I'm new to N2O and all I really know is that it makes great power and a stock LT1 can handle a 125 shot. My future plan is to have 700 rwhp or more and keep the car streetable enough to drive it to work and do some street racing every now and then. I realize that the motor, trans, rear, tires, etc. need to be upgraded to hold the power. I previously looked into a turbo setup but they are mucho $$$$. I'm thinking that with a N2O prepped 383 I'm going to need at least a 300 shot to hit my horsepower goal. Like I said, I am new to this but what would a safe 300 shot setup cost me? I would like a ball park figure for a system with all the little bells and whistles needed to make it as safe and reliable as possible. I know that a PTK or STS turbo kit will cost me roughly $5000 and I assume that the N2O system will be substantially less expensive but please let me know what to expect. I'd also like to know if this setup would be as streetable as the turbo setup.
Thanks,
FLeX

 

The greatest costs will be the supporting components, just like with the turbo. The nitrous system will be a little less expensive than the turbo system, but the total cost will not be substantially lower to achieve the hp level you are aiming for (700+ rwhp). It will be much less streetable than a forced induction setup, at least when the nitrous is activated. The only way to make that big a hit "streetable" is to have a dual stage system, which will eat up a lot of the cost advantage. Progressive systems just don't seem to work that well, from what I have seen. And for them too, there is a financial cost.

It's impossible to be definite without knowing exactly what you have in mind and what your preferences are as well as knowing what you already have. And a huge variable is how much you can do yourself. But you will need the following for either a blown or nitrous setup:

1. clutch
2. driveshaft
3. rear end
4. complete shortblock rebuild
5. heads
6. cam and valvetrain upgrades
7. fuel system
8. roll bar (if you plan to go to the track)
9. brakes, wheel and tire, and suspension upgrades
10. headers/exhaust system
11. tuning
12. I am proabably leaving some things out, but you get me drift?

This will constitute at least 2/3's of the budget if not more. The $2,000 less you spend on a nitrous system will be a drop in the bucket. There is no cheap way to seeing a streetable 700rwhp. If there were, there would be more than a bare handful of cars at that power level. And very few of them see mcuh driving time, when you come right down to it. Name the 700rwhp F-bodies you know of to see what I mean.

500 (streetable) rwhp = "easy", moderately expensive
600 (streetable) rwhp = moderately difficult, pretty darn expensive
700 (streetable) rwhp = pretty darn sophisticted, getting to the point of "obscenely expensive"

A big part of the cost is keeping it "streetable", which to me implies a certain level of reliability, safety, and comfort as well as the ability to stop and corner commensurate with the hp and run on pump gas as well as pass whatever local laws exist with regard to inspection. You could take a mildly modded motor and throw a 500hp nitrous sytem on it. If that's what you have in mind, or something close, then I have been addressing the wrong issues.

What do you have in mind?

Rich

 

I see where you are coming from. I don't know if I want to spend that much money to get 700 rwhp. My thoughts are basically a forged 383 that will handle a lot of N2O, all bolt-ons, street twin, G-Force T56 upgrade, non-vibrating driveshaft, 12 bolt, sticky tires, and the rest of the needed suspension mods to keep the car stable on the street at WOT. I guess my main thing is being able to easily walk(if not run)away from all of the really expensive cars such as the new Viper, C6 Z06, etc. If 500 rwhp would do that then I would be happy. BTW, I'm also doing a lot of weight reduction so that would probably help my times out quite a bit. One more question: Will a 125 shot work as reliably on a heads/cam LT1 as it will on a stock LT1?

 

ou could certainly make a nice, reliable 4th gen LT1 based car that can walk away from the cars you mention with less than 700rwhp. A nice 400hp stroker with a 150hp nitrous shot would certainly do it. You won't need the G-force T-56, the stocker should be fine if you stay off prepped surfaces (the track). As I indicated, costs and complexity increase geometrically (or worse) as the desired power goes up.

Rich

 

Thanks a lot. I want a fast car that is also reliable. Since this thread, I've been reading through various posts that say people with heads/cam cars are running 100 shots on top of that. According to AI(Advanced Induction) I could get a little over 400 rwhp out of the AFR LT4 heads/cam package they've got. I believe there was mention of 420 rwhp but that may be a little high. Anyway, even 400 rwhp+ a 100-125 shot would really get me moving. This car won't HAVE to be my daily driver but I'd like for it to be once I get the horsepower up.

 

You really don't need the AFR heads. Get some basic porting on your stock castings. Have larger, high quality exhaust valves installed. Build up the shortblock with nitrous specific pistons and decent rods. You can probably use the stock crank if it's in good shape. Get a cam optimized for nitrous. Install a good nitrous system and upgrade the fuel system with a 255lph intank pump.

Rich

 

Thanks for the help, I plan on starting this project soon.
FLeX