I believe you are absolutely correct , RMW had one of the earliest versions if not a pre production unit for a couple of months and was not able to get it to work properly . Had he put in the two plus years as he has with the TVS who knows what might have come of that. It did prove helpful in assisting Sprintex to improve the product and the current model has benefited .
I think you have hit the nail on the head with this thought. As far as I know the Sprintex is geared more towards those that have a high mileage m-45 and are looking into a direct replacement. The attraction for the Sprintex is that it is a reasonably priced when compared to a new m-45 from the dealer with the added bonus of a gain in HP which is more icing on the cake not the primary goal.
For those looking to maximize their HP with little regard to price then the Sprintex is certainly not the way to go . As for rumors if heat soak issues and the like they are far and few between when compared to the number of successful systems on the road today not to mention in some cases the sources of the rumors themselves .

 

I really think you need to do some more research before you can simply write heat/heat soak and heat generation as no big deal. it really is a double edged sword and not only dilute feasible gains, but will lunch your engine sooner or later.

Do you run a 19% redux pulley and a lightended crank pulley with a 2-4% over drive? There is a reason not many people do this. Dont get me started on non dampened crank pulleys...

 

C0op3r,
I'm a bit confused by your reply to my comment that Sprintex is "one" of the largest manufacturers of SC for factory vehicles.
Can I ask what personal issues you've had with your Sprintex.
While I'm looking at replacing my M45 with a Sprintex, I haven't had any problems with it personally and I'm wondering if I should just replace the M45 with a rebuilt one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Pablopaha
Sprintex is one of the largest manufacturers of SC for factory vehicles in the world so they will have some issues.

WRONG - Eaton is! Do some research. I am sure that Mercedes uses more M series Superchargers in one model year than Sprintex sells in 10 years.

If you like the Sprintex fine, but you have to accept that it is a small company making a boutique product.

 

Wow if somebody telling you that EATON is the largest supplier of OEM superchargers (probably 100,000 to 1 for sprintex) confuses you, you really are lost.

Go swap to a Sprintex, I will gladly put you on the list. I will also gladly update the list when any part of the kit fails, just as over 50% on there have. None of them have failed due to mileage, which seems to be the only way to kill an M45. IIRC one sprintex was even taken out by cold weather... Crazy!

 

Wow. This thread is a joke and you have a fixed and biased agenda. You're not interested in honest opinions or accepting other peoples positive experiences with their Sprintex. This is not a feedback thread, it's become a trash the Sprintex thread with biased ignorance.

To clarify, I said that Sprintex was one of the largest supercharger manufacturers. I never said it was the largest or that it built more than Eaton. You should probably let things that you read process a little longer before you respond to them.

This thread started off very informative but it's well past its use by date.

 

With more stories of failure than success, I have no choice but to call a spade a spade... Some of the Sprintex kits have lasted since first install, most (50%+) have had a mechanical failure with the kit. Yet there are still people out there who choose to look past all those failures... Call me the ignorant one.

Lets see here...
Stock Eaton M45= Most fail due to age of the seals/bearings over 50,000 miles (Mine lasted until 65,000), still can produce a lot of heat if over spun with long runs on a pulley 17% or smaller, the PTO driven water pump can become problematic at high milage (again 50,000+ miles, mine was still good with no damage to the gears at 65,000)...

Sprintex= Some have lasted 20,000 or a little over, most have at least had the hydraulic tensioner fail, some have failed with less than 5,000 miles total on the kit, one that I know of didn't even make it out of the shop after install! One was killed due to sub zero temperatures. The Davis Craig water pump is plastic, and is known to become brittle and split the housing over time. Runs HOTER than stock even on the supplied 70mm pulley even when sprintex advertises lower temps than stock. Reported failures of the castings (there is one earlier in this thread, broken tensioner casting). Heat is known to kill engines, so far there have been 3 or more total engine failures with Sprintex kits installed.

And thats just off the top of my head...

You want a Sprintex? I will sell you mine, 2K+shipping with both the 70mm and 64mm pulleys.

