[flash]

developed here on the west coast - tuned at RS Barn

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[Dubai944]

Flash,

I trust you have looked closely at providing maximum belt wrap on the supercharger pulley. Belt slip seems to be a common theme on centrifugal kits for all sorts of applications. If your design avoids that it will be a big plus. Took me a while to solve that on my car as the standard belt routing and idler location just wasn't adequate.

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[flash]

yup - doing a couple of very cool things to insure that

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[flash]

an update on silliness - i wondered how long it would take before it got to this - i REALLY don't want to get into a bunch of mudslinging, but it's time to set the record straight

we have now been accused of being "unscrupulous and ripping-off" Carl's design - of course it is in a venue where we cannot comment - to his credit he put together a system that provides a nice power bump and retains the AC - when his thread about his system became a promotion of an item for sale, we approached him about becoming an advertiser, and he declined - we felt there was still work to be done n the system, and he said does not want to do it - we approached him about it, and were rebuffed - this led to us getting involved with our own project

first off, there really is no "design" to rip off - to be clear, we have NOTHING in common with that "design" - our system will not use anything that is not off the shelf that would be in common with that system - i'm not even sure we are using the same off the shelf items - this is pretty straight forward, "everybody has been doing this for decades" kind of stuff - the only proprietary parts are the brackets, which we will NOT be using - we are not using the same head unit either - we will not be hiding the air cleaner behind the bumper cover either, and will provide a proper airbox - we also will not be eliminating the well designed, fully shrouded, dual speed, dual fans either - there is absolutely no more similarity to Carls system than there is to the SFR or 9M systems, which have been out there for years, or for that matter any other centrifugal systems, which have been around since the 50's - to make such an accusation is ridiculous and frankly libelous - i had this idea of a centrifugal system that retained AC 5 years ago, described it in detail on .net, and then again over a year ago here - so if anybody stole anything, it was stolen from me - but whatever

to set the record straight, i did approach Raptor directly, as we wanted to complete the system that Carl has chosen not to - that is his right, but we felt that there were things we did not like about his kit, and areas that needed addressing, and we were the only ones willing to do it - Raptor made an arrangement with Carl for an exclusive import agreement and could not sell us the units directly - they said that in hindsight they regretted making that arrangement, but rather than fight that issue, we then arranged to purchase the units from Carl

however, we have since come to find that the unit is less than desirable in design for our intended use, and have decided to go with the Rotrex - the Raptor is a cute little unit, but provides no cooling as standard, has no oiling whatsoever, and we feel is questionable in longevity in a high temperature environment like under the hood of a 968 - we felt this was not in line with our "zero maintenance" concept - the Rotrex comes complete with its own self contained and filtered oiling system and remote oil cooler - our kit will come complete with all necessary hardware to mount all of this - Rotrex is so confident about the longevity of their units that the service interval is 50,000 miles and warranties the unit for 3 years - the life expectancy of the unit is over 10 years

there are claims of aftercooler/intercooler requirements with the Rotrex - there will be NO need for any of that - there are plenty of systems out there using the Rotrex, with higher compression and higher boost, which do NOT need any aftercoolers - there is no reason to suspect that we will get anywhere near needing one

there are claims of adiabatic efficiencies being inadequate or disparate - in fact the numbers are very close between the 2 units, and any differences are really moot (80% for the Rotrex vs a claimed 85% on the Raptor) - we expect no issues with top end performance, and in fact expect better low and mid range

the price of the system will be as we have said - UNDER $4000

we are being very conservative about our output number estimates, but that is the prudent thing to do at this time - we will publish charts as soon as the system is tuned - we are quite certain that you will not be disappointed

hopefully everyone can see the rhetoric for what it is, and let the products speak for themselves

here is a list of articles about cars with the rotrex:
http://www.supercharger-experience.com/koe..._magazine01.php

here are some movies:
http://www.supercharger-experience.com/movies.php

here are some recent installs:
http://www.supercharger-experience.com/r...stalls.php

here are some big numbers:
http://www.supercharger-experience.com/power_rating.php

here is more info about the Rotrex:
http://www.rotrex.com/index1.htm

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[biotechee]

This is precisely why I created post #51 in this thread. I find it funny that Arash resurfaces here amidst your announcement and after a lengthy absence and declines to share what he posted on the other site about the whole SC scene. Anyone can go look at that thread and see there is no room for insinuation... pretty straightforward if you ask me.

Oh well - sorry for the derailment.

As a side note, I was looking at some other SC applications for other cars... Your price point will be marvelous to say the least.

Can't wait to see what you guys come up with! It should be incredible!!!

