August 26, 2017

Edelbrock E-Force Supercharger Up Close and Personal - 2016+ Mazda MX-5 Miata

After their great success with the BRZ/FR-S E-Force Supercharger kit, Edelbrock decided to tackle the ND Miata platform, making this the second supercharger that they have ever made for an import vehicle. Bringing decades of engineering expertise and manufacturing prowess to the table, they set out to make the most complete supercharger solution possible for the 2016+ ND Miata and we are proud to be one of their launch partners!

The Edelbrock Supercharger comes securely strapped to a pallet to insure safe transit to the customer. There's the option of liftgate delivery for those who do not have forklifts, but also we'd like to mention that the ND kit is fairly light and is easily moved by two people. Two of us were able to easily take it out of the vehicle and scurry across an entire parking lot with it. This is a good sign since Miatas' do well to mind their waistlines ;). Curious as to how much the components would weigh, we put everything on a tray on our package scale. Resulting weight is an impressive 53.65 pounds. We will be weighing everything that we end up taking out. It's likely that the net weight gain will only be about 20-30lbs!

The build quality and design is as good or better than OEM. Every single item is included including pre-formed hoses, wiring harness adapters, and beefy cast brackets instead of sheet metal. The result is a finished product that looks completely OEM.

Let's have a look at the major components:

Eaton Gen VI R900 TVS

Not wasting any time, here's the star of the show. A beautifully cast unit houses the Eaton Gen VI R900 TVS rotor assembly. This new design boasts 70% thermal efficiency which is about 12% better than previous designs. The added efficiency is a result of serious R&D in rotor design, high pressure seals, NVH refinement, and bearing systems. The result is lower friction, and much better sealing and higher output. This also means that the traditional supercharger whine will not be very noticeable because all of that noise has been converted to efficiency and power. Makes for one heck of a sleeper =). They won't even know what hit them.

Air-to-Water Intercooler

This unit follows immediately after the supercharger unit and cools the compressed air from the supercharger unit. The cooled air is then forced directly into the cylinders, making this the shortest path that any intercooled forced induction setup can have. This design differs greatly from traditional air-to-air intercooled superchargers where you would have an intercooler mounted somewhere in air path of the front of the car (v-mount, front mount, top mount, etc). That type of design creates a longer flow path for the air, resulting in some amount of pressure loss and slight delay from the distance that the air needs to travel. Of course air-to-air has benefits when large amounts of boost are involved, but for this particular application, this is the ideal solution!

Supporting Components for Air-to-Water Intercooler

The air to water intercooler system requires a water heat exchanger to be mounted within the air path of the front of the car. In this case it is directly in the nose. The unit is nicely sized and everything is included to mount securely. This allows the system to shed heat that is carried away from the intercooler unit so that the intercooler temperatures can be kept at bay during track sessions or extended canyon runs.

Hoses and Installation hardware

Pictured is just a small selection of the other components that are included for the install. As you can see they truly thought of everything. Every single piece necessary for installation is included.

Installation Manuals

Edelbrock includes one of the most comprehensive installation manuals that we have seen. Clear pictures are given for each step. It is worth mentioning that this install does require a certain level of mechanical skill. If in doubt, an authorized Edelbrock installer would be your best bet! Having it done at an authorized installer also validates the 3-year/36,000-mile powertrain warranty.

ECUTek Tuning Solution

This last one isn't really a component of the supercharger but it is the ECU Tuning solution that Edelbrock has chosen for this supercharger kit. ECUTek software allows the tuner to modify the calibration in the factory ECU, thereby eliminating the need to run unreliable piggybacks or turning to complete standalone ECUs! The result is that the electronics stay completely unmodified and they were able to easily achieve CARB 50-state legal status with their superchargers.

If you choose to purchase the Standard kit, it will come with a ECUTek Cable, License Key and Flash License. Also included is a CARB Legal Calibration that you can flash with the included software.

The "Tuner kit" comes with no tuning solution and assumes you will visit your local ECUTek Master Tuner for a tune or that you will find another tuning solution.