Kraftwerks Supercharger vs CT-e

I have the PRL Turbo but if I could do it all over again, knowing what I know now I'd have gone CT-e supercharged. Either that or traded the car in for a Mazdaspeed3 or Focus ST which come turbo'ed stock
 
Shong1up said:
I have the PRL Turbo but if I could do it all over again, knowing what I know now I'd have gone CT-e supercharged. Either that or traded the car in for a Mazdaspeed3 or Focus ST which come turbo'ed stock
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Were you on the stage 1 or 2 kit from prl?
 
seagullfb6 said:
why exactly?
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Denis from PRL recommended the stage 2 and notes that most customers who buy the stage one almost always come back to buy the intercooler.

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When you're turbo'ed... Yes it's fast! I have 415whp motivating a 3000lb car. It's a lot of fun squashing M3 owners and then complimenting them that their "328 is really fast." It's really fun fighting the torque steer as you floor it and as far a fun FWD car goes, it gets the job done. But that's about it..

The cost of getting turbo'ed is expensive and you really need to add supporting mods so that car doesn't drive like crap. This means a stiffer clutch, better suspension, wider 235 tires and rolled fenders to shoe horn it in, 4 piston brakes, special spark plugs, Hondata Traction Control, chassis reinforcement and BUILT TRANSMISSION (trust me you're gonna need it.) Maintenance is a lot more frequent as the turbo needs a lot of oil to be happy. All in I spent about 20k on my build with installation costs plus tuning... And there in lies the problem. a 25k car with 20k in could've bought a certified C7 vette or a new STI loaded, after this much modding, the car is hard to return to stock to sell to someone else.

The CT supercharger is not that hard to install and the cost of acquisition is lower. With 325-ish whp on the 9th Si, it's still really fast. Full boost comes on right away at low rpms so you have the torque comes whoop about 90% of the cars you meet at stop light drag races. You don't have to do constant oil changes and is a lot less maintenance, without the wheel spin and about half the supporting mods. Simply put you can use all of it and it still gets the job done as a fun FWD car.
 
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Shong1up said:
Denis from PRL recommended the stage 2 and notes that most customers who buy the stage one almost always come back to buy the intercooler.

a5799e00521b8b53926cfaf6cd1794606e35a4b1.jpg


When you're turbo'ed... Yes it's fast! I have 415whp motivating a 3000lb car. It's a lot of fun squashing M3 owners and then complimenting them that their "328 is really fast." It's really fun fighting the torque steer as you floor it and as far a fun FWD car goes, it gets the job done. But that's about it..

The cost of getting turbo'ed is expensive and you really need to add supporting mods so that car doesn't drive like crap. This means a stiffer clutch, better suspension, wider 235 tires and rolled fenders to shoe horn it in, 4 piston brakes, special spark plugs, Hondata Traction Control, chassis reinforcement and BUILT TRANSMISSION (trust me you're gonna need it.) Maintenance is a lot more frequent as the turbo needs a lot of oil to be happy. All in I spent about 20k on my build with installation costs plus tuning... And there in lies the problem. a 25k car with 20k in could've bought a certified C7 vette or a new STI loaded, after this much modding, the car is hard to return to stock to sell to someone else.

The CT supercharger is not that hard to install and the cost of acquisition is lower. With 325-ish whp on the 9th Si, it's still really fast. Full boost comes on right away at low rpms so you have the torque comes whoop about 90% of the cars you meet at stop light drag races. You don't have to do constant oil changes and is a lot less maintenance, without the wheel spin and about half the supporting mods. Simply put you can use all of it and it still gets the job done as a fun FWD car.
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I love the description of the whole experience with your turbo'd car. It sounds like an absolute scream to drive.
Other than the $$$ I think if I went with some type of forced induction, I'd go turbo because of the extra potential in it. I'm the type of person, like many, who always would be looking for more.
I would love to be able to smoke an M3 or a Mustang or a Vette. :vtec:
 
JonnyRotten said:
I would love to be able to smoke an M3 or a Mustang or a Vette. :vtec:
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Then the fuel return line and running E85 is for you. I met a man named Harry sparks who has 630whp 9th gen and has gotten his civic under the 10's that's fast enough to beat the GTR nismo and a McLaren 720s
 
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What are the differences between stage 1 and 2 CT supercharged? Which one is more reliable for daily driving and less maintainence? and MPG difference?
 
seagullfb6 said:
What are the differences between stage 1 and 2 CT supercharged? Which one is more reliable for daily driving and less maintainence? and MPG difference?
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The only real difference is the pulley size. Smaller pulley = more boost = more power. Once you get to Stage 2 you will need bigger injectors, an aftercooler, and probably an upgraded clutch.
There is really no difference in reliability.

