Miata Mailing List: May 1994, Message #74
sponsored by



     


   From: frank.potter@his.com
Subject: RE: PERFORMANCE UPGRADE
   Date: Wed, 4 May 1994 07:47:33 -0400


Jeff Maurer spoke up on defense of superchargers:

"I think that this is true, but when you talk price you have to factor in
the difference in installation too.  A big part of the attraction to
the supercharger idea lies in not having to yank the engine, muck with the
exhaust manifold, etc.  My sense is that there is a lot less grief associated
with installing and maintaining the supercharger.  Turbos are a bit more
finnicky (an orderly shutdown after a hard run to avoid galling, etc.)"

A lot depends on the make of the turbocharger. I can't speak for the British
one, which I understand does require that the engine be removed, but the
CarTech turbo on my car was put in in about 8 hours (by someone who had done it
before); it didn't require removal of the engine, and under normal running
conditions, requires no special treatment, like cooling down. I supose that if
you had just come in after a really hard racing run, it would be a good idea to
let the engine cool down for 30 seconds or so, but beyond that, you just treat
it like any normal engine, if significantly peppier. Recommended oil change:
3,000 miles for regular oil, 5,000 miles for synthetic.

The CarTecxh turbo comes with extensive installation instructions, so if you
had the tools and experience, you could probably do it yourself. Me, I was
happy to pay the man $450 and know that I hadn't done something stupid, like
putting it in backwards....