Hello!

This is my first post, sorry for any mistakes! I'm considering an NA or supercharged set-up, and would be grateful if anyone would share their experiences with either!

I mostly care about 50/50 distribution and throttle response, but I'd like to know:

1. Do 12as have any unique characteristics that people prefer?
2. Are there any rotary-specific considerations when supercharging?
3. Do superchargers contribute much lag, or is the response about the same as NA?
4. Do billet engines have any funny quirks, or issues with being NA or SC?

It's only for a street car, and I assume an NA 20b or a supercharged 13b might suit me best at the moment. All advice appreciated

Thank you for reading!

-swj

 

That is a difficult question to answer without a lot more information. What car and at what weight will it be in? Where will you drive it and how do you want it to perform? For instance, driving on tight twisty roads uses a far different setup than open sweeping roads. Personally, on tight roads and for throttle response, I like a light car that is naturally aspirated, I drive like an old lady though, so I don't hit top end speeds much. If you want that throttle response to hit hard and keep pulling, then it is hard to beat a smallish turbo setup. Lag is minimal with a smaller turbo at the expense of top end boost and practically non-existent with a supercharger. You can balance any of the drivetrains if you are really serious about it. Even the 20b. Not many go the supercharged route as the rotary lends itself so well to turbos. Intercooling the intake charge is also easier with the turbo. Not to mention all the cool kids have boost.

The only thing all that unique about the 12A is that it is slightly shorter and good parts are a lot harder to find. Living in Australia you have far better access to most parts, but they are still spendy. I have no experience with billet engines as they are completely out of my price range. I wouldn't think there would be much difference, but you would need to talk to the company producing the parts.