Local Supercharger Expert - ISF

[Sparky]

I have been looking more and more into the options of developing more power for my ISF, and have dreamed of supercharging a car since i was a little fella.. The noise, the torque, the instant torque i should say, the whole package is the dream. I dont like the "bling" of the RR Racing package for the ISF, it's too obvious, too intrusive, and a lot of fuss for something running such low boost. In my opinion anyway.

So, i don't know whether or not any here are familiar with a company called "Bullet" who specialise in superchargers, and who actually have a further specialty in Toyota / Lexus products. This is them:

http://bulletcars.com/

So they were best known a while back for shoe-horning the Toyota V8 into the MX-5 body, and then supercharging it. These little track weapons were rocket ships, I always had a soft spot for them!

Bu i digress, i got in contact, and though they warned it would be the first one they have done, with the expected delays and costs in producing something like this which would essentially be treated as a "one off", its definitely possible. Here are the best parts of their reply:

• Harrop HTV 1900 supercharger - low profile, looks factory, great product used all around the world.
• Huge increase in low RPM torque and power
• Same reliability
• THE ENGINE COVER STAYS ON!!! OVER THE CHARGER!!!

So its the real deal, looks factory etc etc, huge power increase, uses the factory intake system. Sounds amazing right? Well all except for the cost, $16,000 or more as an estimate.. Because it will be the first, it will be expensive. So, who else wants to get a kit, come together and potentiall reduce costs? I am interstate fo the company also, and couldnt be the guinea pig, but anyone want to be?

Its a lot of money to spend on a car worth what they are these days, but once done, what a weapon..

I have attached a photo of a Lexus 430 which they did, cover back on, no one is the wiser. Except those behind you. 

[Guest]

Looks great! shame I'm in a blackhole of debt repayments for 4 years now lol.

[Sparky]

This is a good one to read, down the bottom:

http://bulletcars.com/superchargers/toyota/toyota-lexus/soarer-v8-ls400-uz31-uz32-celsior-crown/

So once the kit is developed, the price will be FAR lower, if we come together on this, get some people interested, it will be a game changer!

[LTuned]

It look a lot neater than the RR racing one,  probably around the same price.   it would be a lot of fun to have,  but sadly not for me. 

[Sparky]

22 minutes ago, LTuned said:

it would be a lot of fun to have,  but sadly not for me. 

Blasphemy!! Of course its for you John, this has your name written all over it  haha!

If it was $10k i would guinea pig it for sure.

[2bling]

Interesting BUT no intercooler and who will tune it ?? you know you want it though

[Sparky]

9 minutes ago, 2bling said:

Interesting BUT no intercooler and who will tune it ?? you know you want it though

It has a water to air intercooler like the ones HSV / Holden etc use, inside the unit. Hence the cost is a bit higher than the entry units. Its got all the bells and whistles, without attracting attention from the fuzz 

They tune them all themselves, and do a good job!

[LTuned]

2 hours ago, Sparky said:

Blasphemy!! Of course its for you John, this has your name written all over it  haha!

If it was $10k i would guinea pig it for sure.

The supercharger does look good, & yes it would be great fun to have, but I have something else to spend money on.  I purchased another vehicle in April this year, I picked up a demo 2016 Toyota FJ Cruiser.    and it needs some extra bits, to turn it into an adventure fun machine, for us & our dog to do some travels.

A bull bar, winch & uhf radio are going to be installed next Monday, & more stuff to follow.   So the ISF will have to wait for its next expensive accessory.

[Sparky]

Very nice! From what I have read/heard they are an extremely capable car. And it’s nice to have one toy and one practical car!

 

[LTuned]

It’s a fun vehicle to drive, & it’s great having a vehicle that I don’t mind if it gets dirty.   I’d like to get out to the corner posts of the states, the Simson desert, or down by a nice river for lunch somewhere.  The FJ (Tonka truck) will do it easily.  The good people at Lexus of Chatswood service are looking after it for me.      I’ve still got the GS as well, I’m turning into a car yard.

[BLK ISF]

Have to admit, Ive had a turbo for ages and now a v8 but never a supercharger.  The whine alone is tempting.

Timing is everything and whilst id never rule it out, its not for me at this point.  Id never rule anything out, I thought id only spend a few k on my WRX but spent well over 20k on that so you never know with the ISF.  

I like thats its rate and not common but it hits our wallet harder as most workshops are not investing any R&D into them as its not worth it.

Would love to see someone bit the bullet and do it though, that or turbo/twin turbo like the AMG's etc

[Peterkay]

Funny enough i spoke to these guys today. For one ISF it is 20 grand for an estimated extra 100kws at the wheels. Massive gains in any ones terms but faaarking expensive too. Ahhhh off now to dream anyway of having 380kw at the wheels 

As for a group buy/fitting we would need more than 10 us to get a little relief in the wallets.

