Thanks Zoom! I was beginning to sweat! 8)

Welcome home everyone!

 

Speaking of blown engines, I never hear horror stories about Pettit SC'd motors being blown. Is there a somewhat even number of cases and I have been missing it?

Am I right in saying that when it comes to the Renesis it tends to be safer to run the SC over the turbo, no matter what turbo kit your looking at?

I keep battling with myself back and forth about which one to buy. I have always preferred turbo's to SC's because of the torque and I like how they are quieter when just cruising, also the ability to turn boost up or down on the fly, but I like my motor to be safer over those amenities.

I think if the Pettit was $3800 like the Greddy I wouldn't be battling with my self so much but you get what you pay for...

 

It really doesn't matter that much. It all depends on your tuning, driving tendencies and mechanical skills. A stock OEM renensis was not designed to be FI anyway and by doing so you run the risk of catastrophic failure. That also applies to most OEM engines in general.

 

Supercharged RX8

 

It seems to me that the majority of Pettit SC installs are done by people with some mechanical aptitude and knowledge of the kit + the renesis . Also The Pettit kit comes with a flash tune which should be pretty close to being "safe" .

Conversely the majority of Greddy turbo installs are done by people with little knowledge of the renesis and the engine management that comes with the kit is unsatisfactory . That plus the ease with which one can "turn up the boost" is why we see so many turbo failures in comparison to SC failures - IMO .

All things being equal it makes little difference SC or Turbo . However it does get more dangerous as you make more power - which is another reason we see more turbo failures .

 

i have seen a couple of boosted cars that didnt pay enough attention to the supporting mods for ignition, fuel supply and cooling.
OD

 

Superchargers are easier to tune and Pettit tunes them to last.

You can go much closer to the edge than a "stock" SC Pettit tune.
/ and do stupid things....
//Like bursting to 15 to1 under load.... (once)

 

I did figure the SC was easier to tune and I ca understand how nice it is not to have to worry about spikes in boost from wastegates not operating right.


I was thinking of having my motor rebuilt by RX7store because it's only around $2500 with minor porting and replacing the apex seals with some that can handle more boost, and then going FI. I figure even without FI the rebuild would give me an extra 20 hp (with a good Cobb tune) to hold me over till Pettit time.

Do you guys think it would be a waste of time to do the rebuild and just go straight for the Pettit? Or do you think, like it says on Pettit's site, the kit is capable of 350 rwhp with a good rebuild?

 

depends on what you want?
Rick E told me the stock apex seals are fine for low boost applications and actually doesnt like
ceramics unless the engine is built for a special high performance purpose in mind.
Rick said it is all about the clearances and a few "other" special things he does
If your engine has good compression-- then I say dont do rebuild--just get the kit and good support systems (cooling, ignition etc)
OD

 

I read about your motor blowing a little while back because of the clips on the injectors, and your response to your rebuild sounded really good. What shop is Rick at?

I think I'm just going to do what your suggesting. If I went turbo I would want the rebuild before hand, but with the Pettit I feel confident to use the stock internals.

I'm going to have RX7store dyno tune my car after I get my Cobb and then I will see if my motor is still strong after 55k miles.

You guys have any thoughts on me keeping in my Mazsport ignition with the Pettit? Sounds like everyone has a bad opinion on the kit these days.

I haven't had a problem with it after about 20k miles but that is without FI.
I'll drop it and get a BHR if necessary.

 

Turbo guys will tell you to go turbo.
Supercharged guys will tell you to get a blower.

Mechanically, there isn't much difference between a turbo and supercharger. They're both air compressors powered by different means that essentially do the same thing: force more air into the engine. From what I've read where owners go wrong is the tuning. Apparently Pettit has a pretty good tune going for them, but I'm sure if you plugged an E-manage into the equation you'd get the same results as some turbo owners who used the E-manage. I've heard great things about the Pettit kit. Seems like a turn-key package (hard to find a turn-key turbo kit AKA Greddy). Just keep doing research and before you buy anything get a compression test.

