Disturbed
Viper Owner
Ps: You Will Love Turbos 
Roe blower seized; time for Turbos???
- Thread starter GTSnake
- Start date
SylvanSRT
Enthusiast
Heffner's Performance
JohnnyBravo
Enthusiast
If money is no object, then obviously twin turbos are a great choice. However, at the risk of sounding like a cheapskate, I'd just ante up the $1000 or so and fix the blower, reinstall it myself, and keep the other $29,000 in the bank.
SylvanSRT
Enthusiast
agreed with JohnnyBravo
OP
OP
GTSnake
Enthusiast
Yes, I'm going to get the car back on the road with the Roe. For now...
However with the new kit that Paolo is putting together for $10k it's starting to sound very tempting. Add in another $3k for an AEM and someone to tune it and I'm all set.
However with the new kit that Paolo is putting together for $10k it's starting to sound very tempting. Add in another $3k for an AEM and someone to tune it and I'm all set.
Steve 00RT/10
Enthusiast
I am happy with my Roe, but before I went with it, I talked to Paulo in 1/06. Although I opted to go the way I did, I came away with a very good impression of him and what he was putting together. Subsequently, I lined him up last fall with a friend of mine from these here parts. He has a FE car. Paulo delivered his car to him this past June 1st at a MCVO club event held up here in Escanaba. He brought with him his tuning guy for final 'adjustments.' Randy is very happy with his car. I believe his is the base kit, but Paulo could explain it better. Here are a few pics of this extremely well done CPE TT kit.
...as a side note: Paulo definitely likes to go REAL fast!!
He displayed this need for speed again at Gingerman earlier this month.Steve
N2 Vipers
Enthusiast
If you sandblast or roughen up the dipstick with some emery paper, it makes it easier to read.
Martin
Enthusiast
The oil you use can also make a big difference in how easy it is to read. I use Red Line 50wt Racing and it's not at all difficult to read. That's the oil that Kenne Bell recommended as a good choice over Castrol 5w50. It lacks a lot of the additives needed in a 'street' engine - but since this is for compressor bearing duty only, those additives are a waste and it's better to have the extra lubrication properties.
99 R/T 10
Enthusiast
Martin
Enthusiast
My guess is he'd say exactly what Jim Bell told me. Since the oil is just needed to lubricate the bearings in the supercharger, and isn't subjected to engine contaminants like blow-by fuel, soot, etc., why should it need to have the additives for those contaminants? The race oil is formulated without compromises for one thing - lubrication and wear protection.
Of course, if someone knows something about that oil that isn't common knowledge, please chime in. I've been running it in my Kenne Bell supercharger for over 100K miles now, and the unit still works like new. Probably would have been the same with the regular street Castrol Syntec 5w50, but the one thing I know for sure is mine has held up great with what I've used - and the oil is much easier to read on the dipstick (the reason for mentioning it in the first place).
Of course, if someone knows something about that oil that isn't common knowledge, please chime in. I've been running it in my Kenne Bell supercharger for over 100K miles now, and the unit still works like new. Probably would have been the same with the regular street Castrol Syntec 5w50, but the one thing I know for sure is mine has held up great with what I've used - and the oil is much easier to read on the dipstick (the reason for mentioning it in the first place).
Woah!!!! I heard his starting price was like $18k or something for the kit, not including the AEM and tuning! If his price is in fact $10k for the base kit, I would be extremely interested in that!
How do I contact this dude!?
Oh don't worry, I know you're just making suggestions. I value the opinions either way.
JohnnyBravo
Enthusiast
Bump.
Because of this thread, I decided I should probably double check my blower oil levels. I couldn't remember the last time I had done it, so I figured I should do it last night just to be on the safe side.
I have about 5,000 miles on the blower, I believe. I found that my blower oil level was about 18-21 ml low. I had to add maybe a tad over a tablespoon of oil to get it back to the recommended levels. Not much, but it makes a difference.
Moral of the story, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK YOUR BLOWER OIL LEVELS EVERY SO OFTEN.
A nickel's worth of oil could save you $1000 repair bill.
GTS,
How is the R&R of the Roe coming? Any updates?
Because of this thread, I decided I should probably double check my blower oil levels. I couldn't remember the last time I had done it, so I figured I should do it last night just to be on the safe side.
I have about 5,000 miles on the blower, I believe. I found that my blower oil level was about 18-21 ml low. I had to add maybe a tad over a tablespoon of oil to get it back to the recommended levels. Not much, but it makes a difference.
Moral of the story, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK YOUR BLOWER OIL LEVELS EVERY SO OFTEN.
A nickel's worth of oil could save you $1000 repair bill.
GTS,
How is the R&R of the Roe coming? Any updates?
OP
OP
GTSnake
Enthusiast
I sent it to PSE in Oklahoma. They've received it and will be able to give me a diagnosis by Monday.
JohnnyBravo
Enthusiast
Good deal. Keep us posted. I'll bet you are back up and running for under $1500.
I wonder if PSE could port the blower for you while they have it.
Joseph Dell
Enthusiast
Forget the AEM. If you already have a VEC2/3 then use that! It is only above 75lb injectors that you really _need_ an AEM.
I predict an under 2k repair bill as well on the ROE. A not-so-expensive lesson in learning to check the oil more regularly. I've had several expensive lessons in my time as well... nothing to be ashamed of.
JD
OP
OP
GTSnake
Enthusiast
Forget the AEM. If you already have a VEC2/3 then use that! It is only above 75lb injectors that you really _need_ an AEM.
I predict an under 2k repair bill as well on the ROE. A not-so-expensive lesson in learning to check the oil more regularly. I've had several expensive lessons in my time as well... nothing to be ashamed of.But then won't I have to get a boost controller if I use the Vec2?
According to PSE the average repair cost is under $1k. I'm not so much ashamed as in uninformed. I just wished the instructions were a little more clear and concise.
Martin
Enthusiast
Does anyone know if there's a reason that the plastic screw-in dipstick isn't used as the primary oil plug? I was thinking that maybe there is a clearance issue with the hood where the plastic plug might be digging into the heat shield on the hood. In any event, in my humble opinion there should be a very obvious and easy to check (with no tools) dipstick used on these Autorotor blowers. The flush mounted hex plug looks cooler, but you can't beat the screw-in dipstick for convenience. I keep thinking about how many times I've checked my blower oil level and found it to be low - if I had to use a hex key to check it, I probably would have let it go for a lot longer.
Got Venom
Enthusiast
I could not reply this weekend at home, because I guess I forgot my password, but "YES", there is a clearance issue. Do not close the hood with the plastic dipstick cap in place. I have a nice little hole in my hood pad to prove it. The installers knew it was close, and closed the hood before checking clearance dimensions with clay. I told them to put a ball of soft clay on top of the supercharger, and close the hood, and see how tall the clay stood after smooshing it. They did not do that, so I have a hole in my pad.
vegasviper
Viper Owner
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2007
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The fuy is a rip off. It took him 9 months to rebuild mine and had to rebuild it 3 times because it kept failing. I ended up spending over $4000
Send it to Ken Bell or just buy a new one
He was the worst experience i ever had
Send it to Ken Bell or just buy a new one
He was the worst experience i ever had
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