To supercharge or not to supercharge

I'll sound like a broken record saying this, but have you considered turbo-charging it for that extra level of bad-ass-esness?
 
angus said:
Ok, sorry I was late replying.

I want to start off by saying I was a big fan of URD after reading all the people talking about them and reading Gadget's seemingly cool posts.

The URD 7th injector kit is a great BAND-AID.

It's about as good a band aid as the S/C itself - so you can take that as you like.

It should also be noted that if you buy it and install it as-is you have a 50/50 chance it might be fine - and "just barely" fine at that.

After spending a lot of time and money with them, I feel I should have used either the split second FTC or AEM FI/C and larger injectors - or just used meth injection - and I still may.

Tuning the 7th injector, it is almost impossible to get factory like drivability - the injector seems too large, and also the ESC function cannot be adjusted for what
"value" you would like it to "present" to the ECU.

I MAY try a smaller injector and see. If not, I'll be selling the kit.

Gadget and his crew make some pretty neat products - but the HYPE is WAY better than the parts. so here's my take ( and keep in mind, I was patient and spent over $1K with them.

- Overpriced - you can do way better off elsewhere (pulleys from atkins rotary, fuel/timing control from split second or AEM) Completely forget about any other products from them as they are mostly 3rd party and more expensive than anyone else.

- No real customer service

- When you do get customer service, it's from Gadget and he has no business talking to customers on the phone - his personality is similar to a cardboard box.

- They will treat you like you are stupid, I ended up having to figure out things myself to even get it working - their tech advice wrong.

On top of this, I just got an email from a friend who is trying to fix his new truck (also a 3.4 S/C). He bought it with a URD 7th injector setup but the S/C was modified and the previous owner had made some strange 7th injector setup - anyhow, apparently Gadget initially refused to sell him replacement injector parts and when he did agree to it, he tried to sell him the injector by itself for $600!!! Needless to say, I am making him a nicer injector bung for about $80.

I'll skip them from now on. I've gotten out of cars before due to companies doing stuff like this (Nissan 240SX) and if they were the only choice in parts, you'd be seeing me in a Jeep as well.

Sorry for the rant but you asked.
Click to expand...

Thank you Sir for your honest opinion of the 7th injector kit...as well as your dealings with URD and Mr Gadget. Your opinion as well as [MENTION=9596]paddlenbike[/MENTION] opinion are both very valued and appreciated!! So there is no need to apologize for your rant...as you said, we asked for it!! :cheers:

I like to hear the good...as well as the bad...so I can form my own opinion, and make my own decision weather to use them or not! I will definitely agree with your one statement...that is: your analogy of Mr Gadget personality to a "cardboard box"!!!! :amen:
 
After all of this talk about band aids I just wanted to add that my supercharged 3.4 runs absolutely fantastic, even if it did require that URD band aid. There is nothing funky about how it runs, it feels exactly like how a factory supercharged rig should feel. It will also spoil the heck out of you because it is so much more powerful than even today's equivalent SUVs.
 
angus said:
Ok, sorry I was late replying.

I want to start off by saying I was a big fan of URD after reading all the people talking about them and reading Gadget's seemingly cool posts.

The URD 7th injector kit is a great BAND-AID.

It's about as good a band aid as the S/C itself - so you can take that as you like.

It should also be noted that if you buy it and install it as-is you have a 50/50 chance it might be fine - and "just barely" fine at that.

After spending a lot of time and money with them, I feel I should have used either the split second FTC or AEM FI/C and larger injectors - or just used meth injection - and I still may.

Tuning the 7th injector, it is almost impossible to get factory like drivability - the injector seems too large, and also the ESC function cannot be adjusted for what
"value" you would like it to "present" to the ECU.

I MAY try a smaller injector and see. If not, I'll be selling the kit.

Gadget and his crew make some pretty neat products - but the HYPE is WAY better than the parts. so here's my take ( and keep in mind, I was patient and spent over $1K with them.

- Overpriced - you can do way better off elsewhere (pulleys from atkins rotary, fuel/timing control from split second or AEM) Completely forget about any other products from them as they are mostly 3rd party and more expensive than anyone else.

- No real customer service

- When you do get customer service, it's from Gadget and he has no business talking to customers on the phone - his personality is similar to a cardboard box.

- They will treat you like you are stupid, I ended up having to figure out things myself to even get it working - their tech advice wrong.

On top of this, I just got an email from a friend who is trying to fix his new truck (also a 3.4 S/C). He bought it with a URD 7th injector setup but the S/C was modified and the previous owner had made some strange 7th injector setup - anyhow, apparently Gadget initially refused to sell him replacement injector parts and when he did agree to it, he tried to sell him the injector by itself for $600!!! Needless to say, I am making him a nicer injector bung for about $80.