 

Esmeril Racing has recently made some modifications to their turbo kit and it looks pretty solid, especially with an AccessPORT. Precision Turbo makes very high quality turbochargers so unless you are completely set on a supercharger I'd at least look into the Esmeril kit (which is on sale btw). Can't see you going wrong with either Pettit or Esmeril.

 

greddy turbo and pettit both get the same job done almost at the same psi (pettit low and high belts vs greddy stock and boost controller hi)

pettit costs more up front, but greddy costs more to get dependable

in the end the cost evens out.

just depends on the driving style you want

 

pettit has a good tune and its a flash.
Personally i --like you --like the constant flow the sc puts out.
Nothing wrong with a good turbo set up--just like what folks are saying.

I run the oem coils with a hks twin power and it has worked well so far. I tried the ls2 coils and it did not do a thing for me. Maybe they will last longer--dont know? But, coils have gotten much cheaper now so I have stayed with my set up.
One of the most important things concerning ignition is the connections--make sure they are the best you can get with the proper connectors.
The Pettit set up relocates the coil pack, so they are not as exposed to the engine heat. That probably helps some.
If you decide to go Pettit let us know. There are a lot of little things that we can suggest.
OD

 

I think I probably will go with the BHR ignition because I have heard a lot of really good reviews and the opposite when it comes to FI with my Mazsport. I will say that without FI I did feel an increase in power especially in the lower RPM's, so I'm not by any means giving it a bad review in my current setup.

The Pettit's attention to detail is such an extraordinary feature (like the relocation of the coils for cooling), so I find it hard to look at any other kit. Also the fact that the motor retains it's "stock like" power band just shows me that the SC doesn't force the motor to operate with different ergonomics than it was originally intended too.

My job just authorized me to take a company vehicle home so I won't need to buy a winter vehicle, also I can now be O.K. with some downtime while I do the install.

The only thing left to do now is save up the rest of the money.

Never been a big SC fan but it almost seems suicidal to not choose it with our motors.

 

Have you actually driven one? That is to say, you are describing something that I'm wondering if you have actually experienced.

 

*Sits back with popcorn*

 

why? its a perfectly reasonably question to which most people can only say NO. as far as the e-fighting that always ensues, its way beyond fun, interesting, or amusing. people who dont get why and how they both do the same thing but it different ways, and what that really means... well, they arent usually bright enough to know the difference from the seat anyway

 

One word...

sawzall.

 

its ok to like one system over the other, but lets not blow smoke up our own asses. the pettit is NOT a plug and play setup, there are some large deficiency, and unfortunetly they do not receive the support the Greddy ones do, however they are less catastrophic.

all the BS about stock ergonomics is just that, BS. any engine will continue to produce more and more power with infinate mounts of fuel and air, up untill they fail due to over-revving, or the HP produced overpressures seals and blows the motor.

just because the SC introduces boost over a wider RPM range, but more gradual than the boot in the pants turbo spool feel doesnt make one better than the other. the car doesnt dislike boost spikes, its a peice of metal, an engine naturally wants to produce more power. so lets not lose focus of quantifiable points of comparison.

this is all coming from a man who is switching out a greddy turbo kit for a pettit supercharger just to do something different, i love my greddy, and am super excited about the pettit install shortly. nothing is more frustrating than the circle jerk of self serving facts

 

Well this is usually where the OP defends his position in some way or form (usually logically) and MM contradicts this, that, and the other and I walk away more educated than when I arrived. So yeah, I enjoy reading the debates.

 

Have you actually driven one? That is to say, you are describing something that I'm wondering if you have actually experienced.

 

My experience with superchargers is that in the car they feel quite "peaky". I wouldnt describe the power onset as gradual at all. With power being directly tied to RPM the HP chart usually looks like a right triangle.

 

I have driven lots and lots and lots of all different configurations.
With the exception of the ones tuned by other people (which usually feel like a bull-ride), the experience is thus:

Stock: go go go GO GO go
Pettit: go go go go go GO GO
GReddy: go GO GO GO go go
3071r: go GO GO GO GO go
3076r: go GO GO GO GO go
big turbo: go go go GO GO GO

 

lol That is the best power description chart ever!