Rotrex C38-91 supercharger kit

I installed a Rotrex C38-81 centrifugal SC in my BRZ and love it. I started looking around to see if there was an application for the Tundra and I found a dealer in China. Yeah, yeah, I know... They've installed numerous C38-91 Rotrex SCs over there on the Tundra. They state 540hp with the Rotrex. Ive asked for a dynograph of HP/ torque curve if they have it. Anyway, they are putting a kit together for me to install here in the US. Pricing comes in about $500 - $1000 (including shipping and taxes) less than the Magnuson kit (w/o shipping and tax). I'll post more as I finalize the deal and will end up doing a write up of the install.

 

Subscribed.

 

interesting.

 

A couple more images. Another thing I like about the Rotrex kit is the "smaller" packaging. I'm curious to see how much the kit weighs compared to the Maggie or Harrop. They did say there is no cutting required; only rerouting or repositioning of hoses/ pipes. The tune comes with the kit using Unichip. It should be plug and play as far as that goes. Getting excited!

 

Interesting.

I wonder how hard it would be to remove for when we have to do emissions testing.

 

I'm glad I don't have to worry about that in S. Carolina. For those that do, I imagine you could disconnect the Rotrex fluid lines and cap them, unplug the Unichip, remove the Rotrex unit still mounted on the plate, and the belt, reinstall the OEM belt and be good to go. Might also have to return the air intake to OEM.

 

Looking closer at the kit looks like a belt is added with another pulley and auto-tensioner. May not have to take OEM belt off at all for emissions testing. It would be nice to be able to replace a belt only for the SC vice a whole serpentine belt.

 

Do you know if they make one for the 1st gen? I like the idea of the weight being less, and down lower.
(I also have the c38 in my FRS)

 

Interesting. Im still hoping procharger or Whipple to go through the carb approval.
If I'm not impressed with the 4th gen after they work out the kinks, and I decide to keep mine....this could be an option.

 

The c38-91 is kind of small for a 5.7l. But I guess space is limited so that’s the biggest you can squeeze in there. Centrifugals are much more efficient, but you’re not going to get that gut wrenching torque in the low to mid power band, which is where these motors are designed to make power at.

 

Tune with hptuners not Unichip.

Unichip has a place in situations where no other option exists. But if hptuners supports your truck it would be a far superior option to Unichip.

 

Following.

 

this right here. I never see 5k rpms.

however, I remain interested in seeing a dyno run from 2500-6000.

 

No idea. They don't advertise one.

 

Sub'd

 

also

 

Received some additional detail.

"We didn't do a dyno test. However, the power increase can be estimated: the boost value is 0.4 bar and the power increase should be about 30%."

So, that would mean HP would be around 495?

 

No Dyno

 

Update: They require me to place a 20% deposit prior to assembling a kit. My big issue with this is the transaction is requested to go straight to the sales reps personal bank account. That sounds fishy to me although he did send me an invoice. We'll see if this deal falls through or if they come up with a better, less risky transaction method.

 

Do you think this is worth it for only a $500-1000 savings? At least with magnuson and Harrop there is data on existing Toyota products.

 

Plus at least these vendors give you some warranty.

 

I'll repeat the lack of low end torque that a centrifugal units have.

by nature, our V8 benefits most from positive displacement induction.

"normal" use of our engines don't reside in the upper RPMs

however, I remain interested.

 

I think it's worth it if the transaction is legit. While the SE Tuning may not offer a warranty and/ or be hard to get warranty because they are in China, Rotrex provides a warranty on their superchargers which is the item most likely to fail from the kit. So, I'm not worried about that. I don't mind being the guinea pig that helps bring a different FI option to our platform.

 

I don't have to rev the engine high in my BRZ to start getting benefits from the Rotrex. I understand what you're saying regarding the Tundra, but I think a Rotrex setup would be nice in our trucks and a good option to have...

 

I've had my fair share of dealing in terms of trans-pacific automotive parts dealing, I took a look at their site:
http://www.se-tuning.com/

Here's what I found via my Asian google-fu.

Their full name is:
深圳前海优创汽车科技有限公司


they are also listed as authorized retailer for Ultra-Chip, they state they are #1 for China's supercharger service station
http://www.che314.com/dealer-616411.html

I found very little information about them on Baidu, it state they are registered in 2019-06-06, you can find their registration info here:
https://aiqicha.baidu.com/company_detail_25137542012708?rq=ef&pd=ee&from=ps

It does show that they are Rotrex official retailer/rebuilder in China, I have a feeling is that person also works for SD performance, which is located in Hong Kong, http://www.sd-performance.com/eng/

In short, it looks like they are doing this the old fashion way, it may work, may not, but at that price range that's a huge risk to me, so hats off to you sir for taking a risk.

 

Able to pay the deposit with a credit card? Might at least have some backing if something goes wrong.

 

Depends on where the recipient is, but if its Mainland China, you get very little protection with credit cards, a lot of is by trust, when I used to deal with aftermarket parts, we always get samples for free, good, ok, let's order a test sample/kit to try it, then we stock or become distributor.

 

Pro Charger is coming soon and may be here sooner than Rotex with more stability and knowledge around our platform.

Centrifugal has its place in the V8 spectrum. Compact size, less parts, less maintenance, and linear power deliver. Not everyone wants to blow tires away leaving a stop light and would prefer to lean into powerband rather than hang on. Power is power and just depends how you want it served.

In the end it's great our platform is getting attention all around from companies so we have a choice.

With how our V8 breathes I'm sure our power would come in a bit lower than for example this 5.3 - https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/how-to/1910-works-best-pressure/amp/

 

The deal has fallen through. I'm not going to pursue this any longer. I am just not comfortable wiring the money to an account. It leaves me no protection if I don't get what I purchased. I don't see why they couldn't sell their product some other way. Too bad.