 |
Positive Displacement Superchargers |
 |
update Feb 2006 - Neil Griffiths doesn't sell the M90 kit anymore - he is now developing a twin screw kit. He has three supercharger manifolds left.
July 2004
202.2 rwkW from a supercharged V8 with a Unichip. Neil hustled his stock ECU 175 rwkW supercharged V8 down the quarter mile in 13.5 seconds - the torque increase right across the rev range accelerates the car very nice indeed!
Neil Griffiths sells kits to suit Australian and UK cars. He is currently working on a more expensive twin screw intercooled setup as well.
To get a supercharger kit contact Neil on
(02) 6284 3111 - that's in NSW Australia
Location: 1/48 Aurora Ave Queanbeyan NSW 2620
Postal address: PO BOX 1510 Queanbeyan NSW 2620
Email: sales@rushimports.com.au
July 2004
So what's a 1UZ-FE with a M90 supercharger kit like to drive?
Bill Lewis drove a V8 Soarer with a M90 Eaton supercharger, stock headers, stock ECU and approx 7 psi boost. The car was Steve Smith's.
Me and Denis went for a spin in Bloated (Bill's pet name
for Steve's car) today, what can I say, it's one seriously quick motor,
certainly give a stock TT a GOOD BEATING, would give a 1Bar TT a run for the money,
possibly in the same league as The Beast or Denis's TT but again it's like chalk &
cheese.
The blown V8 pulls like nothing else, smooth take-off with no drama and little hint of
whats to come, 3,000rpm and somethings just woke up, 5,000rpm shit it just got angry! The
blower seems to have three distinct stages; nothing special, very nice and oh fcuk hang
on, this could be because of the std ECU or inadequate fuel management (we wont know till
it's on a dyno and we can check the A/F) but I can assure you it can only get
better/faster with some setting-up, and if it gets any faster then 17psi TT's had better
think again !
It's fkin glorious on the road, mid/high end is stunning as one 325i found out around the
60-90mark but unlike the TT it's constant power not bugerall/everything/tail-off, I think
a Mines style ECU (and possibly a rising rate fuel regulator) (the
RUSH blower below comes with a rising rate fuel regulator in as part of the standard parts
kit) will be needed to enjoy the higher power in the higher rev bands.
Smiffie has to be congratulated for this work on Loaded, with new headers (on order and
will be "For Sale" on TIFBITZ shortly) (These are the
RUSH headers also available from Neil below) and a decent setup it is going to
fly, my pennies (read; credit card) are being allocated as we speak.
May 2004 - update
A long time ago you may remember my Happy Days, a simple weekend trip to Melbourne to catch up with my Soarer mates, win a dyno day and see Andy's new Terra Charger (based on Eaton) for the Soarer V8 1UZ-FE. That was way back in November 2002! Well now the kit is ready.
Maybe back in 1991 the 190kW 1UZ-FE V8 was sufficient for the Soarer - but nowadays technology has runaway and all the luxury V8 coupes and sedans start at 240 kW. The new cars have the power - but I've driven a bunch of them and I still love my Soarer. I love the way everything works, the way the car feels - it is still one of the nicest most satisfying cars I have driven - it oozes quality and workmanship - it still impresses me. As a group people tend to hang on to their Soarers for this reason.But power - I want more.
Undoubtedly the RUSH brand new bolt on blower transforms the car and adds a minimum 30% torque, not just peak power. Bingo - for $6000 you can transform the Soarer into a modern day 240 kW car - fabulous value for a kit that is street and drag proven and includes every single part to complete the job including brand new professionally cast manifolds and intakes.
To get more than this I would need intercooling, fuel upgrades, decompression, ECU upgrades - the cost and complexity skyrocket. The law of dimishing returns comes into effect and you really have to ask yourself is it worth it to try and get more than 240kW the Rush kit offers.
How do I get it?
Ring Neil Griffiths on (02) 6284 3111 - that's in NSW Australia
Location: 1/48 Aurora Ave Queanbeyan NSW 2620
Postal address: PO BOX 1510 Queanbeyan NSW 2620
Email: sales@rushimports.com.au
How much power do I get?
The kit is geared to give you 5.5 psi. This will give you a 30% increase in power and torque minimum. So whatever power you have now on your V8, times it by 1.3 and you'll be real close.
I want more power!
