The supercharger performance power calculator is in the transition from being a product, to being a mega product. A mega product by definition (of Frank Kern) is one that has a combination of all the best features of competing products.
For example, we may think of a sports car and a fuel efficient vehicle as two contradictory features. However, if you were able to fit both features into 1 single product you would have a mega product.
My goal for the Supercharger Performance Power Calculator is to turn it into a mega product.
To do so I've taken a look at other automotive calculators and they break down into 3 groups...
1- Individual component calculators for things like intakes and throttle bodies
2- Individual supercharger manufacturer calculators such as eaton's auto apps calculator to find the right eaton supercharger for your car and Sprintex's excel based calculator for the same
3- Generic engine simulators that predict horsepower based on a combination of performance parts
And what I've attempted to do is to combine all 3 'features' into a single product. Doing so was not an easy task because this gives you the following apparent hurdles to overcome:
1- The more calculations you want to calculate, the more inputs you need the user to enter and the more complex the usage of the product becomes.
2- To do non manufacture specific calculations, all superchargers data needs to be gathered in the same 'format' and stored in a universally accessible database
3- You need some sort of 'flow modeling' equations to simulate horsepower figures and further to adjust for those based on boost pressure because these cars will not be normally aspirated.
The first is an apparent hurdle, because in fact all the calculations are inter-related. From a mere 15 inputs i can make over 40 different calculations about 40 different components that can be upgraded on the car. This kind of integration makes the Supercharger Performance Power Calculator a very compact and integrated product compared to the original individual components of old.
The second hurdle is not that hard to overcome. Every 1hp requires about 1.5cfm of flow... and based on that figure and the published information out there for superchargers (roots, screw, and centrifugal) I was able to build what I believe to be the ONLY supercharger database on the internet. After the flow and boost calculations are performed, i index into this database and pull out the 10 superchargers that best fit the application and give a recommendation to the user.
The last hurdle was overcome by scouring the internet for very commonly used power and performance equations ... these equations have come down from the mechanical engineering books and the formula SAE users and the engine builders and Gurus and are all over the net.
For every formula i tried to use multiple sources to verify validity and tested multiple data points to test that they scale. Once a formula passes this test, it's included in the Supercharger Calculator.
You'd be surprised how much information exists out there... the key however is taking a complex equation, and hiding it in a product that does the tough calculations... from 10 simple inputs I can calculate all the components.
So now I have a product that does what you would typically need 4 or more 'traditional products' to do. On top of that I have added a facility to allow for faster tuning in the dyno room ... but wait ? how do i access this software in the dyno room ? The answer is simple yet very forward thinking...
With the release of version 3 I mad sure to be once and for all cross platform compatible. By moving away from Java as my programming platform and embracing google web toolkit, I was able to convert the software from a single client side java application into a dual part client / server application.
The client portion of the application is translated via google web toolkit from java to very simple javascript / html / CSS... this part can run on any javascript enabled smart phone including iPhones and Android G-1s (and has been tested and proven to do so).
The server portion of the application is a java servlet which takes care of performing the complex tasks of database connectivity and querying... most of the actual calculations are still done on the client side ...
This platform is now Mac compatible and mobile capable ... and so it is actually viable to use it for quick tuning , on your phone in the dyno room.
what's funny here is that I had this idea back in 1999... however it has taken about 10 years for technology to catchup, and for me to rise to the occasion.
I believe that this is now a great product (and although I have more plans for future updates) including more calculations, more complex engine modeling, more supercharger applications, and possibly a facebook app integration... i do believe that the supercharger calculator in version 3.0 is so much more advanced than any other supercharger calculator out there, by any of the other manufacturers.
I guess the only true test for this product is to do a strict build exactly with the exact parts that are recommended by it. I think I have at least 1 registered user/client building a build that is about 95% accurate to the products outputs... the only deviation is going to be a more aggressive camshaft with 300 degree duration compared to the recommended 270 degrees.
If this build (and other future builds) hit that target HP mark that was indicated by the user on the input screen of the power calculator, then the product would have proven itself and been 100% validated.
Till the next update ... speak soon !
You can find the product here:
Supercharger Performance Power Calculator - login page & How To videosYou can find the sales page here:
