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SkittyDoogle build thread: HPD Supercharger installed plus many more mods.

33889 Views 146 Replies 19 Participants Last post by  SkittyDoogle
10
EDIT: Due to high traffic and interest on my build, those who would like to see more frequent updates can now follow me on my Instagram page @SkittyDoogle
Originally I thought no one cared for this build, but the traffic here has been overwhelmingly positive and people local to me have loved it too. 😊

This’ll be my first post on the forum. This is also only the beginning of the modifications this car will go through so I might update once the next upgrades are made.

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MODS PRIOR TO SUPERCHARGING:
  • HPD Suspension
  • Mugen NR17, Formula Silver, +48
  • Maroya Brake Cooling Panels

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SUPERCHARGER MODS:
  • HPD supercharger kit
  • Rotrex Traction Oil
  • Spoon Sports baffled oil pan
  • HKS LA (Light Action) clutch and flywheel kit
  • MFactory helical limited slip differential
  • MFactory 4.928 final drive
  • C-West CFRP gauge pod cluster
  • 60mm ProSport Premium EVO gauges (wideband, oil pressure, boost)
  • Zeitronix ECA-2 kit w/ 52mm gauge and carbon cauge pod (forgot who made the pod)
  • Mugen stainless steel cat-back sports exhaust system
  • J’s Racing stainless manifold test pipe (circuit converter)
  • FEEL’S carbon fiber ECU case
  • KTuner Flash Pro V1.2

Engine Automotive air manifold Automotive engine part Automotive fuel system Automotive super charger part


I had left it in the hands of King Motorsports to do all the work. After the modifications done it feels and sounds like a completely different car. I could rave all day about the quality of King’s work on it and the level of detail they put into the car.

Tire Wheel Motor vehicle Automotive design Vehicle


OBJECTIVES OF SUPERCHARGING:
Turn the CR-Z into its ultimate form with as many parts from Japan as possible with no expense spared. Make the car go, stop and handle on the track while staying useable every day of the year in all climates and temperatures. And make it capable of using high octane fuel and E85.

Khaki Packing materials Cardboard Packaging and labeling Material property


CHALLENGES:
Many companies have stopped producing certain parts for these cars, such as Mugen and FEEL’S, so some parts had to be substituted or changed. Ordering from Japan can also be a huge hassle due to long shipping times by sea or expensive shipping by air. This was compounded due to the coronavirus pandemic where the oil pan was stuck in transit for over a month and a half when EMS temporarily halted operations.

62841


BENEFITS OF SUPERCHARGING:
At the wheels it makes 182 horsepower on 93 octane and 192 horsepower on E85. It’s now comically loud for a tiny four cylinder. Due to the damn near straight piped exhaust it screams, pops and bangs everywhere it goes. One time I saw a kid drop his scooter to cover his ears as I blasted by. An unexpected benefit was now the hybrid battery charges extremely quickly and holds a high level of charge almost all the time. The differential is an enormous help because even in 1st and 2nd gear at full throttle the car struggles for traction. If it were open diff it’d be an uncontrollable mess in low speed corners.

Motor vehicle Mode of transport Transport Vehicle Automotive design


DRAWBACKS OF SUPERCHARGING:
The exhaust is unbearably boomy at low RPM, below VTEC. It’s so loud that on long trips at 65mph+ I have resorted to using the earplugs I use at shooting ranges to protect my hearing. KTuner also doesn’t allow flex fuel capabilities, so I must jump the junction box so the fuel pump spits all of the remaining fuel into a bucket before I flip the fuel map. Also, If you upshift just under 4k revs it has a one second rev hang that’s super annoying so it’s difficult to make smooth shifts. Due to the nasty salty northern roads I had to coat the Mugen cat-back exhaust to prevent

62844


SIDE NOTE:
Along the way of ordering parts from Japan the most surprising find was the Mugen cat-back exhaust. While techically I got it from King Motorsports it’s still produced in Japan. However, the built quality is off the charts. Ever wonder why Mugen parts are so expensive? They make every other welder look like a CHUMP. Each weld aside from the hangar welds are almost jewelry-level craftsmanship. My father, an engineer for 40 years and in charge of welding at several companies, has no idea how they managed to do what they did. Mugen laser engraves the production date, engine designation, part number, lot number and their logo... twice, on four pieces; two on the resonator and two on the muffler. Absolutely stunning to say the least. I really wish I didn’t have to put a coat over it.

