What is your guys' opinion: Is it better to get a superchager or mods like headers, cams etc.???? thanks

02 z28, a4, slp flowpac, magnaflo, and cutout

 

I think, if I had to do it all over again, I would skip all the small- and medium-size engine mods and go right to a supercharger...

 

if you are going to do a supercharger and you want maximum performance out of it you better do some other bolt ons like headers, free flowing exhaust, and get a tune when you get it all on.

 

At this point I'm thinking I'd rather supercharge than heads, cam, and nitrous. If I had it to do over again, I would have built the car for a supercharger instead. I'm currently thinking about putting a procharger on. You still need supporting mods to get the most benefit from supercharging like good flowing heads,headers, and all the suspension goodies.

 

yeah i would definitely do a supercharger. but i would definitely get all the bolt ons and then top it off with a supercharger. thats probably what i would want to do.

 

You can make very high power just off heads/cam swap rather than also doing a supercharger. I wanted to do a supercharger for a while, but there are a lot of nice LS1's w/ head/cam swaps making 450+ horsepower. I would also think it is easier to maintain the motor w/ a heads/cam swap because if you have a supercharger that's only another part that may have problems later. I would just think it's more cost effective to do heads/cam for decent power, but there are a lot of different applications, and superchargers fit some applications better. Depends on what you will be using it for I guess.

 

Depends on your goals. What exactly are those?

-Mindgame

 

Hey, I'm in the same boat, except I don't know what i can get away with in California. Any ideas which is the best way to go, heads and cam or supercharger and still be able to smog it here?

 

Head modifications won't add anything to your emissions output. You'd see a nice gain with effective porting.
You could also get away with a mild grind like the XR265HR (212/218 .558/.563 115º LSA) from Comp Cams. You would need a tune, but that cam would pass emissions without much problem while adding a good deal of power, especially if combined with ported heads.

-Mindgame

 

ive heard so much about superchargers....and how they are "too much" on a motor...what are the effects?...and if is there a supercharger that can be "ok" on a car..thanks

 

That's a very broad question. Would take a book to cover everything on the basics of superchargers.

"Too much" on a motor. Are we talking about a stock motor or built?

A stock motor usually has problem with boost due to piston ring end gaps. They are speced for normal aspiration, not the extra cylinder pressures a supercharger introduces. Too much pressure/heat and the ends of the rings will come together seizing the piston in the bore temporarily. Temporary because the weak chain in the link is the piston ringland.... that area where the ring sits. The ringland gets broken and you're moving on to a rebuild.

That's what I've seen from stock builds with small amounts of boost (6-8 psi). If you really want to learn about superchargers then you should spend a little money and buy Corky Bell's book.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...glance&s=books

It's an expensive ordeal, not just a kit thing. You need all the parts to make use of the power.

How much HP would you realistically like to make? How much money do you want to spend??

-Mindgame

 

i would like at least 450+ about $5 grand

 

450 at the rear wheels or flywheel?

You can get a good start on 450rwhp with heads (porting), cam (including all valvetrain parts), headers, converter and tuning (along with some little stuff). Then you just have to take it easy on the rear end... no slicks.

There are a number of LSx cars doing ~450 with this level of modification. Can also do it with stock heads if you want to run an even more aggressive camshaft. Takes a bit away from the streetability though.

-Mindgame