Filed under: Uncategorized
In an effort to ever improve our products, we spent the last week testing new designs and preparing our RMSHA race sled for the upcoming season. The first day was spent with Lynn Felker of Felker Motorsports in Loveland, CO working on new ideas and changing components on our Modified race sled. The biggest change we made was in the skid. As I am sure that all of you Ski-Doo owners out there know, ski lift with a turbo is insane and uncontrollable. To improve on this situation, we installed the new Timbersled Mountain Tamer skid with Z-Broz Exit shocks. To further improve the race handling, we changed out the handle bars and riser to make racing the sled much easier. We also made a few other small changes to improve rider safety while racing. Not only did our changes today help the handling of the sled we also lost another 15 lbs from the chassis; it now weighs 475lbs wet.
After a day of changes and new ideas we spent the rest of the week testing all of our products, including the mod sled. We were very happy with the results. We played with the clutching on the Polaris RMKs to find a setup that works great and controls the detonation associated with over revving the engine. We also tested our air to water intercooler. The system worked well and controlled the inlet air temperature keeping the sled very consistent.
We spent time with the new E-Tec, again the first thing we had to check with was the clutching setup. With the new gearing this year, we can’t recommend our old clutch setup for the 2012 sleds. We also spent a lot of time checking the tuning and our R.A.V.E. setup. This also proved to work well without making changes to our system.
We did more testing with the new Arctic Cat M800. Overall, we were happy with the way the sled ran. The intercooler worked very well and never caused any overheating issues, even when we were trail riding on pavement as much as snow on the way to the hill. While we were happy, it’s not perfect yet and were are going to make a few changes before we release the kit. I expect it to be ready after the beginning of the year.
After we were done testing with all of our production turbo systems, we broke out the mod sled. The new skid worked amazingly well, especially when compared to the stock skid on our Summit. It even made the Freeride look stupid, keeping the ski’s planted. Right now the shock setup isn’t right but we will have Nate and the boys over at Z-Broz re-valve the shocks for us lowering the compression so that we can dial in the coupling adjustment on the Timbersled skid. Along with the shocks, we have a couple of other things that we want to change to make this the best sled on the hill.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Here’s a short video showing the numerous custom sleds that showed up for this year’s Dash for Cash in Jackson Hole, WY. Everything from old sleds to new were on the hill. Some were running manufactured turbo systems, some running custom turbo systems, all were fast. Keep in mind that all the Aerocharger-powered sleds were running off-the-shelf versions of our turbo systems, nothing custom and no engine work. This is a great demonstration of just how powerful a well laid out, efficient turbo system can be. Enjoy.
New to our lineup this season is our Arctic Cat Proclimb turbo system. We are excited to get back into the Arctic-Cats after the success of our M8 turbo systems from a few years back. The new sleds offer a more turbo-friendly layout as well as a more compact package. Both of which have provided us with the ease of creating a lightweight and efficient turbo system.
Utilizing the cavity under the nose, we were able to mount a highly efficient air-to-water intercooler which pulls coolant from the factory cooling system to reduce the weight an complexity of the system without sacrificing performance. In addition to the intercooler, we have also mounted the turbo as low as possible for ideal weight distribution from side to side and for the lowest possible center of gravity. While the design and layout is finalized we will continue our testing a data-logging to finalize our fuel curve. Expect to see these turbo systems on our shelves very soon. In the mean time visit the Arctic-Cat page on our website for more information and pricing.
We’ve been spending all spring and summer further developing all of our snowmobile turbo systems and a good portion of that time has been dedicated to our E-TEC lineup. We still offer the original air-to-air intercooler system which was developed in conjunction with BRP’s race division and brought them great success at last year’s RMSHA. While this setup made a staggering 240hp @ 7psi on BRP’s in-house dyno, we continued our quest for further efficiency and power. First off were upgrades to the RAVE valves to boost low-RPM performance and take care of the occasional RAVE check engine light. This upgrade can also be easily added to our previous E-TEC turbo systems. Along with changes to the RAVE valves we have made modifications to our fuel controller. The modifications will make tuning the E-TEC easier than ever before. All turbo systems sold this year will have this technology included as part of the turbo system’s electronics, but will require a re-flash to activate once we are satisfied with the performance. We also wanted cater to those riders who want to maintain their headlights by offering a non-intercooled option capable of providing excellent performance with either pump or race gas situations.
Check out the Ski-Doo E-TEC page on our website for more details.
The time has come to part with our 930 and move onto other projects. The car was originally purchased to develop our variable-turbo conversion and it has been a fantastic journey from stock to a true turbo system. The car was originally owned by an old customer of mine back in my Imagine Auto days and was then purchased by Brad Riley, the president of Aerocharger, to develop this turbo conversion. This has been his personal car, which unfortunately only gets driven once every few weeks now as he travels often. We would like this car to go to a good home where it and the turbo system will be enjoyed and well taken care of. The car is an ’86 as stated, with just under 50,300 original miles. The car has been well kept up on maintenance and has fresh plugs and oil on top of our complete turbo system. There are a few additional upgrades on the car such as Fikse FM5 wheels, MOMO steering wheel, Alpine CD/MP3 with iPod interface (hook-up in glove box), Pioneer component speakers, “Turbo” floormats, aluminum “Turbo” door sills, and fresh carpet in the trunk. Here is the car as it sits right now:
Onto the turbo system. We developed this turbo conversion for two reasons: 1) to eliminate the turbo-lag issue inherent in these cars and 2) as a throw-back to the 934 race cars so many of us love. While most people would prefer a 5-spd 930 I made a point to seek out a 4-spd 930 when starting this project. The reasoning of course was based around the fact that lag is an even larger issue with the 4-spd cars and their gearing. By creating a more efficient header system and adding our self-contained variable-vane turbo we were able to hit full boost before even reaching 2,000rpm on this setup.
