Is this a no-no? I've read some past topics and get that sense. If I was to buy a procharger kit and install it on a stock car, would my motor hold out an average life span? Just looking for some input.

Thanks guys.

 

Nope. dont think so. An engine that is built to live with a supercharger is built with lower compression than our stock LT1's. I dont think it would last long in stock trim with a blower.

 

LT1 is not the ideal platform for a SC, but it can be done. You won't be able to make much boost w/ the stock comp ratio.
Vortech make a much better SC than ATI. Be warry of ATI. Their intercooler is good, but their SC's are questionable, the 600B in particular.

 

Heres what put me off to the idea of S/Cing my 1993 convertible 6speed.....

I considered doing this and talked to all kinds of people. I liked the idea of the ATI unit coming with an intercooler and 8 pounds boost vs. the vortech 6psi for the street unit.

But then I heard of people not being able to attain the advertised boost for whatever reason, or gradually losing boost after a few thousand miles.

I even heard some people say their boost went past their piston rings and blew oil out through the cam seal, rear main seal, and even up through the oil dipstick tube. Those people lost a lot of boost.

Others I heard detonated their engines and had to spend thousands building a new one to work with the S/C.

Other people have said the S/C seals go bad spraying oil all across the inside of their engine bay, making a heck of a cleaning job.


For these reasons(as well as cost) i decided to go with the head port/polishing, change to 350 LT4 hot cam kit, Ed Wright chip, bigger injectors

I will keep the site posted as I am in the middle of this modification

 

He He. If you buy a Procharger kit and install it, your motor will probably last for a long time. Unfortunately, the Procharger kits are making like 2-3# of boost, not the 9# they claim. With that pressure level, you will past a while.

 

Funny, I had a 9lb system on my LT1 and at times it actually made over 9lbs of boost. What makes you say they only make 2 to 3lbs? My car ran fine with the blower on. (when I had it) The kid that bought it will probably tell you different though. :D He burned the car to the ground after having it 1 month.

 

My '93 LT-1 has an ATI Procharger blower on it. It also has an intercooler. I have about 10K miles on it since I put the supercharger at 47K miles. The following is my experience. Note that it is just a data point and your mileage may vary.

I got 7lb of boost with a BBK 52mm throttle body. So it could have been 8lb, as it advertised, if I had used the stock 48mm throttle body. Additionally, most components appear to be good so far. I got a 355HP reading at the rear wheels.

Now comes the bad news. I have spent a lot of $$$ and time to make the supercharger "kit" work right, and yet more work is needed. The stock ignition could not handle extra fuel/air mixture. So I got MSD ignition installed. Then I had to put new spark wire set and the recommended spark plugs didn't work well. Then the engine ran too hot. Oh, I forgot the extra pressure caused the oil leak. Then I found out that the engine is running too lean. I am in the process to install 30lb/hr fuel injectors and matching EPROM.

It has been over a year since I started the project. All the work was done by a shop that is specialized in Corvettes. You would have expected that supercharger companies should supply you with all the components. In the worst case, they should have worked with other companies to provide you with a complete solution. But this was not the case for me.

The positive side is that I have learned a lot about supercharing because I couldn't get help from the manufacturer nor the installer. It has been quite furstrating. But my bay 'Vette is getting more powerful everyday!

David