I finally got 'er done. My local performance shop installed the supercharger two weeks ago, then I took off on vacation before I could drive it even 30 miles.
As I posted previously, I did not have the throttle cable bracket (Zooper-Trooper had it installed on his throttle-by-wire Trooper), but Tone sold me one... for $75. Whatever - I was over the barrel and he knew it. I did not have the longer cruise control throttle cable either, but the Alpine guy at LC Engineering said that they would have them in a couple of weeks (i.e., about now). The mechanic also went with one heat range cooler NKG plugs (the #6 in NGK ratings). He did not install the high-flow K&N air filter Zooper-Trooper gave me with the kit, though, insisting that the air would be too hot in the engine bay, and my research on this site indicated that it certainly could have been a problem - I found at least a couple reports of high intake air temp fault codes after switching to an "open" high-flow air filter.
Now, regarding performance... It makes for a notable improvement in the high end of the rev range. I assumed I would get a noticeable improvement in the lower rev range where the engine spends most of its time, but that didn't happen. In that regard, the Alpine Dyno graphs are pretty accurate - the power and torque improvements don't start until you get over 3100 rpm, and don't make themselves obvious until about 3900 rpm. Note that the graphs show two mods - the S/C and a Power Vault exhaust. The S/C alone adds about 25 lb-ft and 28 hp at 4000 rpm. Looks like I will be considering an exhaust upgrade soon!
On the other hand, it's a lot quieter than I was expecting - there's a muffled rattling sound at idle, and I barely hear any whine at all at speed. Good! It was loud enough as it was. There is a small problem with the install that I need to get resolved - it does not want to start up on the first turn of the key about half the time. When it hesitates, it starts after 2-4 attempts, but that ain't right, and I didn't see anyone else post the same problem.
Questions:
1) Has anyone modified their air filter box for a K&N so that it draws air from the wheel well area like the stock setup does? If so, please show pics or let me know where you got yours.
2) Has anyone else had a starting problem after getting S/C'd? If so, what was the problem and how did you fix it?
3) Wormgod, I saw your posts about rerouting the passenger side fuel rail line away from the EGR valve body, but I did not see this hose on my install. Could you point it out in a picture for me when you get a chance?
4) The PV1 exhaust is no more. Anyone have any other ideas? Or have one for sale?
Thanks for any input!
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Originally Posted by VehiGAZ