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Thx dpetro, im no where near cash to get a Supercharger, and my car is still under warranty. But down the line it looks like CT after all the reviews for sure.
 
seagullfb6 said:
Thx dpetro, im no where near cash to get a Supercharger, and my car is still under warranty. But down the line it looks like CT after all the reviews for sure.
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Just so you know, a supercharger won't void a warranty. If anything does happen to the car they would have to prove it was caused by the mod. As long as it is a "bolt on" part it should be fine. The only thing I know of that would void a warranty are aftermarket internal parts. At least that is what the service manager at my local dealership has told me about warranty work.
 
I have a kraftwerks supercharger running the 120mm on it with over 40k miles on it running strong still. a big issue with the rotrex units going bad deals with the 110mm pulley and over spinning it and bouncing it of the rev limiter constantly is belt driven so everytime time you hit your rev limiter the rotrex unit rpm drastically drop alongside you motor causing a lot of friction and wear and tear. take care of it of it don't over spin it and bounce it of the rev limiter
 

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igor gojkovic said:
DONT BUY KW KIT and end up like me. Right now, no car and no SC on it.

My experience:

I purchased the KW kit, 110mm pulley, along with a fuel pump, stage 1 clutch flywheel, Skunk2 downpipe, Skunk2 catback exhaust.

I had VITVIPET tune the car, and we ran it on one basemap which I drove the car for the whole day. Kept checking the oil, everything was great. I got the second map from VIT, i uploaded it and it was required that I do ONE WOT in 3rd gear from 1,700rpms to 5,500rpms. I drove the car like a baby knowing its not tuned all the way. When I got to do ONE WOT in the 3rd gear, 10 seconds after the belt made some crazy noise and the car shut off but I was able to pull over because I the car was rolling. The SC unit was smoking, the pulley of the rotrex was stuck. I am working with them right now as we speak and need to send my unit to Denmark as well, but I drove the car for ONE day. Haha. Thats how long the unit lasted.

I had 3 different mechanics come and go over the installation with me, SC Unit was primed right, otherwise it would not run for a full day. But that one WOT in 3rd gear, messed it up. So my experience is that it lasted one day. You are lucky that yours laster 16,000 miles, mine lasted about 200-300 miles. I have lost all respect for the entire company, SKUNK2, KreftWeft, and Grams. When the installation was complete, I couldn't start my car at first because one of the Grams 1000cc injectors was not working.

Guys take it from my experience, look on other websites as well, DONT BUY THIS KIT. You will be 5000$ in a hole and you lucky if you get 5,000 miles out of it. I got 300 miles as it failed after the second basemap. I am in the process of returning the entire system to them, I dont care what they say about their assessment that will be provided to me in 6-9 weeks, i am returning the system. KW supercharger is NOT RELIABLE, it is cheap and not worth spending money on it. If you dont want to listen to me and learn from my experience, go ahead and buy one and remember what I told you and you will see what will happen.

In the future I personally will never buy anything from Skunk2, Kreftwerks, Grams or anyone affiliated with their cheap company. I should of listened to everyone and went with CT-e. Now its too late, I am returning everything to them as we speak and I will sell this car and buy something else.

I would like to add one more thing, KW customer service is good. when one of the injectors was messed up, they sent it to me via next day air. I worked with their engeener named CJ, and he did provide great customer service. It is hard to get ahold of them, but they do respond via email. But the KW supercharger system, is absolutely terrible. The Rotrex Unit will not last you a while. You lucky if you get past the point that I did. Because it is just engineered using the cheapest and most unreliable material. If I listened to VITVIPER, he even told me to go CT-e but I wanted to get more power out of it and ended up getting nothing. Now, I dont have a car nor do I have a SC on it. Horrible experience and thats why I wanted to write this on here so that all of you know and that you dont end up like me.
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good to know
 
I would have to agree with Webby , when your spending that kind of money. I would want a track record of very few failures. You talking about totally screwing up the car and money wasted. We don't drive a civic because we are rich.
 
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