Mercedes 2.

3-16:
ROTREX C30-74 Supercharger with air/water
intercooler:
SUMMERY:

The ROTREX C30 series blower is small and easily mounted almost anywhere with
access to a clockwise drive belt. It is really a neat bit of kit. On our 16V the
mounting, drive and ducting were designed for a compact installation with short
intake passages. Charge cooling is by a water/air intercooler & heat exchanger.

The blower is mounted in place of the power steering pump. The PS pump was
moved to the exhaust side of the engine below the alternator. A water/air intercooler
is mounted in unit with and below a fabricated plenum on a shortened 16V intake
manifold. The distance from the blower outlet to the 65mm throttle body (mounted
on the intercooler inlet) is ~ 30cm.

Associated miscellaneous installation work consisted of: building PS & Rotrex oil
reservoir brackets, Rotrex oil cooler installation, mounting and plumbing the
intercooler and intercooler electric water pump, modifying the throttle cable, sensor
rewiring, and misc. hose re-routing, etc. The battery was moved to the rear and a
cold air intake/air filter installed in the front battery box (positive air pressure
above 60kph). NOTE: this was on a RHD car so the battery compartment is on the
intake side.

The Rotrex C30-74 blower with an 85mm pulley on a 2.3-16 with factory crank
pulley goes positive pressure at 2800rpm, pumps 5psi (1.3bar) at 4000rpm, 8psi
(1.5bar) at 6800rpm and hits 10psi (1.7bar) at 7200rpm. We are using 2.5-16 cams &
a 2.5 exhaust manifold and it will rev happily to destruction but this is an every day
driver so we set a sensible 7200 rpm rev limit.

With factory compression and Megasquirt set for an AFR of ~ 12.5 and the ignition
pulled back to 26deg above 4200rpm & 100kpa the engine does not knock and runs
cool. Torque is greatly improved above 3000rpm. At 4000rpm when the engine goes
“on cam” the car pulls very, very hard all the way to the 7200rpm rev limiter cut.
Throttle response is instant.

The car drives like a normal NA car (except for the improved >3000rpm torque) and
is a perfectly civilized quiet every day drive in traffic although there is a little blower
intake whine just off idle. The 25mm blow-off valves are ducted under the car to
minimize boy-racer whooshy noises.

This is certainly not a “bolt-on” conversion. There was a lot of thought, fabrication,
parts sourcing, some dead ends, and a few hours a day over six months, but the
result is well worth the effort…..

MAJOR JOBS:

1) Intake stuff belongs on the intake side of an engine. We wanted the exhaust
side of the engine “clean” and therefore mounted the blower on the intake
side where it belongs. It is not much larger than the Merc power steering
pump. The PS pump mounting bosses on the block are well positioned to
receive the blower so brackets were fabricated to mount the blower in its
place. Mock-up brackets were cut from 10m plastic sheet, drilled & trial
fitted. The Rotrex drive pulley was aligned with the Merc serpentine belt
drive. The final brackets and alignment spacers were cut from 10mm steel
plate.

2) The power steering pump was moved to the exhaust side below the
alternator. The pump is mounted up-side-down (after removing the reservoir
and making up a plate with a 12mm feed elbow in place of the reservoir) and
a bracket made to mount the pump below the alternator utilizing two of the
existing front cover bolts with a steady brace running from the rear of the
pump to an unused 8mm threaded boss on the block. A suitable diameter P-4
drive pulley was adapted to the PS pump and a compatible P-4 drive pulley
welded to the nose of the alternator drive pulley. The mounting bracket is
shimmed to align the P-4 PS pump pulley with the P-4 pulley on the
alternator pulley nose. Both pulleys are sized to maintain the factory crank to
PS pump rpm ratio.

3) The 16V belt path was modified to accommodate the blower and the
repositioned PS pump by adding two idler pulleys and fitting a manual
tensioning adjuster. The 16V adjuster rod and “shock absorbers” were
removed. One additional idler is mounted on a small bracket attached to the
lower segment of the factory tensioner arm. A manual adjuster is fitted to
rotate the arm, simultaneously tensioning the belt and increasing the belt
wrap on both the blower drive and air-con compressor.

A second idler pulley is mounted on the factory alternator bracket to increase

the belt wrap on the alternator.

4) A 16V intake manifold was cut and a 12mm intake plate welded to the stubs
to receive the plenum. Small flow smoothing horns were machined and fitted
to the plate.
5) The plenum, after making a mock up from 4mm plastic sheet, was welded up
with the water/air intercooler (after cutting off the upper outlet) welded to
the bottom of the plenum. The intercooler (ex- eBay) is sized for a 600hp
flow.

