Originally Posted by 97WS6Pilot

Shortblock: It is not necessary to spend $4000 on a shortblock. I recommend reusing the stock crank and rods. -20 cc forged "blower" pistons for a 355 can be had for around $400. So total for a 355 rebuild should be in the vicinity of $1500 with some quality machine work and assembly.

Heads: Ported LT1 heads need to be heavily ported in the chamber area to keep the compression down. Trickflows and AFR's have bigger combustion chambers and allow you to run more boost. I think cost vs performance the trickflows are the best compromise. The downfall to low compression is that the car will feel weak when not in boost (which is about 90% of the time). I recommend 9.0-9.5 for a street car and about 8.5 for a race car.

Cam: Get the cam that is right for you. Dont get into the bigger is better mentality. Decide if it is a Daily Driver or a Race Car. There is no such thing as a "blower cam" Almost all cams will work with a blower. Get the cam that works best for your style of driving. Choose your powerband. My choice for a fun street car is stump pulling low and midrange torque. This is where LT1's can crush LS1's.

Blower: Get the big blower and not the small one. Boost is addictive and sooner or later you will want to up boost level. Its better to have a big blower and a big blower pulley. A small blower and small pulley equals belt slip. Vortech YSi and Procharger F1A both make good choices. Both of these blowers have a more modern impellor and will make more power at the same boost level than the entry level blowers.

Pulleys: Make sure you spend time to line up all the pulleys. SDCE is good at this and also machining spacers for the crank pulley. This is tedious work but it will make your pulleys and blower last longer. Spend some money on the big block ati hub and balancer setup. Once you see that the hub only engages on the crankshaft about 1 inch then you will see that the stock hub or regular ati hub is a dangerous gamble.

Intercooler: Either do a big front mount or don't use an intercooler at all. The small twin intercooler and 3 core procharger and Vortech setups are very restrictive. You can fab up a front mount intercooler for half of the cost of a procharger or vortech setup. Whether you use an intercooler or not a Methanol Injection kit will improve both power and reliability. It is a must have in my book.

Bypass Valve: Get a quality mondo or ati race bypass valve. It will provide a smooth transition from vacuum to boost to prevent wheel spin. It will also last longer and not leak.

Computer and Tuning: This is the life of your engine and all the money you spent. I recommend the dynojet wideband commander be mounted in a guage pod so you can monitor your engine all the time. Tuning software is a must have so you can tweak the air fuel ratio and timing to make the engine run top notch. Also a boost referenced(msd btm etc.) ignition box will help to keep the timing correct at all throttle positions and rpms. It will also ensure a good strong spark at the upper rpms. You should tune for appoximately 11.5-12.0 AFR to keep the engine running strong and have good longevity.

Fuel Pump and Injectors: Dual Walbro and stock lines/rails/regulater is a simple cost effective solution for all but the wildest of setups. 60 pd mototron injectors have proven themselves to work well with the stock computer and will provide enough fuel for 95% of setups.

MAF or Speed Density: I recommend the MAF be used and placed on the pressure side. Easy to tune and can be compensated for when it maxes. The restriction is negligible if it is descreened. The Maf on the pressure side and the bypass dumping to atmosphere will help to cool the head unit and intake air. Speed Density is a constant battle to keep the AF ratio right with changing atmospheric condition.

Cost: Don't get into a bigger is better mentality. Do some research on setups that are powerful and reliable. Use the for sale section. Have a plan from start to finish and stick to it.

Results: Forced induction is the most gratifying thing I've done to my car. How else can you have 700 hp and be a daily driver? I can't wait to drive my car everyday it is so much fun to drive. Better than nitrous because its there all the time. I've got 30,000 miles on my car and its still amazes me how much power and torque it makes. It also doesn't require much maintenance now that all the bugs are worked out. Gas mileage is about 14 in the city and 25 on the highway which is only a little worse than stock numbers. Try getting that kind of mileage on a big heads and cam race car.

Thanks CZ28 members for all the help.

Steve

Originally Posted by ascastil

i have gotten but not yet put on edelbrock performer heads 54cc, edelbrock intake manifold, comp cams, pacesetter long tube headers, y pipe with flowmaster cat back. with all that and a new bottom end from eagle is there any way to tell how much power it will have NA since i now know i cant supercharge it with the heads i got.

Originally Posted by IROCThisZ28ForLife

Any word on bov and wastegate placement? I'd liketo see a write up on that, and the pros & cons of each location. Also how about choosing proper spring size for the wastegate, and even more importantly, matching your turbo to your convertor (auto cars)

Originally Posted by DirtyDaveW

BOV = From what I've been able to gather, you want it BEFORE the MAF if you're running a MAF. This is because you don't want to discharge 'Air' for which your MAF has measured and commanded fuel. Next, you want the BOV a 'sufficient' distance from the MAF so that it doesn't cause too much turbulence.

Waste Gate = TurboSmart has a write up in a .pdf format that details optimal, sub optimal and poor configurations.
Here's a pic snip from the Turbosmart installation .pdf


On the BOV springs settings, most manufacturers have specific springs based on engine vacuum. My car has -15 psi (vacuum) at idle and -20psi when closing the throttle during driving, so Tial recommends the 7lb spring. With the 11lb spring that came in my Tial 50mm, the thing never opened. With the 7lb spring, it relieves the closed throttle pressure just as it should.
[/IMG]

Originally Posted by Myzz96Z28

What spark plugs to use and what gap they should be at for turbo and supercharged set-ups should be up on here too if anyone would care to add their $0.02.

Myles