Safe Supercharging?

[snarchy]

Maybe a dumb question here, but what's a relatively safe supercharging option? I.e. which setup, other than none at all, is less likely to cause major damage?

I'm looking at buying an Elise and seems like it could make it more fun but going through these threads I see lots of problems, I can't tell if the problems are common or they are just likely to be reported here.

Also, why do so many people seem interested in supercharging? Are the standard Elise's not fast enough? Or is it just a fun thing to do?

Thanks to all the experts out there!

[chotto]

I would venture guess that many more people here have supercharged and not experienced any problems at all. Why we do it? That is a whole different discussion that could go on for years. The Elise is plenty fast enough for anybody, but why not just a little bit more?

Originally Posted by snarchy

Maybe a dumb question here, but what's a relatively safe supercharging option? I.e. which setup, other than none at all, is less likely to cause major damage?

I'm looking at buying an Elise and seems like it could make it more fun but going through these threads I see lots of problems, I can't tell if the problems are common or they are just likely to be reported here.

Also, why do so many people seem interested in supercharging? Are the standard Elise's not fast enough? Or is it just a fun thing to do?

Thanks to all the experts out there!

[Tang0_au]

i have custom rotrex supercharger with air / water chargecooler ....

i have about 6500 kilometers on it and no issues to speak of .... the engine was not modified in any other way.

[SweetDaddyD]

I would imagine that just buying a factory supercharged Elise with a full warranty on it would be the most reliable, just not the cheapest option. There are tons of superchargers out there in use with no probs.

[apk919]

Originally Posted by snarchy

Also, why do so many people seem interested in supercharging? Are the standard Elise's not fast enough? Or is it just a fun thing to do?

Horsepower Envy...

[thegoat]

no problems here.

[Bavarian Motorist]

If you think a standard Elise is fast (it's not), you will be blown away by the SC Elises...


Bottom line: Standard Elise is too slow for my, and many others' tastes. It's a car that looks like a super car, handles like a super car, but accelerates like a BMW.

[D713B]

Originally Posted by snarchy

Also, why do so many people seem interested in supercharging? Are the standard Elise's not fast enough? Or is it just a fun thing to do?

Because it masks their mistakes, errors or poor form on the track by simply mashing the right pedal on a straight away.

Also because going fast is fun but going faster is even more fun .

[lt0302]

Some of us like the extra uumph the supercharges give the Lotus......I have a Katana going on 3 years with 27K and no issues.........no auto-x...........just some spirited driving on the road.......FWIW it was worth every penny......it is a different car with the SC....

[antinym]

I got the VF kit and two weeks later some blazer hit my car. So that's not a safe kit

[plastique999]

Adding 50 more HP certainly makes a pretty big difference compared to a standard Elise ... more zippy.

Keep in mind, S/C'g a car can push the engine to certain limits, and the engine may be more prone to problems....I've suffered them. That being said, it's def. worth it.

[fun4two]

I don't mean to hijack this thread with this question but this seems like the right place to ask as I am also thinking about supercharging my 06 elise and haven't found any answers on this.
Are there any differences between the engine internals of an NA Elise and the Elise SC, SC Exige, and are there differences in gear sets between the three also? Or did Lotus just bolt on the SC onto the elise/exige and retune the ECU or is there major re-inforcment in the tranny gears and engine internals?
I am curious because I come from the Subaru world and Lots of people were destroying the engines and tranny's with more power without changing the internals trying to mimic the STi power.
I'm sorry in advance if this is considered hijacking a thread, this just seemed like a logical place to ask.

[Bavarian Motorist]

The SC Exiges get better clutches and that's all I know of. The rest is pretty much the same across the board. Internals are not changed...

[VisualEchos]

A lot of people get the SC so they don't have to run the car as hard to enjoy it, as it can seem a bit lethargic in the lower rpm's (N/A).

As far as how long they'll last, I'd make sure you have an intercooler, and stay away from anything over 250 crank hp.

[erics75218]

I have a similar question. What would you all do to create the most "mellow" supercharger setup for your car?

I want something, but this is my daily driver and I'm no longer (from previous projects) willing to do TO much to my daily driver. I don't want to have to spend hours tuning, nor do I want to go down a road where the supercharger is causing me to have to do a bunch of other mods to my car to keep it running well and running strong.

I was thinking that a standard katana setup would be the way to go in order to meet the above criteria.

Thoughts??

[Bavarian Motorist]

Yes.

[snarchy]

Thanks sguys

"As far as how long they'll last, I'd make sure you have an intercooler, and stay away from anything over 250 crank hp."

What setup would you guys recommend for something like this? I see a couple of names bouncing around. Also are there major differences between what you'd get for a 2005 vs 2006 vs 2007 or are the cars similar enough that they bolt on the same?

[exlondoner]

I've been toying with the idea of going with the VF Stage 2 since the price difference between there Stage 1 and 2 is a few hundred.

since the car will be 90% street driven on the weekends should just go with the Stage 1.

My primary concern is the stock internals, Stage 2 power looks great but just seems a little too much for an 06.

Thanks
Mick

[Vampyre]

Lotus is offering a S/C kit, I would say that is a safe bet...

[...m...]

Originally Posted by erics75218

I have a similar question. What would you all do to create the most "mellow" supercharger setup for your car?

...the TVS supercharger is very efficient, so it'd put less parasitic load and heat into your motor for any given boost level than the common MP45/62 setups, and intercooled even less strain still, but of course the very-most-mellow forced injection setup would be an intercooled efficiently-designed turbocharger for any given boost level...