Anyone have one, or even heard of one?

Any issues..clutch, bottom end, tranny?

I'm most likely getting the TT kit later this year. Just want to know what I'm getting myself into.



See sigs for other mods

 

I will have a single turbo LT4 collectors edition soon..

should be pretty fun!

 

Boulder, where is this "kit" coming from???

 

The shop that does all of work is going to develop one for mass sale.

They have asked to 'sponsor' my car. They have put several of these TT systems in F bodies, but none in a Vette.

It would be a brand new system designed in my car. Once it is tested the system will be available for all.

 

Good Luck man. Here is what I see it. They are few company out there promises to develope a TT for the LT1/4 vette over 10 yrs ago and a couple most recently was a year so ago. So far non TT kit has ever exist. One of the company say of course we have a demo car in place, well, where the TT? There are no easy way or cheap way to build a TT or a single kit. And will required a lot of cutting up your car to make room for turbo and piping. Which is a lot of people are not willing to do. Heck, we have a lot of talents fabrication people on this forum and we are all want turbo or TT. But all of us don't see how it possible to TT with the specfic LT1/4. Sure they are one TT in the country that I know of. It a TT 93 vette and it not a LT1 any more and a custom build intake to make up for room and the cost?? I think was very high. If you really believed that company can make it happen for you. I wish you good luck


Bruce

 

Thanks for the input!!!

I am about 99% that he will be able to make a kit. It is going to take some time..obviously. He thinks he will need my car for about 1-1.5 months. Just for fabrication/testing/tuning etc. He is trying to develop this as a bolt on kit for everyone. Whether or not he will be able to make that happen is another thing. I have confidence in his abilities as I have seen several of the cars that he was worked on, mostly C5's.

I believe this is the real deal. He sees the opportunity for the product, as you had mentioned above.

It will be a very low cost to me, since I am willing to be the mule, so to speak.

I'll be in for about 2,500-4,000 with 4K being the max.

Check out his website, and some of the other cars he has done.

Mine is the polo C4 on the top right corner of page one. He still is updating the site, but you can get an idea.

http://www.dragonrace.com/custindexmain.html

 

$4000 max for a twin? I hate to disagree, but I'll wait to let you find out yourself. All the little thing here and there can add up so quickly. I have a rear mount thumper turbo on my 93 383LT1, I say to myself, it will cost me $3500 max, I end up nearly double that amount. Why?? well when you start tearing thing down and find other thing is needed to be replace or upgrade. Now all that call hidden cost. Supercharger is the same way, if you most people they will say the same. Double your original planned amount $.

Bruce

 

I'd have to agree with Bruce. You start spending alot more money than you think. And most of it is listtle stuff that you don't think about. But if that's just the cost for the piping and the turbo's I would call it accurate. Just remember, you're running some high compression so you won't be able to run very much boost and you WILL need some kind of intercooler or water/meth injection.

There have been rumors for years and years of companies working on the C4 turbo kits, but nothing has ever come of it. Good luck, we'll see how it turns out. You might want to call HP turbos, somebody here was having them do his c4 but I haven't heard about any results yet.

I just called them to find out and it's a single kit. They said that they are just finishing up their piping this week and will send it out to jet-hot and then dyno it. They should have some numbers in about a week or so, shop time, give it about 2 weeks then, and the kit will be ready in about 30 days or so. We'll see if this all comes to pass.

 

$4000 will probably be a mickey mouse kit full of band aids.

BTW: if you are on stock bottom, you will need to rip out everything. At that time you will realize the actual cost of a TT kit done right.

T

 

No No! MY cost would be that much. I have no idea what the kit would end up costing. I'm getting a break for obvious reasons, and getting everything at cost with $0/hour for labor. That is why they will need the car for 1-1.5 months.

None of this is going to happen until the end of the summer/beginning of winter this year. (it sits in the garage all winter anyway)

LT4 is definately running at high compression, but the exhaust chambers will be ported to help that out a little bit. The boost will be dialed way down, as I still have the stock bottom end.

If everything goes well with this, I will most likely forge everything after it is complete. Just to make sure I don't f&ck anything/everything up.

I will also need to get a beefier clutch. That price stated before didn't include that.

