Comptech Supercharger

[nsxk]

Fellow Primes,

I have a 1998 NSX-T that I've owned for 2 years now and am thinking about getting a comptech supercharger for it. I'm located in the bay area and am thinking about having Driving Ambitions do the install. Any thoughts or things I should think about from people who have the CT kit and/or had Driving Ambitions do the install? Also, anybody kind enough to take me for a ride in their supercharged NSX so I can see the difference? Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Ken

 

[rsevo6]

Driving ambitions may be the most knowledgeable place that you can go to have a supercharger installed on the NSX.
I have been in contact with Chad a few times over the phone (as I am in Europe) and was impressed by his knowledge and willingness to answer my questions on the Comptech SC

 

[racer-ex]

Fellow Primes,

I have a 1998 NSX-T that I've owned for 2 years now and am thinking about getting a comptech supercharger for it. I'm located in the bay area and am thinking about having Driving Ambitions do the install. Any thoughts or things I should think about from people who have the CT kit and/or had Driving Ambitions do the install? Also, anybody kind enough to take me for a ride in their supercharged NSX so I can see the difference? Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Ken

NSXK,Chad (Driving Ambitions) is the Best of the Best, anything you want for your nsx he can do and do well...Bill

 

[BATMANs]

Why not save $$$ for the SOS SC?

If u want to do it right you will need to get a water cooled intercooler too. I used both the SOS IC and DA one stuck with the DA one.

 

[NetViper]

You will love the CTSC and Shad is the best. He has helped me several times. I highly recommend him.

 

[LMR]

You can't go wrong with CTSC. It has a long history of reliability. I drive mine daily. It has 50K miles since it was installed and no issues. Shad used to work at Comptech before starting his own company. There is no better person to do the install and for support on the product. I have had a few dealings with him and all were great.

 

[CharlesCA]

Why not save $$$ for the SOS SC?

If u want to do it right you will need to get a water cooled intercooler too. I used both the SOS IC and DA one stuck with the DA one.

How can you legally pass CA smog with a SOS SC?

 

[audax]

How can you legally pass CA smog with a SOS SC?

No.

 

[Dhalsim]

Firstly...if you don't want your engine to blow up......stop listening to Batman. Inquire what the current status of his NSX is right now if you doubt me.


You didn't say how much HP you are looking for. My opinion is to start out with a safe set up. That means low boost pulley and having Shad (NOT Chad) at DA do the install.

That is the same system I have and it's supposedly bullet proof. Plenty of people with that set up with many miles and their engines still intact. I think my set up is making 360rwhp. Its good for now and you can always move up from there with a high boost kit.

Obviously the plus with the CTSC for us California owners is that its CARB legal. I dot think there is any other application that is CARB legal for the NSX.

 

[BATMANs]

How can you legally pass CA smog with a SOS SC?

Great question.

I did.

1. All I did was obtain the CTSC CARB EO# from the government site and reference that to the SOS SC. No smog techs knows the difference between the CTSC and SOS SC in terms of differences in dimensions and SC make and model.

Smog techs are humans just like everywhere else. They know that they NSX is a high end car and there isn't a whole lot of knowledge base to reference to.

My engine bay is clean and presentable since I pressure wash EVERY weekend and wipe it down. The installation is done professionally by a NSX specialist, DA and the work shows. So the presumption is that I didn't shortcut the other details since I have budget to do it "right".

People that get on the radar with smog techs usually bring in a dirty car, hack job work with randomness in the engine bay, etc. Think of it like a job interview. Show up in ur A game or T-shirt.

2. proper tuning. I dun need to discuss this portion since it's a no brainer. So far my research shows that Bisimoto is the best NSX tuner out there.

3. My original cats have 120k~ miles on them. Needless to say it's a no brainer that they are tired. What I did was have STMPO customize my exhaust so that every 2 years that I need to smog I can just pull off the muffler portion and install these Magnaflow cats that are designed to clean exhaust from engines as large as a 7.4 liter Chevy.

(CARB) California Air Resource Board Compliant. New California Pre-OBDII Universal-Fit Catalytic Converters For California Register'd Vehicles MADE BEFORE 1996.

Sure the cats are where the mufflers are at (further down stream), but I mitigated the concerns of the exhaust gas cooling where the cats will not be properly warmed up by using the largest cats and ceramic coating all of the exhaust piping for thermal insulation.

 

[BATMANs]

Firstly...if you don't want your engine to blow up......stop listening to Batman. Inquire what the current status of his NSX is right now if you doubt me......

You'll have to excuse Dhalsim for confusing my engine demise (A result of running high boost pulley on the stock cast pistons and pump gas. Any SC can do this if you crank up the boost on a our stock engines) and my aforementioned experience that I shared.

In other words, he is confusing 2 different matters.

:biggrin:

 

[Dhalsim]

You'll have to excuse Dhalsim for confusing my engine demise (A result of running high boost pulley on the stock cast pistons and pump gas. Any SC can do this if you crank up the boost on a our stock engines) and my aforementioned experience that I shared.

In other words, he is confusing 2 different matters.

:biggrin:

lol.........yes I am often confused.

OP....run the low boost CTSC and it is unlikely you will have any problems.

