I saw an ad for a VF supercharger for a 997S on craigslist here in socal with 5k miles on it with everything but the GAIC ECU flashing included. The guy's asking $6500 which is about half price. Maybe it's somebody on this board?

I have a 997.2 C4S. Would this kit fit with my DFI engine? If not, why not? At this price it would be worth it for me to try it out and see what happens (Assuming ~$1k for installation) assuming I could sell it back for close to what I pay for it if it doesn't work out, but don't want to destroy my car / warranty if it's really not meant to work with my car.

Any advice or info?

 

I would get in touch with VF Engineering and see if it works on the 997.2.

I would imagine that it would be the same, except for the ECU.

 

^ what Northvan said... the ECUs will 100% not be compatible since the DI engines have different compression ratios, power bands, A/F mixtures etc. so you'll absolutely need a replacement piggyback unit or custom flash. The new DI's have compression ratios of 12.5:1 no? In any case, this part is critical or else you'll blow your motor.

You'll also, need to ensure the mounting points are the same, or else you'll be need to custom fabricate new brackets and so forth. You'll also want to ensure that there is enough physical space in the engine bay to accomodate the SC.

 

The owner of this supercharger PM'd me and explained that it is completely different connections etc.. to the point where it would pretty much not work with the new DFI engines without major changes to the unit / install points etc. I think it is also fair to assume that the ECU flashing would most certainly be different between the two cars. So I would say that strife and Northvan were pretty much right on with their assessment. The owner went into more detail as well. So, I won't be chancing it this time and will probably wait for new equipment specifically suited for this engine. However it would still be worth it if anyone from VF is on the board or anyone else that has specific information to chime in further on this. Thanks for the informative and accurate responses!

 

Did the owner told you about his ownership experience? Reliability and power gains ????

 

Actually didn't go over that (yet). I am somewhat familiar with the VF products as I reviewed them extensively back when I had an e46 M3 and gathered that they were regarded pretty well and discussed it with a well known //M tuner/mechanic shop out here. But, you're right that since this is a different car potentially different views for the 997 application.

Owner and myself live/work pretty near by so I am planning on meeting for coffee soon and picking his brain on this matter in the next week or two. Not sure I would have immediately installed it as I only have < 5k miles at this point, would have waited until 10k + anyway to actually install if it would have worked out for me. I just thought at the price it would be worth holding for another 6-8 months until I install.

 

VF is in Anaheim so you can discuss it with them but they will be the first ones to tell you not to do it.

Anyone can throw the hardware together, not tough. Problem is all in the tuning, best to sit back and wait until they release an official kit. TPC is working on something as well, just patience required.

 

the programming is completely different not to mention the injectors are 100% different(DFI now). We are working on something but it isnt a supercharger.

Casey

 

that sounds very very interesting. Overall I wasn't sure about superchargers, as supercharger will steal power to run itself from what I understand.... can't wait to hear more about what you got.

 

superchargers still work great. we are just working a different angle this time.

 

Yep. Injectors won't work at all, as they aren't direct injection. I'd imagine fuel pressure differences, possibly compression issues with the added explosion in the cylinders from the new engine... I love the VF kit, but would NOT proceed with a 997.1 used sc for my 997.2. Sorry.

 

Your option is going to produce a lot of torque, do you see any issues with the PDK handling it?

 

nope, the pdk is way stronger than the older tip and we supercharged many of those.

 

twin screw superchargers (what I've had), freely spin by hand - so I doubt there is significant HP loss driven it. I know that is not true for all SCs.

 

All superchargers, compressors or air pumps, use significant engine power to work. Nothing from nothing.