Why are superchargers so damn expensive?

[mattkins99]

I think I understand how superchargers work and they just seem so simple I don't understand why companies like Dinan and ESS can charge such insane prices for them. It seems they could make a hell of a lot more money if they dropped the price by say... hmm a factor of 10 and sold a lot more.

Am I missing something here? Are they actually more complex than a belt driven fan attached to intake forcing air into the engine?


Matt Atkins
Vice President
Seattle5s
98' 540i-6 blk/blk
94' Pathfinder Green/gray

[alexargyros]

mass produced cars (Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, etc...) They are a lot more expensive on cars like ours because the manufacturers do not sell enough of them. As a matter of fact, if you call the manufacturer, Vortech, they will tell you to call ESS or Dinan directly for questions. Vortech "made a deal" with them for BMW applications, but they will not tell you that. I believe the design of the brackets and hardware is accomplished by Vortech, and the software issues are handled by ESS and/or Dinan. If the hardware and SC costs $1,000 to manufacture, one would assume a $2,000 or $3,000 retail cost would be adequate. However, when third parties, Dinan and ESS, are added to the picture, you can easily multiply the price because they add their "expertise". Also, because we have BMWs, don't expect our SC applications costs to be like Mustangs or Civics. Go to the Vortech Engineering web site and see the prices for mass produced cars. You will be shocked at the difference. You might want to look at Kleeman and see what they charge for Mercedes customers. They are not cheap.

[bdjuju]

'Our cars are not like theirs'

Funny, when my German 5.0L DOHC V8 can use the same supercharger as a 'Murrican 4.6L DOHC V8 and produce roughly the same power, but the 'kit' is vastly more expensive.

I think the saying 'There's one born every minute' applies here.