6) A Nissan 65mm throttle body is fitted to a flange welded to the intercooler

inlet and 52mm stainless ducting used to connect the blower outlet to a
52x65mm concentric cone feeding the throttle body. Two 25mm blow-off
valves are fitted to the cone.

7) For the water/air intercooler heat exchanger we are using a ten plate 9cm
thick air-con evaporator (with an electric fan) installed in the space on the
left front behind the spoiler. The evaporator measures 25x27x12cm, weighs
less than 5kg and just fits/ clears the left front wheel. It is piped with 16mm
hose to the intercooler via a Bosch electric water pump. A small header tank
is T’ed into the pump intake. The heat exchanger pump & fan are triggered
by both temp and load by a neat Australian controller that measures both
injector PW (engine load) and intake air temp.

The system is lighter, more compact than a large single heat changer and is
invisible. If it does not provide sufficient cooling a second unit can be
installed on the right front behind the spoiler, increasing capacity.

Currently the system at cruise or in light traffic will maintain an inlet air
temp (measured in the intake plenum after the intercooler) of 12 to 20deg
above ambient but its capacity is marginal; after a high boost run or after a
heavy traffic temp rise, the system struggles to bring the intake temp back
down to cruise level. The highest we have seen has been 64C. It took ~fifteen
minutes to bring it down to 48C which is 18deg above ambient. Livable but
not ideal.

Future work will focus on a adding the second right side heat exchanger.
Then maybe an up-grade to a Rotrex C30-84 blower…….

Extraneous comment:

Turbos are fine if you like turbos. I don’t, and feel that a supercharger is a
more elegant, although not as potentially powerful a solution to forced
induction. Insane turbo power is relatively easy but crude and really
basically useless in a daily driver. All the associated exhaust work, boost
control paraphernalia, long intake paths, massive heavy intercoolers, and
turbo lag just do not light this guy’s fire. A civilized, quiet, responsive
supercharged engine does.

You can flame me now at will……..

 BUILD PHOTOS:

The finished intercooler/plenum bead blasted to match the blower finish. There is a
brake servo vacuum takes-off on the back of the plenum and a block with four
vacuum service take-offs on the intercooler inlet to the right of the throttle body.
The brass fittings on the front and rear of the intercooler are for water circulation.
The Megasquirt MAT sensor is mounted on the face of the plenum. The temp sensor
mounted on the top of the plenum is for the water/air intercooler pump controller.
The water/air intercooler (after cutting off the top outlet) mounted on the manifold
plate prior to boxing up the plenum. The plenum displaces 3900cc and tapers
towards the front. There is a baffle mounted in the plenum to divert air flow exiting
the intercooler core to keep it from blowing across the intake horns. The 65mm
throttle body & TPS are from a Nissan V6 SUV.

A small Bosch aux. electric water pump (ex-124) is mounted on the frame rail below
the ABS unit and plumbed with 16mm hose to the intercooler and heat exchanger.
There is a small header tank for the intercooler mounted on the fender well.

The water pump/fan controller is a clever black box supplied by:

http://store.autospeed.com/Kits%20and%20Projects/

The controller has two thermistor/sensors reads ambient & plenum air temp &
injector PW switching on the pump and fan only when the ambient/plenum air temp
differential and engine load exceed adjustable set points.
The revised belt path, power steering pump bracket, and power steering pump belt
drive. The belt path turned out quite reasonable after removing the factory belt
tensioning apparatus and “shock absorbers”, and fitting two additional idler pulleys
and a manual tensioner. The blower pulley belt “wrap” is sufficient to drive the
blower without noticeable slippage.
Blower bracket, one of the additional idlers, and the belt tensioner. The tensioner
adjusts the upper and lower idlers simultaneously.

This 152mm cold air intake set-up did not fit. After installation the intake conflicted
with the frame rail and several other non-movables so it was scrapped and a more
direct & compact 75mm cold air intake made up.
Large truck air filter in the battery compartment. There is positive pressure in the
compartment above 60kph. This photo was taken just after moving the battery to
the rear and is prior to blower installation. The engine at this time was still equipped
with ITB’s.

Injectors: 380cc Bosch p/n 0-280-155-811.

The Nylon 12mm insulator/spacer plates between the head and the intake manifold
required longer 75mm studs.

Two Bosch type 25mm blow-off valves: one above and one below the throttle body
intake horn. Both are set for 10psi.
65mm Nissan throttle body, two blow-off valves, throttle cable bracket, return
spring, & vacuum take offs.

PS pump moved to exhaust side and mounted upside down below the alternator. PS
fluid is fed into the bottom of the pump from a remote ex-BMW power steering
reservoir mounted behind the right headlamp. The alternator pulley is extended by
welding on a P-4 belt pulley. The PS drive pulleys are sized to maintain the same
crank/pump speed ratio as the original configuration.