Basically we would have a contract stating the max. amount that I would need to fork up. Once we hit that ceiling everything else comes out of the shops pocket. He thinks it will cost him a ton more than that. But he is willing to do so, knowing that he will be able to sell a ton of kits down the road.

I'm about 90% sure that I am going to do this.

Just wanted some input to see what OTHER problems I should be thinking about.

 

I wish your builder all the best, BUT there is a reason there are only a few turbocharged C4's running around.

Now if he can get it right you will never go back..................... Trust me.

 

I am doing it on a cost basis, with my retailer pricing which is what shops pay for parts...ie cost! and just parts alone and searching for the best deals on what I cannot get through my suppliers, I am approaching 3 times the amount you are stating.. if all he is gonna give you is the plumbing tubo and basic turbo components, wastegate, BOV, turbos, oil lines, intercooler.. then yes it can be done if he does all the labor.. but that alone is actually the cheapest part of the build.. I too though that with adding those prices up I was way under what everyone had said it would cost.. I am speaking from experience... the little things add up.. and quick.. and once you are vested so deep, you either have to turn back or push forward and do it right. turbocharging is not a cheap endeavor.. however from what I have experienced in other cars, and from everyone I have talked to who has followed through with it, it is second to none in grin, power satisfaction, and overall enjoyment while driving the car!

So, I wish you the best of luck, but at the very least.. I would research this project in its entirety which is the most important and actually, the only free thing y6ou will get out of it. when you have finished assembling you 5 pages of questions, come back and we will fill in the hidden dollar signs you and your builder have overlooked at first glance which is no discredit to either one of you, just the facts of transforming a NA car to a well built and properly setup turbo car!

Best regards, and at anyrate, I hope you go for it.. just want you to be knowledgeable and not rely solely on the man who is gonna be doing the work, because if he bites off more then he can chew, I highly doubt he will be willing to swallow the difference in cost, and if he determines like the majority have that the market is not strong enough to support the demand and pay the dollars it takes to make one reliable and worthwhile having, you may be midstream out of funds, and have the guy doing it wondering why he took on the project! and that will deteriorate your relationship with that shop. which will be the only place who knows what you have and how to fix it when/if it breaks!

Chris

 

This thread started in the wrong direction.

I appreciate the input, but I know there are no TT kits for a reason. I didn't want the thread to turn into a discussion of IF it is even a possibility, or how much it will cost.

Just curious as to what things I should be thinking about, from a mechanical standpoint.

What are all of the 'little things' that everyone is talking about? Can someone elaborate please?

 

I know that you are hangin in there, but these guys are making turbo cars and are shooting it to you straight. These guys are also talking about fairly serious turbos/horsepower.

Fuel system/fuel management/tuning could cost thousands!!!!!
Think about it. Good luck!!

 

first of all... the motor is a poor platform for anything more then 4-5 pounds of boost.. if you do not plan to build the bottom end for lower compression, that right there should thwart the start of the project.

lowering compression... stock rods stock crank.. sure.. new pistons a must.. forged, but if you are gonna be in there why not pay for the machine work and balance once with better internals and be done with it?

so you build a shortblock..
$2500-3500 bucks depending on how beefed up you plan to build it.

new springs for the heads to run boost on.. FI cars require stronger springs to overcome cylinder pressure due to the added fuel air mixture.
Valves.. High heat in the chamber will turn stock valves into rubble at higher boost levels due to their material composition, so SS valves are a pretty wise choice while your in there. right there you're looking at $350 bucks with new retainers and locks valves seals plus another
$150 bucks for a valve job and surface.

pushrods... to handle the stiffer springs.. $85 bucks

gaskets in a set for the motor in a worthwhile series will run you ~ $200

head bolts studs whichever you want to handle liftin issues with the heads under boost and keep the coolant in the system and out of the chambers... $100 bucks

these are a few things that ya really need to take care of before you even consider putting boost on an LT4.. 10.8 to 1 compression is WAY too high and on the stock pistons... one slight lean out and it goes pop and you could possibly wind up hurting other areas of the engine or turbo as well through metal in the oil.

