Getting TPC Supercharger Installed
08-29-2014, 10:18 AM
#61
I have 4 years and 30K miles daily driving my TPC. The finickiess of the system depends on who did the install. If the install is half-assed, then the system will fall apart quickly. I have no real mechanical issue with mine. The mapping is another factor. Get aggressive and you will have problem. Just dial it back a bit and you will be fine. For the last year, I did not even bother open the lid and it drove fine.
But now I am back in Big-D, I have to take it off due to the much stricter emission they have here.
But now I am back in Big-D, I have to take it off due to the much stricter emission they have here.
08-29-2014, 10:25 AM
#62
I don't have a GoPro, so will need to use my cell phone. It's the biggest downside with the supercharger: the sound with the top up isn't too bad. But with the top down, the supercharger on boost sounds very metallic; like metal parts are scraping against other metallic parts... very grating! I wonder if there is something I can to muffle the engine sound a bit (not exhaust sound, just the sound coming from the supercharger. Any thoughts?
Otherwise, they should have a soft smooth supercharger whine.
Whatever you do, don't add a loud exhaust. I paid money to undo my LPMM (which sounded awsome). I did this so I can hear every single tick and ping from the engine. Very important with a SC car.
Last edited by axl911; 08-29-2014 at 12:53 PM.
08-29-2014, 11:24 AM
#63
Rennlist Member
My winter project will consist of a SC installation.
I'll be running bigger injectors instead of the additional injectors, and will have the ECU work done by Protomotive.
My question is, does anyone run this kit with slightly more aggressive cams (RS) and the OEM hydraulic rockers/lifters? Any issues?
I'll be running bigger injectors instead of the additional injectors, and will have the ECU work done by Protomotive.
My question is, does anyone run this kit with slightly more aggressive cams (RS) and the OEM hydraulic rockers/lifters? Any issues?
09-04-2014, 11:15 AM
#65
I have 4 years and 30K miles daily driving my TPC. The finickiess of the system depends on who did the install. If the install is half-assed, then the system will fall apart quickly. I have no real mechanical issue with mine. The mapping is another factor. Get aggressive and you will have problem. Just dial it back a bit and you will be fine. For the last year, I did not even bother open the lid and it drove fine.
But now I am back in Big-D, I have to take it off due to the much stricter emission they have here.
But now I am back in Big-D, I have to take it off due to the much stricter emission they have here.
09-15-2014, 01:50 PM
#68
Rennlist Member
Had mine installed about 4 years ago. been very reliable - I don't put a ton of miles on the car (<20K during that time) but it includes 3-4 DE weekends a year included in that. Midway we revised it and ditched the unichip/extra injectors and went to larger fuel injectors and protomotive retuned ECU - this seems a bit smoother especially in big temp swings spring to summer in MN. It has run great and for me at least made the difference in a car that felt relatively underpowered to one that feels very alive: difference in keeping the car vs. selling it for me. The broad increase in torque low and midrange is amazing. Highly recommended.
09-15-2014, 11:11 PM
#69
Racer
Thread Starter
TPC Install Update
Hey Folks. Sorry it took so long to update this thread.
The installation was initially completed at the end of this past spring, and although the extra power was very nice, I had a couple of main issues:
1) I started seeing the engine check light flashing when accelerating past 3500 rpm accompanied by the smell of exhaust gas and reduced acceleration and bucking.
2) Since the system is designed to create boost based on positive manifold pressure, boost will be produced at even light acceleration or when needing power to climb up a hill; I didn't like the feel of the engine or the very audible whine in these cases. The engine felt less responsive with the supercharger engaged, particularly at low to mid RPM's.
So after explaining the issues to Tom and Mike, I brought the car back to TPC for a week for some TLC. They made the following changes:
1) They fixed the engine check light issues, which I believe had something to do with the UniChip programming (seemed like it was set too rich).
2) They installed a boost controller which limits boost below 4,000 RPM.
I have the car back now for a couple of months, and can now say that it is truly transformed! Since boost is limited below 4,000 RPM, the engine feels just as it was prior to the supercharger installation in normal use. But when it is wound up and hits 4,000, look out! There is a turbo-like rush once the supercharger hits and keeps on increasing in it's urgency until redline. Interestingly I don't seem to have any drop-off in power as the engine approaches redline as some others have mentioned; mine just keep increasing in power the closer it gets to redline. Ideally, I think 3,500 RPM may be a better cutoff than 4k, but I've gotten used to it.
Ideally, I would have liked supercharger boost to be dependent on throttle position instead of (or in addition to) RPM, but according to TPC, 993's don't already have electrical indication of throttle position, so some kind of switch would have had to be fabricated, which TPC didn't think would be reliable enough.
