kytc

^I agree. The TRD guy told my dealer that it would be fine to run a header because they tested with the DC for quite a while and it was fine but now they change their minds because some seals are failing and people that don't know any better could see it as bad seals by TRD and not buy the s/c?

zer0

Yea, the DCsports are ceramic coated and aren't as close as the Megan and Alphawerks...its really odd.

kytc

I just don't get it because I'm running 9 lb pulley and headers on s/c for around 5000 miles and no s/c leaks so I don't know if I'm lucky or what but I'm not complaining

Imprtracr1

didnt read the other 6 or 7 pages but i know what the topic is.. has anybody tried just heat wraping the header or atleast the top part closest to the S/C shaft?

kytc

Yeah, I have. It actually helped quite a bit. I highly recommend it for anyone with the s/c and headers.

The_Sciontist

awww... don't be mad at ME cuz you BLEW your money on crappy parts. (ie. supercharger, pulleys, etc..)

yeah the local idiot that warned people about hydrolocking when basically EVERYONE (all the dumb kids) were saying "don't worry about it, theres NO WAY it can happen"... well, i guess i was wrong about that too..

By the way wise ___ punk..the local idiot is making a trip down to Maryland from philly this weekend, so anytime you wanna talk smack to my face, just let me know you little Biatch.

Scion-ce

If you wanna call 6'2" 275lbs little, than go right on ahead

kcautotc

^^^ shut up. (sciontist)

josh, i understand your frustration with the issue, and i know you prob deal with a lot of irate customers, but im completely behind highlander on this one. i never heard him complain once about trd should still be doing warranty work on his car. he just wants the seals, and trd is being totally unreasonable. i think they went out on a limb to warranty sc, and they shouldnt be responsible for peoples own problems, but they shouldnt try to make a profit on them . they need to offer support for their products, and even if they charge 100 dollars, so be it. but they are sounding like they dont want to stand behind their product is a load of ____. and they know it. and frankly im pretty dissapointed with the quality of the materials used. highlander hit it right on the nose too, with the comparison to clutches. there is no reason why 2 psi more would cause more heat to blow seals. the dc ceramic does lower temps, but prob not lower than stock, the ceramic they use isnt of the highest quality. do you realize how hot an engine gets?? its not like the extra psi with the headers is going to double temps from 300 to 600 degrees! i would be suprisedif the header and pully rose temps more than 10 degrees. somebody smarter than me do the math of the difference in temps of 7 psi and 9. i could go on, but no one would read it, but this really ____es me off.

jwaggz82

iTrader: (1)

yea - the whole DC header thing is throwing me off. Does anybody have an actual document where it says they tuned the S/C using the DC header? .. Because I really want a header to match up w/ my S/C when the time comes.

jwaggz82

iTrader: (1)

can you give a link to where you bought it from and what kind would be the best?

HighlanderMac

Well, TRD has gotten their way with me. I am in no financial situation to get a new car, or want to go into more debt to get one. I am dropping my car off tomorrow to get a new S/C put in at MY OWN COST!!! But I am DEFINATELY getting EVERY part from my old S/C back.. And you can be Dead sure that I am going to pull that thing apart to see what I can find out.
I will be leaving the new S/C stock and probably going to do some more cosmetic mods.
I want to thank you guys for standing behind me on this one, and I am still going to try and keep people from making the same mistakes I have.
As for some of the bickering going on between people, I just ask you to PLEASE not get this thread locked. There is ALOT of GREAT information in this thread and I am sure there will be even more great info in the weeks to come.

Thanks again guys. Glad to have the support from you guys, I was a little worried about the reactions I would get. You guys have made me appreciate the Scion crowd again and made me not hate the fact that I am keeping her.

-Trevor

Nu_ERA

Hope all goes well and sorry to hear TRD made you take the route most would have not wanted to take ( buy another SC for full price).

trdsparks

1) TRD has never tested the S/C with the DC sports header. Who ever told anyone that was lying to you. That's straight from TRD.

2)Highlander you're car is far from stock. If you call a 9 psi pulley, header, and the other list of mod you HAD in your sig stock them it is what it is.

3)The pic of the intercooler with the header was a PROTOTYPE car and it was never stated that it was being released nor should you put a header on the car.

4)TRD does not have the seals you need. They did not assemble the S/C. Votech did so they should have seals for it.

5)No one at TRD has said it was ok to put a header on the car. So again whoever or where ever you got that info from it is wrong.

6)Yes I know how hot it gets under the hood of a car with a header. I have a header on my car and I can tell you that it is hotter with the header than it was with the stock manifold. I have never seem someone add a header to any car and bring the engine temp down. It may bring the EGT's down but every thing else gets hotter.

7)Yes adding another 2 psi can cause a significant temp change. The more you lean the car out the hotter it will get. That's just basic knowledge in tuning. Fuel is a cooler and the less you have the hotter you going to get.

Like I said before I'm not tryign to offend anyone or argue who's right and who's wrong. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen no matter what we say or do. I don't work for TRD so it is what it is. I do however sell their products and I know there isn't anything wrong with them.

