Buick Beginner
Where is my $$$ going?
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2001
Gentlemen,
I’d like to give board readers my observations on the Progressive Alcohol Controller (PAC), sold by “Razor” on our board, as well as the SMC single nozzle kit. I’ve owned both systems and I would like to present some objective comments, and comparisons. I had the SMC kit for about 9 months; my new PAC system is less than 2 months old.
The SMC kit; first the Pro’s:
The SMC was, above all, a cinch to install. It is “plug and play”, self contained, and easy to operate. The unit is small, and doesn’t take up much room. There are only 2 main components, the tank assembly (with internals), and the controller box. I never had any trouble with the pump, or any part of the system even though I bought it used. The install was straightforward and simple; I installed it in less than 3 hrs. I contacted Steve at SMC and he quickly sent me a new instruction sheet, and “turbo” spring when I needed them, (nice customer service). Tuning the system is a snap, rarely does it need special attention. When you need more alky, you just twist the knob.
Now the Con’s:
To me personally, the drawbacks to the SMC system are purely from a performance standpoint. Obviously the system I had was the base system, (not progressive), and that’s all I can comment on. The system activates the pump at a certain boost level, which you set. Typically between 5 and 15 lbs. Once the boost level reaches that level, the pump sprays the amount of alky selected by the user based on the pump speed selected. The main drawback with the SMC kit is this; the flow rate is the same no mater what the boost level. Typically for me that meant, if I wanted to run high boost I had to shoot a heavy load of alky, (big puff of black smoke). But if you shoot the alky too soon, you bog. So you lower the pump speed, but then your hungry for alky on the topside. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. The small tank and the Alky lube are kind of an irritant but are certainly workable.
Now for the PAC kit sold by “Razor” on our TB board.
I’m going backwards, first the Con’s:
I bought the kit new from Julio himself and since he lives only about 20 miles away, drove to his place to pick it up. It’s nicely built BUT has quite a few more pieces than the SMC kit; in fact I would say a bunch more! It almost looked like a Revel model kit. Price wise, the kit is about $60 to $80 more than the SMC kit. (At least last time I checked). Julio told me it was a half-day install job. Well, he obviously doesn’t know me very well. It took me somewhere around 15 hours to get that whole thing installed! That includes the new tank, pump, MAP sensor, lights, and a bunch of other little knick-knacks that go with the kit. My friends I would have to say that I’ve just covered the drawbacks to the PAC kit it their entirety. The rest of the story is pure excitement.
Now the Pro’s:
The PAC system uses a Sure-Flo pump, which is probably capable of pumping nuclear waste products with no ill effects; it’s heavy duty to say the least. Once the system is tuned, it’s performance ranges from impressive to phenomenal. The linear movement of alky spray as boost increases is absolutely thrilling. No more puff of black smoke, no transitional knock, just a struggle to keep the car out of the ditch. The power potential is truly amazing. So the positive side of the PAC system is plain and simple performance! From what I’ve seen you will not run out of spray with this system, If you ran the pump system wide open with 30 lbs of boost, it’s easily capable of drowning the motor! You just aren’t going to “outgrow” the PAC system. Julio is always quick to answer a question or lend a hand, (nice customer support), and the components are good quality. To me these things are a strong positive, but they stand in the shadow of the incredible performance of this system. The system is as easy to tune for a 13 second car as it is for a 10 second car. It works equally good for a car running 15 lbs of boost or 30 lbs of boost.
In summary I suppose it really depends on what you are looking for, if you can only spare 3 hours on a Saturday, and you aren’t comfortable with many different wires and components, I would certainly consider the SMC kit. It's truly simple to install and works wonders for 93 octance pump gas. If absolute all out performance is on the top of your list and you can spare more time along with the extra $60 to $80 then I would say the PAC kit is the way to go. I have no regrets with either one. I just "out grew" one and got the other. I can’t comment on any of the other systems out there because I’ve never owned them. I’d like to take just a second to thank TR vendors who keep inventing, or perfecting components for our cars. Without them I think the TR’s would just die of old age. I’m going driving now, later. - BB
I’d like to give board readers my observations on the Progressive Alcohol Controller (PAC), sold by “Razor” on our board, as well as the SMC single nozzle kit. I’ve owned both systems and I would like to present some objective comments, and comparisons. I had the SMC kit for about 9 months; my new PAC system is less than 2 months old.