The downside of course to the boost controller is that there isn't extra power at lower RPM's, but I prefer this setup as the engine feels revvy at low to mid RPM's without the drag of the supercharger, and I prefer to hear the normal engine sound without the supercharger whine. When you want the extra power, just downshift a gear hit the gas, and look out! I actually like the turbo-like rush when accelerating.
The acceleration is now so quick in first and second gear, that I have to be careful to up-shift before hitting the rev limiter. For anyone a little dissatisfied with the stock engine's power, the change is quite dramatic and can be done at a price point much lower than turbo-charging. I now really love the combination of the 993's somewhat older, more visceral feel along with it's new found (and more modern) engine power.
The installation was initially completed at the end of this past spring, and although the extra power was very nice, I had a couple of main issues:
1) I started seeing the engine check light flashing when accelerating past 3500 rpm accompanied by the smell of exhaust gas and reduced acceleration and bucking.
2) Since the system is designed to create boost based on positive manifold pressure, boost will be produced at even light acceleration or when needing power to climb up a hill; I didn't like the feel of the engine or the very audible whine in these cases. The engine felt less responsive with the supercharger engaged, particularly at low to mid RPM's.
So after explaining the issues to Tom and Mike, I brought the car back to TPC for a week for some TLC. They made the following changes:
1) They fixed the engine check light issues, which I believe had something to do with the UniChip programming (seemed like it was set too rich).
2) They installed a boost controller which limits boost below 4,000 RPM.
I have the car back now for a couple of months, and can now say that it is truly transformed! Since boost is limited below 4,000 RPM, the engine feels just as it was prior to the supercharger installation in normal use. But when it is wound up and hits 4,000, look out! There is a turbo-like rush once the supercharger hits and keeps on increasing in it's urgency until redline. Interestingly I don't seem to have any drop-off in power as the engine approaches redline as some others have mentioned; mine just keep increasing in power the closer it gets to redline. Ideally, I think 3,500 RPM may be a better cutoff than 4k, but I've gotten used to it.
Ideally, I would have liked supercharger boost to be dependent on throttle position instead of (or in addition to) RPM, but according to TPC, 993's don't already have electrical indication of throttle position, so some kind of switch would have had to be fabricated, which TPC didn't think would be reliable enough.
The downside of course to the boost controller is that there isn't extra power at lower RPM's, but I prefer this setup as the engine feels revvy at low to mid RPM's without the drag of the supercharger, and I prefer to hear the normal engine sound without the supercharger whine. When you want the extra power, just downshift a gear hit the gas, and look out! I actually like the turbo-like rush when accelerating.
The acceleration is now so quick in first and second gear, that I have to be careful to up-shift before hitting the rev limiter. For anyone a little dissatisfied with the stock engine's power, the change is quite dramatic and can be done at a price point much lower than turbo-charging. I now really love the combination of the 993's somewhat older, more visceral feel along with it's new found (and more modern) engine power.
09-15-2014, 11:43 PM
#70
Three Wheelin'
Hey Folks. Sorry it took so long to update this thread.
The installation was initially completed at the end of this past spring, and although the extra power was very nice, I had a couple of main issues:
1) I started seeing the engine check light flashing when accelerating past 3500 rpm accompanied by the smell of exhaust gas and reduced acceleration and bucking.
2) Since the system is designed to create boost based on positive manifold pressure, boost will be produced at even light acceleration or when needing power to climb up a hill; I didn't like the feel of the engine or the very audible whine in these cases. The engine felt less responsive with the supercharger engaged, particularly at low to mid RPM's.
So after explaining the issues to Tom and Mike, I brought the car back to TPC for a week for some TLC. They made the following changes:
1) They fixed the engine check light issues, which I believe had something to do with the UniChip programming (seemed like it was set too rich).
2) They installed a boost controller which limits boost below 4,000 RPM.
I have the car back now for a couple of months, and can now say that it is truly transformed! Since boost is limited below 4,000 RPM, the engine feels just as it was prior to the supercharger installation in normal use. But when it is wound up and hits 4,000, look out! There is a turbo-like rush once the supercharger hits and keeps on increasing in it's urgency until redline. Interestingly I don't seem to have any drop-off in power as the engine approaches redline as some others have mentioned; mine just keep increasing in power the closer it gets to redline. Ideally, I think 3,500 RPM may be a better cutoff than 4k, but I've gotten used to it.
Ideally, I would have liked supercharger boost to be dependent on throttle position instead of (or in addition to) RPM, but according to TPC, 993's don't already have electrical indication of throttle position, so some kind of switch would have had to be fabricated, which TPC didn't think would be reliable enough.
