chetta
02-12-2003, 10:22 AM
By Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News
Whether it's Porsche turbocharging its new Cayenne sport utility vehicle or Ford using a supercharger to stampede the Mustang Cobra, automakers and top tuners know that forcing air into an engine produces power.
"As expensive as it sounds, it's the cheapest way to obtain horsepower," said Bill Smulo, vice president of Street Concepts in Garden Grove, Calif., which builds customized cars and has begun production of installation kits featuring BorgWarner's new AirWerks turbochargers and Vortech Engineering's centrifugal superchargers.
Smulo's right: it does sound expensive. Mustang owners are the leading customer group for the installation of forced-induction systems, Smulo said. (Pickup truck owners are next, then those with Chevrolet Camaros or Pontiac Firebirds, and front-wheel-drive sport compacts are a booming new market.) A basic Mustang kit runs around $3,200, and Smulo says to figure on paying another $800 to have the kit installed.
But the payoff is a horsepower boost ranging from 35 percent to 100 percent.
Proper installation is crucial, Smulo said, and a turbocharger is more difficult to put in than a bolt-on supercharger. Both systems force air into the engine to enhance the combustion process, but they do it through different methods. The turbocharger recirculates exhaust gases to spin its induction blades. A supercharger uses an engine-driven compressor.
"Picking an installer can be difficult," Smulo said. "Anyone can install a kit, but doing the tuning, matching the ignition curves, the fuel curves, that's where the trick is. Experience is the key."
Smulo recommends talking with people who have had systems installed on their cars. Car clubs or auto enthusiast Web sites can be good sources to find such contacts.
For information on forced-induction systems, visit BorgWarner's Web site at www.turbodriven.com, or call (800) 787-6464). You can also try Vortech's Web site at www.vortechsuperchargers.com, or call (805) 247-0226. To see some of Street Concepts custom cars, click on www.streetconcepts1.com.
Larry Edsall is a Phoenix-based free-lance writer.
Whether it's Porsche turbocharging its new Cayenne sport utility vehicle or Ford using a supercharger to stampede the Mustang Cobra, automakers and top tuners know that forcing air into an engine produces power.
"As expensive as it sounds, it's the cheapest way to obtain horsepower," said Bill Smulo, vice president of Street Concepts in Garden Grove, Calif., which builds customized cars and has begun production of installation kits featuring BorgWarner's new AirWerks turbochargers and Vortech Engineering's centrifugal superchargers.
Smulo's right: it does sound expensive. Mustang owners are the leading customer group for the installation of forced-induction systems, Smulo said. (Pickup truck owners are next, then those with Chevrolet Camaros or Pontiac Firebirds, and front-wheel-drive sport compacts are a booming new market.) A basic Mustang kit runs around $3,200, and Smulo says to figure on paying another $800 to have the kit installed.
But the payoff is a horsepower boost ranging from 35 percent to 100 percent.
Proper installation is crucial, Smulo said, and a turbocharger is more difficult to put in than a bolt-on supercharger. Both systems force air into the engine to enhance the combustion process, but they do it through different methods. The turbocharger recirculates exhaust gases to spin its induction blades. A supercharger uses an engine-driven compressor.
"Picking an installer can be difficult," Smulo said. "Anyone can install a kit, but doing the tuning, matching the ignition curves, the fuel curves, that's where the trick is. Experience is the key."
Smulo recommends talking with people who have had systems installed on their cars. Car clubs or auto enthusiast Web sites can be good sources to find such contacts.
For information on forced-induction systems, visit BorgWarner's Web site at www.turbodriven.com, or call (800) 787-6464). You can also try Vortech's Web site at www.vortechsuperchargers.com, or call (805) 247-0226. To see some of Street Concepts custom cars, click on www.streetconcepts1.com.
Larry Edsall is a Phoenix-based free-lance writer.