BTW - Although you could pass the smog as described by Batman with the SOS SC and some CARB stickers which are made for the CTSC you should note you CANNOT pass LEGALLY.

 

[BATMANs]

lol.........yes I am often confused.

OP....run the low boost CTSC and it is unlikely you will have any problems.

BTW - Although you could pass the smog as described by Batman with the SOS SC and some CARB stickers which are made for the CTSC you should note you CANNOT pass LEGALLY.

that's more like it.

*pats ur head*

 

[nsxk]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm leaning towards the CTSC and having Driving Ambitions do the install. Would anyone with the CTSC installed be willing to take me for a ride? Thanks for all the help.

 

[nsxnut]

3. My original cats have 120k~ miles on them. Needless to say it's a no brainer that they are tired. What I did was have STMPO customize my exhaust so that every 2 years that I need to smog I can just pull off the muffler portion and install these Magnaflow cats that are designed to clean exhaust from engines as large as a 7.4 liter Chevy.

(CARB) California Air Resource Board Compliant. New California Pre-OBDII Universal-Fit Catalytic Converters For California Register'd Vehicles MADE BEFORE 1996.

Sure the cats are where the mufflers are at (further down stream), but I mitigated the concerns of the exhaust gas cooling where the cats will not be properly warmed up by using the largest cats and ceramic coating all of the exhaust piping for thermal insulation.

It is very easy to spot a car that is running without cats.
At night the flames shooting out the tail pipe is a tell tale sign!

From http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermktcat/installcatq&a.pdf
New Aftermarket Catalytic Converters Installation Requirements

Q. What is the penalty for a violation of the law?
A. Catalytic converter falls under California anti-tampering law. The law is designed to
prevent tampering with pollution control devices on California vehicles. The anti-tampering
law is Vehicle Code Section 27156 and covers all pollution related systems and devices on a
motor vehicle. A violation of this law may also include a parallel violation of California
Business and Professions Code Sections 17200 and 17500. Judges usually impose penalty
based on the severity of the offence and whether a repeat offender is involved, and a fine of
up to $2,500 for each violation may be assessed, as well as some jail time.

 

[BATMANs]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm leaning towards the CTSC and having Driving Ambitions do the install. Would anyone with the CTSC installed be willing to take me for a ride? Thanks for all the help.

Why don't you update your location under your avatar?

 

[BATMANs]

It is very easy to spot a car that is running without cats.
At night the flames shooting out the tail pipe is a tell tale sign!

From http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/aftermktcat/installcatq&a.pdf
New Aftermarket Catalytic Converters Installation Requirements

Q. What is the penalty for a violation of the law?
A. Catalytic converter falls under California anti-tampering law. The law is designed to
prevent tampering with pollution control devices on California vehicles. The anti-tampering
law is Vehicle Code Section 27156 and covers all pollution related systems and devices on a
motor vehicle. A violation of this law may also include a parallel violation of California
Business and Professions Code Sections 17200 and 17500. Judges usually impose penalty
based on the severity of the offence and whether a repeat offender is involved, and a fine of
up to $2,500 for each violation may be assessed, as well as some jail time.

Don, The smog tech that I used said that due to the age of my NSX, that' it's OBD-1, and it's no longer in production what I did should be OK with most techs since I did the "best" that I could by using CARB cats that was actually designed for larger more polluting engines which would be an "over-engineered" feat that creates a cleaner tail pipe.

Had this been my OBD1 GTO i would have been in trouble for sure......

 

[nsxnut]

My comment was driving without cats.

This is easy to spot and the CHP will happily impound the car.


Maybe you retain the stock cats and add additional cats in place of the muffler for the smog? Actually having two?

As long as you retain the stock cats the CHP won't bother you.



Later,
Don

 

[BATMANs]

My comment was driving without cats.

This is easy to spot and the CHP will happily impound the car.


Maybe you retain the stock cats and add additional cats in place of the muffler for the smog? Actually having two?

As long as you retain the stock cats the CHP won't bother you.



Later,
Don

gotcha.

I've been pulled over by CHP without cats, but i do turn the engine off immediately. And they are often to occupied with the visual shock and awe of the rest of the car (spoiler, all murdered out look, plates, etc.) to think cats are missing....

 

[sicarius82]

Maybe you retain the stock cats and add additional cats in place of the muffler for the smog? Actually having two?

As long as you retain the stock cats the CHP won't bother you.

Don,

I've been researching this for a few months now.

First thing, there is no way you can fit two sets of cats (pre-cat, cat converter, etc) together on an NSX unless you completely modify the header and exhaust.

Secondly, MagnaFlow (and Catco) are legal in CA (including new standards). As long as a cat (pre-cat) has a valid CARB EO#, you will be able to use it as a legal replacement for the old OEM cat.

If you do get pulled over for inspection, the officer will be able to clearly see the CARB EO# on the replacement cat. I know of people running high flow cats with the magnaflow heat shield. illegal, yes. but the officer can't prove that it's fake. just say it's "blown" and that you will have it replaced.

 

[kookoo4nsx]

......or you could move out of the USSR.....................

 

[BATMANs]

This is what i got for my truck and a RX7.

Totally works like a charm.