The SMC kit; first the Pro’s:
The SMC was, above all, a cinch to install. It is “plug and play”, self contained, and easy to operate. The unit is small, and doesn’t take up much room. There are only 2 main components, the tank assembly (with internals), and the controller box. I never had any trouble with the pump, or any part of the system even though I bought it used. The install was straightforward and simple; I installed it in less than 3 hrs. I contacted Steve at SMC and he quickly sent me a new instruction sheet, and “turbo” spring when I needed them, (nice customer service). Tuning the system is a snap, rarely does it need special attention. When you need more alky, you just twist the knob.
Now the Con’s:
To me personally, the drawbacks to the SMC system are purely from a performance standpoint. Obviously the system I had was the base system, (not progressive), and that’s all I can comment on. The system activates the pump at a certain boost level, which you set. Typically between 5 and 15 lbs. Once the boost level reaches that level, the pump sprays the amount of alky selected by the user based on the pump speed selected. The main drawback with the SMC kit is this; the flow rate is the same no mater what the boost level. Typically for me that meant, if I wanted to run high boost I had to shoot a heavy load of alky, (big puff of black smoke). But if you shoot the alky too soon, you bog. So you lower the pump speed, but then your hungry for alky on the topside. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, so to speak. The small tank and the Alky lube are kind of an irritant but are certainly workable.
Now for the PAC kit sold by “Razor” on our TB board.
I’m going backwards, first the Con’s:
I bought the kit new from Julio himself and since he lives only about 20 miles away, drove to his place to pick it up. It’s nicely built BUT has quite a few more pieces than the SMC kit; in fact I would say a bunch more! It almost looked like a Revel model kit. Price wise, the kit is about $60 to $80 more than the SMC kit. (At least last time I checked). Julio told me it was a half-day install job. Well, he obviously doesn’t know me very well. It took me somewhere around 15 hours to get that whole thing installed! That includes the new tank, pump, MAP sensor, lights, and a bunch of other little knick-knacks that go with the kit. My friends I would have to say that I’ve just covered the drawbacks to the PAC kit it their entirety. The rest of the story is pure excitement.
Now the Pro’s:
The PAC system uses a Sure-Flo pump, which is probably capable of pumping nuclear waste products with no ill effects; it’s heavy duty to say the least. Once the system is tuned, it’s performance ranges from impressive to phenomenal. The linear movement of alky spray as boost increases is absolutely thrilling. No more puff of black smoke, no transitional knock, just a struggle to keep the car out of the ditch. The power potential is truly amazing. So the positive side of the PAC system is plain and simple performance! From what I’ve seen you will not run out of spray with this system, If you ran the pump system wide open with 30 lbs of boost, it’s easily capable of drowning the motor! You just aren’t going to “outgrow” the PAC system. Julio is always quick to answer a question or lend a hand, (nice customer support), and the components are good quality. To me these things are a strong positive, but they stand in the shadow of the incredible performance of this system. The system is as easy to tune for a 13 second car as it is for a 10 second car. It works equally good for a car running 15 lbs of boost or 30 lbs of boost.
In summary I suppose it really depends on what you are looking for, if you can only spare 3 hours on a Saturday, and you aren’t comfortable with many different wires and components, I would certainly consider the SMC kit. It's truly simple to install and works wonders for 93 octance pump gas. If absolute all out performance is on the top of your list and you can spare more time along with the extra $60 to $80 then I would say the PAC kit is the way to go. I have no regrets with either one. I just "out grew" one and got the other. I can’t comment on any of the other systems out there because I’ve never owned them. I’d like to take just a second to thank TR vendors who keep inventing, or perfecting components for our cars. Without them I think the TR’s would just die of old age. I’m going driving now, later. - BB
