Hot boxing appears to be a national craze. Well, actually we should say that the hot box mania has arrived with the nationwide release of the Scion xB. Finding success in targeting the youth tuner market, xB sales are exploding. When purchasing your bB (as it's known in Japan) off the dealer lot, you have a choice of customization options. From picking your wheels to a fingerprint decal that not so subtly screams individuality, you can make your Scion your own. Performance manufacturers have also responded positively by introducing a whole line of new products ranging from the simple strut tower brace to dozens of different exhaust systems.
Once you have your basic performance upgrades taken care of (intake, exhaust and header), you are ready to take it to the next level of performance enhancements. Blitz North America has recognized the hot boxing craze and has been busy researching and developing a supercharger kit for the Scion xB and xA. The supercharger system is a complete bolt-on kit that includes a twin-screw supercharger producing six psi off-boost pressure. The belt-driven supercharger unit utilizes a unique magnetic clutch to activate the system, similar to the first-generation supercharged MR-2. A neat feature of the magnetic clutch supercharger is that it allows the driver to activate the system at 25, 50 and 75 percent of the throttle position or completely turn-off the system through the cockpit-mounted rotary knob. Also included in the bolt-on kit is a new cast-aluminum intake manifold, onto which the supercharger mounts directly. Fuel enrichment for the additional air pressure is handled by a piggy-back ECU.
No testing is ever complete without a dyno test. On SP Engineering's Dynojet chassis dyno our stock five-speed xB generated 89.3 horsepower and 108.2 lb-ft of torque. With the Blitz supercharger installed peak power figures rose to 112.6 horsepower and 113.6 lb-ft of torque, an increase of 25 percent over the baseline. The largest improvement was noticed at 5700 rpm, with a gain of 23.3 horsepower and 20.2 lb-ft of torque. On the road the supercharger is instantly noticeable, with much more power once you stab the throttle. More importantly we did not really notice a drop in fuel economy with the supercharger system installed.
The Blitz supercharger system not only performs well, it also adds much bling bling to the engine compartment for all you show-goers. So if you want to hot box in speed and style, the Blitz supercharger system might be what the doctor ordered.