Who would buy a Vortech kit?

[Robs_altima]

I’m going to try to make this as simple as possible and hope we don’t get into pages and pages of empty promises about what might happen. I’m going to try to rally support on a Vortech development kit or at the very least show them how much support there might be for one. They were on a here a while ago but everyone was turned away by the price of the kit. I’m trying to convince them it was bad timing as too many people were focused on wheels, exhausts, ect which add up to some decent $$$.

I’m positive there will be turbo kits for the coupe soon; this should be a more reliable alternative that will give those of us piece of mind while still bridging the gap to a turbo. Please let’s not get into a debate on reliability, turbos create way more power and put a lot more stress on the engine and entire drivetrain. What we do know about Vortech is they offer kits with full standalone tunes to control every throttle position and a 3 year warranty. Can only speculate the kit would cost between $4,500-5500 with the extended drive shaft to power the blower.

Seeing how the coupes are front wheel drive, lacks limited slip differential, transversely mounted engine (space/heat), and above all probably won’t see a lot of builds to support long term turbo use (again FWD), the centrifugal turbo seems like it would be a favorable option on the coupe.

So, who’s interested in pushing development? Granted we won’t see this for months. I'm leaving out the "not interested" vote and going with a max cost for all those interested. Reminding all these are full kit some including stronger fuel pumps, air/water coolers, and 50 state carb legal (of course the 3 yr warranty). Thanks for the support

[rjdmmfl1]

is this gauging interest for the CVT or the manual?

[adidas2go]

I did this about 6 months ago. I even got STILLEN involved. It wasn't that people didn't want to pay the price, its that Vortech didn't think there was a market for the A/C. Believe me, their headquarters are 10 min away, and I pushed for this for weeks, with the highest ends of Vortech. I had meetings, projections, graphs, statistics, the works. They didn't bite. The wanted 100k on our part, or something like that, to even start the project. It was pretty bad.

Also, there are turbo kits for the 3.5 CVT and 6 speed already available.

[Robs_altima]

Wow, that's pretty sad. I didn't hear anything about the info you poored into this. I still can't believe they'd think there isn't a market for our cars. I probably should have jumped on the band wagon 6 months ago.

I don't have any real problems with going turbo but I'm not at all familiar with the manufactures practices and their history in turbos and quality. Not to mention all that heat and tuning issues. It's just Artisan and/or speed force making turbos kits correct? Fox Marketing isn't involved are they?

Maybe sometime in the distant future the s/c topic may pop up.

[striklybidnis]

Turbo kits are going to be in the $5k range-I do not believe the price is out of the ordinary-so for the people that say its too much money, I am sure they will never get a turbo for their N/A setup.

With a 3 yr warranty, I am sure they will draw tons of business. However, no matter how many people say they will buy, there are no guarantees that they will. There is a demand for it, and I am sure they can get 50 kits out the door to cover their R&D expenses...

[Robs_altima]

It's just been my experience, trying to keep a tune on a turbo isn't nearly as predictable as a s/c. So you could say I'm a little bias but we all know which one will spank the other down a 1/4 mile.

[FGFCacoupe]

Had me real excited for a quick second

[Robs_altima]

I was real excited untill Addias dropped the bomb on me. Plus the whole s/c thing wouldn't have matter, it really does look like there isn't demand for a kit.

Talked with Tim from Speed Force of a bit one the kit. Sounds very nice, I wasn't aware they had the standalone working on that thing, same unit Vortech and Stillen use on their stuff. Anything is better than the cheap rip off of a EMS piggy back most of the industry uses. Granted piggy backs were originally meant to assist tuning on cars already turbocharged

[kyle@stillen]

I was real excited untill Addias dropped the bomb on me. Plus the whole s/c thing wouldn't have matter, it really does look like there isn't demand for a kit.

Talked with Tim from Speed Force of a bit one the kit. Sounds very nice, I wasn't aware they had the standalone working on that thing, same unit Vortech and Stillen use on their stuff. Anything is better than the cheap rip off of a EMS piggy back most of the industry uses. Granted piggy backs were originally meant to assist tuning on cars already turbocharged

We don't use a stand alone on our kits actually. On our supercharger's we use piggy back ECU's. They are great for providing a bolt-in ready to go kit. Yes, they are locked, and don't offer adjustability to the end user, however in our experience there are more people looking for a bolt-on kit than something they will be modifying or tuning themselves.

Actually now that I think about it...I'm pretty sure Vortech uses a piggyback as well...

[adidas2go]

I was real excited untill Addias dropped the bomb on me. Plus the whole s/c thing wouldn't have matter, it really does look like there isn't demand for a kit.

Talked with Tim from Speed Force of a bit one the kit. Sounds very nice, I wasn't aware they had the standalone working on that thing, same unit Vortech and Stillen use on their stuff. Anything is better than the cheap rip off of a EMS piggy back most of the industry uses. Granted piggy backs were originally meant to assist tuning on cars already turbocharged

Its not a stand alone. Its a piggy back system. STILLEN doesn't it anymore, but Vortech, SFR, and other companies still do

[D-Roll]

too much for a SC kit imo

[Robs_altima]

Good info, thanks guys.

[08altima35]

robert, by reading your posts it mostly sounds like you had a something bad happen in the past. piggyback tunes w/fi can be very reliable if monitered and tuned correctly. of course you can't control everything like you can with a stand alone, but that's not what's most important when tuning at low boost. your not going to boost the vq at 20lbs and even with a standalone that would be asking for trouble. so far as turbo vs. supercharger go - the choice is easy and even you know that!also, i highly doubt there will ever be a s/c for this car because of the space required, but turbo kits will continue to be developed if this car continues to sell. We're actually lucky that there are as many parts availible with as few Altima Coupe's there are out there. Anyway, email me if you would like some details on the Artisan Kit and i'll try to let you know all i can...if you're interested.