Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Electric S/C ??!? not e-ram

Wonder what it sounds like. Why not just get a turbo ?

I run the firm behind Thomas Knight's new website (launches Dec. 1st) and advertising campaign, and noticed that this site has been sending traffic to www.boosthead.com. I just sent Geoff your URL, and he should be logging on soon to answer all your questions, but in the meantime I can help you out a little.

We have found a way to cut our production costs substantially, so now the ESC blower is $1995, not $2995. Because this is a universal unit designed for most engines under 3.5L, you will have to purchase additional components, the cost for which ranges from $500 to $1000. $3K is the average total investment.

If there is already a quality turbo or SC kit available for your model, it might be more practical to buy one of those. However, keep in mind that the ESC produces instant boost, and furthermore is powered by an independent system, so you can make huge gains with zero parasitic loss. Check out our most recent dyno runs at www.boosthead.com/dyno.htm. Geoff switched the ESC on at 5,000 RPM and the boost went through the roof!

A common reaction to the cost of the ESC is "why should I spend $2K for instant power when a Nitrous kit costs only $600!" True, the kit may only cost $600, but here in Miami, NOS bottles cost $30-$45 per refill, and most of our serious customers go through 2-4 bottles per week. Do the math: that's anywhere from $3120 to $9360 a year just in Nitrous, plus the hassle of going to get it refilled.

In contrast, with a properly installed 200-AMP alternator upgrade and Odyssey-type batteries, the power source for the ESC can be replenished in 5-10 minutes of driving at zero additional cost. It's pretty obvious where the savings are when you look at the big picture.

Hope that helped. Geoff should drop by soon.

Regards,
David J.

Hello,
This is Geoff Knight, the designer and builder of my patented electric supercharger. I have seen several questions and comments on your forum and would like to address those. Also, this IS for real. Turbo Mag and Sport Compact are both doing multiple page articles on this awesome invention as they already know it to be real. It will completely revolutionize the industry as I am the only person to have ever developed this concept.
1--Why so expensive?
My cost on the first ten units--not the hours or patents, etc--only the cost of the parts was $2200 per supercharger. CNC cut gears, adapters, aluminum 6016 T6, etc are extremely expensive. I have since gone to 100 units per run dropping the cost by 35% and allowing me to wholesale to the public for $1995 (Shops also pay $1995) When I get to 300+ per run the cost will drop by another $15-20% and I may actually make some $$$ off of these.
2--how does it compare to a turbo?
On a stock engine which is limited to 6-7 psi the ESC will make 10-15% more power. A turbo does NOT make free hp like some may think. It takes backpressure to make boost, and street cars make double the pressure in the exhaust manifold compared to the intake manifold. The exhaust temps are also much higher.
3--how does it compare to a belt driven SC?
A crank driven blower takes more parasitic power as rpm goes up, and a typical SC running 7 psi takes 25hp @ 6000 rpm. My ESC will make 20-25% more power than a belt driven SC.
4--looks like an Eaton and starter motors.
That is what it all starts as, but the Eaton is fully race ported (VERY IMPORTANT)and powder coated and the three 4 hp motors are rewound to 6 hp (18hp total) on the basic model and 8hp (24hp total) on the race version. Basic model uses four lighweight 15lb racing batteries, and the race version uses six.
5-- why cant it be run continuous? This unit draws 1200 amps. The average alternator is 85 amps. You can almost make 1 psi from 85 amps--not 20 psi. Just like your starter, the unit draws current from batteries when needed, and a high-output alternator could recharge it in a few minutes. Electrical power is about 80% efficient during transfer, so an extra 40 amps from your alternator would require 36 minutes of charging to fully charge the batteries. That also assumes you are using 15-30 amps on your accessories--lights, wipers AC, stereo, etc all take a LOT of the alternators current. At night on a hot & rainy evening the 85 amp alternator may be all used up and the ESC batteries would NEVER charge. A 250 amp alternator assumes 200 available charging amps after accessories.

Geoff and David, thanks for stopping by to answer a few questions. I know the quality and engineering that TKT produces. I think there where plenty of skeptics at first, since we are very familiar with the crappy E-Ram (fan). Kudos on producing this kind of unit. As you two might be aware, Turbodyne produced/produces a centrifugal electic supercharger with much less boost. They chose not to deal with the aftermarket scene because "there is no money in it"

Just some questions I have come up with:

1. Is there an internal bypass for air when the ESC isn't in use? (we have a MAF system)

2. What kind of wire would you run from the batteries in the trunk to up front?

3. What would actuate the ESC? Our V6's have secondaries that open up at 3500RPM. That would be the best time to activate?

Thanks again for stopping in. We are very real car enthusiasts.

Also, this post might get moved/copied to our Forced Induction Section

Regards,
-Chris Higtower