You can also start your own thread on Sprintex Success stories, because I am requesting this thread be closed, due to people who can not comprehend the facts collected over the last 3 years!

 

Maybe a quick read of the first post above will bring this thread back on target....

Off topic posts/rants will be removed without warning.

Thanks!
Dave

 

Just a quick update...

Even the main distributer of MINI Sprintex kits, and supporter from day one has lost all faith in the kit, its components, and the manufacturers quality control! They are no longer selling kits until the issues are addressed.

That is how many FAILURES are outweighing the few success stories...

Pic shows some of it straight from the horses mouth.

 

Below are the issues & concerns that we have gathered and presented to Sprintex.au...

1. Belt tensioner - Sprintex utilizes the OEM BMW unit (Gates 38217 Belt Tensioner) which was designed for a NA motor; there have been many failures of this tensioner due to either user error (over-compressing of the unit) or using the improper belt size. Even when everything is proper, the increased stress of the SC set up can cause this unit to fail. Sprintex will usually warranty the first replacement, but after that, then it's on your dime. At $50 each, this part can get quite expensive quite fast.

2. Tensioner Arm (Sprintex) - The aluminum casting of this piece is not as strong as the initial test units that we received (which were billet). We have seen a few failures with this part on 60mm and 64mm setup. Dreammaker in Greece has actually CNC designed a better replacement out of billet aluminum, awaiting for his pricing to be release.

3. CraigDavies Electric Water pump - We have seen and heard of a few leaks from the center of the pump. Not necessarily a Sprintex issue, but it is still associated with them b/c this is part of their KIT. The quality control issue of this EWP should be addressed before they leave the factory. Albeit they will send out a free replacement pump at no extra charge, but the customer has to remove the entire front-end of the car to replace this part is unacceptable to us.

4. S5-210 internal seal - This is the one that needs to be addressed. We have oil leaking out of the SC and running completely out of oil. Brought this to Sprintex's attention. They said the problem was 'fixed' with a better internal seal in April 2013... but a few of our customers overseas are still having issues with this.

**Update from Jay Upton on 6/18/14: they are upgrading seal to address the oil leaking issue**

***Correction to ****'s Garage: We are not a main Distributor for Sprintex. Sprintex USA is the Main Distributor... we are merely a testing partner and an authorized reseller***

 

Doh!

 

We are currently beta testing a performance replacement Tensioner Arm and kit for the Sprintex units (Pics courtesy of GPR in Greece)... This kit solves Issues #1 and #2 on our list of concerns.

Issue #3 is a supplier issue, not a huge issue, just more PITA.

With this tensioner, the boost pressure holds all the way to red line and does NOT taper off at higher RPM.

Detailed testing results and pricing for this GPR Tensioner Kit to follow later.

 

On #4 = oil seal issue. We are also working with aftermarket engineers on a possible solution. Going to put that to the test and come back with the results once our theory is proven.

Carry on...

 

And you guys over there have known about these issues for how long George?

Glad I could break the news to the mainstream, since all of this probably would have been locked away in your own private little world for who knows how long.

I will say one thing, pulling them off the market from your "offerings", and now owning up to why... Thats a step in the right direction. We obviously have our differences that will never be settled, but I find it respectable that you are now trying to do the right thing.

I do have a contact at Sprintex USA, and let the Jeep guys tear them apart after all of their failures (mostly the same issues, with the same S/C, less boost, and no I/C), as of yet though, I am going to leave that up to the other consumers of Sprintex kits to hash out.

Good luck to you on trying to fix these known issues on your own. Other markets have not had any luck, because it is a deep rooted problem that is covered in lies all the way from the manufacturer.

 

This is all great stuff to hear! My mini is getting a bit older and when the SC finally dies I'd love to have a sprintex

 

Think you are missing the worst problem Firecheif...

The internal oil seal issue is the big one, and its going to take Sprintex to fix it. However I dont see them redesigning the entire charger to fit a seal that wont leak when it gets hot. If that is even possible with the case of the blower being machined from a block of soft aluminum. Its a thermal expansion thing, and dont let anybody tell you that the case of the Sprintex does not get hot! Thats a flat out lie straight from Sprintex themselves...

