Gauging Interest: Turbo Kit

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by RacebyDesign

Good question Jim.

Probably because I dont have a kit yet. Until its available for purchase its vaporware.

Once I have properly gauged the market I will glady pay fees to start downpayments, preorders, or purchases, etc.

It is simply an inquirery. If you would rather I leave and not "impose" on the boxster community with a solution to a problem I could do that as well.

When/if this goes into production (I should know at the end of this week) I will glady pay royalties where due.

I understand your frustration from a viewer stance, but please put yourself in our shoes. If a moderator sees this as a shameless plug for revenue I believe they should shut it down and ban me. Until that point, I just want to see if there is ANY desire for such a kit so as to put forth $30+ thousand in R&D work and preproduction.

Sincerely,

Blake Erven
Race By Design

PS: I drive a MR2 Spyder and with a corolla 1.8 people have made upwards of 240 whp from "kits" with stock bottom ends. If you call running high 12's with cast pathetic pistons a problem I am confused.

PPS: The expense of fabricating a liquid-to-air intercooler is our testement to understanding the situation. As of now this is the ONLY unit in existance that may have an intercooler (let alone a water-to-air).

Hi,

First, I still think you're selling.

Second, if you're running a forced MR2 w/ cast pistons, you won't be for long. They cannot withstand the added pressure and heat - Lotus found this out after turbocharging the Esprit in 1980 and found the stock cast pistons crowning and melting at about 36k mi. In fact, I have a melted #4 piston from my '85 Esprit as a paperweight. In '86, Lotus went to a forged alloy piston in a matched nikosil liner, problem solved.

Third, I don't know what kind of business model you have, but a $30k R&D expenditure cannot be recovered on a car which has only had 160,000 units produced worldwide. Maybe 20% of all Boxsters are on lease preventing the type of modding you propose. Then, there are many (like me) who don't want to fool with an already iffy engine, are satisfied with it just as it is, or prefer naturally aspirated engines (driveability). There are several countries which won't allow you to import your product or allow an owner to do this type of engine modding. Then, subtract those who have already done a 3.4 swap or an SC mod. I think best case, maybe 1-2% of all models produced, meaning 1600-3200 cars may add forced induction. And, this is best case - it's not like Imagine and other producers are going to just lie down and hand you the market, so I'd guess you might sell 500-750 total units. In order to recover that type of R&D cost (assuming this $30k figure is correct and you're not just posturing) and earn a margin on the sale, you'd have to price these things waay over anything which is currently available. And, I think the Super is much more attractive than the Turbo to most people anyway. I just don't see how you can get the math to work...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I don't know, but the R&D expenses sound kind of low to me!

$30,000/500 units is only $60 per unit.

Am I missing something?

[MNBoxster]

Originally Posted by bmussatti

I don't know, but the R&D expenses sound kind of low to me!

$30,000/500 units is only $60 per unit.

Am I missing something?

Hi,

Yea, but don't forget, that's on top of all the other costs making up the retail price including production, warehousing, advertising/marketing, and profit. The price will need to reflect this and ammortized over so few units, it's akin to kissing your sister.

I'm sure their business plan forecasts greater units sales than this, but in all my experience with Hotel Franchising, where a business plan was part of the Franchise application, I've noted that they are almost 100% optimistic and rarely perform on par with the proforma.

I'd be surprised if they sell any more than my prediction. Imagine has been out for several months while the Gemballa and Turbo Performance kits have been available for years and I doubt that we have even 1% of the members here (meaning 60 cars) sporting Super or Turbo kits. Since the mod has been available for some time, this cannot be an accident, or lack of availability, rather a choice most owners have made to stay with the naturally aspirated engine, or they would have already performed the mod.

One also needs to appreciate the risks involved in such a mod as well. One can spend thousands of dollars on this modification for relatively little gain, then perhaps thousands more when the engine gets damaged by a poor design or installation. Porsche won't repair under warranty any damage caused by a modification of this type, nor do the kit manufacturers warrant against this type of damage either.

Most experts would agree that any such modification should be accompanied by extensive internal engine modifications as well, such as lower-compression pistons, stronger bearings, more heat-resistant exhaust valves, higher-pressure oil pumps, recalibrated DME, better flowing injectors and fuel pump, and more. None of the kits mentioned here include, or suggest, any of that.

History is filled with guys coming out with better mousetraps, but it's also filled with guys going broke trying to promote better mousetraps, not to mention suckers who fell for the better mousetrap...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99