ESS twin screw vs AA twin screw

[BMW_Stu]

sorry if this has been covered but i dont venture into this part of the forum very often. i was wondering why the AA twin screw setup cost almost double the ESS setup. sponsors, feel free to comment, but please dont just cut and paste the web page.

[TxZHP04]

There's really not much to discuss here. First, the AA kit has been discontinued and is no longer available. States this right on the AA web site. Second, pricing between the 2 kits is/was within $1000 of each other for comparable kits. Where did you get that the now discontinued AA TS is nearly twice the price of the AA TS??

[BMW_Stu]

heres the AA one.

it says $8,500 and i dont see where it says discontinued
http://www.aatuning.com/viewproduct.aspx?id=Product17

[russ330]

:read: It says it right there on the link you just posted. Look right above the words "Key Features."

[TxZHP04]

The discontinued AA kit lists 8-9 psi for $8500. The ESS TS2 (8 psi) is $8k, TS2+(8.5 psi) is $8500... so where's the big price difference you're talking about?

I trust russ330 cleared up the discontinued part for you?

[Safar]

You're forgetting the cams for the ESS kit, which are required for upgrading from TS2 to TS2+, right? (well you have the kit, so you tell me ;) )
That's another $1400.

[TxZHP04]

You're forgetting the cams for the ESS kit, which are required for upgrading from TS2 to TS2+, right? (well you have the kit, so you tell me ;) )
That's another $1400.

I didn't forget. Of course you would get more power but I don't consider it fair to include the cams in this hypothetical price comparison since the AA would be running the same boost without the cams.

You have to compare apples to apples when doing a price comparison. If you compared a caramel coated apple to a plain apple, would you be surprised if the caramel coated apple tasted better but also cost a bit more to cover the cost of the stick, the caramel, and the labor to dip the apple? Of course not.

And last I checked, adding $1400 to $8500 doesn't double the price. ;)

[bigjae1976]

AA uses a slightly larger compressor. I believe the ESS is a 2.2l Lysholm vrs the AA which WAS a 2.3l OPCON. Both kits are similarly priced. AA has the cams and headers so you could have gotten an AA TS Stage II+ like ESS.

Here's my theory...I believe the boost range on the AA kit was the same for the ESS TS2 and TS2+. The 8 psi rating was for the base Stage II kit, the 9psi rating was for the Stage II w/ cams and headers.

So you would have paid $500 more for the AA St2 kit with a free upgrade to the St2+. ESS...you get the choice. The TS2+ upgrade is $500. So the ESS TS2+ is about the same as the AA TS Stage II.

Notice how I was using the past tense when describing the AA kit which is no longer available.

If you compared a caramel coated apple to a plain apple, would you be surprised if the caramel coated apple tasted better but also cost a bit more to cover the cost of the stick, the caramel, and the labor to dip the apple?

You make s/c kits sound so tasty!

[stimpee]

The AA kit hardware, which was the first intercooled positive displacement supercharger kit for the BMW E36, was originally designed, by ME, to use the Lysholm/Whipple 1.6L compressor. The kit also was able to be set up with the Lysholm/Whipple 2.3L compressor and was tested with it, however it was not an appropriate compressor for the boost levels that could be run on a stock or near-stock engine.

The kit was altered, prior to market release, to use the Opcon 1.7L compressor. That is how the kit was sold, right up to the point that ESS bought exclusivity on the compressors, and shut down the AA kit sales.