maxx96

Ok so anybody out there use the supercharge on the TLS yet? I read a lot about exhaust, intake and all that but I was wondering if anybody use the supercharge and did it work? Let me know.

KaOTiKM3

yes there are a handful of people, do a search for "comptech supercharger" or "supercharger". But I don't think its worth the money you are spending since you already have a glass tranny that will be unwilling to accept the new 50-60whp that you are gaining. On top of the fact that you have a FWD car that probably won't be able to put down the power to the ground effectively to make use of the new power so it render's it useless. The best results you will see is highway speeds and acceleration from 60-100+. You really will not see much of a difference if you are looking for faster sprint speeds of 0-60, maybe a tenth of a second.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

One thing I'd like to mention is that the tranny can handle the additional power fine. Remember that the tranny problems are from a design flaw that only affected certain trannys. The tranny itself is a very stong design. Comptech tested the S/C for almost one year on a 2001 or 2002 CL and had ZERO problems. One thing you will need to buy is a tranny cooler though......

Another thing I'd like to correct is that the Supercharger for the automatic only puts about about 40whp. The 50-60hp numbers are for the manual. While the auto S/C puts down less power, Comptech is working on a piggy-back ECU for the auto which will get you about 15-20 more HP out of the supercharger.

As for if it's worth it... well, it's up to you. There are many people on the CL board who have purchased it... both automatic and manual drivers.... and every single one loves it. I have not heard one bad thing about it from either tranny configuration. Besides for the nice HP increase you're getting a nice torque boost, which, as we all know, is something Hondas/Acuras lack in stock form.

ferizzo

KaO is right. You will see power everywhere but from a stop you won't be able to use much of it because you will just spin. Now on the highway the TLS would probably be a monster. Check A-CL as well because there a few guys there with 6s and autos that are blown.

I'd be nervous about the tranny as well.

KaOTiKM3

I stand corrected on some of my facts but my opinion stays the same. I did read a C&D article about a Comptech Supercharged CL-S 6-speed (I don't put too much faith in car mag reviews) but what they said seemed to be on target, it doesn't make much sense on our kind of cars but the torque might be nice.

r10apple

ROFL...C&D sucks...There are guys on a-cl that are running times lower than what is printed in the article--without the supercharger!

No one has slips with the sc yet (at least that they have posted). All love it though...I'm going to wait for the piggyback before diving in for the TL-S. I do think ZodiakTL has the sc. I could be wrong, but he may be the only one here...

KaOTiKM3

agreed.

but I was consistent with their logic, not necessarily their times.

scalbert

r10apple

CL-S troll!!!
Just kidding...I KNOW you think it was worth it, scalbert!

scalbert

Just trying to get my A-TL post count up so I'm no longer confused as a noob...

r10apple

ROFFL...Nice...I was having that problem on a-cl until Tom2 thought I was in love with him and we bantered endlessly...

maxx96

scalbert: Very nice, but I want to know if it really work, every day use, gas mi, need more info please, thank you!

scalbert

Now remember, mine is for a CL-S6 but it should still be relevant for the TL-S which I will try to address the comments as such.

I have heard many people say that it isn't worth the money; which is obviously subjective as people put values on things differently. But most try to claim that the roughly 40 WHP increase isn't enough for the money considering headers give nearly 75% of that peak gain for 25% of the price; which is true.

However, what is not being stated is the overall gain. The torque is increased by at least 25 lb/ft from as low of revs as you care to drive and goes up to about a 40 lb/ft increase at the higher revs. By looking at the overall increase versus headers alone you have five times the power increase (if not higher), not peak increase.

Another way of looking at it; the increases are such that the next higher gear will accelerate like the lower one would without the blower. 2nd will pull like 1st, 3rd like 2nd, etc. Any even the lowly 4th in the automatic will pull much harder; nearing the pull of 3rd.

Comptech could have made this kit to produce more power but they went the desired route of most; make a reliable kit that you install and forget about. This is what they have achieved, a near stock installation that is not so far over done that you would need to worry about premature engine failure ever. This will outlast the time most will have the car. You get in the car and drive it with the satisfaction that you have and use the extra power when needed or desired. To pass on the highway, stay in 5th and get around the slower car easily. This kit is not meant to make this car into a racer; it simply enhances the already fine engine and provides excellent power gains throughout the rev band.

