Budget Supercharger Questions

[sumocrank]

Hey guys I just picked up a 95' SC400 after blowing my speed6 (stamped as 94' so I should have thick con rods?) so I'm brand new to this platform and I was doing a lot of research and I heard that you can use stock injectors/fuelpump/ecu paired with an M90 @ 6-7 PSI. Just looking to have reliable power without having to spend a lot lol. I was also looking into spitronics and I know theyre usually used in applications where they swap a 1uz into a completely different chassis but I was wondering if I could use it in my SC400 and probably have access to more power? Thanks for the help! and Sorry if this is stuff that's been asked in threads from years before. me kinda dum dum

 

[P Bateman]

Hi Sumo,
Maybe thick rods, maybe not - if your car is a MY95 but was built in late 1994, it may have the new engine which means thinner rods.

If you want a supercharger to deliver reliable power, I recommend a standalone ECU. Yes, it has been done on the stock ECU but personally I wouldn't it... and you definitely won't get the best out of it.

Timing will normally advance with RPM on a naturally aspirated engine - but timing needs to be retarded once you add boost. Stock injectors and fuel pump will have a limit and its always a risk pushing them close to their maximum capacity. Furthermore, you need to run a fairly rich air/fuel mixture on boost - and your stock ECU and air flow meter can only deliver so much.

Get it wrong and you won't need to strip the engine to find out what sort of rods you have. It will show you.

If you do choose to go with an aftermarket ECU, something else you'll need to consider is all the other ECUs in the vehicle that won't recognise a foreign ECU. Dashboard, traction control, ABS, suspension control - they all draw signals from the engine management system to operate. Take it away and they will not function correctly. You'll need to find a solution to retain full operation of these systems, otherwise you will have to live with warning lights and malfunctions.

Bite the bullet and get some injectors, fuel pump, fuel regulator and ECU to go with your supercharger. Make it even better with water/meth injection, extractors and exhaust to get the best results. Study each of the complimentary systems and find out what signals they need to run properly, or find an installer who is switched on and can do it for you.

This will give you a reliable setup.

Cheers,
PB

 

[sumocrank]

Thanks so much for the info! I checked the door sticker and it says it was manufactured in January of 94' so I think I've got the thick rods? Do you have any recommendations for fuel pressure regulators? I know 7MGE and RX7 Injectors work, and as well as Walbro 255LPH. So I'm guessing the spitronics will be a no go then, even if I can grab the TCU controller too I'd still have issues with all of these other systems? I want this as budget as possible so I guess from my findings I can run piggybacks or RRFPR's which probably won't mess with those systems. I've found if I pick up the spitronics ECU it would be like 1200 CAD shipped and it's also plug and play which helps out a lot with the wiring headache. Would I also need a wideband o2? Also I've found a pretty good deal from one of the users from this site with an M112 supercharger kit for around 1600CAD (still trying to figure out the shipping cost)

My current list would be:

-Upgrade Injectors (found a set of 550CC RX7 injectors for 150-200$)
-Upgrade Fuel Pump (150$ for the Walbro)
-Potentially Change out ECU or run FMU/RRFPR? (1200$ for the spitronics or a Vortech FMU for 450$ish)
-Potentially get an O2 Wideband to monitor AFR (330$ for an AEM kit)
-Supercharger kit 1600$ish

So it would equal out to close to 3k if I run FMU/RRFPR kinda which is not bad haha. Is there anything I might be missing?

 

[P Bateman]

Cheap | reliable | powerful
Hot | crazy | smart

Cars are more like women than you know!
You can only have two without sacrificing one.

I'm a bit biased when it comes to parts, as I have used the same brands for some time.
Turbosmart FPR + Haltech ECU (the Haltech can run your transmission as well and can be upgraded later when funds permit).

The RX7 injectors and Walbro Pump will be sufficient for the boost levels you can run on a stock engine.

PB

 

[sumocrank]

Hmm okay I figured this is what it might've come to. I want reliable power, might as well do it the right way. Maybe I'm getting way too ahead of myself right now lol. I'll stick to basic mods and just run a full bolt on for now until I figure this out haha. And reliable power ain't cheap.

Haltech I've heard good success, I think any aftermarket standalone ECU would work as long as I can control everything properly and I don't fudge up the wiring. Also I found out the guy who's selling that kit is kinda sketchy so I'm looking at brand new pricing now.

I'm guessing this whole project will run me 7k CAD which doesn't even include all the misc parts I have to pickup! Might keep an eye out on used parts and try to source everything slowly. For now, I guess bolt ons are the way, and I guess when I get bored of the auto tranny I'll consider a manual swap, which might be a whole lot cheaper as I can source junkyard trannys where I'm at. I've also looked into ITB's too but I probably won't be able to just bolt that in without upgrading things. Anyways I appreciate all the help PB, I wish I could achieve this but I've been crushed by all the money I have to spend to make it just a tad bit more fun aside from it's reliable side. Look's like it's bolt ons for me!

Oh and for anyone that picks up an SC and have this great idea to boost it, do it when you've got big money to lol. Because this is an expensive platform to boost. It kinda shocked me a little because on my speed6 I would be able to just grab a bigger turbo, upgrade the high pressure fuel internals and tune it for around 3k and get a whole bunch more power for much less haha

FBO, Manual swap, Cosmetics, is all you need if you're not rich and just looking for a fun ride.