SUPERCHARGING A 3400 SFI Z26
&
CONVERTING TO A MANUAL TRANSMISSION
Update: December 2005 - I have entered the realm of "inventor." I am listed as an inventor on a patent with the European Patent Office. It is through my co-op job however, so it is not as if I stand to make any money from this. Although, it is some sweet bragging rights and possibly one of the lamest pick up lines I can use at the bar that is actually true.
Update: July 2005 - From what I can tell, I think it this page has not been updated since February 2004. I actually bought my own laptop a month ago and have some time to do this. Like this usually goes, I'm writing some of the stories about what I did looking back, so the details are to the best of my memory. Also, here is a link to my photobucket page too, there should be a lot more comical pictures there from my adventures and fraternity life at Lambda Chi Alpha. I also now have a cardomain page. I also still do not check for spelling and grammar, cause I don't care.
Summer 2002 in review - I first added boost.
Fall/Winter 2002/2003 - I played with the SFMU more and machined out the intake to shape.
Spring/Summer 2003 - Spark plugs, more boost, no leakes, fuel pump, and drag strip time slips.
Summer 2004 - I did a manual transmission swap while the car didn't have the M90 attached.
Winter/Spring 2005 - Bringing back the boost to the now manual, 60 degree, Z26.
So what are my upcoming plans? They are still very much up in the air, but I have a few ideas. I'm going to make links to pages with more info as time provides if links aren't already up. Just some projects...
Building my own nitrous controllers: Full Throttle Switch, RPM Switch, and Progressive Controller.
Spring 2006 - Universal, streetable, front wheel drive traction solution. No one else has it.
Propane - The car has propane (June '05).
Carbon Dioxide - This is in the works, we'll see what happens someday.
Electronic Exhaust Cutout - I bought it, need to install it (June '05)
Better Differential - This was axed for a manual transmission obviously
Wideband O2 Sensor - Tuning the car using a wideband.
Megasquirt ECU - Summer 2006?
Basically, what was done? I bought (Spring 2002) an Eaton M90 supercharger for $265, that came off of a 1997 Gran Prix GTP. A stock 3100 intake from a 1999+ vehicle was machined to accept it so that the blower can bolt up directly. Later on (July 2004), since the automatic 4t60-e transmission was so crappy and slipped so much, the car was converted to a Getrag 282 5 speed manual transmission with a spec stage 3 clutch.
Why did I do this? Several factors. 1) Price. My estimated initial cost was $500 to have the supercharger functional, including the supercharger at $265. Even now it is looking as if my final cost will be sub $700, which is good, very good.
2) Fustration. I had expected the 3400 to put me into the high 14s with everything I had done. Even after putting the 3400 polished intake on along with raising the fuel pressure I had only dropped another tenth in the 1/4 mile. I was tired of messing around and wasting away money on things that might drop my 1/4 mile time. I needed sure things... boost or nitrous.
3) I found out that another Beretta had the same setup accept that he had more extensive head work than myself, about double the price I had. I had installed a 55mm throttle on his old engine and personally met Tim and know he is a cool guy. I have nothing against him, but I wanted to be the fastest most unique Z26 at the meet in Memphis June 20-23. This left me with 3 months to either add nitrous or boost the engine somehow. I had previously been looking into a turbocharger, but I knew that could not be done in under 3 months with my resources. Also it would have meant much more down time for the car. It would cost about $1200 minimum for me too. I looked at nitrous and a supercharger. Once I found the M90 for $265 I knew I couldn't pass it up. I have had this idea for well over a year but never had the gutts or enough know how to pull it off. I felt it was something I was now capable of doing.
Don't you think that having a supercharger sticking out of your hood is a bit extreme? No.... oh wait.. yeah it is, totally. I dont plan on keeping this on all the time. It should take me 2 hours to remove the supercharger and have the car running naturally aspirated, a true "bolt on." I just mainly want this to make some low 14 second runs. (Update: It does only take me about 1 and a half hours to do a complete swap back to natural aspiration, but that doesn't matter anymore. I bought a 1998 Malibu LS back in October of 2004 and have a garage to store the Beretta in.)
So what are my plans of attack?
(The updates section from 2002-2003 talk about what happened. I'm leaving these here as more of an archive of 2002)
PICTURES ALONG THE WAY / Bfest 2002 PICS
DISCLAIMER: Do not try this at home. What I am doing is really moronic. I settled for the cheapest ... almost the cheapest supercharger I could get. The entire design is faulty. Don't bother emailing me to tell me I am a fool as I am already aware. Don't worry though, I don't plan on keeping this on all the time. I also know that I will not get much out of this setup without some real tuning.
Email me at mcgavinz26@sbcglobal.net