My car is a daily driver and it is wonderful. I don't romp on it at every light. I might leave at half throttle as I would rather be in front of traffic than side by side. What I have found is that I now shift early. In fact I rarely take it over 4500 revs. The increased torque is plenty enough to get me well in front of the other cars without winding the car out. Before I would take it to nearly 6k revs to enjoy the same gap. But when I do let loose on it there is plenty that doesn't let up at any RPM.

As for gas mileage, mine is a little worse because I do get on it some. But it is marginally worse. Highway mileage degradation is negligible, maybe 1 MPG. If I was judicious with my right foot I could probably get better than the stock published ratings for this vehicle but I do like using the extra power.

I hope this helps. Here is a little video I made just after installing the SC to get a feel for the sound:

CL-S6SC Drive

maxx96

Hey thanks a lot man I will look into it.

joecooool

I was going to, in fact I even bought one. But I decided Nitrous was the way to go. I'm running an 85 dry shot and its great. I run 13's in the 1/4 mile and my tranny hasn't so much as even begun to slip. I've already burned through over half a dozen refills of my 15 lb bottle so I'm not worried any more.

scalbert

There is no doubt that nitrous is great for running at the strip. But it certainly has deficiencies.

You don't run nitrous at an auto-x, road course or on the enthusiastic back road jaunts. You run out rather quickly and you can use it at every light if even at 50% throttle.

But without a doubt, for an occasional straight line run it can't be beat on the performance per dollar ratio.

joecooool

I have my Turbo Miata and Supercharged Vette for the autocrosses (I'm a member of the SCCA). I think the TL would be an exceptionally poor choice of vehicle to bring to an SCCA meet. Plus, if you put a blower on the TL, that would put you in Street Mod class and you would get whomped on pretty bad.

I have a 15 lb bottle so I don't run out as often as you might think. My shop down the road sells me nitrous at $2.15 per pound and I see them about once a week.

I didn't want to f' around with tuning the car after I put a blower on it. I already went through that with the Corvette and Miata. Plus if I blow up the motor or tranny, I can completely remove all of my components in about an hour and a half.

I just didn't see the cost justifications for keeping the blower I had bought so I returned it and bought a NOS kit.

scalbert

With the other stable mates it certainly makes sense.

I agree that the TL would make it a poor choice in an auto-x; maybe not as bad on a road course. But for road trips which may include some decent roads the TL/CL is quite nice and having the extra power is advantageous, even on the highway.

My point was to dispel any comparison between FI and nitrous as many people often do. There is no comparison. Nitrous is used for a quick run only. The SC or a turbo is power which is always available. Yes, they are all power adders and the individual should determine why they want extra power.

BTW, there was no tuning required with the Comptech kit.

joecooool

You didn't tune it after you installed it? :wow:

Adding a forced induction system to a car required significant adjustments in the fuel air ratios. If you just put one on and drive it, there is a very strong probability that your running lean.

My Corvette spent about three hours on the dyno while we made adjustments. My Miata even more than that and I'm still not where I want to be.

I'd get that car to a dyno immediately and see what your fuel air ratio is.

scalbert

Comptech doesn't want anyone messing with the supplied rising rate regulator. They set it at the desired rate to run on the rich side which it is. In fact after using an EGT probe and O2 readings it was confirmed to be on the rich side. This is why it is a complete kit. I also monitor the fuel pressure if that is any more settling.

Just FYI, with the standard pulley the kit runs at a rich 10.5:1. I have a higher boost pulley on which has leaned it out a little to a still rich 11.0:1.

I need to question a kit which doesn't come tuned out of the box???

joecooool

There is no such thing as "tuned out of the box.". Every car is different.

Why would you knowingly run it rich? Your performance suffers when you do that. Plus, runing rich will destroy your cats and O2 sensors.

So yes, you should take it in and get it tuned to run at the proper air fuel ratio. This was the primary reason I passed on the kit for the TL. The TL isn't a car one would normally want to make fast so there isn't much out there in the way of help to get it tuned properly. There just isn't too many places you can take the car to get tuned by people who know what they are doing. You need to take it to a shop that specializes in forced induction systems with the software necessary to make the corrections.

