so let me ask a question? i am seeing 11psi of boost on my d-1 and a 3.7 pulley at 5800rpm or so...so you think if i went to a 8 rib i would see more? i dont think mine slips at all but then again i am only making 11#s on my 383 :reddevil

 

Hello I enjoyed all the time you put into this post! Thanks! I am thinking of putting a procharger on my corvette, How is the finished product are you happy now and was it worht it? I am considering just going all motor with a 396 but will cost close to 3 times as much! The wife gave me the ok for a procharger but I don't think I could sell her on the engine build :seeya

 

Am I happy with it....well, to be honest. NO! Will I be happy with it? YES!

Here's the reason. Procharger claims that there is no belt slip on an LT-1 and they couldn't be more wrong. The only way to get the HP out of their kit is to tune it properly, and get a custom 8 rib pulley setup, and you will end up paying ~$800-$1200 for a wideband dyno tune and it still might not be right. Therefore the only other option is to spend another $200-$450 for a Wideband oxygen sensor and tune it yourself. Here is also a list of parts you're going to need:

MSD 6BTM = ~$350
Aeromotive fuel pump, or Walbro fuel pump = ~$175 (ATI's aux pump sucks)
Chip burn = $250 at least and a bunch of down time due to shipping
New Optispark distributor = $350
New Waterpump = ~$100
Various gauges = ~$450-$500 (Fuel pressure gauges are NOT cheap)

Considering you have a '92, I don't recommed doing the procharger without replacing the Opti and waterpump. But it's not absolutely necessary.

Also, if you are not going to rely on the FMU that ATI supplies you'll need new injectors = ~$230

Currently my motor is only kicking out ~400HP, I know once I get my wideband O2 and my EGT and MSD hooked up I'll be getting the power I want, thus making me happy :)

Dollar for dollar N2O is the best mod to do. However, I went with the procharger because I eventually plan on building a monster engine someday.

If all you want is ~450HP as cheap as you can get it, go with N2O.

If you plan on modding your internals someday, there's nothing like boost :D

If you do plan on doing the latter, don't even mess with getting the P1-SC, just get the D1-SC and get a custom crank pulley to underdrive the D1-SC to get you under 8 psi instead of the 10 psi minimum that ATI says you can get out of it. The P1-SC can only get max of 12 psi at 1200 CFM and doesn't boost at low enough RPM to get the low end torque blowers are famous for.

If you plan on bolting on ANY blower kit and running your engine for another 30,000-60,000 miles without any problems, you're fooling yourself. Due to the high compression of the LT-1 ATI's kit tries to handle detonation issues with fuel control without taking TIMING into consideration, and that's why an MSD unit is absolutely necessary.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten the D1-SC head unit, bracket, hoses, and various tubing, and build my own kit.

If you want to do this, let me know because I'll be able to go through my parts list and let you know everything you'll need to get from ATI individually.

The kits may run ~$4500, but you'll end up spending another $2,000-$3,000 grand to get the "right" parts and keep an eye on the motor.

And that's the gods honest truth. Anyone who says they're running a "stock" ATI procharger kit with no other mods and are getting the $480HP ATI claims is either lying to you about the power, or they're about to blow their motor.

I hope I didn't just bum you out, because after all the "wake-up-calls" I've been through, I still don't regret doing it. I've learned sooooo much, and I've future proofed myself with a lot of great parts.

:seeya:

 

What a revelation your journey has been,,,, I had really wanted to put an ATI on my new 406 but damn the adders are crazy $$$$!

I would now be more inlclined to buy myself a new Dart block and build a 456 I think, keep us posted.

I feel your pain though for sure !

You will beat this , I know you will!

 

Yeah it is kind of a bummer, but I'm still having great fun and learning Soooo much about F/I, and the great thing is, all of the extra parts I've learned I needed are parts I'll need even when I plan on getting ~1,000 HP out of the motor. So in my eye, it's not money that's been wasted at all, just money I didn't plan on spending right away :D

I don't know about your block, but everyone's application is different. I see you have an 8.5:1 comp ratio. If everything is forged and you're will to go with an aftermarket computer, it might be relatively cheap for you to get a blower because you don't need all the other crap that goes along with keeping a stock blown motor in check.

 

Yes VVV9 is right :iagree: it is a lot of work but the joy when it is running and tuned just right I so worth it :thumbs: when you are driving and you hear that blower making that high pitched noise and when you come to a stop light and people look over like "WHAT THE F--- is that noise coming from that car"?

It is worth it and to have what I call NOS on tap is just too much fun! To know you can be driving without the worries of refilling the bottle and just the sound alone is worth it brings tears to my eyes :sad: !

So yes building a Big block or NA motor rock because you have the same situation HP on TAP but running a blower only kicks in to boost when needed so build the bottom end of the block with forged to handle high boost and drive the car around and get good gas mileage and then when you feel a threat of a Viper smash that gas and see them fall back behind your little corvette :D



[Modified by krivera, 9:17 AM 9/3/2003]

 

:iagree: Even with my new 406 engine I would be a little hesitant to "go racing" if I heard the whine from the car next to me, I could only hope that the guy has just bolted the unit on with few mods.

What gets me pumped is having @ 440 FWHP and then adding 55% more HP if that is truly accurate,,,, I get something like 680HP when I run the calculator!

:conehead

 

Yep :yesnod:

and yes you are right i had a viper roll up on me and pull the whole "i make 400hp stock and 490hp with my exhaust"

i said "yeah maybe at the fly wheel??" :lolg:

He was a little worried about the little vette and then the light went green and :steering: i was off pulling on him and still smoking my tires and i know all he could hear was my blower and exhaust roaring at him as i pulled on him in nothing flat i jumped so far ahead i slowed down for traffic infront of me and he did a blow by in the middle lane :nono:

so it is fun having this blower and it will either get you in a really good race :eek: or they will back down :rofl:

gets old after awhile

yeah right! :D

 

:iagree:

I may be dumb ,,, but I aint stupid!

 

You didn't bum me out at all! I appreciate all your advice, and am going to build a 396 stroker and maybe next year put a few pounds on top but the wife is not going to let be INVEST :lol: in both so I figure I will start with the engine since mine has 98,000 miles, I put a supercharger on her stang a couple years ago and she loves it! I just can't have the wife with a faster car! So I will put my foot down and build!!! She was the one pushing for the procharger for the Vette i was skeptical :bb about the gains they claimed on a stock engine. Well good luck on your toy I am sure you will get it ironed out :steering: :chevy

 

Personally I think you made a wise choise....BUT! if you do plan on putting an s/c on your 396 some day, make sure you do it right! Do your research and put together a motor that's built for boost. i.e. low compression, forged everything, 4 bolt splayed main, cam, intake, etc... You can still make good power with a low compression n/a 396 stroker, but once you put both together you'll have a monster that's strong and reliable.

:cheers:

 

Thanks for the fully detailed install looking forward to seeing you hp #'s when its all tuned out.