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Very nice build! I am going to follow this with a lot of reading pleasure. :)
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How is your regen with the final drive swap?
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Nice!
"...saw a kid drop his scooter to cover his ears as I blasted by." gave me a good chuckle. :)
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How is your regen with the final drive swap?
It doesn’t feel much different from what I remember. It might be slightly more aggressive but due to how much else has changed it’s hard to tell. But what I do know is that it usually regenerates so much that after a short highway stint it doesn’t want to regenerate at all on an offramp, relying on only brakes and engine braking, most likely since the power from the supercharger must be recharging it so quick.
Is the regeneration working as before when you lift off the throttle or is there less regen?

Some other threads here suggest it reduces or diminishes almost completely when the final drive was swapped
Nice!
"...saw a kid drop his scooter to cover his ears as I blasted by." gave me a good chuckle. :)
Is the regeneration working as before when you lift off the throttle or is there less regen?

Some other threads here suggest it reduces or diminishes almost completely when the final drive was swapped
It still works just fine. Otherwise the battery would be completely flat by now. It might also be due to the supercharger. Sometimes however it does confuse the car so it tells me to upshift even though I’m in 6th gear.

EDIT:
Regen doesn't work as intended. It only works in 1st gear. I am working on a solution to this problem.
Cool thanks. There is an older post from a member who put a 4.6 fd i think and lost regen when lifting off thw throttle and had very little when braking so basically the engine was the only thing keeping the hybrid battery charged and another more recently where the owner had a tranny built and lost regen, which led some of us to think the fd was accidentally changed.
Gnarly rig. Bet it seriously rips! no expense spared sounds accurate lol. I believe that supercharger kit was offered here as a dealership option at some point, not a lot of people got it, and now it seems more difficult to find. Extra points for sure on the C-West gauges too.
Gnarly rig. Bet it seriously rips! no expense spared sounds accurate lol. I believe that supercharger kit was offered here as a dealership option at some point, not a lot of people got it, and now it seems more difficult to find. Extra points for sure on the C-West gauges too.
Thank you! The supercharger kit was sourced by King Motorsports through a Honda dealer they know so it's not impossible to find, But what can make things difficult are Honda parts departments that immediately deny that the part number is valid which happened to me twice (for the HPD suspension) so I had to insist they were legit. The other problem is getting the supercharger maintained at a dealer. One dealer refused to touch it, another considered it but didn't give me a definitive answer, and finally a third dealer was willing to perform the maintenance.

Everything I've purchased for the supercharger kit is still available with the exception of the Mugen exhaust. The C-West gauges can still be purchased through C-West as it's even listed on their website. I bought mine through Kamispeed a couple years back but they haven't restocked them so you might need to go through an importer in order to get them again.

In a couple months I'll be ordering some very expensive limited edition seats made from carbon fiber and alcantara. They're so limited that when I asked about them from the US source they said I needed proof of purchase of a pecial vehicle in order to buy them but my source in Japan can get them for me without that involved. Stay tuned for that.
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First time poster, long time lurker. I have a 2016 with a Greddy turbo and stock exhaust. Even though it's not available, I'm wondering how loud the Mugen exhaust is, especially at WOT. The stock exhaust actually sounds really good when getting on it, and it's not too loud. I'm 53 and don't want to be a cop magnet, but I would like to have a less restrictive exhaust.

My CR-Z 6MT does 198whp/188wtq with just the Greddy turbo, two-step colder plugs, and a proper tune; everything else is OEM except for the sticky tires and rims. I'd like to compare tuning notes sometime (I'm using the HPD supercharger ignition tables), but I really can't devote that much time to discussion right now due to pressing family issues.