Highlander I can't say I'm totally against everything you're saying. I'm stuck trying to play both side of the field here if you know what I mean. Personally I don't think you should replace the S/C just yet. As far as I can tell it's still working just with a slight leak. Why not try a little harder to find those seals. To be honest with you I might even look into finding them as well.

Everyone has a right to their opinion and I'm not knocking anyone for that.

kytc

Josh, pm my dealer and ask him about the email he received from TRD saying they'd tested the s/c with the DC header. My dealer is a stand up guy and a friend and would not lie to me about something that TRD TOLD HIM. His name on here is scion_south, feel free to pm him before you start calling me or him a liar. Now the guy that emailed him from TRD might not have known what he was talking about I'll give you that but the fact is that someone from TRD emailed him and told him that. And btw TRD is the one that designed the shaft and the seals in it which is what Vortech told Highlander when he called so no it's not all on Vortech. If there was an issue with the s/c housing itself it would be Vortech but those seals and shaft have nothing to do with them.

To answer jwaggz I just bought the cheap wrap off of ebay and sprayed it with Thermotec spray that you can get from jegs. I would have liked to jethot it but I'm planning on getting the mmw headers in a bit and this wrap and spray are working just fine.

trdsparks

I'm not calling you or your dealer friend a liar. So please don't get me wrong about that. Someone may have told him that info but I can assure you it was not anyone from TRD.

For the the record TRD does not make or design parts for cars. All they do is pay people for R&D and to design parts for them. It's a vortech S/C all they way. I seriously doubt TRD took the time to take the S/C apart and make their own seals.

Vortech can't tell anyone anything solid about the S/C charger anyway. There are these things called contracts and they're under one.

tcengel

Actually, adding a header cools off the engine bay quite a bit. Remember, you are getting rid of a very hot cat sitting right there.

The seals are going out because you are overspinning the supercharger which creates a ton of internal heat. You probably need an intercooler with a higher boost pulley. The fact that you can't get a rebuild with new seals is rediculous though. I have changed my mind on this kit just from reading this.

Josh,
You should be working with your customers instead of cutting them down. Who the hell buys forced induction and doesn't mod it.........
Maybe you should contact TRD since you have some leverage and save this poor guy $3000. It's not your obligation, but customer service goes a long way to help your sales.

HighlanderMac

So under contract Vortech cannot tell me about the S/C? Nor can they get me parts for it? Trust me I have called and talked to them. So what you are telling me is thatunder contract from TRD, Vortech is not aloud to help its customers?
Just another AMAZING show of TRDs customer service. They will take away any means of getting the parts so you would have to buy an entirely new unit.
Well You need to go ahead and E-Mail TRD and tell them that they have screwed a customer, and that they are getting what they want (More $), but make sure they know that I am going to be telling everyone I can about my story which has already lost them one customer and will probably lose them more.
Make sure they understand that because of a very inexpensive part they are going to be losing some customers. For my $3,250, they will lose more than three times that....

tC9o9

that sux what TRD is doing to him and you know that but you still wont stand up? why the fack cant you jus sell him some seals? you have definately lost any chance of me ever purchasing a super charger, which i was actually going to until i thoroughly read this thread. TRD has people making POS parts and then sells them for a million times what they actually paid, which in my book in simply unethical.

I HEREBY BOYCOTT ALL TRD PARTS

trdsparks

First I'm not cutting anyone down here at all. All I do all day is help people. That's why I've been out here for the last 6 months preaching to everyone who has the S/C not to play with it. Because I knew all this was going to happen. I guess everyone thought I was just playing around or something.

Buying forced induction IS THE MOD. I've told every single person I have come in contact with that if you want to mod something buy a turbo kit.

Trust me if I could help everyone here get their problems warranted I would. If I had access to the seals I would send them to him. I don't have any special power with anyone at TRD if I did trust me I would do it.

OK please try to understand that the S/C is only 6 months old and shouldn't need to have anything wrong with it. Remember you're having warranty issues because you voided it with the pulley.

If you feel like it's crap and don't like it then that's on you. But there are tons of other people out here with the S/C and don't have any problems. I'm sure that somewhere there are seals available. I'm going to look into this myself because personally I don't think you should have to buy another S/C. I also don't think TRD should pay for it either but that's not what you're looking for you just want the seals.

TRD isn't doing anything to him. Something he did cause a problem. So he did this to himself. TRD isn't making POS parts they design things to work with in certain paramaters and when you change that you change the performance of the parts. The S/C was not designed to work with anything other that the factory parts. Anytime you add aftermarket parts to a car you are taking a chance. Period.

tcengel

All he is looking for are the seals, no one mentioned anything about warranty. The rest of your rant is just that. You buy quantity from TRD so you have more pull than anyone. Intestead of telling him what not to do after the fact, show some customer service and make a few phone calls to get the part he is "willing to pay for." He has asked for nothing more and nothing less.

If you can order some of these seals and offer them to your customers, that would obviously create more customers for you right??