Supercharging a Civic
 

Thinking of just saving up and get a supercharger. The reason for Supercharging and not Turbo is because of price and reliability. Supercharging needs less work = less money on labour, and hardwares.

Anyone help info or know people with this setup please post.

What things do you actually want to know??

Dont know what motor you have but i know Vortech makes a sweet kit for the B16.

I want to know how it runs and what types of problems people have encounter? What type of cooling system is need (turbo has intercooler) what does Supercharger have?

The regular JR SC kit has no type of cooling, which IMO, is one of its biggest flaws. Thus, people have a lot of detonation problems with the kit. You can buy the liquid intercooling system, but that's an extra $1000 or so.

Do some more research before you buy. SC kits are not as cheap as they may seem, and you will probably spend as much as a good turbo setup. They are NOT a bolt on mod like JR claims.

Actually JRSC are bolt on but if you want it running properly then it really isn't.

The cooling of the intake charge is really the shits but it has been done. A few guys on ClubSi (states) have incorporated an air-air and air-liquid intercooler to their setup.

I don't think that liquid mist thingy that JR sells does much but it helps a little.

Also I think JR jacked up their $$ on the SC and alot of people were complaining.

If you have a B-series and want to SC it, go for Vortec. It was just released as carb exempt and has more potential than JR. But the best bang for your $$ is turbo. More room to play with.

This is what I actually meant when I said it wasn't bolt on. JR leads you to believe that you can just slap it on, and it will run perfect with no other mods or tuning. Wrong.

Yeah I heard that Vortech was really good. You guys mentioned intercooler for SC, I thought it only works for Turbos. But I will difintely check up Vortech. Turbos are really good, put I think you have to mod pistons etc... SC don't need too right?

Whenever you increase the pressure in the chamber you should consider upgrading the pistons and rods.

The stock ones are rated for the current pressure and onthing more, to keep cost down.

Now if you're going to add boost regardless if it's a turbo or SC you're going to add more stress on the pistons and rods than what it was originally designed for.

If you are only adding a few pounds of boost you might get away with stock guts but if you start pushing the limits well, look out.

Since turbos use exhaust as a way of spinning the turbine, an intercooler is a must.

But because a SC is belt driven from the motor, an intercooler isn't as necessary.

SC, I know that you have to change the water pump to a turbo pump to cool the egine, but what about the intake part since intercooler is not require. So would a normal intake do the job?

I've been running on my stock gut for over 18,000 km now boosting 10 psi. No problems whatsoever (Knock on wood :) ).

Major difference between Turbo and SC when it comes to physics and flow dynamics? Turbo actually increases the flow efficiency of the engine whereas the SC doesn't, because it is robbing power from the crank. Better flow efficiency = better power production. That is why Turbo's have a much healthier top end compared to the SC.

The Vortec SC system is good on the dyno. I'm sure you guys have seen how it does on the 1/4 mile? While producing 270+ whp, it's only able to run a mid-high 14?? The power/torque band is way too peaky. Remember, mid range power is what's most important.

For Street, JR SC at stock boost is alright, nice low-end and decent high-end. But that's if you are happy with the power JR is able to give you. If not, then go for the Turbo, might as well if you are thinking about the Vortec. IT's gonna cost about the same, both uses a contrifugal compresser housing, intercooled, only the turbo will put a much bigger smile on your face. :) B16s and D16s can all boost 8 psi on 94 octane with a decent fuel setup and intercooling. Honda's design their pistons, rods and sleeve better than they have to be for the added reliability what we so love about HOndas.

??

You don't have to change the water pump, maybe a radiator flush to clean it out so the radiator is more efficient. I'm pretty sure any turbo kit you get or the Vortech, will come with their own intake filter and tubing.

How much would I be looking to spend on Turbos. Upgrading the water pump to a performance one allow the pump to pump more water, can reduce 90 degrees in temp.

Unnecessary, during the hottest days of the summer, my engine temp never went past where it normally sits. Usually, peeps replace the radiator to an all Aluminum one. That increases the heat exchange, which is much more important that a more efficient water pump. No matter how much water you pump, if it's still hot, what's the use. Don't believe the claims of manufactures. 90 degrees? (I assume F not C) That seems way too much, like AEM's claim of upto* 15 whp with their cold air.

As far as price, on a stage II kit, you are looking at about $6500. I'm not referring to Greddy kits, because they are only stage I and you have to pay extra for intercooler, and BOV.

F-MAX, RevHard are two of the best Stage II kits out there for Hondas. They come with literally EVERYTHING. I think a JRSC is about just over $4000 these days. Vortec has to be over $5000. So in the grand scheme of things, if you are going to spend $5000 grand on a big mod, might as well go all out. :)

You made a great point, now I know I want Turbo. At first I was affair that it would blow or something when you hammer it.

Ah don't worry about. I raced against a 911 turbo on the 401 the other day. Was boosting for about 10-15 minutes straight, nothing went wrong... well, one thing went wrong, I lost. :( lol! Anyway, if you need help or suggestions, let me know. I've done a **** load of research on turboing Hondas.

One thing to remember is that, tuning is EVERYTHING. It doesn't matter if you choose SC or turbo, if the setup is not installed/tuned properly, you WILL have problems. No if's, and's, or but's.

I agree tuning is everything.

redfox: Did you have to change pistons etc... What about timer and controller, can you adjust the PSI level or is it preset.

He said in his first post that he's using the stock bottem end.

You can adjust boost with a boost controller. If you don't have one, you boost will be dictated by the wastegate spring, which can be changed easily.

Before you go and buy anything, I would recommend you do a lot more homework/research (honda-tech.com is your friend!). I can tell you're a newbie to all of this. :) Don't buy/not buy something just cause what we're telling you here. You need to think through about EXACTLY what you want, need, can afford, etc. For example, have you considered the following?

1. If you blow your motor, do you have enough money to put another motor or rebuild the original one?
2. Have you considered other unobvious costs with the turbo/SC setup (ie. gauges, installation, turbo timer, boost controller, dyno tuning, etc.)?
3. Will you be driving your car in the winter? If not, you need a winter beater.

Research, research, research... :D

I agree, well put!:)