Review - Harrop TVS 1740 Supercharger

[DaveDee]

Review - Harrop TVS 1740 Supercharger
I’ve had this kit installed now for a while and clocked around 6000kms under most conditions, tracked it a few times and done plenty of highway and city driving. I feel in a good place to review this having had the car 4 years and experiencing, stock, tuned, centrifugal supercharger, back to stock and now the Harrop TVS 1740 positive displacement supercharger.

Fitment is so impressive, it’s like an OE factory delivery and looks almost stock. The factory air box is retained and I’ve used a high performance air filter. The manifold is even a narrower than the factory manifold and there is no clutter in the engine bay. The intercooler is a brilliant design with a core that does not impede air flow over the factory oil cooler and is a large capacity.
Installation of the first kit took around 1/3rd less time than the traditional centrifugal kit and not having to take up engine bay space to mount an external compressor makes a significant difference to space and fitment. The kit ships from Harrop in a custom built moulded box with O rings and hinges that can be used later for storage or better a big ice box for the outdoors.

On start-up and idle there’s not the slightest hint of the supercharger being fitted, no compressor noise or lumpy idle. Driving round at a slow pace the car retains the stock smoothness and there is no jerkiness or roughness at all. Moderate driving you can feel a real difference, almost as though it was a 4 litre to 6 litre engine transplant. Big torque gains down low giving more punch off the lights and from low speed acceleration. As soon as you give it lots of throttle it starts to scream, and loud… the supercharger whine is really noticeable from inside and out. This may be a bonus for many (it does sound good) for others Harrop are currently looking at ways to quieten this down. The combination of torque at low RPM and the power gains makes for brutal acceleration down low. As you progress into the higher RPM band it is very similar in feel to the centrifugal supercharger. Right at the top end of the power band the centrifugal supercharger has more of an edge where power levels level off on the positive displacement. It’s really a matter of choice what you are looking for and where you want the power band to sit.

Fuel economy is not affected too much, in my own experience it’s only using an extra half litre per 100 km normal driving, but it uses a lot more under heavy throttle. All in all both types of SC kits consume more fuel (they have larger fuel injectors), and of course when you are getting around 50% more power in demand it has to consume more. Oil and water temps remain at the same levels as stock.
This has been a long awaited kit. Harrop are very conservative and being an ISO 9001 Company with 55 years involvement in Motorsport you would expect, and do receive, extremely high standards in design, manufacture, shipment and after sales follow through following an exhaustive R&D process.

I’ve been very fortunate to have been involved with Harrop for a while now since fitting their brake kit. After quite a few trips to their facility in Melbourne have become a Distributor for their M3 products, and currently use their brakes, supercharger kit and Forgeline wheels but remain Distributor for other premium manufacturers like Gintani, VEI systems, and Awron and also can supply Castrol Edge professional TWS 10W-60 oil at realistic prices, but this is all about the new and long anticipated SC kit.

Currently availability is very limited and fitment is only at approved performance shops in Brisbane, Perth or at the Harrop Facility in Melbourne. Exports will begin when Harrop are ready and ramp up production but for the moment limited opportunity is restricted to Australia.
Price: $12,700 (AUD) plus GST= $13,970 (AUD) plus fitment. If you are keen and need more information please feel free to contact me or visit the website on the link below. If you have serious interest I’m happy to demonstrate in my car (Gold Coast Qld) or spend as much time as you need discussing. If you have already registered with Harrop please contact Harrop directly. Again the availability numbers on this kit are very limited

Now some pics … figures

[aussiem3]

...

[Nugget]

Looks like a fantastic product.
Curious who the approved installer is in Perth?

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by Nugget

Looks like a fantastic product.
Curious who the approved installer is in Perth?

No brainer ... BM Techniks only because Dave was impressed with the workmanship when he personally supervised the install of a Gintani SC on another member's car.

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by Nugget

Looks like a fantastic product.
Curious who the approved installer is in Perth?

Will be BM Teckniks, I'll likely go over for the first install being very familiar with the parts and characteristics. I've been there before for another SC install, their work is first class.
In Brisbane it will be Prestige and Performance run by Mike Weber, many of us go there locally and Mike fitted the one on our car. Both these guys are top shelf

And yes, it is a fantastic product, never fails to impress

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by DaveDee

Will be BM Teckniks, I'll likely go over for the first install being very familiar with the parts and characteristics. I've been there before for another SC install.

