Electric Supercharger?!?!, Anyone tired this? Options

[king_wsk]

I've been thinking about the concept for some time. Boost like NOS w/o the wear on the engine. I did some research and I found two products that could work. First is E-RAM. $300 for 1psi, 831watt motor for WOT only powered from the standard electrical system, only 4-6% boost.

The other product is http://www.boosthead.com 's ESC electric supercharger which generates 5-6psi... $1700, not including lots of needed parts. Its a centrifugal blower powered by an 8hp electric motor that runs off a seperate electrical system (2 deep draw style batteries). They say you shouldn't run the boost more than 15 sec unless you have special cooling for the electric motor. They estimate you'll get about 10 min of max boost on a full charge (spread out into a few days of 15sec bursts here and there).

I really like the concept and for the extra 50-80hp with no lag, I'm really considering it. Its just more money than I want to spend. And being that we are FWD, that no lag = spinning tires, especially since I still have my stock 15" 205's. So I'm thinking about designing a similar system that wouldn't require an ECU or extra injectors and wouldn't cost more than $500-750 total and maybe product 2-4psi. I've been looking at some centrifugal blowers, most of the high CFM + pressure run on 230VAC and in the 5amp+ range. This would require a heavy duty inverter, so this is probably out of the question.

What I'm really looking for is a mechanically driven centrifugal blower that I could attach my own 12v electric motor to power it. Any ideas?

Or should I just forget about FI entirely and focus on other things first? I'm thinking that a programmable ECU/boost controller might be a good investment as I might be able to get hp just running NA and then still reuse it after I decided to go FI.

I really do like the concept of having a "turbo" button... but not the dangerous side-effects of NOS.

[phattyduck]

I probably shouldn't even touch this... but...

You can turbocharge your car for pretty cheap - and do it safely if you are careful and do it *right* the first time. A few members here have many safe miles on their turbocharged 5s-fe motors (and others have blown their motors quickly...).

A small (35 shot, maybe?) amount of nitrous (btw, NOS is a name brand...) is very safe. I'm not quite sure why you are so afraid of it.

Risk of blowing your motor is pretty much proportional to how much power your motor is making and how good your tuning is. It doesn't matter much where you get the power - more power is extra strain on your motor and associated components.

-Charlie

[king_wsk]

IMO there are two things wrong with doing a 5s-fte. One is the amount of down time required. I only have one car. #2 Cost. I spent $3,500 getting the car and $2,000 in fix-ups / extras. I don't really want to spend too much more on it, mostly because it is FWD and I'm running 15" / 205. I'd certainly need to get some bigger tires to actually use the added HP... more $$$. Don't get me wrong, I love the body design and how it handles and with my intake and exhaust it sounds wonderful and has great responce. But Its FWD and I'm thinking about getting something RWD or AWD and then spending the big bucks on it.



If I could turbo it for under $2,000 (total, including new tires), then I'd probably do it. I'd probably have to get a bike or something.... my work is 4.7 miles so I could probably just bike it. The other thing is that I don't have access to a shop with the right tools I'd need, let alone have the experience to do such a major mod.

If I do end up keeping the car when I get something new, I'll probably want to turbo it then and money probably won't be an issue. So with the knowledge that I might possibly turbo it... maybe if I started buy parts that I could use now to increase performance, yet could still use when I do go all the way.

I'm really thinking about a boost controller. Could I actually take advange of that now and then still re-use it later?


ohh and to answer your question about Nitrious, I don't like the idea of having to purchase it and keep on recharging the tank.

[n1ckz0r]

dude I was actually considering the electronic supercharger for a while, as I was in the same situation i didnt have the down time for a turbo install and i didnt want to spend the money. But you can more than likely pile the parts together for like 1500 leaving 500 for tires or wheels which you can easily get used. I dont know this is only my personal opinion and i havent done it yet but thats what i plan to do in May.

