turbo charged or super charged

[fastaction Z28]

I am new to this place and i have bought a 98 chevy z28 with the LS1 and i a wanting to increase hp and not decrease the money. Please help

[FormulaLT1]

It depends on what you are looking for. If your looking for something easy to hook up that will give you a nice bump in performance go with a supercharger. If you are looking for a kit that will deliver most possible potential in horsepowe but that will probably cost a bit more cause of the engineering that went into designing the kit go turbo.

Either way boost is boost and a turbo will not eat up as much of the potential power but will probably generate slightly higher engine bay temps and cost a tad more.

Also what do you mean by decrease money. You mean value of the vehicle?. Cause vehicles with turbo's and superchargers generally sell for higher than stock vehicles.

PS- Welcome to AF.

[Morley]

Either way you go you're looking at spending between $4k-$6k. Each option has its pros and cons. for the S/C the pros are cooler inlet air temps, less problems with convection heat and simple belt & pulley changes to alter the boost psi.and almost instant boost. Cons are parasitic loss of some of the HP from turning the blower and limited pressures (on under hood designs).
For the turbo pros are more mounting location options, no parasitic drag, usually smaller in design. Cons are high temps, changing boost pressure usually takes a larger turbo, turbo lag and more parts involved.

[stone_mound_camaro]

Originally Posted by FormulaLT1

Also what do you mean by decrease money. You mean value of the vehicle?. Cause vehicles with turbo's and superchargers generally sell for higher than stock vehicles.

i think he means... he doesnt wanna decrease his pockets

[poormillionaire2]

Forced induction won't be cheap on any car.
Plus, you'll probably want a tune and bolt-on's to support the extra flow.
But on stock internals, you'll only be able to run 6-8 pounds of boost anyway, and Formula is right, boost is boost.

[2.2 Straight six]

turbo. accept no other.

[FormulaLT1]

Originally Posted by 2.2 Straight six

turbo. accept no other.

Turbo is not always the best option here. Especially with F-bodys. Besides I would rather buy a supercharger kit for 2500 - 3000 than a turbo kit for 4000 - 6000 and have maybe 15 - 25 less horse (which can be made up other ways very easily.). Not to mention less underhood temps , easier install in most cases and easier to turn up the boost (only requires a pulley change in most cases assuming you haven't hit the max spin and cfm of your blower).

[2.2 Straight six]

Originally Posted by FormulaLT1

Turbo is not always the best option here. Especially with F-bodys. Besides I would rather buy a supercharger kit for 2500 - 3000 than a turbo kit for 4000 - 6000 and have maybe 10 - 15 less horse (which can be made up other ways very easily.). Not to mention less underhood temps , easier install in most cases and easier to turn up the boost (only requires a pulley change in most cases assuming you haven't hit the max spin and cfm of your blower).

fair enough, i just like turbos over blowers for certain reasons.

[stone_mound_camaro]

Originally Posted by 2.2 Straight six

fair enough, i just like turbos over blowers for certain reasons.

the sound...

















i hate how superchargers sound

[travis712]

Originally Posted by stone_mound_camaro

the sound...

















i hate how superchargers sound

Very true. There's a TT supra that drifts at the track around here, and it sounds amazing. I am a big fan of turbo's, but FormulaLT1 brought up some awesome points. If you were on a real tight budget, go supercharger and make the power in other(cheaper) areas.

[ZL1power69]

any type of forced induction will not be cheap. bolt ons are almost mandatory to support and take full advantage of a blower or turbo. a supercharger kit will be cheaper and easier to install. One of the best turbo kits for the late model f-body is the STS system which locates the turbo in place of the muffler. that reduces under hood temps and saves space under the hood. either way you are looking at $3,000-$6,000 for a kit and some supporting bolt ons.

[stone_mound_camaro]

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

any type of forced induction will not be cheap. bolt ons are almost mandatory to support and take full advantage of a blower or turbo. a supercharger kit will be cheaper and easier to install. One of the best turbo kits for the late model f-body is the STS system which locates the turbo in place of the muffler. that reduces under hood temps and saves space under the hood. either way you are looking at $3,000-$6,000 for a kit and some supporting bolt ons.

STS is a revolutionary idea and i love it, except, im a fan of the dual exhaust look. and STS places the air intake on the left side right where the left exhaust tip would be. so you're left with a nice beautiful shiny single pipe sticking out the right side

[2.2 Straight six]

remote turbo? not as efficient as a manifold-mounted one.

and c'mon, a turbo 7-ft away from the engine?

[FormulaLT1]

Originally Posted by ZL1power69

any type of forced induction will not be cheap. bolt ons are almost mandatory to support and take full advantage of a blower or turbo. a supercharger kit will be cheaper and easier to install. One of the best turbo kits for the late model f-body is the STS system which locates the turbo in place of the muffler. that reduces under hood temps and saves space under the hood. either way you are looking at $3,000-$6,000 for a kit and some supporting bolt ons.

One of the main factors in providing turbine pressure using a turbo is heat. The closer you are to the exhaust port the more energy/heat you have. STS design is not as efficient as a convenential turbo but yes much like a supercharger it works cause it meets certain needs. Like the issue of engine bay space and heat. However these kits cost 4k + and have a higher percentage of pressure leaks on both the exhaust (drive side) and the intake (PSI side). However on the other hand you can purchase lets say a powerdyne supercharger kit for around 2400 - 2600 that will provide 4.5 PSI and with a 90 -110 dollar pulley change will provide 6 + PSI (you can also be smart and use the 4.5 pulley for every day driving and only use the 6PSI pulley on track days).

Again, I am all for turbo in 99.99% of the cases. Because they are more efficient and use mostly unused energy to drive them. They usually also provide power at a range that is more usable without creating tractions issue's and in most cases are easier fabrication wise to get in there somewhere when space isn't a issue.

Now with that said, F-body's use large displacement engine's in already cramped to near max engine bays and because of this extreme, it is in dangerously close quarters to vital engine/wiring components, more piping/plumbing components complicates routing and find room to route things and because of this more time to design a practical kit is required. Time=money. Then you run into issue like needing a intercooler because of the higher intake temps of a turbo.

I looked and weighed all factors in my decision and would have loved to go turbo because it is the superior design of the two but in my case and many other f-body owners IMO. Supercharger is the more practical boost method.

[2.2 Straight six]

where there's a will, there's a way.

my friend taught me that. pushing figures on some engines i couldn't even imagine.