When (if?) I get a tC, I definitely plan on purchasing it with the factory (TRD) supercharger already installed. (Needless to say, its going to be a little while before I plan on actually purchasing a new vehicle, I am still in the "researching & dreaming" phase ;)) I've read some info about superchargers in general on this board, but some info seems to be contradictory. I don't know anyone with a supercharged car either (plenty of N/A modded cars though,) so here come the questions~

First of all, I want to keep my next car for a while, probably 10-ish years at the most. The tC appeals to me because it is basically a Toyota, which are known for reliability. Does a supercharged engine have a lot more reliability problems/less life? If so (I am assuming it has some effect,), how much of a difference over a stock setup or one with intake/headers installed?

It is true that you would have to run a higher octane rating vs. 87 with the engine supercharged- yes or no?

Also, what other popular engine mods can still be placed on the engine with a supercharger? Headers, or are they already replaced/modified in some way by the supercharger install? Does the supercharger completely take the place of a SRI/CAI? (I think it does, want to be sure.) Basically, I want to do a bit of DIY performance modifications for the first time, so I am curious to see what else I can fairly easily do beyond the pre-installed supercharger. I already plan on installing my own exhaust. My brother in law is a car nut and so is my dad, so I'll have some help too :)

And one last thing- with the increase in hp and torque, would there be any modification/upgrades necessary to an automatic transmission? (Yes I know, manual is more efficient and a lot of people here ridicule auto trannys- try to bypass that and keep the flames quenched :oops: I do plan on learning stick, but I'm still curious about the auto- that, and my wife is terrible at driving stick too hehe.)

I'm going to be very curious on the final pricing and performance numbers of the supercharger once it comes out. The tC definitely appeals to me, but so far the increases from I/H/E I'm seeing aren't that impressive, so I'm extremely interested in the S/C. It'll be interesting to see the price vs. performance of it vs. other vehicles in the price range which I'm also interested in at the moment :)

as far as reliabilty im not sure how that would be effected but here goes what i can answer

you would need to run a higher octane to comp for the higher compresion if not the fuel might combust prematurly

you can do header you can do intakes although they would need to be made for the sc and also replace the pully on the sc for more boost

as for the auto tranny im sure you wont need to mod it if you did the sc would be a realy pricy option from the dealer

sorry if i couldnt be of more help

Any answers are good answers, thanks! I was starting to think that my questions were either not as simple as I thought, or stupider than I thought :lol:

its no problem the only reason i know any thing about them is my friend just got a grand prix gtp about 5 months ago and we have been looking at moding options it seems like a new blower pully is the best mod for sc car

you will want to change your oil more often with any boosted car. consider running synthetic from the start of the car's life.

Pulley eh? Gotcha.

And you read my mind CivicEater, because I was going to ask a question regarding any extra maintenance necessary with a S/C installed. Other than changing the oil more often, is there any other frequent maintenace similar to that which is necessary for the S/C itself?

The only other question I've thought of is, will it make a difference in gas milage vs. a stock engine if driven the same? (and not with a lead foot like I usually drive :lol: )

Other than the reliability Q, that's all I can think of for now. Hopefully someone other than just me will learn from this thread.

Iridium spark plugs are nice because they run cooler and resist detonation a little bit more than platinums, provided you purchase a colder heat range. Changing ever 3k miles instead of 5 will also help.

Might I suggest that you consider the B&M tranny cooler if you want your auto tranny to last longer? The colder the better. And the B&M stuff doesn't cost that much.

If I'm right about TRD SC being a centrifugal SC, you may be okay, as far as MPG, in daily driving. Centrifugal SCs make most of their boost up top in the RPM range. So, for our tC, that'd be above 4000rpm. Anything less than that will be quite a small boost, and, therefore, not much more fuel.

Now, as far as octane, 91 minimum. TRD specs will say this most likely.

As far as upgrades, smaller pulley is good for quick HP gain, but you have to consider your Air/Fuel ratio as well. I'm pretty sure that TRD solution will come pre-programmed for certain boost and will control timing and fuel delivery for given boost. Just slapping on a higher boost pulley w/o considering changes in timing and A/F could be a disaster.

In addition, once you've solved the tuning problem, IMHO, whenever firced induction is applied to a car, few gauges are a must: A/F and boost (then EGT, coolant/oil temp, fuel pressure, etc...). So, I'd invest in that A-pillar 3-gauge pod and put at least A/F, boost, and temp gauge in there.