[BCHLER]

Guys we have to leave emotion at the door and consider all the additional costs/potential pitfalls:

* tuning. There will most probably have to be an AM computer involved. Remember how hard it was to crack our ECU and that RRRacing were one of the only ones to do it - this component alone is approx $2500

* I’m hearing $16k from one person and $20k from another - with initial builds the budget and timeline will blow out!! Also chance for the builder to get half way through and say “it’s the first one, I thought we could, but it can’t be done” .... but I still need to be paid for all my R&D and time spent on the tools

*does this account for oil coolers, transmission coolers etc? These all add up

*our engines couldn’t handle much more boost as we run such high compresssion

* I’d rather give my car to someone that’s already put in the time for R&D themselves, not where I’ll be paying for it. Remember labor is around $120-$160 per hour... you do the math. There will be a lot of fab work needed.

dont want to burst anyone’s bubble, just trying to be realistic. Feel free to challenge me on any of the above , I’ll be happily proven wrong 😊

[2bling]

GO for it if they can tune it what's holding you up ( and don't say your legs) 

There's a bloke putting a RR supercharger on the UK forum and no change out of 10000 pounds 

[Sparky]

3 hours ago, BCHLER said:

Guys we have to leave emotion at the door and consider all the additional costs/potential pitfalls:

Completely agree!

* tuning. There will most probably have to be an AM computer involved. Remember how hard it was to crack our ECU and that RRRacing were one of the only ones to do it - this component alone is approx $2500

If RR Racing can crack the chip for a supercharger, there are others in the forum with a tune already, an Australian tune (including me)

* I’m hearing $16k from one person and $20k from another - with initial builds the budget and timeline will blow out!! Also chance for the builder to get half way through and say “it’s the first one, I thought we could, but it can’t be done” .... but I still need to be paid for all my R&D and time spent on the tools

Absolutely agree, always risk to not complete and costs could get scary.. But i believe this guy would deliver. Look at their other work.

*does this account for oil coolers, transmission coolers etc? These all add up

Not needed unless tracking the car, and if you track the car you should get these anyway.

*our engines couldn’t handle much more boost as we run such high compresssion

Yes, they feel 6psi would be max (same as RR Racing, and same as the 6.4 Hemi superchargers they do.

* I’d rather give my car to someone that’s already put in the time for R&D themselves, not where I’ll be paying for it. Remember labor is around $120-$160 per hour... you do the math. There will be a lot of fab work needed.

If there was a saving (even perceived) with using RR Racing, i would go for it. Problem is, after shipping and currency conversion, there probably isnt. And compare the installs, one looks like it belongs in a street car mag (fine for many, maybe Im old?!) and one could have come from factory.

dont want to burst anyone’s bubble, just trying to be realistic. Feel free to challenge me on any of the above , I’ll be happily proven wrong 😊

I actually feel you on every point, it isnt simple, and realistically the car already is quick with full bolt ons (almost), so all the extra power is probably a waste of money and unnecessary. But that's probably what RR Racing were told a couple hundred times, someone just has to jump in!! (bags not me) haha!

 

Comments above :-D

[Sparky]

1 hour ago, 2bling said:

GO for it if they can tune it what's holding you up ( and don't say your legs) 

There's a bloke putting a RR supercharger on the UK forum and no change out of 10000 pounds 

There is always someone out there with the deep pockets willing to push the boundaries, that fella from the UK is about 25k pounds into the mods now. Bloody norah. 

The tune is something which concerns me, whether or not it would have to be an aftermarket module, which doesn't interest me in the slightest..

[2bling]

I think you should give RR a email explaining what you propose and see if they can help out with a custom tune, even if you have to send the ECM to them good luck. 25k ouch!!

[18ADF]

I spoke to bullet back in 2014 when I purchased my isf. They were very hesitant and couldn’t garuntee it would be successful, with a top mounted setup you’d loose direct port and only way around that is to convert it to sequential injection. Funny enough I already have a loom to support this plus a flex sensor using a haltech elite.  My tuner is literally half an hour drive from bullets workshop.

[18ADF]

On 15/11/2017 at 8:37 AM, Sparky said:

It has a water to air intercooler like the ones HSV / Holden etc use, inside the unit. Hence the cost is a bit higher than the entry units. Its got all the bells and whistles, without attracting attention from the fuzz 

They tune them all themselves, and do a good job!

They don’t do tuning themselves, no dyno at their facility. A mate of mine use to manage the shop and most jobs are just generic files and they load them up.

[Blacky]

If anyone is really serious about dropping the coin on a supercharger, i would suggest trying harrop in prston vic  

They know supercharges, have an in house enngineering facility, aluminium casting facility, CNCs and in house dyno  

If they think there is a market for more kits and someone is willing to put their car and coin up, you never know  

I know a few people there from the work on the mini with the TVS900

[Sciflyer]

The Bullet HTV1900 is a Harrop. I know because I had this exact s/c on my V8 Soarer...

It is definitely a far better s/c than the centrifugal from RR Racing.

shouldnt have to lose port injection because the injector bosses would be integrated into the s/c lower manifold

if I was to go this far I’d not be worrying about intercooling and instead would convert to E85 as not only would you maximise gains but E85 runs cooler and gives additional headroom against pinging