its basically sitting right infront of them asking to be turned up (kinda like the whole coilover debate)

while with the s/c u gotta go out and get a pulley, belt and install that crap (PITA) instead of just pressing a couple buttons on the boost controller/turbo timer and blowing stuff apart

so here is my modified reply,
if you like to tinker and/or have jackass friends that like to tinker stay away from the turbo...but if you can basically set it and forget it (ronco commercials lol) then they are both pretty much the same and problem free for the most part.

I'm still partial towards the JRSC, thats what I'd put on the GF's car cuz its locked in at one point and thats that, no fussin around...but for a tuner perspective then I'd have a Turbo in my car

HAPPY

It's like putting 2 litres of oil in a motor and running it for a year. When it goes...do you blame it on the motor? No.

Cool - so you saw my point. It all boils down to common sense really.

mourad

I don't think the TOTAL price of a turbo installation is any cheaper than a S/C - hardware kept in mind.

The Jackson kit promises no more than 7psi - this is the mild boost I'm looking for. I've never heard of anyone having supercharger problems to be honest.

The best compromise is that they are at BEST equally beneficial in their own way but I very much doubt one is significantly better than the other.