Thank you.
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First time poster, long time lurker. I have a 2016 with a Greddy turbo and stock exhaust. Even though it's not available, I'm wondering how loud the Mugen exhaust is, especially at WOT. The stock exhaust actually sounds really good when getting on it, and it's not too loud. I'm 53 and don't want to be a cop magnet, but I would like to have a less restrictive exhaust.

My CR-Z 6MT does 198whp/188wtq with just the Greddy turbo, two-step colder plugs, and a proper tune; everything else is OEM except for the sticky tires and rims. I'd like to compare tuning notes sometime (I'm using the HPD supercharger ignition tables), but I really can't devote that much time to discussion right now due to pressing family issues.

Thank you.
It’s almost deafening. I’m not exaggerating much because if I floor it in 2nd gear, particularly low revs, absolutely everybody on the sidewalk will spin on a swivel to see what the hell is so loud. And revving it in a garage or dealer service drive will make most people leap out of their seats (which I have witnessed more than once) and all of the techs with nothing to do will emerge from the service bays to see what rolled in. Do keep in mind though that mine also has a J’s circuit converter manifold, deleting the catalytic converters, so that may make it louder than your application if you kept a cat. The other thing that makes it seem louder is just how boomy it is at highway speeds. Cruising at 70+ is absolutely unbearable without my earplugs which I now carry for that purpose. At that speed I must also speak up quite a bit to talk to a somwhat upset and uncomfortable passenger.

You may say the Mugen exhaust is not available but King Motorsports just might have at least one more in stock, which is how I obtained mine, so if you really want it you could shoot them a message or an email. But making it work with a turbo might not work if your exhaust is routed differently.
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This’ll be my first post on the forum. This is also only the beginning of the modifications this car will go through so I might update once the next upgrades are made.

View attachment 62848

MODS PRIOR TO SUPERCHARGING:
  • HPD Suspension
  • Mugen NR17, Formula Silver, +48
  • Maroya Brake Cooling Panels

View attachment 62847

SUPERCHARGER MODS:
  • HPD supercharger kit
  • Rotrex Traction Oil
  • Spoon Sports baffled oil pan
  • HKS LA (Light Action) clutch and flywheel kit
  • MFactory helical limited slip differential
  • MFactory 4.928 final drive
  • C-West CFRP gauge pod cluster
  • 60mm ProSport Premium EVO gauges (wideband, oil pressure, boost)
  • Zeitronix ECA-2 kit w/ 52mm gauge and carbon cauge pod (forgot who made the pod)
  • Mugen stainless steel cat-back sports exhaust system
  • J’s Racing stainless manifold test pipe (circuit converter)
  • FEEL’S carbon fiber ECU case
  • KTuner Flash Pro V1.2

View attachment 62840

I had left it in the hands of King Motorsports to do all the work. After the modifications done it feels and sounds like a completely different car. I could rave all day about the quality of King’s work on it and the level of detail they put into the car.

View attachment 62839

OBJECTIVES OF SUPERCHARGING:
Turn the CR-Z into its ultimate form with as many parts from Japan as possible with no expense spared. Make the car go, stop and handle on the track while staying useable every day of the year in all climates and temperatures. And make it capable of using high octane fuel and E85.

View attachment 62842

CHALLENGES:
Many companies have stopped producing certain parts for these cars, such as Mugen and FEEL’S, so some parts had to be substituted or changed. Ordering from Japan can also be a huge hassle due to long shipping times by sea or expensive shipping by air. This was compounded due to the coronavirus pandemic where the oil pan was stuck in transit for over a month and a half when EMS temporarily halted operations.

View attachment 62841

BENEFITS OF SUPERCHARGING:
At the wheels it makes 182 horsepower on 93 octane and 192 horsepower on E85. It’s now comically loud for a tiny four cylinder. Due to the damn near straight piped exhaust it screams, pops and bangs everywhere it goes. One time I saw a kid drop his scooter to cover his ears as I blasted by. An unexpected benefit was now the hybrid battery charges extremely quickly and holds a high level of charge almost all the time. The differential is an enormous help because even in 1st and 2nd gear at full throttle the car struggles for traction. If it were open diff it’d be an uncontrollable mess in low speed corners.