[x_itchy_b_x]

do it right an just turbo ur car. don't waste ur time with turbo wannabes that aren't meant for cars at all. 5-6 psi woah my god. don't waste your time.
a 5sfte can be had for cheap done cheaply it can also get expensive doing it right. just like the difference between those two electric fans.

also doing a 5sfte can be done in a few hours if you know what to do.
even a whole weekend if you need the time. When i did my 1st 5sfte a while back i did it Pretty cheap lol. only 1400 for everything off ebay getting good prices. im sure you could get a 5sfte done for your $2k goal BUT tires don't make a turbo car run so take the tires out of ur budget.

basically don't get caught up in the hype of getting HP quick and cheap from a fan. but thats just my .02

[phattyduck]

I don't really want to spend too much more on it, mostly because it is FWD and I'm running 15" / 205.

There are plenty of FWD cars with 15"/205 tires that have over 200hp with no problems, just keep that in mind. (my Camry has 270hp and 16"/205 summer tires without serious traction issues)

We are all telling you that you will disappointed with the performance of any electric-based forced induction.

You can do a low-boost 5s-fte for less than $2k if you know what you are doing. You can do a small nitrous kit for $600 or less...

It is all up to you though - we have given our opinions.

-Charlie

[6th_celi_vert]

While your at it, you should pick up one of those front mount intakes that looks like an intercooler.

[soulshadow]

Turbo, superchargers = COMPRESSED AIR
Electric chargers = air being blown by a fan~

Perhaps a leaf blower would make a better turbo?

[rzanology]

no real downtime for 5sfte...mine was done in a weekend with no problem. providing one knows that the hell he or she is doing.

[kriz45]

Turbo, superchargers = COMPRESSED AIR
Electric chargers = air being blown by a fan~

Perhaps a leaf blower would make a better turbo?

ya i have one of thoes "sweet cool electric superchargers" in my car. the previous owner put it in. and i dont notice a difference when its on or off. i think it just takes up space.

[Punisher]

Heh.. U won't win any races w/ 5 to 6psi.. plus the added weight of the batteries.. "electric superchargers" are a fricken joke.

[sinner96ST]

It's not cost effective, at all.

If there was some legitimate way to add boost to a car without messing with turbo's or superchargers, everyone would be doing it. If you've got a 5sfe, you can easily use 3sgte parts which are *all over the place* to turbo your car, consider yourself lucky. Everything with the ST has to be custom, pretty much.

This post has been edited by sinner96ST: Dec 29, 2006 - 11:03 PM

[slvr_celica_GT_8...]

yeah i was considreing one of those electric superchagers too but like they said it anit worth it, id turbo my car if i had an extra daily driver

[n1ckz0r]

It's not cost effective, at all.

If there was some legitimate way to add boost to a car without messing with turbo's or superchargers, everyone would be doing it. If you've got a 5sfe, you can easily use 3sgte parts which are *all over the place* to turbo your car, consider yourself lucky. Everything with the ST has to be custom, pretty much.

I KNOW! I have to custom make a manifold from a honda b16 engine and a flange... that suxors... just do it right man.

[tin_foil]

wow.......okay, before you go wasting your money, you need to do some research and learn a little more about forced induction. These electric supercharger things are a freaking joke...some scammers idea of making easy cash. Here's a pretty hilarious write-up about it, if you don't believe me.
http://www.homemadeturbo.com/tech_projects...ower/index.html
Also, I don't know why you think you need new tires. Turbos don't spool up till around 3-4.5k rpms. Which means your car isn't going to be any faster off the line...which means no more wheel spin then now. Honestly, it sounds to me like your just want some cheap, easy hp. In which case I think you should hook it up for a 35 wet shop of NOS. That'd hardly be hard on the motor, it'd be cheap (approx. $300-$400 installed your self, $600-$800 by a decent shop), and it'd give you a nice rush whenever you wanted to really punch it. Lastly, I'll recomend once again...do your research before you go getting ripped off or wasting your money on something you won't be happy with.

[n1ckz0r]

While your at it, you should pick up one of those front mount intakes that looks like an intercooler.

LOLOLOL