Lastly, on some cars (and with some boost applications), high-flowing exhaust components (cats, headers) can reduce boost. Keep in mind, that's all...

My few cents...

Lastly, on some cars (and with some boost applications), high-flowing exhaust components (cats, headers) can reduce boost. Keep in mind, that's all...

So its possible that headers and exhuast could actually lessen total HP rather than increase it with a supercharger installed? Eh.

The gauges are a good idea for sure. I took a look at those tranny coolers too, looks pretty interesting.

i sorry but i thought that the tc came with Iridium spark plugs. im almost sure its in the owners manual.

yes they are iridium plugs DENSO SK20R11 OR IFR6A11

go with IK20s or 22s then, that should help for boost.

First of all, I want to keep my next car for a while, probably 10-ish years at the most. The tC appeals to me because it is basically a Toyota, which are known for reliability. Does a supercharged engine have a lot more reliability problems/less life? If so (I am assuming it has some effect,), how much of a difference over a stock setup or one with intake/headers installed?
It varies from car to car, depending on the engine. My guess is you won't have to worry about much since it's going to be a factory option. Also, I've heard that they're only going to be producing somewhere around 5-8 lbs of boost. I can't remember exactly so someone please correct me if I'm wrong. There's no real way to tell how much of a difference intake/headers will produce compared to stock until Toyota releases some specs or someone dynos the car with the factory supercharger.

It is true that you would have to run a higher octane rating vs. 87 with the engine supercharged- yes or no?
Yes. The higher octane fuel will resist the detonation as the cylinder compresses better than 87 octane. If you fueled up with 87, you'd risk your engine not running well/problems.

Also, what other popular engine mods can still be placed on the engine with a supercharger? Headers, or are they already replaced/modified in some way by the supercharger install? Does the supercharger completely take the place of a SRI/CAI? (I think it does, want to be sure.) Basically, I want to do a bit of DIY performance modifications for the first time, so I am curious to see what else I can fairly easily do beyond the pre-installed supercharger. I already plan on installing my own exhaust. My brother in law is a car nut and so is my dad, so I'll have some help too :)
intakes and exhaust components are always very popular mods for forced induction cars. The supercharger does not take the place of an intake. The supercharger is basically an air compressor. The compressed air in the cylinders means you can use more fuel too, increasing the power of the explosion in there. Think of it like "doubling a recipe". The supercharger still needs to be fed air, so intakes are still an option. Be weary though. There's no rule that intake = hp. I have a WRX, and it's been shown that pretty much no intake offers many (performance) benefits over the stock intake. There are some exceptions, but those are generally with more heavily modded setups. Something you will definitely want to consider is engine management. I haven't really looked into it much yet, so I don't know what kind of tuning options are out there for scions.

And one last thing- with the increase in hp and torque, would there be any modification/upgrades necessary to an automatic transmission? (Yes I know, manual is more efficient and a lot of people here ridicule auto trannys- try to bypass that and keep the flames quenched :oops: I do plan on learning stick, but I'm still curious about the auto- that, and my wife is terrible at driving stick too hehe.) can't really answer this one. :?

On my old SR20DE - a quad throttle body intake is factory on the GTiR spec engine - it does make a difference (however its force fed). Big bore intakes on the EVO make a pretty nice gain as well. Some Eaton type S/C's bolt straight on the head tho, removal of the stock intake - suppose thats more on topic.

A really simple tune would be a SAFC - thats if the boost is keep in check with the inj capcity (sp)

In doing research for purchasing a new car ( evo MR, Sti , TC) I noticed people having problems with certain intakes on the evo. The intakes changed the airflow across the MAF Sensor and somtimes the ecu could not compansate fast enough. The effect was that the car stalled. This happened going from lowspeed to idle. The people ended upputing the stock intake back on the car and it ran fine . the moral of the story is,what ever mods you want, do lots of research. A few hp is not worth the headache of being unreiable.

Is that true? I am getting my exhaust installed today and I plan on getting intake as well. I'll have to do a little more research on this. I haven't heard of any problems like that with the TRD exhaust along with the AEM CAI. Thanks for the heads up.

if you're getting the factory option CAI and exhaust, you should be cool. This is only with aftermarket items...