Feel free to contact us (913.541.0200) about the details of this turbo system. The performance is truly staggering compared to stock, or even built engines for that matter. Here is a look at our header design as well as a dyno chart showing the car is stock form (red) compared to it’s current state (purple)
Here are a few photos of the car during the development process:
Price: $35,000
For more details please give us a call and ask for Brad or Collin at 913.541.0200
Filed under: FOR SALE
Our 2011 RZR-4 was put together as a show piece for events and taking to dealers to display our turbo systems. The vehicle has barely been run and has been kept meticulously clean, with only 150 miles. This 2011 RZR-4 comes with a brand new Aerocharger Turbo System installed and tuned making over 95hp at the wheels with a conservative 7psi which can easily be turned up for those who want even more power.
The Turbo System Includes:
53 Series Aerocharger
Turbine Heatshield w/ Insulator
Stainless Steel Exhaust Collector
Stainless Steel Muffler Assembly
Wideband Oxygen Sensor and Gauge
Donaldson Air Filter
VDO Boost Gauge
Aerocommander Fuel Controller Box
Custom Clutching by TEAM
Blow-Off Valve
The vehicle is worth over $21,000 with the cost of the vehicle, turbo system, upgrades, and tuning. Selling it for $16,995. Give us a call for more details at (913) 541-0200. To read more about our turbo systems visit the RZR Turbo System page on our website.
After going over the car, I found a whole lot of things that needed changed and updated. It is pretty amazing what some people do to their cars just to make them run the next day.
Looking at the silicone couplers on the car I noticed a couple small holes and tears so I went though and replaced all of the couplers. When doing so I found that all of the charge tubes are made out of painted mild steel and of course they were rusting. I instantly removed them all and built new ones out of aluminum. All of the signal lines and fittings that were attached to the original tubes were bondo’d onto the tubes. I have to say that I have never seen that before and I hope I don’t again.
The front mount intercooler only pulls air from about a 20 square inch area even though the core takes up about 105 square inches. The placement of the core also requires you to change tubing size multiple times just to clear pulleys. Not only was the intercooler not cooling the air but I also found that the nozzle for the methanol injection was installed backwards. Someone clearly didn’t read the instructions because Snow Performance specifically says in the instructions DO NOT DO THIS. With the nozzle in backwards, the methanol flows like a garden hose and does not atomize one bit. After this was fixed I had to change the settings on the controller otherwise it was over octane the engine and cut out when the pump turned on.
To make everything that much better, I ended up blowing a head gasket. Its never good when two cylinders are down 60 psi from the rest, it makes for one great running car. I haven’t pulled it off yet but I am not going to be surprised if it is a cheap N/A 2.3l head gasket. Unfortunately, I wont get a chance to pull the head off until probably November due to my busiest time of the year coming up.
Background:
Recently, I found a 1985 ½ Ford Mustang SVO for sale locally. After inspection and a thorough test drive I purchased the car. The car has 134000 miles on the chassis; the original 2.3L engine was rebuilt 20,000 miles ago, as was the stock AiResearch turbocharger. During the engine rebuild the head was modified to house larger intake and exhaust valves. Along with the valves, a new camshaft and adjustable cam gear were installed. To assist with the higher air flow, larger fuel injectors were installed along with a new fuel pressure regulator. At this time I do not know the specifications on the valves or the camshaft or the exact size of the fuel injectors.
After the engine was rebuilt, the former owner removed the stock top mount air to air intercooler and installed a much larger front mount air to air intercooler. Along with the intercooler a Snow Performance methanol injection system was installed into the system to help cool the charge temperatures as well as add octane to the fuel. This is pretty much mandatory when the turbo is set at 22psi and being run on 87 octane pump gas when it is 102° F outside, like it was when I picked it up from the owner. I have since dropped the boost down to the stock 15psi and switched to 93 octane fuel.
Confirmation:
Before I begin a turbo swap for this project, I want to have good data to compare the modified setup with the stock setup si I will do a basic engine tune up by inspecting and changing the plugs if necessary. Changing the air filter, as it is filthy. I will then install a wideband oxygen sensor to monitor the air fuel ratios. Then make any necessary changes to the fuel system to provide a safe fuel tune.
After the car has been deemed safe, I will then do dyno testing and track testing to baseline the car with the stock turbocharger.
Modifications:
After the baseline has been completed I will then install a 66 series Aerocharger. I will reuse the stock exhaust manifold for initial testing to keep everything consistent as well as reusing the charge tubes and intercooler setup that is currently installed on the vehicle. I will then recheck the fuel system tune to make sure that everything is still safe and re-dyno test and take it back to the track.
After a base Aerocharger has been installed I will then change up the system with a new exhaust manifold, redesigned intercooler and charge tube setup. I will then retune the fuel system again to verify the safety, afterwards more dyno and track testing.
Our newest turbo system has been released for the Polaris RZR XP 900. We had such great success with our previous RZR turbo system that we knew we needed to take things to the next level with the XP 900. We listened to our customers and delivered a turbo system that fits completely under the bed and comes with an air/water intercooler system and Donaldson canister filter as standard with every kit. The result is a clean and compact package that fits neatly under the bed and provides the most efficient and responsive power delivery available.
These turbo systems are available now and are going fast. For more information visit our RZR XP site one the web or give us a call at (913) 541-0200.
Filed under: Snowmobiles
We’re running out of room in our shop and the RUSH is on the list of things to go. This sled has only been on the snow two or three times and has had very little use. We’ve already dialed in the turbo system and clutching so it’s ready to go. The sled is in perfect shape and has a brand new Aerocharger intercooled turbo system, asking: SOLD. For any questions feel free to call us at (913) 541-0200.
