Supercharger - Imagine Auto

[oliverg]

Hi guys. I've been a lurker here for some time. I wanted to get your most learned opinions on the ImagineAuto supercharger kit.

Has anyone here installed the kit? I'm in Australia and dont want to go to all the trouble of having a unit shipped out to me only to find its not worth the effort.

Here are some of the questions (below) I fired off to Imagine - if anyone else can answer them or give me some further ideas / information that's pertinent I'd be most appreciative Also I may have missed some questions out to ask so any advice here too would be great.

Thanks very much

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Can you ship your supercharger kit to Australia?

Do you have anyone in Australia (Melbourne) that has installed one of these kits?

Do you need to do the GIAC flash upgrade or can the supercharger be installed without it?

Do you need to rebuild the engine before even thinking of deploying the supercharger?

How much for shipping? How much for the unit?

You mentioned in the article that this was developed for the 2.5 but later on I see “suitable for 2.7/3.2” – could you clarify a little for me?

[ohioboxster]

1. Im sure they can ship the kit anywhere.
2. Dont know if they have sold one in Australia
3. Yes, you need to reprogram the cars computer
4. How many miles, engine condition would be a factor.
5. Dont know how much money probably around $7,000.00 US dont know about shipping.

Thats my thoughts.

[oliverg]

thank you Ohioboxster you are a gentleman and a scholar

Have you finished installing your kit yet? I'm dying to know what your opinion is of it.

Kind regards

[ohioboxster]

The thread above is actually a play by play of the install.

[oliverg]

From what I can tell the retail price of the Imagine Auto kit is US$ 7k?

but what you have below doesn't add up to anywhere near 7k

How did you get the kit so cheap? Are Imagine making an absolute fortune? What would buying their kit for 7k benefit me over doing what you have done?

Kind regards

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Supercharger kit..........$ 1398.00 includes shipping
Brass nut.....................$ free 00 guy at home depot gave it to me
Metric fastners.............$ 38.00 Bolt depot (studs,nuts,washers,etc)
Loctite flange sealant..$ 25.00 Online (couldnt find it locally)
Vacuum hose...............$ 4.00 Auto Zone
Tee-fitting....................$ 1.99 Auto Zone
water hose 1"..............$ 11.00 Auto Zone
Dayco belt....................$ 36.00 Advanced auto
Digi box (fuel box)........$ 500.00 TPC
Injector........................$ 100.00 TPC
Fuel line.......................$ 50.00 TPC
Install manual..............$ 00.00 TPC (gave me manual free)
Shipping 4 ^.................$ 20.00 Ups
Air filter.........................$ 22.00 Pelican
Fuel filter......................$ 38.00 Peliican
2" Silicon hose..............$ 25.00 E-bay 2 total S&H in price
Supercharger oil............$ 14.00 Pontiac dealer (2 bottles)


Misc money:

Mobil 1..........................$ 57.90 Auto Zone
Oil Filter........................$ 13.00 Sunset
Ignition switchs............$ 36.00 E-bay (2 total)(no labor $)
Clutch line.....................$ 63.00 Porsche dealer (no labor $)
Brake fluid.................... $ 5.00 Auto Zone ( need to double check this price)

[ohioboxster]

I found a used kit on E-bay that is like new. Let me clarify, I dont know how much Imagine autos kit cost. That was just a guess.

[mnavarro]

Guys, I'm a noobie. I just bought a use 2003 porsce S boxster in seal grey with 26K miles. I think I know why it's difficult for us to mod the HP for these cars. Porsche knows a thing or two about engineering, but these cars are designed not to be modded easily. If they could easily be modded HP they would prove themselves with inexpensive modification to be superior to the 911, because the handling is already there. So we are given a light engine, unless you want to buy the rumored turbo caymen @ > 100K

I think putting in bigger motors personally sucks compared to the versatility of a turbo setup. On a turbo setup you can have a 100 octane map and make safely 50-60hp more.

How much would it cost to fortify the engine (forged pistons) and what are the limits of the drive train/clutch etc. The boxster S would be awesome with 50-70 hp more. Some of the mods here are ridiculously expensive compared to what I can get for my Subaru STI. It's primarely because these mods are coming from the guys who work on the 911s/turbos. I'm not talking about labor here.... I'm just talking the price of these kits.

[PorscheDoc]

Just to clear up some misconceptions:

A 3.4L engine in a boxster puts down roughly 280rwhp on our dyno. The supercharged S (stage I) puts down just over 280hp to the rear wheels. A new 997C2S puts down right at 300rwhp on our dyno. The performance is there, there isn't an extra wear and tear on the engine because of the supercharger. If you are going to go out and power brake the car and do burn outs, well then expect some more wear and tear on the car, but that's due to the driver. Doing an engine transplant is not a cheap option...so this was the alternative we came up with. For the extra money it will cost you to do an engine transplant, you are getting zero-very little horsepower gains over a supercharger kit.

There are a lot of guys throwing out numbers about a $50k new boxster and not wanting to modify it. That is fine, but realize that is for a new boxster off the showroom floor. Also realize that the 986 boxster is now almost 10 years old, and used prices are not expensive by any means. You can pick them up for $20k easily for the older models. So you pick up an affordable car, and modify it and have an incredible machine for under 30-35k. Not a bad deal in my opinion for the performance it is putting down. We can hold on to what things cost when they were knew, but also realize that an automobile is a depreciating asset. Hell the 944 Turbo could be optioned out to over $40k (back in the 80's) when it was new as well....

at 280rwhp, the boxster S is an absolute blast to drive. Look for the upcoming article on it (and the 2.5L boxster supercharged) in excellence and european car magazine.....

[JP-s-in st. louis]

Originally Posted by PorscheDoc

Just to clear up some misconceptions:



at 280rwhp, the boxster S is an absolute blast to drive. Look for the upcoming article on it (and the 2.5L boxster supercharged) in excellence and european car magazine.....

285 RWHP 350 or so crank hp!!! I have the dyno report Karl WOW is it fun! Anyone in the Seattle area can e-mail me and I will take them for a ride! The S/C can not be herd over 2500 RPM's so do not worry about the S/C wine...I was a little disappointed by the end result HP number but after driving it surprises you how fast it really is..

Josh

[PorscheDoc]

Originally Posted by JP-s-in st. louis

285 RWHP 350 or so crank hp!!! I have the dyno report Karl WOW is it fun! Anyone in the Seattle area can e-mail me and I will take them for a ride! The S/C can not be herd over 2500 RPM's so do not worry about the S/C wine...I was a little disappointed by the end result HP number but after driving it surprises you how fast it really is..

Josh

Enjoy the car JP, I know you haven't had it for a long time. Hopefully it was worth it. Look in excellence and european car magazine in a few months, you will see a nice supercharged Black Boxster S