The downside of course to the boost controller is that there isn't extra power at lower RPM's, but I prefer this setup as the engine feels revvy at low to mid RPM's without the drag of the supercharger, and I prefer to hear the normal engine sound without the supercharger whine. When you want the extra power, just downshift a gear hit the gas, and look out! I actually like the turbo-like rush when accelerating.
The acceleration is now so quick in first and second gear, that I have to be careful to up-shift before hitting the rev limiter. For anyone a little dissatisfied with the stock engine's power, the change is quite dramatic and can be done at a price point much lower than turbo-charging. I now really love the combination of the 993's somewhat older, more visceral feel along with it's new found (and more modern) engine power.
The installation was initially completed at the end of this past spring, and although the extra power was very nice, I had a couple of main issues:
1) I started seeing the engine check light flashing when accelerating past 3500 rpm accompanied by the smell of exhaust gas and reduced acceleration and bucking.
2) Since the system is designed to create boost based on positive manifold pressure, boost will be produced at even light acceleration or when needing power to climb up a hill; I didn't like the feel of the engine or the very audible whine in these cases. The engine felt less responsive with the supercharger engaged, particularly at low to mid RPM's.
So after explaining the issues to Tom and Mike, I brought the car back to TPC for a week for some TLC. They made the following changes:
1) They fixed the engine check light issues, which I believe had something to do with the UniChip programming (seemed like it was set too rich).
2) They installed a boost controller which limits boost below 4,000 RPM.
I have the car back now for a couple of months, and can now say that it is truly transformed! Since boost is limited below 4,000 RPM, the engine feels just as it was prior to the supercharger installation in normal use. But when it is wound up and hits 4,000, look out! There is a turbo-like rush once the supercharger hits and keeps on increasing in it's urgency until redline. Interestingly I don't seem to have any drop-off in power as the engine approaches redline as some others have mentioned; mine just keep increasing in power the closer it gets to redline. Ideally, I think 3,500 RPM may be a better cutoff than 4k, but I've gotten used to it.
Ideally, I would have liked supercharger boost to be dependent on throttle position instead of (or in addition to) RPM, but according to TPC, 993's don't already have electrical indication of throttle position, so some kind of switch would have had to be fabricated, which TPC didn't think would be reliable enough.
The downside of course to the boost controller is that there isn't extra power at lower RPM's, but I prefer this setup as the engine feels revvy at low to mid RPM's without the drag of the supercharger, and I prefer to hear the normal engine sound without the supercharger whine. When you want the extra power, just downshift a gear hit the gas, and look out! I actually like the turbo-like rush when accelerating.
The acceleration is now so quick in first and second gear, that I have to be careful to up-shift before hitting the rev limiter. For anyone a little dissatisfied with the stock engine's power, the change is quite dramatic and can be done at a price point much lower than turbo-charging. I now really love the combination of the 993's somewhat older, more visceral feel along with it's new found (and more modern) engine power.
09-16-2014, 12:07 PM
#71
Rennlist Member
Interesting. I have not read of that being required before nor was it my experience. Just for others who may search this thread as future reference, I'm guessing this higher end rush something you were going for and part of the reason for the boost limiter? Just don't want people to get the impression its necessary for a smooth application. FWIW, with a boost gauge installed I get very low levels of boost outside of large throttle inputs.
09-16-2014, 02:15 PM
#72
Racer
Thread Starter
Interesting. I have not read of that being required before nor was it my experience. Just for others who may search this thread as future reference, I'm guessing this higher end rush something you were going for and part of the reason for the boost limiter? Just don't want people to get the impression its necessary for a smooth application. FWIW, with a boost gauge installed I get very low levels of boost outside of large throttle inputs.
09-16-2014, 02:30 PM
#73
As I mentioned, I didn't like the feeling of the supercharger giving boost at light throttle at lower RPMS's; I could feel the drag of the supercharger, and the engine felt less free-revving. I also didn't like the constant sound of the supercharger whine. Limiting the boost below some set threshold (I may change the programming to reduce the value a bit) makes the engine feel exactly as normal prior to the supercharger installation, which I prefer. But when needed, the supercharger kicks in for a very substantial increase in power. I also do like the turbo type high RPM rush. It feels more car-like and less like a truck.
Besides, the boost in the lower RPM is the best thing about the supercharger.
09-16-2014, 02:35 PM
#74
Racer
Thread Starter
Anyhow, I like the compromise much more now with the boost controller.
09-16-2014, 02:45 PM
#75
BTW, how much boost are you running?