PARTIAL INSTALLATION:

The existing ITB set-up was removed and the remote oil filter moved from its
position under the ITB’s to the left fender well. All intake studs were removed and
longer 75mm studs installed to accept the 12mm intake manifold insulators. The
fabricated intercooler/plenum/throttle body intake system then bolted straight on.
The intercooler water plumbing, new fuel and vacuum lines, TPS, temp sensors
hooked up, etc.

Megasquirt was re-set from ITB Alpha-N to SD and the engine fired up. We spent
an afternoon logging and tuning the engine as a single throttle body NA application.
It ran well and strong but expectedly without the sharpness of the ITB’s. The idea
was to get it running well on NA then install the blower and drive.
The intake system installed without the blower. The small black tank (temporarily)
mounted on the strut tower is the header tank for the water /air intercooler system.
It was later moved to the position of the remote PS reservoir (the larger round tank
next to the ABS). The power steering pump is still in its factory position. The pump
integral reservoir has been replaced by a feed plate and fitting for the remote
reservoir. This (and the remote oil filter/thermostat set-up) was originally necessary
for ITB & intake air box clearance. During blower installation the PS pump & the
plate were later moved and installed (after inverting the pump) along with a BMW
remote PS reservoir on the exhaust side of the engine.

FINAL INSTALLATION:

The blower, idlers, belt drive, and ducting were installed. The blower oil system
primed and the engine fired up using the Megasquirt settings developed during the
NA phase with appropriate >100Kpa VE and spark values. The engine ran very well
with a slight rolling idle due to the blower’s parasitic drag. Again an afternoon was
spent tuning and refining the VE and spark tables.
The blower, ducting, & drive system installed. The white canister in the lower left is
the Rotrex oil reservoir. The blower has its own internal oil pump and uses some
strange, very expensive magic oil. Blower oil is pumped through an oil cooler in
front of the radiator made from a 80cm long double loop of SUV finned
transmission cooling tubing, then back to the reservoir. The 75mm black ducting
feeds cool air from the filter to the 52mm blower inlet. The small tank to the right of
the ABS unit is the water/air intercooler header tank.

The air filter and its sewer pipe elbow and 3x4” eccentric reducer. The air filter is a
12” monster from a diesel truck. The wire running from the filter is the ambient air
temp sensor for the intercooler fan/pump controller. The manifold air temp sensor
for the controller is mounted on the top of the plenum. The car is equipped with
RDMTEK adjustable camber plates.
Power steering remote reservoir (ex-BMW) & the “double” alternator pulley. The
PS pump is below the alternator.

Rear mounted battery with a 500amp cable running forward under the car and
spliced into the factory Merc positive battery lead in the original forward battery
compartment.
RESULTS:
General dyno comments:
I am very skeptical about dyno numbers. Without exception every dyno we have
used had some inconsistency, some were worst than others, but the results were all
off to some degree or another. We have seen variations as high as 21% from one
dyno to another with the same car in the same tune at the same temp on the same
day and similar but smaller differences on the same dyno on different days.

If big numbers rather than incremental measure, are your aim and if your initial
dyno runs gave you the numbers you wanted (and bragged about) then leave it at
that and do not try a second dyno. However, if you are disappointed with the initial
results: shop around. You will eventually find a dyno that gives you the numbers
you want. The most satisfying high number dyno runs are usually done by a savvy
dyno operator who asks your “HP goal” before the run. He knows how to make a
customer happy……

The following before and after numbers were done on the same dyno at the same
temp (obviously on different days) and are the more an indication of the earlier ITB
installation differential and the current blower installation differential than real
horsepower. The numbers could be quite different (higher or lower) if done on
another dyno.

Before(1): 142hp @ 5700rpm: single 65mm throttle body on a stock manifold

Before(2): 171hp @ 6700rpm: 52mm ITB’s.
Rotrex: 215hp @ 6900rpm: with the blower.

The 44 hp ( 20%) improvement after blower installation compares well with the
earlier (2007) 29hp improvement (again 20%) when we replaced the single 65mm
throttle body on a stock manifold with the 52mm ITB’s.

If we started from scratch and skipped the intermediate ITB conversion, the overall
gain by installing the Rotrex blower on an EFI & a single throttle body 16V engine
is ~ 73hp. This is a huge output jump and combined with the resulting general
tractability and everyday usefulness of the car is the way to go.

The big ITB conversion was nice, gained hp, but cost about the same as the blower
conversion and involved a lot more after-installation set-up and tuning to get the car
civilized with the ITB’s.

The blower conversion required about the same pre-installation work but bolted
right on and was much easier to tune. If we had to do it again, based on the results,
we would have skipped the ITB effort and straight away taken the supercharger
path to more 16V grunt.

Comments welcome: bobf@pd.jaring.my

Bobf (Feb2009)
Bobf. (Feb 2009)