Supercharged Daily Driver

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kenshin9

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Hi everyone. I've always wanted to own an Si, and I finally got a 2013 Si Coupe last year. But I've also always wanted to own a boosted car as well. I'm relatively new to it all, so I'm not quite caught up on all the different parts and what's necessary.

But I'm still looking for it to be my daily driver, and I'm not trying to race or anything like that. I'd just love for this car to have that extra pep. So I just wanted to be clear on what I would really need to get a stage 1 supercharger up and running. My car is currently all stock, and I'd like to think of it as if this was a factory supercharger that Honda installed. Good performance boost, but not going to be the fastest car on the road.

I've been looking into the CT Engineering Stage 1 Kit. Assuming I bought that and the Hondata FlashPro, is that all I would need at the minimum? What are your thoughts on that?

Thanks!
 
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With stage 1, they say you don't necessarily need an aftermarket intake, but it will definitely help it breathe instead of being restrictive. Also I don't think a 3" exhaust is totally necessary as well, but again, the engine will need to breathe to take advantage of the boost.
 
Hey there, welcome to the forum. Pretty beast first post,

From what i've a read I would say that the only other thing you may want to think about investing in is a good down pipe. These cars seem to respond really well to exhaust side modifications. Bang for the buck, get a DP and flash pro. Also, none of the intakes other than the massive PRL intake have shown any gains over the stock air box setup. So maybe get your money saved up for your S/C kit and get flash pro at the same time since you'll need it to operate the charger properly. A nice DP/exhaust combo and I bet you will have a very nice bump in power. Just my .02 but eh, might be worth saving a bit more and really getting that push you're looking for.

Suspension mods can add a lot to these cars also. A larger rear sway on the 2012/13 is one of the best handling mods you can do. Progress makes a very popular 22mm and a much more expensive 24mm upgraded rear sway bar. The 22mm can be had for less than $200 shipped.
 
I've been daily driving my car for over a year with the CTe supercharger. Over 15k miles. And not one hiccup.

I have the 3.15 pulley. Intake. Zdx tb. Skunk2 header. Full race exhaust. And it's great. Even with no aftercooler. Although I do have an aftercooler now which I just bought.

But still. I'd recommend it for a daily no problem. Plenty of pep. Enough to pass the "pace cars" on the interstate. You know what I'm talking about? That one jerk in a Camry doing 45 in the passing lane. And when you go to pass him he speeds up to 75 so you can't. Lol. Yes. That guy stands no chance. By the time he realizes I'm going to pass. I'm already doing 70mph passed him. Lol. It's amazing how mad they get. Then tailgate me at 80 even though they were just doing 45
 
I'm running an after cooled Cte with a 2.95 pulley as a daily driver. The only annoying thing, which doesn't bug me, is that my intake and catless exhaust make a lot of noise.

If you stuck with stock downpipe you'd leave power on the table, but it would be way more quiet and less stinky. Myself, I'd rather have the power, but I can totally see the other side of the fence...
 
Awesome, thanks for the replies everyone! Yeah, I would normally love the power, but I'm willing to sacrifice some power for less noise and smell. Now I just need to save up.
 
The new kits for the 9th gen should be pretty much bolt on and go get a solid tune with flashpro.

My 9th gen is stock, but I do have some experience with superchargers since I have one on my 6th gen.

There are different types of superchargers. There are positive displacement superchargers (like the CT-E) that bolt to a specially made intake manifold, then there are centrifugal superchargers (Kraftwerks) that mounts the charger to a special bracket and run a turbo like intercooler setup to your choice of intake manifolds. Each system is belt driven off the crank pulley and requires a certain draw of horsepower to spin the supercharger under boost. You spend power to make power and torque.

Advantages of superchargers are almost instant boost. You put your foot down and the boost is right there, disadvantages being heat. compressing air creates heat which if not controlled will cause detonation. The kraftwerks kit has an intercooler to help manage this. The CT-e does not which limits the amount of boost you can create before heat becomes an issue. Some companies have produced aftercoolers for this to help drop temps and allow higher boost levels but this adds to the cost.