Ah yes don't we all. But up until now all we could do with the V8 is intake and exhaust, maybe some cams and ECU fiddle - but now with a blower it's a whole new story. Once you have your base kit with safe boost - the torque will increase dramatically - this means the heavy Soarer is no longer a slug off the line. It's sort of like having a 5.2 litre 1UZ-FE !! - woohoo! But if you are dead keen there is lot's of things you can do. More boost, intercooling, water/methonal injection etc. Unlike the standard Eaton, the pulley is interchangeable. A stock Eaton supercharger has the pulley press fitted with 20 tonnes of pressure - kit to change it costs $695 - see http://www.v6supercharged.com.au/index.html for details. This company also has an air to air intercooler to suit the Eaton M90 on GM V6! This would mean a custom bonnet to get it to fit on a Soarer - but there are options out there. This kit is the start of your boosted V8.
Hmmm - I reckon I'll do my own custom supercharger
I know a few who have started, bought a second hand eaton off ebay and started welding etc - but I don't know of any that have finished. It's real hard and complicated and you don't realise everything that is involved until you've physically pulled everything apart. At the very least talk to Neil about getting the cast intake manifold at the very least.
I'm in the USA and want to use a local supercharger.
I believe Neil is already considering this - contact him.
Is it worth it?
Gee that's a hard one. The supercharged Soarers I have seen have commanded a premium price over a regular Soarer. But if you love your Soarer, and are sick of getting whipped at traffic lights by modern passenger cars - I reckon you should do it for yourself!
Where's the pics?
I don't have any! The pic below is the basic layout - just imagine that with a cast throttle body connector, a cast manifold and all the black plastic bits put back on and looking smick.
Febuary 2003
Two Eaton M90 Supercharger installations on a V8 SOARER with bypass valves. One an Australian prototype (EFI Dynamics - Errol's workshop with Andy Richardson), one an established Japanese install (C's supercharger)
The EFI Dynamics/Andy Richardson supercharger prototype - the kit will be fancy cast.
Japanese installed and imported to Australia C's Supercharger kit.
C's had custom ECU work and 3 interceptors.
Andy's uses stock Toyota ECU.
Both cars had standard headers.
C's kit had standard airbox, Andy a BFI.
C's kit was running 8 psi, Andy with 6 psi.
C's pulled 167 rwkw, Andy 171 rwkw.
C's kit was on a 1997 high powered UZZ31 with stock 147 rwkw
Andy's kit on low powered UZZ31 with stock 121 rwkw.
So all up it's looking pretty good.
Pattern maker is making the cast manifold pattern as we speak.
So start saving up - Still looking at $7500 Aud for the parts.
Andy Richardson's Supercharged Soarer is the M90 Eaton with a bypass valve similar to
this one:
http://www.myhps.com/hpssuper.html
If all fits under the bonnet no sweat. The standard ECU is ok with the 40 % power hike
after a couple of days of "learning" - now there's a black art.
The stock injectors while small (250 odd) are batch fired, not individually fired (this is
standard). That means they fire when the intake is closed to keep it the top of the valve
wet and help prevent buildup of deposits. And since there are eight of them instead of 6
they seem to cope ok.
The current Jaguar XKR supercharged V8 has the same rear wheel power as Andy's V8 at the
moment - we had our dyno day at Caulfield Jag and they told us the XKR also gets 170 odd
rwkw.
The MP112 used in the 4.2 litre jag and 4.6 litre Mustang would not be a better option in
the SC400.
The factory installation of the MP112 on these cars is on a low compression engine with
intercooling.
With a non-intercooled high compression SC400, 6 psi is close to the limit for long term
hassle free power with minimum cost - this is the best bang for buck.
No other supercharger can deliver 6 psi as efficently as the M90 series Eaton. You get 6
psi just about from idle, it is more efficient and has less drag than the larger MP112.
Fitting the MP112 in place of the M90 series means a heavier lump on top, greater drag on
the motor, less efficient boost and full boost coming in later.
But for bolt on reliable power the M90 (with a bypass) is hard to beat.
And yes there is a tyre wear problem (if you can call it that!). Because it is a positive
displacement blower, there is no lag, no waiting then BAM!, no build up of power. You get
BAM! straight off the line all the way to redline. It still has that nice naturally
aspirated engine braking and linear power delivery - no coming on boost, falling off boost
constant throttle/ part throttle of the turbo motor - it's no big deal - just a different
feel.