Just because Comptech may say you don't need to tune it doesn't mean that you shouldn't.

r10apple

LOL...This is getting good!
<here's another reason why a-cl is better: the fu(kin' popcorn smiley >


I drove my TL-S to Dahlonega and up to the Blue Ridge Parkway in Western NC and loved it. I was running around last November with an IS300 and had so much fun chasing him. It was really neat to be able to see differences in cars. We'd go into a turn and he'd leave me where I'd run right up onto him on the straights and brake deep to get left again until the next straight. Brakes faded bad after awhile but the mods kept gobbling him up on the straights!

I still want the sc post piggyback release...

scalbert

Hrmm, every car is different, well within manufacturing tolerances. Considering that of several CL/TL vehicles with the SC kit are all running nearly the same fuel trim values I would say that it is damn close. A complete kit would have everything basically ready. Yes, there could be minor gains through tuning. However, it should not require tuning in order to insure that there is no potential damage.

Running rich at WOT and rich at light load situations is completely different. In order to damage the cat and O2 sensors would require consistently or frequently running rich. But due to the closed loop controls all current vehicles incorporate they are running at stoichiometric 99.9% of the time. I’ve built test stands to do life cycle tests on catalytic converters for Calsonic, so I’ve seen what it takes to damage these items. Calsonic even did a sound analysis on my old CL-S, wanna see the results??

Additionally, rich is a relative term. But to answer your questions, it is to err on the side of safety as there are some situations where the car goes a little leaner. Also, when the cam change-over occurs the cars goes leaner for about 500 RPM. This occurs in a stock or blown vehicle regardless.

The car, with a blower, isn't fast nor would I care to make this 3500lb FWD vehicle be the track monster. The blower is an enhancement on what is currently there.

I believe you have missed what this kit is. It is not a monster HP creator. It gives the car more power in a civilized manner. This is a 4 PSI blower kit; it does not take a wealth of knowledge to tune for this modest boost. Additionally, since it is so low of boost, the only fuel enhancement is a rising rate regulator. And the only adjustment on it is a screw; clockwise to increase the gain and counterclockwise to decrease the gain. Pretty simple and does not require an 'expert'.

As for software, these ECU's cannot be reprogrammed so that is moot. The only other software would be monitoring software which I have various types and versions. From OBDII software to high end industrial data acquisition systems which are significantly more accurate than any shop dyno is.

I agree which is why I have and will continue to do so simply out of curiosity. But for many, they will have their dealer install it and would like to forget about it from then on. They don't care that there may be a couple percent more HP available. They are happy with what they have and will leave it as such.

Hokie D

If money was no object the supercharger on my TL-S would be great. Too bad you can't get any significant gains like you would on a pushrod V8!! As far as auto-crossing, I doubt anyone would take their 4 door, grocery-gettin', leather and A/C equipped TL's to the track. It would get laughed off the track.

scalbert

To a point I agree; but there are some which do. They have added springs, sways and tires which keeps them in the Solo II Stock class. But I don't think anyone expects to win, just running for the fun of it.

scalbert

IMO, Comptech is playing it safe but myself and others are trying to see what else we can get out of it. I should easily be over 300 WHP now and will confirm this soon, I do have a 6-Speed CL though. With 7.5 PSI boost, a liquid/air IC and a piggy back computer, 350 WHP should be possible and be fine as a daily driver.

Hokie D

Spin it faster, should be interesting. Hope you have bigger rubber than the stock tires. You might just soar through the air with all that power!

maxx96

WOW!, I'm pretty impress with all this argument but all of you have a good point in your own right, true it is that it depends on what you want and the intended use, I sure appreciate all this info to make a good decision. Thanks!
P.S. Nice looking job joecooool.

scalbert

Yea, 7.5 PSI would put the blower at the 16k RPM limit based on a 7k RPM engine redline. So that is about it with this kit.

I'm running 235/45 ES100's which were definitely better than stock. But any full throttle romps in 1st, even from a roll, will result in wheel spin throughout. This is certainly not the best platform; but it is all in fun and experimentation.