 

its a pretty simple fix imho, but then again... I have access to a CNC
And my ex roomie who now works for boeing as an engineer used to work for Parker Seals as an engineer, and thus I have a nifty guide on my desktop as to how to size and pick o-rings and their grooves for a certain seal strength and temperature range.

but for the average person, yeah. I'd either wait for them to fix it if you want to try, or be prepared to do a little machining to fix the problem (and kiss the warranty goodbye)

(but i'd still rather have a more efficient roots blower than a twin screw...)

 

Hi Guys, Having a problem that has been making me crazy. My otherwise great running 2005 MCs with 75k miles has a boggy barely running on 2-3 cylinders start up that happens intermittently. The other startups catch soon as cranked and fire hard just like it always had. The problem started about a year ago and would do this once every week to two weeks. The issue grew in frequency until it was doing it every 2 out of 3 starts. The car runs great other than this. I have gotten a number 2 misfire code, a over boost code and a pre cat 02 sensor and after cat 02 sensor failure code. these have happened all at different times. I have checked or replaced both Map sensors, the coil, plugs, wires, both 02 sensors and the cat. The problem subsided for several weeks after the final component I replaced which was the pre cat 02 sensor. It started the way it should for a couple of weeks and threw no code lights. Then it went back to the boggy start issue again. Two DTC codes that were present when just read were P0234 over boost condition and P0300 random misfire. I have not seen any other posts that I could find with an issue similar to this. The traction control light will come on after some of the boggy starts as well.??? Any thoughts ???
2005 MCS , sprintex, 550cc injectors, Mynes tune, jcw intercooler, Detroit tuned bypass valve, Alta cai,

 

I had slightly similar issues, but they were all Cam related (no Cam mentioned in your sig.) For some reason my '05 was hyper sensitive to any kind of a Cam change, tried many different things and finally just went back to stock, never had another issue.
My only thought.

 

That looks pretty robust!!

 

Hello guys! I have sought out and found a few threads over the years with regards to twinscrew compressors and have watched a lot of goods and bads, do's and do not's that have been very interesting.

I have been testing and playing with twinscrew compressors for the last ten years or so. I have used the autorotor line .87L and 1.33L as well as a few roots blowers. I have now retooled to use the Sprintex line and thought now would be a good time to give some input that can help your heat issues.

For absolute starters, spinning your compressor with a 70mm pulley automatically puts you at 15000 rpm at redline. You are actually at the manufacturers max rpm. That's cool no big deal. You guys have also seen the 60mm pulley used which takes the compressor close to 18k+ rpms. That is spinning this thing real fast. Well that's ok too. The problem guys is that the compressor is trying much much too hard to spin full tilt while using a 63mm throttle body. It appears as though the inlet opening may have a circumference of less then that please confirm. If not, you guys must use no less then 75mm on the inlet. Furthermore and more important right now and that is to shroud your air filter from the engine air. There must be zero and I mean zero trace of engine heat allowed to touch your air filter. Finally, I have never seen a twinscrew compressor other then Sprintex not let the front cover breath. If you put a simple breather on the front case and actually vent it you will not only avoid seal issues, you will also run your compressor cooler. Also, since the novice issues are apparent, I wonder if oil capacity for the compressor is accurate for the boost level. Dropping oil slightly can result in outlet temps dropping by 40f+ degrees at higher boost pressures. Increasing your inlet to 75mm min will not only keep your compressor cooler, but it will also turn easier freeing up additional power. I'm actually shocked to hear how much power you guys make with such a small throttle body. You guys literally are choking the crap out of the Sprintex, to no fault of your own of course.

Sorry to see you guys suffer so long and sorry to leave you guys hanging but I have my own projects that I am so far behind on I needed to really help myself and stay out of issues that are of not my own creating. I think that you will find that you guys are sitting on a power house, but the design is flawed for your intended purpose. It's priced and designed as a replacement, but you can't get the performance out of her with such a restrictive inlet my gosh!! Now go out and grab those ponies, they are sitting right there!!

