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Thomas Knight is proud to unleash the revolutionary ESC-550? Electric Supercharger
Maybe you've seen the tires melt on our ESC?-charged test vehicles at Moroso Motosports Park. Maybe you've seen our full-page ads in Power Pages, Sport Compact, and Turbo Magazine. Or maybe you've seen the buzz across hundreds of message boards and want to know why everyone is so excited about "another POS bilge pump fan that cannot possibly work."
Well, we have news for you. This is real technology. From a real company. With real test results to back our claims (see "Additional Files" to the right). This is not another eBay leaf blower...
Then what is it?
Our patented ESC? is a high-performance supercharger powered by 15,000 watts of electricity instead of your engine's belt. It can add 75+ hp on stock engines up to 3.8L.
What's it made out of?
The core of our ESC? 550 is the legendary Eaton roots-type blower. This highly durable unit flows up to 20 psi in 3/10 of a second and is rated up to 425 hp, with an average lifespan of 150,000 miles. Its twin rotors are turned by three custom-wound, 8+ hp electric motors on a CNC-machined, 60-16 T6 aluminum billet. Every unit is made-to-order by Thomas Knight, thoroughly tested and backed by our competitive 1-year warranty.
Electric motors? Then it must run off your alternator, right?
Wrong. For years, drawing current straight from an alternator was the misguided approach of countless engineers unable to think outside the box. It simply isn't possible for an alternator to produce enough current to power a real supercharger.
Then where does the power come from?
At the push of a button, an ultra-lightweight battery bank injects the 25 hp drive system with 15-second bursts of pure energy. And these aren't regular car batteries! They're MIL-SPEC, specifically designed for hardcore use and lightning-fast recharge. Most importantly, they're totally independent from your vehicle, so you don't suffer the parasitic loss under boost that a turbo or supercharger does. Because this is a universal system, we do not supply these batteries, but we can help you customize your setup towards a specific application. For the average user, we recommend four or more Odyssey 680 high-CCA batteries, manufactured by Hawker (see "Additional Files" to the right). They weigh only 13lbs each.
Why only short bursts?
Think of these batteries as your Nitrous tanks. Like NO2, the ESC's instant boost is currently limited in duration, but unlike NO2, that restriction will gradually disappear as battery technology improves. Eventually, high-volume capacitors will allow for almost perpetual usage. Until then, a typical battery bank will yield several runs before recharge. And unlike Nitrous, our system will not cost you thousands of dollars in long-term refilling expenses. Most NO2 users go through at least 1 bottle/week, and at $30 to $45 per bottle, that's a hidden charge of $1,560 a year, every year, forever. With our system, you will never deal with costly refills again.
No more refills?
Well, not quite. There is no such thing as free energy. Even our system needs to be recharged, but in this respect, the universal, open-ended design allows for hundreds of ways to do so. It could be as simple as hooking up to a regular battery charger in your garage twice a week, or as futuristic as solar panels. We recommend upgrading to a high-output alternator (like those that power competition audio systems) and bypassing it under boost using a SPDT arming switch. With a 200-amp alternator, you'll fully recharge in 20 minutes while the ESC? is off. So while you're waiting in the staging lanes or cruising along the strip, you can relax and hurl insults at the Nitrous guys while your system preps for another 15-second burst of sheer power.
That's more than enough time to run the quarter mile or remind those high school kids with the neon muffler bearings who their daddy is.
What about the extra weight?
Our ESC? weighs only 42 lb. At just 13 lbs each, a bank with four Odyssey 680 batteries adds another 52 lbs. That's 94 lb in total. In comparison, a full turbo kit can easily weigh 90-100lb, while most belt-driven superchargers weigh 70 lbs. As you can see, this "extra weight" is in the same range as any other aftermarket system. Plus, no parasitic loss means greater horsepower, so our ESC? more than makes up for the difference.
Maybe you've seen the tires melt on our ESC?-charged test vehicles at Moroso Motosports Park. Maybe you've seen our full-page ads in Power Pages, Sport Compact, and Turbo Magazine. Or maybe you've seen the buzz across hundreds of message boards and want to know why everyone is so excited about "another POS bilge pump fan that cannot possibly work."
Well, we have news for you. This is real technology. From a real company. With real test results to back our claims (see "Additional Files" to the right). This is not another eBay leaf blower...
Then what is it?
Our patented ESC? is a high-performance supercharger powered by 15,000 watts of electricity instead of your engine's belt. It can add 75+ hp on stock engines up to 3.8L.
What's it made out of?
The core of our ESC? 550 is the legendary Eaton roots-type blower. This highly durable unit flows up to 20 psi in 3/10 of a second and is rated up to 425 hp, with an average lifespan of 150,000 miles. Its twin rotors are turned by three custom-wound, 8+ hp electric motors on a CNC-machined, 60-16 T6 aluminum billet. Every unit is made-to-order by Thomas Knight, thoroughly tested and backed by our competitive 1-year warranty.
Electric motors? Then it must run off your alternator, right?
Wrong. For years, drawing current straight from an alternator was the misguided approach of countless engineers unable to think outside the box. It simply isn't possible for an alternator to produce enough current to power a real supercharger.
Then where does the power come from?
At the push of a button, an ultra-lightweight battery bank injects the 25 hp drive system with 15-second bursts of pure energy. And these aren't regular car batteries! They're MIL-SPEC, specifically designed for hardcore use and lightning-fast recharge. Most importantly, they're totally independent from your vehicle, so you don't suffer the parasitic loss under boost that a turbo or supercharger does. Because this is a universal system, we do not supply these batteries, but we can help you customize your setup towards a specific application. For the average user, we recommend four or more Odyssey 680 high-CCA batteries, manufactured by Hawker (see "Additional Files" to the right). They weigh only 13lbs each.
Why only short bursts?
Think of these batteries as your Nitrous tanks. Like NO2, the ESC's instant boost is currently limited in duration, but unlike NO2, that restriction will gradually disappear as battery technology improves. Eventually, high-volume capacitors will allow for almost perpetual usage. Until then, a typical battery bank will yield several runs before recharge. And unlike Nitrous, our system will not cost you thousands of dollars in long-term refilling expenses. Most NO2 users go through at least 1 bottle/week, and at $30 to $45 per bottle, that's a hidden charge of $1,560 a year, every year, forever. With our system, you will never deal with costly refills again.
No more refills?
Well, not quite. There is no such thing as free energy. Even our system needs to be recharged, but in this respect, the universal, open-ended design allows for hundreds of ways to do so. It could be as simple as hooking up to a regular battery charger in your garage twice a week, or as futuristic as solar panels. We recommend upgrading to a high-output alternator (like those that power competition audio systems) and bypassing it under boost using a SPDT arming switch. With a 200-amp alternator, you'll fully recharge in 20 minutes while the ESC? is off. So while you're waiting in the staging lanes or cruising along the strip, you can relax and hurl insults at the Nitrous guys while your system preps for another 15-second burst of sheer power.
That's more than enough time to run the quarter mile or remind those high school kids with the neon muffler bearings who their daddy is.
What about the extra weight?
Our ESC? weighs only 42 lb. At just 13 lbs each, a bank with four Odyssey 680 batteries adds another 52 lbs. That's 94 lb in total. In comparison, a full turbo kit can easily weigh 90-100lb, while most belt-driven superchargers weigh 70 lbs. As you can see, this "extra weight" is in the same range as any other aftermarket system. Plus, no parasitic loss means greater horsepower, so our ESC? more than makes up for the difference.
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