Jim's RIPP SDS
 

I have had the SDS for about 3 weeks now, so I thought I would post my impressions. I had been hoping to dyno it by now, but a few things are preventing me from doing it (slipping belt/slipping clutch)...

CAJONES: Between the slipping belt and slipping clutch, I have only managed to get full boost (11psi) a couple of times. It's damn fast, and I love it. It's hard to describe, but if I mash the gas in 2nd I lose traction towards the top. Low-end power is also pretty good; even at 2k rpm it is already at 2psi. By 3k it's almost 5.

MPG: 30 Highway. I think this is pretty good.

ISSUES: The biggest problem I have with the kit is that they don't include the belt tensioner (available for an additional $200 from RIPP). I can't seem to keep the belt tight enough to make 11psi consistently. I am going to get this in January, that should make things a lot more consistent.

I also have a somewhat lumpy idle, but my front O2 sensor is shot. For now I'm assuming that's the problem. I actually had the same issue with the RRM PB v1, so I'm attributing everything to my sucky O2 sensor.

COST: As far as I know, they are having a a sale (4000) on the kits until the end of the year, after that it is probably going back up to $4200. Install was a bit pricey at $1250, you could probably get a turbo installed for less than that. The other thing was that it took them a long time to install it (about 3 days), which was probably more than 15 man hours. Ross said they ran into a few snags which they hadn't seen before (mostly brackets not lining up), so that delayed things a bit. I would say ease of install on this thing is questionable.

The other annoying thing about cost was having to pay tax on everything (about $500) which you wouldn't have to pay if you got it shipped somewhere.

Overall, I'm really pleased with this kit. I still need to get a few things to make it constistent, but I'm glad I got it. I should hopefully have dyno results sometime in January, once I get the belt tensioner/clutch/maybe HFC.

Jim

I'd like to see the dyno numbers it puts up!! Thats kind of pricey for all that! Sounds like a Pain in the ass. But, anyways congrads and lets seem some pics!

Dude, madd props to U !! If you think about it, I have about $3300 - $3500 (I recently lost count) invested in my RRM stage 1 turbo. This is including the fact that I've done all the labor myself. I got away cheap doing a custom intercooler setup (which i just recently got to work), that ran me about $400. Considering I'm @ 7psi and ur @ 11psi for less that a grand more, I think that's pretty good!

Some time next year I'll be in the market for another car and believe it or not, I'm considering another Lancer. This time it'll be the RIPP SDS on it, so I'm looking forward the what anyone has to say about it; especially those that actually have the kit.

I would like to see some pix and plz let us know when you have it dyno'd.

that's good to hear... good luck with the SDS.

lets see some numbers, i cant wait to see how the sds works with the RA. congrats on the sds {thumbup}

Yeah the cost thing was a little surprising to me...I think it puts me somewhere between the installed cost of RRM stage I and II. This makes sense given the power I expect but it's probably not as good a power/dollar deal that people have been saying.

Pain in the ass? Not really. This is a really cool system, they should have really included the BT but getting it and installing shouldn't be a big deal. Feel free to disagree, but my impression is that any FI system is not going to be perfectly plug-and-play. This is pretty close.

Dyno will be in January once I fix the slipping clutch!

Two other things: Sounds real nice when you get it going, with the blower and BOV, also meth injection lets off a nice whine when you hit 6psi.

Congrats. Welcome to the world of FI.

thats weird, for some reason i thought stg2 came WITH the belt tensioner cause that is really the only way to get up to 11 pounds

ah well, just be careful you don't tighten the belt too much to prevent slip, i've broken a couple of mine that way. but with the tensioner, even if it is a little bit loose, i can hit 11 pounds without slipping, so get that ASAP


sorry to hear about the install cost. I know things can add up pretty quickly, but its probably worth it in the end. I know I'm glad RIPP looked after mine, cause they know their kits backwards and forwards, so there is a very small chance they will screw something up on the install, unlike me and uncle billy working in our backyard etc. at least you know it was done right, so no need to worry

congrats man

Congradulations! good thing you had it installed at their shop. Imagine if you had got it sent to another shop and they were the ones that hit the snags!! They'd probably still be working it out! But yeah be sure to post the dyno #'s. FI rocks!:headbang:

Couple of updates, cause I'm procrastinating from work...

I bought the belt tensioner, but it won't install properly. I have a feeling that this is related to the initial fitment problems they had with my car when they installed the kit. I think the problem they had was getting the belt pulleys lined up properly, anyways, that is why the belt tensioner isn't working. When I put it on it just pushes the belt off of the SDS shaft pulley.

I am also consistently throwing a P0300 code (random cylinder misfire). This is related to the black box, just like the RRM piggyback it has issues controlling the idle and trips this code.

RIPP has come out with a product called the BRAT, which supposedly solves this problem, and makes self-tuning easier with the black box. At $325 it's pretty expensive, this basically means that with the belt tensioner there were $500 worth of parts not sold with the SDS that really should be included (provided the BRAT does help).

I'm going down to New York next weekend to have the BRAT installed and make them fix the belt tensioner problem. If I can afford it I'm also getting the car dynoed at RIPP. I know, not an independent dyno, but they also agreed to do a little custom tuning along with it.

Another issue: I am leaking oil. I am going to have my Clutch/Flywheel installed locally next week and while they are at it hopefully they can find the source of the problem.

Even with all of that, I'm still pretty pleased overall. Even without the belt tensioner I am still getting up to 10psi which is pretty darn fun. I didn't expect this to be 100% trouble free, and while the problems are annoying, nothing has broken and really that's all I wanted when I went into this.

Jim

Did you ever get that belt tensioner? If you didn't, is there still slippage?

<subscribes>

RIPP stopped selling the belt tensioner last winter because they were afraid that it would break belts. I actually bought it but when I got around to installing it, they told me not to and gave me a refund. If I'm careful about keeping the belt tight, it won't slip. But it has to be very tight. Part of the reason is that the pulley on the shaft is pretty small, so there is less contact surface for the belt to pull. I'm thinking that if I ever want to raise the boost, I might get a slightly bigger shaft pulley, then an overdriven crank pulley, and that should help with slippage. Otherwise I would have to switch the entire pulley system to accomodate wider belts. For the time being topping out at 9-10 psi is okay, the car is still running very well.

A different size pully will change your bost levels. Right?

Yeah, but with a bigger shaft pulley (less boost) and an overdrive crank pulley (more boost) you could theoretically keep the boost the same.