So this SC install has turned into an adventure (and that's being kind).

I decided to take it to the local guy that has a great rep, is a dealer for a bunch of aftermarket companies and man am I glad I did. If it was in the driveway right now I'd be out of my mind with frustration.

The BOM went in last Wednesday with it scheduled to be installed by Friday morning. He called me Friday afternoon and said it went smooth except the belt was not contacting the tensioner or the bearing just before it and that under power the belt touches at the closest travel point.

Here's a pic that shows where the bearing is that it does not touch.



Also, the SC pulley that came with the kit is much smaller than the one shown on the left in the above image. Looks as small as the hi-boost pulley but looks different than the pulley shown for the hi boost kit. It's to the right of the air filter below.




Here's the pulley that's installed on the SC right now. Unfortunately the camera focused on the crank pulley, the SC is in the background slightly out of focus.



Every time we try to get hold of KW tech support...well you just can't, we have been talking with skunk2. James (my mechanic) has been selling skunk2 products for years so he's able to contact them easily. He's sent them photos like the one above and the answer is it's correct and the tensioner will adjust it as it runs. James has installed plenty of SC kits on different platforms and is very leery of the belt not touching the bearings correctly and rubbing on itself. We all know that the belt should not touch in any case.

Today he sent them a movie of the belt turning under power showing the belt touching itself and it not touching the bearing. The other issue is if it is in fact the correct pulley for a base kit then how does it spin faster with the small pulley and only generate 5psi? The answer so far is that there is a limiter on the output that keeps the pressure at 5psi. (sounds like a bunch of back pressure on the SC if true)

James called me this afternoon and told me that the skunk2 guys are meeting in the morning with someone from kraftwerks and will come up with a final resolution to the questions of:

Is it the correct pulley for a base kit?
If the pulley is correct, is it the wrong belt?
Is there really a limiter on the output of the SC?
What's the end game on this?

So far I'm still hopeful that this can be all worked out, I think this is the simplest solution to boost the L15A and I'm still excited to get it working. I'm am concerned there will be any tech support out of kraftwerks in the future though. The fact that it took a month to even acknowledge my order and ship it and now we can't speak with anyone directly at KW is disturbing. I also kinda pissed that the fit has been down this long although I don't blame James, I'm glad he's being cautious.

I'm open to suggestions and encouragement I guess I find out tomorrow whether this turned out to be a mistake...

 

Your routing of the belt is the same as mine.. It could be that the belt tensionor needs to be tightened up some... It's 1/2" square drive They send a tool to use for this.. Its on Pg12 figure 30 and page 13 figure 31...

 

this just sounds like one constant headache.

i am curious if you got a high boost pulley with a low boost belt to keep it from tensioning.

 

If the tensioner is tightened won't it push the belt further from the bearing? At least that's how it seems to me.

 

Belt should definitely be under tension from the automatic tensioner, but it shouldn't be touching the bearing before it - Oscar Sr told me that the purpose of the bearing is to keep the belt from contacting/damaging the engine under boost. Pretty sure mine is slightly below the bearing. Belt is only to touch the bearing when under boost, if ever. I'll see how big the pulley is on my A/T base kit to compare to your pic.

It's been established before that there is a limiter keeping the sc from going beyond 5-6 psi - you take it out when you install the high boost kit. I've had no issues with the sc so far with it in place.

No idea what's the issue with KW support, I still haven't been able to get in contact with them to order a new belt. Only way I've been able to get one was when I bought through a 3rd party resaler who got the belt and intercooler kit dropshipped from kraftwerks (after a long delay).

Edit: Just went and checked, the belt does not touch the bearing. Also my A/T pulley looks to be the same as yours. Either your routing is wrong, the belt is too long or your tensioner is not set to the proper distance (mine's around 3/4 of the way towards the front of the car)

 

Thanks for the info Koi, I'll let James know...

Today a guy at skunk2 was going to install a SC on a L15A that is on a stand to see what the issue might be. Haven't heard anything back yet but as far as I can tell KW is totally offline, I'd contact skunk2 for belts or traction oil or maybe Oscar Sr's new website. At least someone will answer the phone at skunk2...

