Well, the tC setup isnt too bad for a turbo with it being a 9.6:1 compression. Add a racing Headgasket and you could lower the compression. The SRT4 has an 8.1:1. So yes as you know the SRT4 was built for a turbo, but it wouldnt be too hard to lower the compression of the tC for a Turbo.

 

Actually, turbo setups are more likely to be intercooled because the turbine wheel heats the air going through the compressor side.

 

Compression ratios aren't the only thing to look at. Besides, some people who turbocharge their cars like to retain a somewhat mid-range compression ratio so as to keep power and boost response in lower rpm's.

Aside from the compression ratio, cars built for turbocharging generally have forged pistons and rods, longer piston skirts, stronger ring lands, and favorable rod ratios. I'm not sure on the specifics of our engines, but it's not likely that we have many of those things.

 

Isn't that a characteristic of any gas to warm up when you compress it?
The more you compress the more heat is generated. You can have a turbo setup with no intercooler if the boost is low...

 

sorry chief... a turbo is 10x more reliable than a blower... no internal gearbox to go bad, no strains on the crankshaft, no belts to break, etc...

ever seen a semi on the highway? you know, those big trucks that whistle when they go up hills? guess what, they ALL run turbos... and there isn't a vehicle on the road that does more annual mileage... diesel's are literally running at 30psi of boost for HOURS a day, every day... 500,000 miles in a year is not uncommon... turbos very rarely fail... i'd bet nobody on earth has ever put 500,000 miles in a year on a centrifugal blower...

as far as an intercooler goes, as the others stated, if you aren't running an intercooler on a boosted car you're missing the boat, regardless of how you get your boost... interesting story: back when my '94 Z28 was stock, i had a buddy with a vortech supercharged (non-intercooled) '94 Z28 also... if we'd just go out and race he'd (obviously) kick my ___ all over the place... however, if we would cruise around all night first and heat soak the crap out of his blower, the race would be doorhandle-to-doorhandle... after a while of driving, the blower is hot as hell, basically as hot as the engine... the air going through it is getting heated up regardless of whether you are building boost or not (trust me, i've datalogged this many times with my standalone, i'm not just guessing here)... with no intercooler to cool the air back down, you're pretty much just wasting your time...

that's why, when i built up my car, i added a custom intercooler to the vortech blower to keep the car's performance consistant... at a measly 15psi, the air temp coming out of my blower is 275 deg F... and that's just on a quick dyno pull... when the setup really gets heat soaked it's over 300... however, the actual air temps going into the motor have never gone above 170 deg F thanks to the intercooler... funny though, on my turbo car, even running 2 times the boost (28psi), i only see intake air temps of 110 deg F... apparently, my turbo doesn't know that it's inferior to a blower!!

 

A turbo is as cheap/reliable as its maker.

Having a debate about which is more/less reliable/costly is useless.

However, since Toyota is willing to keep the warranty for dealer installed superchargers, it seems pretty obvious that it will be pretty reliable. It is definitely the route to go for safe boosting. Even 2JZFan here can't deny that.

 

i can deny anything! :D

what i take from the fact that Toyota will offer a supercharger kit is that this constitutes "proof" that the engine internals, tranny, axles, etc. are up to the task of handling extra hp, regardless of how it's supplied... i.e. like most Toyota products, the tC is over-engineered... as i mentioned before, you can get more hp to the wheels, for the same engine stress-level, with a turbo vs. a blower... and the turbo has been proven to be long term reliable in many more OEM car and truck applications... (the closest thing besides this TRD blower to an OEM centrifugal blower is a Saleen Mustang)... but the blower isn't bad... back in my camaro days, my screenname used to be "NiceToBeBlown" and for the most part, that's true!

 

Not always the case.. My last turbo lasted me 125,000 before I sold it. I've seen turbo kits for $1500 for some cars. And not all turbos are both oil and coolant cooled.

BTW, who maintains a turbo or a supercharger? Nobody.

-dp

 

TC,
I wish you were right but realistically 60-70HP gain consitutes almost 40% improvement over naturally aspirated engine and that's an AWFULL lot both in terms of efficiency as well as ADDITIONAL strain on the powertrain, suspension, cooling abd even brakes etc. As you know, Toyota is under a guarantee contract with every owner so they try not to jeopardize durability and defectiveness of any of vehicle's systems...

All these seem very unlikely to me. I for one, would not drive this vehicle before upgrading brakes around the car. From 160 to 220HP, we are talking a BIG BIG difference. Let's see.

 

yeah if im gonna pay @ 4g's...i better be getting at least 70 hp out of it.....40hp would be retarted for that price....if it does blow 70 hp i might consider it instead of a turbo.....maybe

 

really, well then maybe i was the 1 millionth person chosen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.....this is what happens when diesel turbos fail....

 

Haha I remember when that diesals turbo went to hell and all that oil owned your Si..ouch man

 

When they say their shooting for 60-70 hp gain is that at the crank or wheels? how much toque?

 

I'm just posting so I can watch this thread. ;)

 

Since Toyota has agreed to install the SC without voiding the warranty and will also cover the SC itself w/ a warranty, it would make sense for them to run a relatively low amount of boost in the dealer-installed setup, I think a 40-50 HP boost sounds likely. From a marketing standpoint, Toyota only needs to match the RSX Type-S' HP @ 210 so a 50 HP gain would accomplish that (surpass it even if you consider the the 22 ft/lbs or torque the tC has over the Acura).

I don't have extensive knowledge of superchargers but I can only assume it would be easy to adjust the amount of boost from the TRD unit on your own, after the dealer-install, to raise the HP gain to the #'s a lot of you are hoping for. Basically, I think Toyota will run a low amount of boost with a wink and a nod so that they can safely warranty the TRD unit. That way, if there is damage to the engine as a result of a boost level higher than the dealer installed setup, Toyota will not be liable.

Maybe some of you with extensive SC knowledge, can let us know how easy it would be to raise the boost level on a unit like TRD's

 

Excellent point. Toyota will not jeopardize warranty costs for EXISTING owners of the car.
Nobody seems to know much about TRD's setup but as I suspect it will be a low PSI no-intercoller/wastegate setup?

It would be nice to learn more. On turbo cars you can easily adjust boost by adjusting wastegate (overboost release valve) however one thing is to change the boost level, another is to make it usefull and this is where we venture into the land of engine management... And that's not easy, however for its commercial setup Toyota will factor in such a huge safety margin that makin spec a little more aggresive will not hurt the engine's durability or emissions...

But this is all speculation, We have to see the production unit first.
Anyway I would rather get a less efficient Toyota production unit than one of these advertised on the web amateur setups with no warranties on the setup or the engine as a whole... Remember as long as it is OEM it is sellable....

 

[quote="k20a3epsi"]No too mention most of the aircrafts in the air: either turbo propeller or turbo jet setup... The whole turbo technology came from aircrafts, courtesy of a little Swedish airplane maker.... Who knows which one? (they make airplanes until now)

 

Two pages of info. Click on the more info link at the bottom of the first page for pics and more details!

http://www.trdsparks.com/displaypart...3&parts_id=634


Ken
www.trdsparks.com

 

It is as simple as changing the pulley to up the boost and then adding fuel via proper engine management to account for the extra air coming in. Jay S.

 

You got the drop-in K&N filter right? Do you have the K&N part number for it?
Also, did you remove the charcoal filter? Any improvement?

Thanks,

Stefan