the fuel system.. depending on the level of performance your looking for, will determine what injectors you will need to run and what plumbing and pump(s) will be required to keep up with engine demand. figure at least between $750- 1400 just in the fuel system alone. at the minimum, walbro pump and wire kit from racetronix $190, boost referenced pressure regulator $120-150, and high impedence injectors sized to suit.. or low Z injectors ($450-500) with an impedence converter box($350), most likely I'd go with the 60lb/hr High Z injectors which your gonna shell out around $550-600 bucks for. now you are good to about 500-550 RWHP beyond that, boost-a-pump or twin intank walbros or add an inline. fuel line size will be the next limiting issue, but I am assuming you will be happy with the lower range of power for a while before you respend more dough beefing it up.

clutch..... clutch....clutch... the stocker is not going to hold that power in the higher gears, and slap some tires that will allow you to use more then half throttle and the stocker in low gears is gonna destroy itself and the $700 flywheel we are plagued with.. solution.. during rebuild get a mcleod twin disc so the flywheel can be balanced to the new motor... $1100 for the complete unit..

boost controller.. manual cheapy.. 50-60 bucks.. decent electronic controller with some safety features.. $300

gauges for monitering whats happening with all the money under your hood... $300 with hoses wiring, pods etc.. done right.. boost, EGT, AFR, Fuel pressure possibly...

Now tuning.. GM computers can't see boost and you only have an idea whats going on up to the point you max out the MAF sensor, after that your shooting in the dark without a wideband O2 sensor or tons of time dyno tuning it with a wideband, then switching boost settings beyond that changes the entire equation.. so your limited with accuracy there.. are you prepared to trust that with your $10,000 investment so far? I was not.. DFI $1900 more, then add to that wide band options, Optispark delete which likely will not like all the cylinder pressures from boost and encounter spark breakup in at or near torque peak..

the cutting and hacking up of your car.. are you prepared for it.. its gonna happen... no other way to get around it.. maybe keep it to a minimum, but its gonna happen.

there is more.. much much more even smaller things.. hoses, clamps, gaskets, lines, wiring, nuts bolt washers, coating, stainless steal parts..

anyways.. this is only to give you a glimpse of what i can think of in a few minutes, but there is more.. much much more that has been left out.. and that adds even more.. this was entirely without putting the cost of the kit.. so head over the the camaroZ28 forum, and just begin reading the posts there in the FI section.. that will help to add in anything I have missed and there will be some good examples of those who tried the more "cost effective" route first and who are now rebuilding to handle what they have created.. it is a wealth of very useful and beneficial information to add to this beginning!

but like I said.. I would love to have anothe rturbo brother in the family here, and am willing to help in any way that i can, but you have alot to ponder on, and the headaches from trying to decide how far to take it are about to begin..lol

rock on with it man! nothing in the world like a boosted big cube motor!

Chris

 

Well for those who refused to believe us . That is ok. we are simply sharing our experiences that all. That is why on my previous post, I say "I will wait and let you find out yourself"

Here is another great example a SC kit $4500 right. While most people will think, well if I spent $4500 and I am ready to go, done deal. But ask how many people are end up spending much more $ to get it to run the way it should. That is stricky for a stock motor.

Bruce

 

I'm not refusing to believe anyone. I know this will be a huge pain in the ***.

I just never asked if it was possible, or how much it would cost. Which is where this thread went!!

I did ask "I just want to know what I'm getting myself into". Which was referring to the question above it in regards to the tranny, bottom end, clutch etc.

Don't get me wrong, Chris, Bruce and everyone else, I do appreciate your feedback, and input as you have been there done that.

On second thought, I guess if no one has the system, no one really knows what will happen to their car if they get one.

 

[QUOTE=boulderlt4]

I just never asked if it was possible, or how much it would cost. Which is where this thread went!!

I'll be in for about 2,500-4,000 with 4K being the max

"Nothing is impossible if you got the doughs". Many of us simply jumping in to say the amount of $$$$ you quote is ain good enough.

As far your question about trany and other drivetrain.
TURBO = TORQUE
TORQUE = BREAK THINGS

The question is how long will it last? that will all be depends on how you drive. If your gonna drive like a granny, sure it will last for a long time. If your drive hard because you want to feel the rush of the turbo power, than it won't last very long. NO stock auto tranny can handle 8psi of turbo/supercharged boost for a long time.

Bruce

 

How about a 6speed tranny?

It will be minimal boost. Not dialing it up big.

 

Minimal Boost? Why bother doing it if you're not going to dial up the boost? Just leave it stock.