And yes, it is a fantastic product, never fails to impress

What are the performance number Dave? Cannot see them anywhere ...

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

What are the performance number Dave? Cannot see them anywhere ...

At the end of the vid K, but here is.... These are the first results an calibration refinement is an ongoing process

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by DaveDee

At the end of the vid K, but here is.... These are the first results an calibration refinement is an ongoing process

Very impressive ... the beauty is that if you remove the painted branding it could pass as stock. Hmmm .

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

Very impressive ... the beauty is that if you remove the painted branding it could pass as stock. Hmmm .

Yes. It's very sophisticated and looks actually more stock than OE
It never fails to impress for that reason. Everyone who has looked has genuinely surprised at just how factory it appears.

[Meff]

Very nice Dave, thanks for the write up. I was hoping you would cross reference from your other thread when you posted your experience on the kit - thanks.

Debating moving to Australia....

I'm assuming there is still no detail on a release timeline to the broader market ?

[mkPOTO]

thanks for the detailed review, looks and sounds like a great kit

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by Meff

Very nice Dave, thanks for the write up. I was hoping you would cross reference from your other thread when you posted your experience on the kit - thanks.

Debating moving to Australia....

I'm assuming there is still no detail on a release timeline to the broader market ?

Well come on down B ...
Harrop have not yet given a release date to export market timetable and until they do it would be not appropriate for me to comment until they authorise it.
I can't imagine it will be too long, I can say it's absolutely worth the wait

[Alex07M3]

Any idea how much power this kit produce and how much boost it runs!?

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by Alex07M3

Any idea how much power this kit produce and how much boost it runs!?

Yes Alex, there is a graph above but these are the numbers

Dynapack axle data without powertrain correction
- 3000rpm: 460Nm (340ft/lb) v 330Nm std
- 5000rpm: 540Nm (400ft/lb) v 340Nm std
- 7000rpm: 373Kw (500hp) v 255Kw std
- 6 psi peak boost

You can see all the numbers on the graph earlier in the post right through the RPM range but this is a summary

[Alex07M3]

oups, missed that part, thank you!

[schnell325]

Damn, clean setup.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Saw it before and love the whistling sound of the Harrop,makes me thinking about the Spitfire from WW II !
Power and torque numbers are very impressive ....nice kit !

[Meff]

Originally Posted by DaveDee

Well come on down B ...
Harrop have not yet given a release date to export market timetable and until they do it would be not appropriate for me to comment until they authorise it.
I can't imagine it will be too long, I can say it's absolutely worth the wait

Thanks Dave - appreciate the detail to date on the kit and will look for more info as Harrop releases it.

Enjoy

[jmo]

Dave do you have any more videos of the sound? I'd like to hear the in cabin sound

[DaveDee]

Originally Posted by jmo

Dave do you have any more videos of the sound? I'd like to hear the in cabin sound

It's really hard to get a good video here, I'm currently having a professional video done which is near ready for release, all these are only my amateurish vids. I also have a high performance air filter which makes the SC whine even louder so all these sounds can be tamed down... but I like it

I'll delete this when the proper vid is done.

[LSM3]

Dat Charger Whine

That would sound insane coming past you at full noise on a race track!

I love the design and location of the airbox. With my ESS system, the pod filter in the air duct within the front bumper. It worries me a little bit insofar as, what would happen if i went through a big puddle of water.

Great write up and it looks like a great domestic product.

[DaveDee]

[QUOTE=LSM3;16089206]Dat Charger Whine

That would sound insane coming past you at full noise on a race track!

I love the design and location of the airbox. With my ESS system, the pod filter in the air duct within the front bumper. It worries me a little bit insofar as, what would happen if i went through a big puddle of water.

It does scream, had it on the track yesterday and it does sound amazing under throttle, also very loud driving in between bigger buildings, but once off throttle it settles down to behave perfectly as a daily driver

I agree with you about locations of the pod filters, and I guess it's a compromise when you have to make room for a compressor in what's already a tight engine bay and then locate the pod filter. One of the major advantages of the Harrop install is the retention of the stock air box which is already a good design. The SC whine is very distinct due to the open design of the air box and the hood vent.