I'll skip them from now on. I've gotten out of cars before due to companies doing stuff like this (Nissan 240SX) and if they were the only choice in parts, you'd be seeing me in a Jeep as well.

Sorry for the rant but you asked.
Click to expand...

I love this rant. Good info. Only issue is I have tuned AEM SAFC and F/IC before and they are also just a band aid. They cant compensate for the larger injectors without tricking ecu into another timing map causing higher than wanted timing map. Yes you can try and pull timing out but its just fighting the ecu back and forth.

To do it right you want to go full EMS. AEM EMS, Haltech, Megasquirt and build your own maps if you want a good driving car again. Either way your not going to get factory ride with any "piggy back" system.
 
JayRolla said:
I love this rant. Good info. Only issue is I have tuned AEM SAFC and F/IC before and they are also just a band aid. They cant compensate for the larger injectors without tricking ecu into another timing map causing higher than wanted timing map. Yes you can try and pull timing out but its just fighting the ecu back and forth.

To do it right you want to go full EMS. AEM EMS, Haltech, Megasquirt and build your own maps if you want a good driving car again. Either way your not going to get factory ride with any "piggy back" system.
Click to expand...

The FI/C if done correctly works just as intended - they are all band aids and if you've tried to daily your EMS equipped vehicles (which I have) you'll most likely rather have a piggyback.
 
angus said:
The FI/C if done correctly works just as intended - they are all band aids and if you've tried to daily your EMS equipped vehicles (which I have) you'll most likely rather have a piggyback.
Click to expand...

Yes and again daily driving a FI/C which ive done is not the best option. Im just saying if you plan on going this far with a supercharger why not run a EMS. IMO the tuning is more important but most put more money in the charger and mods to make power than the EMS to keep it safe. If you build the maps correctly it can run awesome daily (if done properly). Speed density is nice. AEM safc/FI/C are trash IMO. But thats me. Try running large injectors for e85 and see how it goes. Thats the only way I would go if running supercharger. The URD 7th injector is pretty much doing exactly what the AEM products do. Tricking the maf and ecu.
 
Last edited:
Partly because of this post I now want to supercharge my rig. Just don't want to break the bank (or the dig) doing so. I would like to do it with the second gen supercharger. Can anyone pass on so good key search words thst I can try on cl? I search 'trd', 'supercharger' and so far no hits.
 
The one towing mod I'd be eyeballing before anything else is the Tundra Brake Upgrade.

If you want rock solid reliability I'd stay away from modifying the engine at all. Especially forced induction.
 
Ok guys i know this post is still alive ! I have a gray first gen supercharger im about to install running stock pulley with no 7th injector what do i need to do as far as simple upgrades to help with the ping ? Or can i install it with just new spark plugs ? And a thermastat i need help I live in lower Al
 
Check out the supercharger thread if you haven't already. Lots of info on there.

Most important things are to dissipate the extra heat it creates. Cooler thermostat, Iridium plugs (check the thread for which kind to use), and look into a transmission cooler if you have an auto. All those will ensure a long life for your engine.

If you do end up with bad pinging after the install, go from there. After you put it on though be sure to pull the EFI fuse to reset your fuel trims and give it a solid 2-3 days of driving before you decide anything, it will get better with time.
 
gamefreakgc said:
They are hard to find used and on Craigslist they disappear really quick. Try a site that searches all of craigslist like SearchTempest: Search all of Craigslist nationwide & more or you'll have to bite the bullet and buy one new.
Click to expand...

And it's about to get even harder.... Toyota announced it's pulling the plug on superchargers. Once current stock is gone, it's gone.

So for those of you on the fence.... better figure it out fast and go find a supercharger. Sadly your ability to negotiate the price may now disappear too... unless the current owner doesn't know.
 
Is it worth it to supercharge my 99 with 189,000 miles? I really want one but I'd don't know if its worth it to spend the money.
 
J. B. said:
And it's about to get even harder.... Toyota announced it's pulling the plug on superchargers. Once current stock is gone, it's gone.

So for those of you on the fence.... better figure it out fast and go find a supercharger. Sadly your ability to negotiate the price may now disappear too... unless the current owner doesn't know.
Click to expand...

True, I have one lined up to purchase new for $2758 from a dealer. Dealer said I would have to wait 4-6 month though which I don't really mind. I just want a guarantee I will get it. I also have someone that just offered me a used 2nd gen supercharger with 75K miles. $2000 for that one.
 
skier46er said:
Is it worth it to supercharge my 99 with 189,000 miles? I really want one but I'd don't know if its worth it to spend the money.
Click to expand...

I'm going to do it to mine at 212K miles. If it is running good why not. Might do a compression test to really find out.
 
Less than a month after you make this thread and out of nowhere Toyota discontinues the damn things.

Way to anger the 4Runner gods, OP.
 
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