Other things you may want to consider upgrading before or at the same time as your supercharger install:

1: Exhaust & DP - you can cram more air into the engine but if it doesn't have an efficient route to exit you will not make the power you could. If your area has emissions get a DP with a cat it wont rob you of that much power and you will have fewer headaches when it comes time to be inspected.

2. Larger Injectors - More air necessitates more fuel. I'm not sure what the stock injectors flow rate are but you always want to have some cushion room so that they are not operating at max capacity under full load.

3. Upgraded clutch - Again not sure what the stock clutch is rated to but with more torque you will need more clamping force to keep the clutch from spinning even when engaged.

4. Brakes - going faster is great but if you cant stop there's a bigger problem. I would recommend at least a set of performance pads in the front to give that extra bite and resistance to fade under high stress application. Others might also recommend upgrading the fluid to keep it from boiling under extreme load.

5. Gauges - this is not needed with a spot on tune, but its always nice to have an idea of what your oil pressure , water temp, and boost/vac are. No need for elaborate setups anymore either. I believe flash pro now has Bluetooth and Hondata offers a free app that will let you monitor your engine.

Again these are all just things to consider. The kits are basically designed so that you can bolt them on and get a tune and have years of worry free spirited driving. The boost bug is a powerful thing though and once you get started it becomes hard to stop, you want more. At the minimum if the injectors and clutch are capable of handling the stage 1 kit just ensure you get a quality tune this will effect your gas mileage and reliability, but there is no reason you cant make a high performing daily driver setup.
 
Great posts guys. I too have a few questions. I know heat is an issue. I was thinking about the stage 2 cte with no after cooler for now and then get it later. Others on the other forum say, get the after cooler if you are worried about longevity and your engine.
Oil, what do you guys run?
Clutch, are you guys running the stock clutch?

I'm at 225-230whp with my mods and would love to boost!
 
Very quick rundown of my setup:

Vittuned 2.95 pulley
Vittuned aftercooler
3.5" PRL CAI
ZDX TB
Vittuned TB adapter
1000cc injectors
colder spark plugs
dw65c fuel pump (I think that's the one we used) <-- Don't mess around here if you go stage2, my understanding is the stock pump will work, but not for long before failing
Full-race catless DP & exhaust

Vit tuned everything on the dyno with intake temps over 100 degrees. I made 305hp on 92 pump gas, and then he backed my timing off just a bit for a margin of safety.

I have a Exedy stage 1 clutch. Vit had a stock clutch let loose in at least one similar car, so I didn't want to mess around and this clutch comes very highly recommended by him and others. I have to say, it's a bit stiffer than stock and my engagement point is closer to the floor (probably could adjust that somewhat), but otherwise it's just like driving on the stock clutch, but holds the power just fine.

As far as driver advice/etc... I also upgraded my brake pads and fluid. Carbotech XP10/XP8 pads front/back and Motul RBF600 fluid. I did this because I caused the factory pads to smoke significantly with some spirited driving on some backroad twisties... I'm happy with the setup and don't mind the extra attention I get when people look over and realize I'm not a dump truck. Oh, and a rear motor mount is a MUST. I also did this before. Hasport 62a and it works great for me. I've got some Boomba dogbones for the top that I haven't put in yet, but need to as I still get some wheel hop that I'm hoping they'll even out.

Regarding gauges. I agree, go with something like Torque on an Android phone, or the equivalent on an iPhone... You could go to dedicated gauges, and it's honestly not a bad idea at all, but I personally don't feel it's necessary and usually don't even use gauges on my phone. I also always carry my bluetooth OBD2 adapter in the car, so in a pinch I can do some on-the-spot fault analysis... YMMV there though, I've been fixing cars due to being a cheapskate for many years, and google is great for common issues...
 
I've own both the Merc racing aftercooler and now the Vit aftercooler. I used the Merc while on a 3.15 pulley and now have a vit aftercooler with the 2.95. If you will be going smaller than 3.6 pulley then you should add an aftercooler. Both work well.
 
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