GKD supercharger kit

[Norrbaggar]

Hi, I consider to purchase this kit from GKD:
http://www.gkdsportscars.com/supercharger-kit.html
Anyone that have installed this kit? Any thoughts about it?

 

[zedonist]

Ive looked at it, but the cost is £1000 without the supercharger and few other key items. I think a better option would be a T3/4 turbo, you can get the manifold, turbo, inter cooler etc for less than £1000. The option I am looking at is to go NA but with 2.1 litres and wilder cams, keep it in the spirit of the M44.

 

[Norrbaggar]

How are the rules for tuning in UK? I agree with you that it is a lot of money, but I really do not want a turbo. I think the GKD kit and a supercharger and a BTR are going to cos about £1500. I do not know what new cams, crankshaft and labour is going to cost, but in Norway labour is costly, so I do not think it will come very much cheaper than the GKD kit. But what du you think it will cost in UK?

The advantage with the supercharger is that it is easy to restore to NA again when you come to the MOT(EU-control or PKK is what we call it in Norway)

 

[zedonist]

Tuning is fine in the uk as long as it passes emissions testing. Labour in the uk is around £40 per hour. I think the trouble is doing this on a car that has already done a lot of miles, the bottom end is not going to last long and need a rebuild, hence my leaning towards the rebuild and going bigger bore. To be honest, by going to 2.1 and having the aluminium fly wheel, the car is going to be quite spritley, it is now with just the flywheel.

 

[Norrbaggar]

How much horsepower do you hope to gain? Labour i Norway is about the double of UK. I am not sure it is a big problem with the bottom end with the Eaton supercharger. I am not sure how much preassure the Eaton gives, but I think about 8psi, and that is not very much. But of course I agree with you that the wear is bigger with than without. If I do it, and if it becomes a problem - the replacement engine lies in the garage

 

[zedonist]

At 2.1 NA you can get between 170-200 depending on set up etc, if it is FI then you are 250 plus even approaching //M territory.

This is a very developed engine and was born from the early M3's which were 4 pots, in order to get a six pot to give the performance delivery equivalent to this it would be taking out to 3.2 litres, similar to the Alpina.

 

[Norrbaggar]

With the GKD and BTR(not new ECU) I think it will be around 180-190 horspower(this is just my guess). When the engiine do not produce more power than that, I feel it is a safe, good engine - allways working, with minimum problems.
In Norway you can not tune the engine like this without applying the authorities for permission. And that is not an easy process.

 

[t-tony]

I thought that the///M was a 3.2 and the Alpina a 3.4 ?

Tony.

 

[littlefeller]

With the GKD and BTR(not new ECU) I think it will be around 180-190 horspower(this is just my guess). When the engiine do not produce more power than that, I feel it is a safe, good engine - allways working, with minimum problems.
In Norway you can not tune the engine like this without applying the authorities for permission. And that is not an easy process.

i have heard this before, a friend of mine sold his TVR to a chap in norway, he came all the way over just to pick it up, his reasoning was exactly that, he wanted a car that had more hp as std.
if you keep boost below 10psi you can get away with alot of the original kit including the ecu. (or is it 1 bar)

 

[zedonist]

I thought that the///M was a 3.2 and the Alpina a 3.4 ?

Tony.

Sorry Tony you are correct the Alpina is based on the 3.0 taken out to 3.4, but for example the 2.0 or 2.8 would only go to 3.2.

 

[zedonist]

With the GKD and BTR(not new ECU) I think it will be around 180-190 horspower(this is just my guess). When the engiine do not produce more power than that, I feel it is a safe, good engine - allways working, with minimum problems.
In Norway you can not tune the engine like this without applying the authorities for permission. And that is not an easy process.

FI on the standard M44 will give you around 180-190 at around 8psi. But going out to 2.1 NA will give you the same.

I think we have it easy in the uk, I think the states have it easier still for modding.

I was looking at new cars yesterday, but following this discussion, I think I am going to be spending a bit more money on Z3 now...

 

[Norrbaggar]

Can you give me a short setup of the cost, and what you intend to do with your engine on the 2.1 setup?

 

[zedonist]

Have a look on a website called Metric mechanic, it has all the specs and the costs, I would be doing the same but using my engine builder here in the uk, so I expect it to be cheaper.

 

[Norrbaggar]

To achieve 2.1 is it larger bore and new pistons, or M47 diesel crank?
I can't understand that this can be cheaper than GKD with BTR and Eaton, but I think you will get a really strong engine, that is fun to use.
A couple of yers ago I tuned a M10 engine, from a BMW 2000 Touring Tii 1971. I totally refurbish it, everything new - and balanced it. That became a really good engine. But it is really much work, and takes a lot of hours.
The GKD kit takes about a day to mount...

 

[zedonist]

It's cheaper in the long run, as I discussed earlier, with the amount of miles on the engine, it would not be long after fitting a supercharger that you would have to pay attention to the bottom end of the engine, so by just going the NA modification route, You will have similar power output for less cash overall.

I have had many turbo cars in the past and learned my lesson, only FI on a solid base. I have also modified a number of NA four pots with some fantastic results from increased bore and polished and ported heads.

One modification that would be cost effective would be larger valves and a polish and port in the head and port matching on the inlet and exit manifolds. You could do this in Norway without notification I would assume.

At the end of the day, both ways are good methods, it just depends on how deep your pockets are.