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[flash]

no worries - i'm giving everybody the benefit of the doubt until i feel otherwise slighted

i think a lot of it stems from our approach - we are not pricing these things with big profits in mind - we are really very aware that this is better off more of a "loss leader" - sure, there will be a small margin in the kit, but that is really designed to pay back the development costs, and not line anybody's pockets - we know there is a very small market, and there is no sense in "keystoning" a kit - over time things will work out fine, and we can wait - others might not be willing to do that, and want to get it all up front, or charge "as much as the market will bear" - that's fine, and their right - we think of this market more as friends, and we choose not to do that to our friends

we know what things cost - we know what deals distributors of things can get - we can figure out margins from there - it's not that tough - we just have different ideas on what is "right" to charge

in fact, we are pricing this kit so low that nobody would be able to duplicate it for less, even if they had access to a machine shop, and bought the parts on their own - we feel this is enough to discourage anybody from running out and copying things, but if they feel like it, they can certainly try - i have a patent attorney ready and waiting for anything proprietary i might design, so i'm not really worried about that anyway, even if there were anything particularly unique about a kit like this

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[biotechee]

Excellent!

Good on ya guys!

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[flash]

thanks - my meeting today got pushed to tomorrow morning, but after that meeting i think all remaining issues will be resolved, and it will be on to the prototype fabrication process

we are VERY excited

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[Ed Russo]

Just like to say,thank you for all your effort. You guys ROCK

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[944S3Coupe]

I second that sentiment, keep up the good work...

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[PorscheDude]

Flash, keep it up!

I know Pete and yourself will have another homerun with this product.
The quality of this kit with your innovations will surely be unparralled
by anyone.

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[timbits]

This whole project is sweet! I'm still figuring out how far I want to go with modifications on my 968 so I don't know if this supercharger is something I'd ever add and it'd be a little ways down the list if I did. But I'm glad that Flash and Pete are taking the time to put this togther so it's out there.

I look forward to seeing the first reports once the kit is all together and fully tuned. I'm sure it's going to be nice.

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[Cloud9...68]

The really cool thing about this supercharger project, along with the other great products Flash and Pete have developed, is that anybody willing to do their own work now has within their reach the opportunity to create a car with all the capabilities of a modern high performance sports car (I'm thinking of the Nissan 370Z as the current "bargain" performance car benchmark) for maybe $25K.

A decent coupe can easily be had nowadays for around $10K, and as long as the paint and interior are sound, about $15K of maintenance (dent removal, belts, water pump, head freshening, rod bearing replacement, clutch master & slave cylinders and high pressure line, power cables, brake pads and rotors come immediately to mind), plus a well-chosen list of upgrades (short shift kit, strut and chassis brace, M030 sway bars, a decent set of shocks and struts, an aftermarket LSD, topped off with the supercharger), and you have a car that will accelerate, corner, and stop as well as the 370Z, plus provide a style even the sharp-looking Z can't compete with, for about $15K less. An amazing accomplishment.

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[rhudeboye]

I never thought you were ripping off another design or had any ill motives. But as soon as I read the announcement I thought the words found in post 64 was needed and I was glad to see them. I like the record being set straight [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif[/img] .

I also applaud the other company for getting the creative juices flowing once again as well as taking an interest in the 968.

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[benspeeder]

I deal with intellectual property balogna a fair amount at work. Usually it amounts to nothing. Sour grapes.

Flash, nice job taking the high-road and let cool heads prevail.

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[Darryl]

I finally had a few minutes to go read that thread...good thing Carl never made a chip! Seriously, nothing wrong with two companies having a product...that's how we do things here in America.

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[flash]

thanks guys

nothing wrong with multiple products at all - this will make 4 that i know of - in fact, it is highly motivating to produce the best thing we can

we never wanted to slag another product, and still won't - we also never had any intention of copying something that we feel is not what we want

by the way, i was always very up front with the manufacturer abut what we were doing - they wanted to deal with carl directly until they set up the path for us to purchase the units from carl, which they did - i never hid anything from anybody

enough of this though - on to the better mousetrap

i am off shortly to my 10:00 with the head unit guys to nail down a couple of things - moving along nicely

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[wiseman]

I'm pretty sure all of us that have spent a year or so on this forum know that your and Petes reputation, integrity, willingness to help anyone and continued passion for these cars is beyond reproach. I didn't beleive any of what was written anyway. I'm quite sure this unit will be everything you say it will be. Rock on guys!!

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[flash]

meeting went GREAT!!!! very excited - things just got better - off now to finish the bracket design

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[Anchorman]

HEY, Mom, I had a great day and came up with a new bracket design! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tongue.gif[/img]

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