I know it goes against you're personal tastes Charlie, but wouldn't a supercharger be less exotic, i.e. cheaper to produce, install and maintain, and produce bigger hp numbers?

 

that's the coolest intake manifold I've ever seen for a Gen III/IV engine. If i had an LS1 f-body, that manifold would definitely be up there on my list of modifications.

 

ah yeah, I saw this one on the "Fuel" camaro in this months Hot Rod. Looks sexy under the hood. They said they had a hard time dialing it in or something like that(dont have issue with me) though IIRC it was a 402 LS2 in a first gen. badass car too

~$4000 for this intake setup?? but this comes with all hookups, throttle body(ies), and pretty much everything else to make it work and replace the stock? if you have the money then why not?!?! if they were ever to do something like this, how much more R&D would be needed? what would the cost difference in something like this be compared to the stock setup?? How much more of a gain could you see with it(basically is it worth it other than it looking awesome )

 

They'd need it to pass emissions, which it doesn't; run on E85 fuel and work with AFM, which I doubt it does.

In other words... don't count on it.

 

No doubt this is an EXPENSIVE custom intake. And we could easily use up a whole thread talking about the pros and cons of a blower vs all motor in this application. But honestly, the reason I started this thread, probably has more to do with engine aesthetics than anything else.

Whatever engine the Z/28 ultimately gets, the gauntlet will already be set in terms of how much power will be required. The Challenger SRT8 will have 500-ish hp from it's 6.4L Hemi. The GT500 will probably go away after '08, but the top Mustang will have a potent version of the Boss 5.8/6.2 V8. Any way that you care to calculate horsepower, hp to weight, or whatever, the Z/28 will need 450-500 hp to compete with these guys. And we know we're gonna get it too - so why not have a good looking motor while we're at it.

Not to sound petty, but the LSA/LS9 have the visual appeal of a pallete of paving stones. Homely.

 

Not to mention it would sound better

 

I don't know what you guys have against forced induction. We ran a vortec centrifugal supercharger on my son's '96 Mustang GT. (Believe me, it needed it.) We never had any mechanical problems creap up because of the supercharger. (There were other's, like the plastic intake cracking and needing to be replaced.) It gave it responsive power when needed; sounded cool (but then it did have Flowmaster 40s); and actually made the Mustang more enjoyable to drive (the proportions of the SN95 Mustangs is closer to a 3-series than a 4th gen Camaro so I know you'd like it Charlie). About the only thing the car had going against it was it was a Ford.

I actually miss the blower whine. (Of course when asked I said it had a vacuum leak. )

Besides all of today's motors are ugly because of all the electronics and emissions equipment required. You can put lipstick on a pig if you like, however none of them come close to simplicity and beauty as this...










... and before anyone asks, no its not mine.

 

I have to admit the whine on some blowers are pretty awesome. I guess personally I think of Supercharged cars as 1/4 mile cars. That just not what a Z/28 is. Then again the GT500 is supercharged and its not a 1/4 mile car. Drag racing is cool but every day driving is several miles not 1/4 mile. If you think about it, every chase scene from Dukes of hazard, Bullit, Gone in 60 seconds, Smoky and the Bandit, Bad Boys, whatever always ends up in a road race. They have to or it would be a pretty short chase. That may sound juvenile but thats what I like about the Z/28. Its more than a straight line car. 4 Grand is alot for an intake, but it looks really cool and just fits the cross ram Z image. It would seem lighter, less stress over extended periods of high speeds though I could be wrong just perception on looks. Definatly like the look of the cross ram Charlie posted. Id perfer that over a supercharger if it put out some power. I dont know, educate me, how well does a supercharger do with road racing?

Nice car btw!

 

The Mustang I'm talking about was a daily driver... and it wasn't a straight-line-only 1/4 mile car. In fact, I guarrantee you that a supercharged LSx based engine will be a hell of a lot more streetable than the exotic crossram proposed here.

 

Count me in for independent throttles.

 

I assumed the blue car in the pic was the mustang. I still like the looks of this thing and the bragging rights of all motor like Z06 has over the GT. This cross ram looks sweet. Ive never seen anything like it. In the end I guess your right, whatever is better is better. I just never thought of a Supercharger as a road race thing or that a supercharged motor was ment to sustain high speeds for long periods of time. Im still partial to all motor though...

 

I don't know, it doesn't really do anything for me.

I'd rather have a FAST 90/90.

 

Actually the blue car above is some guys blown big block 69 Camaro. I was talking about my sons old 96 Mustang GT 4.6L with a Vortec centrifugal supercharger...



Doesn't look like much does it? That's the whole point.

 

Charlie, you may want to check out the March '07 issue of Hot Rod. G-Force Design Concepts used this intake on the 402 cid LS2 in their "Fuel" '69 Camaro, and according to the story (pp 74-78) "dialing it in was probably one of the most challenging parts of the build."

http://www.gforcedesignconcepts.com/...fuel_completed

My point? Rather than an exotic looking intake, I'd prefer something more tunable and practical, considering most Z/28 buyers will still get their cars serviced by the dealer. Hense I still like the idea of the LS9 for the Z/28.

 

Check it out? That's where I first saw it!