View attachment 62843

DRAWBACKS OF SUPERCHARGING:
The exhaust is unbearably boomy at low RPM, below VTEC. It’s so loud that on long trips at 65mph+ I have resorted to using the earplugs I use at shooting ranges to protect my hearing. KTuner also doesn’t allow flex fuel capabilities, so I must jump the junction box so the fuel pump spits all of the remaining fuel into a bucket before I flip the fuel map. Also, If you upshift just under 4k revs it has a one second rev hang that’s super annoying so it’s difficult to make smooth shifts. Due to the nasty salty northern roads I had to coat the Mugen cat-back exhaust to prevent

View attachment 62844

SIDE NOTE:
Along the way of ordering parts from Japan the most surprising find was the Mugen cat-back exhaust. While techically I got it from King Motorsports it’s still produced in Japan. However, the built quality is off the charts. Ever wonder why Mugen parts are so expensive? They make every other welder look like a CHUMP. Each weld aside from the hangar welds are almost jewelry-level craftsmanship. My father, an engineer for 40 years and in charge of welding at several companies, has no idea how they managed to do what they did. Mugen laser engraves the production date, engine designation, part number, lot number and their logo... twice, on four pieces; two on the resonator and two on the muffler. Absolutely stunning to say the least. I really wish I didn’t have to put a coat over it.

View attachment 62845
View attachment 62846
your engine is stock??
First time poster, long time lurker. I have a 2016 with a Greddy turbo and stock exhaust. Even though it's not available, I'm wondering how loud the Mugen exhaust is, especially at WOT. The stock exhaust actually sounds really good when getting on it, and it's not too loud. I'm 53 and don't want to be a cop magnet, but I would like to have a less restrictive exhaust.

My CR-Z 6MT does 198whp/188wtq with just the Greddy turbo, two-step colder plugs, and a proper tune; everything else is OEM except for the sticky tires and rims. I'd like to compare tuning notes sometime (I'm using the HPD supercharger ignition tables), but I really can't devote that much time to discussion right now due to pressing family issues.

Thank you.
I have a 2013 CR-Z with HPD supercharger, plus the Mugen cat-back exhaust (OEM converters.) Sounds nice, not too loud at all, but when I had a header with one converter removed, it sounded great at first, but much too loud for daily driving, so I replaced the aftermarket header with the OEM, and now it's back to a nice, throaty, but not-too-loud-at-all sound. :)
your engine is stock??
Yes. All engine internals are stock. The only change to the engine, if it matters, was replacing the oil pan with a Spoon Sports baffled oil pan to prevent loss of oil pressure during hard cornering. From what I understand is any further changes wouldn’t net much of a benefit. A smaller supercharger pulley would increase boost but also heat and would not increase power, so adding forged internals to handle more boost wouldn’t be necessary.
damn. just right out of the gate with the HPD kit and some serious supporting mods.

LOVE IT
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UPDATE!
Here’s a spoiler of what’s yet to come:
Mugen MS-R full bucket seats
Mugen CR-Z floor mats
Custom 4-point roll bar
Black HPI 4-point harnesses
Back Yard Special seat belt anchors
… and fixing the IMA system.

Already managed to score the full bucket seat set from Mugen a few months ago, comes with rails and adaptors. The other side sold out before I could get it, but looking at the kit it seems I can order the pieces from Recaro through my importer.

Spoiler pic (it’s a lot more comfortable than I expected!):
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Super nice pick up on the seat 👌 I've only ever seen them in the Mugen Catalog from Japan, I don't recall ever seeing anyone in the U.S with them, so even one is really impressive!
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Super nice pick up on the seat 👌 I've only ever seen them in the Mugen Catalog from Japan, I don't recall ever seeing anyone in the U.S with them, so even one is really impressive!
View attachment 64283
Thank you. Those seats are not cheap!
That picture’s actually featuring the MS-Z, the semi-bucket seat. The eyelets for the harness are different, so is the bolstering, and they can recline while the full bucket seat is fixed in place.
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Thank you. Those seats are not cheap!
That picture’s actually featuring the MS-Z, the semi-bucket seat. The eyelets for the harness are different, so is the bolstering, and they can recline while the full bucket seat is fixed in place.
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