Ron

 

The problem with the MINI is the "intake inlet tube" - it severely restricts the air flow. We are also testing a solution to the factory design as well.

This is also our theory and we have brought this to Sprintex's attention. Of course, it didn't get much of a response. We are going to test this out on a couple of units and compare the data logs (since all of our MINIs have FA loaded in them).

Thank you for the valuable input Ron...

 

What is the inlet opening size? My math sucks so please measure and convert preferably in mm.


We are all in the same boat and your success helps my future success with this line. I have been told by a buddy of mine now using the Sprintex line that he has had some units with vented front cover bolts, I should confirm.. Vent the front cover with a simple hose and breather. Orfice needs to be small so you don't get oil everywhere and the breather works best not breathing engine heat directly into the compressor if you can avoid it. Also, lower oil slightly and monitor outlet temps. Overfilling the case especially while over spinning the compressor will boil. Oil temp increase will increase outlet temps.

Guys remember, the beauty of the twinscrew compressor is you can increase the adiabatic efficiency in a number of ways ie.. Bigger inlet, lower oil, water/meth injection.

Ron

 

Actually, the compressor is very very well made compared to the old twinscrew designs of yester years. Dave, how much boost are you running with your Sprintex and at what speed? I know most want to blame Sprintex, but they have relied on another company to build them a quality kit. I need to correct myself in saying that your stock tb is not 63mm, it's 57mm. Also, guys have air filters mixing in with engine heat and this just simply can't happen. There can be 0 and I mean 0 engine bay heat touching the filter.

Funny thing is I believe a company based out of OC named M7 or something like that, sold me their brand new 1.33L autorotor years ago that was going to be used on the mini but was too long. We used it simply because we also maxed out our smaller .87L just like you guys have maxed out your .94L except your inlet sizing at 57mm is undersized to overspin by a lot. Just for example, we made 85rwhp, more boost and cooler temps by going from a 50mm inlet to a 70mm while spinning the .87L autorotor at 19k!!


I think that this kit provided just that. Unfortunately it's the history of the twinscrew compressor and lack of Valuable info for proper design that's only discovered thru trial and error and small things like engine bay air mixing with the air filter resulting in a hot terribly inefficient compressor is an example of that. Understand, this kit is and priced to be a replacement. Upgraded inlet design is a modification to this kit needed to gain additional ponies. That is the way I see it looking from the outside in. You Sprintex guys need not rely on Sprintex for performance enhancements. The platform has been provided and now one must build upon that. Again, this is just the way I see things from the outside looking in.

Ron

 

Indeed I do have a lot to learn as we all do. I have a lot of research on the topic. Fortunately I'm not just audio, I'm visual as well which you will see in due time. Until then, I would like to help Sprintex owners with issues they are having. They are such simple fixes that the owner can achieve. I have seen comments like yours so many times, and it really comes from a lack of compressor knowledge. I mean no disrespect to you by saying so, but it is obviously the case as you comment negatively about a product you don't have. That's a fair assessment, no need for quarrel.


I got my 1.33L prototype compressor that was once tried on the mini but fitment was an issue. Supercharger designs to replace your stock blower have been tried by many and it's simply not an easy fit.


All of whom? All of whom who overspin the compressor with an inlet sized properly for a na car? Biggest I think I saw was 67mm. Sorry, but that's not goning to cut it. Do you see where I'm going with this? My friend, this is simply a misunderstanding. It's the turbo mindset modding a sc car that's all. In addition, I have yet to see a Sprintex mini with their air filter completely sealed from engine bay heat. No disrespect to anyone on this forum, but why have I not seen these two areas addressed on anyones Mini with this knowledge base of 12 years that you speak of. These are Critical to the VE of the compressor and it's an area so misunderstood.

With that said, please step aside as there are Sprintex owners who wish to raise the VE of their compressor.


Ron

 

Fire up your CNC, open your buddy's handbook and solve this issue already. Maybe you could even sell the information to Sprintex.