 

There are 2 pulleys for the Fit kits, AT and MT version. AT is the smallest, so it sounds like you got the right one.

As for the belt not making contact on the bearing, if you look at the picture and imagine a smaller pulley, the line that the belt travel changes and looks like it would not touch at times. At this point it looks like the bearing is there to just make sure the belt won't travel any higher. But if the belt is touching itself (like at the point of the tensioner and the idler pulley) it's possible you might have accidentally gotten the MT belt. Just a guess.

And there is a limiter, but it on the intake side of the Rotrex.

 

The only thing I can think of that could be a problem is that the pivot bolt on the alternator is too tight to allow adjustment... As Koi mentioned there should be a 3/4" gap between the ear on the alternator and the end of the adjustment slot... The picture shown doesn't appear to have had the slack taken up in the belt..

 

This! The tensioner is spring loaded so all you have to do is put full slack in it and get the belt routed, once you've done that all the adjustment is in that new black bracket your alternator is attached to. There is a bolt at the bottom that you need to loosen at the bottom of the alternator before you can adjust it on the top bolt. A good start is to have it around half pulled forward in the slot, then go from there (mine has about 5mm left). As for your pulley etc... you are correct its the 10psi one, it is included in both kits because the boost comes on sooner than with the old big pulley pictured. To counter the boost you would get with the small pulley a black restrictor is glued in the supercharger opening that can be removed.

Hope this helps

As for those looking for Rotrex oil or a belt, its not to hard to do a google search... or you could take the belt into your local store and find a match. does anyone have the info that is printed on the belt?

Good luck!

 

This picture you posted is with the old big pulley, if it had the smaller pulley you can see how there is less chance of contact on the bearing. Also this shows the belt/alternator with full slack... you can see that the more you pull the alternator the other direction (than pictured) you would get more chance of the belt ridding on that bearing because the auto tensioner would rise up from tension. Let your tuner know this info and to not rely on only tension from the auto tensioner. The picture you posted does not show where your alternator is in relation to the adj. bracket.

 

Turns out the belt is incorrect, skunk2 overnighting one and I should have it going tomorrow, apparently some kits on the shelf were packed incorrectly.

 

It's up and running...immediately drove 105 miles below 3000 rpm. Stomped on it at 106 miles and ensued. Goin' on the dyno tomorrow, where it was 89whp before install.

 

Can't wait to see the results. Make a trip up to Washington so I can see the Fit.

 

Those 106 miles took forever I'll bet.

 

Keep an eye on the cushion clamp that holds the a/c line away from the belt - it's snapped off and ruined the a/c hose for me and others on this forum...

 

Tweak that A/C hose far enough that there is no pressure on the clamp because the new found torque is going to break the clamp anyway because of engine movement.. You want the hose to be away from the belt even without the clamp... My clamp broke with out any pressure on it , I suppose from vibration, but the hose never has touched the belt... That was over 12000 miles ago and I have yet to replace the clamp.... How about your mounts Koi.. Are they causing any more vibration than you can handle?

 

At this point I've forgotten I even filled the transmission mount - the noise has gone down a bit and the vibrations aren't as strong as they were immediately after (or I'm just used to it now). I want to fill the side and rear mounts but I couldn't get the nut on the underside of the side mount/engine off, and I couldn't get the rear mount off with the tools I have on hand... some day though as just the transmission mount by itself improved drivability of the car 150%.

 

hey I'm looking at the KW SC HB Kit, but I need to find an exhaust system that will provide sufficient flow with the most minimal amount of sound bc the po po's in my city are super strick on modified exhaust, any suggestions??

 

...also with the KW kit, if oscar has left will the other kits offered by jackson have the necessary hondata reflash?

 

Check my sig for the exhaust setup, not awfully loud at all, especially when you are easy on the skinny pedal.

Don't know...only the hi-boost kit requires the reflash IIRC.