There was a Vortech centrifugal blower on a 1UZ-FE at the dyno day as well - at 6 psi, no
intercooling and custom ECU it also pushed out 170 rwkW. Was pretty noisy actually - you
could hear the Vortech working away - the Eaton was silent in comparison. Vortech builds
boost from zero to max at redline.
The Yellow line is a typical belt driven centrifugal compressor - like a Vortech.
Exhaust driven centrifugal compressors, called turbos, build boost better than a belt
driven one like the Vortech - but still no match for a positive displacement blower. The
red line is for a whipple twin screw positive displacement blower - similar boost curve as
an Eaton.
The Vortech was purchased 2nd hand from the states for $1600 Aud. On this custom car it
was an easier looking fit than on a Soarer, not so much stuff in the way such as a VAF.
More good reading:
http://home.att.net/~jroal/
Jim Roal's homepage - lots of supercharger
advice. It will take some time to read it all. This is one of the best pages on the
internet for straight up advice - Get yourself a cup of coffee, get comfy and read this
site.
It's a big site - if you don't know where to start
here are a few suggestions:
http://home.att.net/~jroal/qanda.html#Q1
Supercharger FAQ - gold! Jim answers common supercharging questions.
http://home.att.net/~jroal/repair.html
Like most modern cars you can't "tune up" an Soarer - change plugs and filters
and oil, troubleshoot and parts change for faults.
If only these guys did a kit for a Soarer - top quality stuff.
http://www.allenengine.com/faq-021016.html
Supercharge FAQ from Allen engineering. For example: Why is a smaller M90 better than the
larger M112 ?
Nice looking kit
http://www.allenengine.com/header5.html
A look at the M90 Eaton
http://www.allenengine.com/blowerpge.html
Allen superchargers - the best kits
Thrasher do GM 3.8 litre V6 engines - same as the
Commodore supercharged engine in Australia. The website is not updated - but here are some
good bits - the Eaton M90 is used as well.
http://www.thrashercharged.com/l67_htm/intercooler.shtm
http://www.thrashercharged.com/l67_htm/new_cooler.shtm
A look at intercooling for the M90 - won't fit under the Soarer bonnet - might be time for
a lump - I would consider this for sure. Any hole in the bonnet in South Australia
has to meet following, no forward facing holes, bonnet reinforcing not compromised and
must not obscure view.
These guys tried to port an Eaton - looks like
there is a lot that can go wrong. Probably not worth doing it yourself. Check out these
pages and the pictures of the Eaton in them.
http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/pr...intercooler.htm
http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/pr...harger_port.htm
http://www.zzperformance.com/zzp/in...owerporting.htm
I though this was interesting - looking at getting more flow from an M90.
Eatons came in various sizes and are fitted to cars besides V8's - here are some examples - same issues and benefits come up.
http://www.boosthead.com/probemazda.html
quote from the boosthead site:
"I recommend the Eaton SC supercharger system for automatic trans cars, as it
gives instant boost. The MX6 and 626 have less clearance for the driveshaft system used on
the Vortech/Paxton kits, so the Eaton or SSST is preferred for them. The Vortech/Paxton
superchargers and SSST turbo are better suited for the Probe GT 5-speed cars, although an
Eaton SC can be used. The Probe requires minor A/C dryer mods for the Eaton to fit. The
turbo will make more power at extremely high boost levels--above 15 psi--but up to that
point both SC and turbo work equally well."
endquote
Nothing to do with an SC but still interesting.
Andy is using a Terracharger - an Eaton M90 made under licence in Australia - I have only
heard good things about them. Kit includes a bypass valve. Terra charger is easier to
mount with through bolts.
I hope to have a prototype kit end of April - might bet it painted Black with an anodised
snout.
The Eaton on an V8 Soarer gives same peak power as mild LS1 5.7 litre engine with more
torque off the line. Enough power to give you second outright at the ALSC dyno day.
Whipple Twin Screw Superchargers
http://www.whipplesuperchargers.com/product.asp?ProdID=1162
These are great superchargers. If I was going to run 12 psi this is what I would use. But then I would need to lower the compresion of the engine and get some sort of engine management computer and the whipple costs twice as much as the Eaton M90 terra charger and is harder to mount. For low boost 6-8 psi the cheaper simpler Eaton can't be beat.