Recently I have been thinking about and researching Strokers and Blowers. My LT1 Currently has 80k miles on it and so I am wondering what would be a better route for me. This car is my daily driver and I would like some good power out of it but I have seen some big differences in prices and power out puts. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

stroker! without a doubt! Then maybe add a blower later if you want more power.

 

My son and I installed a powerdyne supercharger on his 94 LT1 Z28 (yes I know its not a vette) He is off to college now and I'm going to sell it soon.(my turn to play with my vette) The supercharger has been on the car now for about 4 years with no trouble at all and used as his daily driver through high school. It made his car fast and very fun to drive and not very hard to install.(still good on gas) Its a good bang for the buck if you can install it your self. My vette is not a daily driver so I may go more to the wild side, not sure yet.

 

If you wanna learn anything about this.... read up on my posts.....For when i joined the boards i asked the same questions...unfortuneatly i was talked into going with a blower, faster more simple way of getting power(bulls***).....it was the worst mistake ever......I'll keep this short.....research my posts......read the horror stories...but go with a stroker....Supercharging the LT1 just does not seem to be worth it....of course you could build the motor for the blower..but now your talking 15k.....

 

thts not true. so far ive spent 800$ on my bottom end, and all i need r pistons now. my 355 SC motor will be ready soon. then 3200 for SC, 1500$ for a trans, 900 for converter. for udner 5k u can get a good Sc motor.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have also been tinkering with the idea of Heads,intake and cam again. Im thinkin that I might make some good HP with those as well.

 

I have one a D1SC ProCharger for sale here. You can't beat this price.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=900423

 

Well if you don't plan on rebuilding the engine...then heads/cam/headers are definitly a great way to go...If for some reason you go with a SC'er stay away from ATI they are horrible and will never make the power they advertise without you spending even more money on crap they never tell you will need....But your best bet is to go stroker or heads/cam/headers

 

stroke first

 

That's not that far off to do it correctly (read reliable). Correctly being the key word. Hippie I am not sure where you are getting your parts but if they are quality pieces that is a damn good price. The bottom end for my 406 that I was going to build up was over $2000. I have since decided to go in a similar direction as Ski, just with a couple of less cubes. Let's try to break it down..... I know this isn't an LT1 which is probably more expensive to build.

A 427 assembled shortblock is around $4500 from Bill Mitchel (the engine shop) the same guys that build the 454 small block. Heads are around $2400. Fortunately the LT1 has a good intake so you won't have to spend the extra $1250 I did on a good piece. Just in hard parts I am up to $7150. Add a solid roller cam and lifters and your approaching another $500 for a total of $7650. I try to budget around $500 in incedentals for gaskets, bearings etc. Lets say I used it all that puts me to $8150. I am guestamating a price on the SC, (which I am now not getting) at $4000, also including incedental items. This would place myself at $12,150. If you can't do any of the work by yourself I can very easily see final engine assembly, removal of your current engine, installation of the new engine, installation of the supercharger, and tuning costing at least another $3000, exceeding the $15K mark.

I am not saying you can't just go out, buy a SC, bolt it on, and have a good time. I've spent alot of time and money on my cars but I've never done it the right way the first time and every single time it's cost me more money and time that I would've spent doing it right the first time. There are plenty of fast stock bottom end blower cars on the forum but that isn't something that I personally would consider doing. To each his own.

I recently had an interesting discussion with TJWong in Forced Induction / Nitrous about supercharging the 427 and he showed me why my paticular combo could potentially be a better grenade than an engine. He also lists a pretty potent combo of his own that seems to offer having your cake and eating it too. Here's the linky:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showthread.php?t=897443

 

Go with the stroker motor and if you can build it for a blower later.

I have a blower and it is much more costly then the simple bolt on they provide. You are not going to get the advertised horsepower easily and with belt slippage the HP is not going to be consistant unless you do some upgrades.

 

Stroker first, like most of these guys are saying. Build that bottom end up. With 80K on the odo, I would definitely do up that bottom end before you supercharge it.

 

Go with a stroker first..then get the blower. If your car only had 40k on it I would say do the blower first.

 

I went with the 383 stroker and my buddy put a supercharger in his and he regrets it to this day. He is constantly tring to find cooling solutions to his engine.

 

Supercharged LT1, not hard to install, been on car for about for years, stock bottom end, stock it ran 14.5 (yes its a Camaro my sons car, I own a vette). has 69,000 miles on it and runs mid 12's with drag radials. A fun street car. I have heard horror storys on both ends. I myself like a built motor from the ground up, Its all in what you like and what kind of power you want. Nothing wrong with a supercharger on a stock bottom end if its set up right. Cheers to both Strokers & Blowers

 

Thanks for all the replies guys. Intake, heads and Cam might be a better route for me.

 

15K for a SC engine- no way. Last November my buddy bought a rotating assembly at the big Daytona swap meet. Before everyone says its used- its not. This is a speed shop that is there EVERY year, and is very reputable. He got a 4340 Eagle crank, Eagle H beam rods, and SRP pistons in the compression of his choice, and their file fit rings for like $1700. True he had towait for it to come in the mail, but they shipped it free of charge from like Ohio or something. He also bought a set of Dart iron 220 cc sportsmans, on sale for like $850/pr. When it was said and done, he picked up an oil pump and pickup too. The total? $2400 cash. He had the block machined (350 4blt) for $550, incl. line hone, bore,deck, and sleeve one cylinder that was debateable. He went with the iron heads for better sealing, he plans to SC later, and maybe use some N20 first. He bought an aftermarket pan (used- but unused) for $40 on the same day, deep 7qt with kickout on both sides. He picked up a nice timing chain for $60, and bought a new Team G intake, new Comp roller cam, new comp roller rockers, and 7/16 guideplates. To top it off he bought a speed demon 750 DP. He is somewhere around 6k right now, with the inclusion of a holley blue pump, stainless lines for fuel, and a Russel AN fuel filter.

The dollars only add up fast when you dont do the work. Its not rocket science- it just takes patience, attention to detail and a few special tools. All his parts were measured to be in spec, by the way, with no problems whatsoever. We file fit the rings, we did it all. Anyone can do it, or learn to do it right.

 

My reference to 15k motor was to not doing any of the work yourself....parts and labor can easily be 15k for a motor build + a SC'er

 

Yeah, but is it running yet?

You sounded just like he did when he was first getting into the SC project. He taught me a valuable lesson, too - which I'm grateful for!!

You quoted only the big dollar items. How about all of the small parts you'll have to drop in. Injectors, re-programming, etc... It all adds up.

 

I considered both options also and am in the process of building the stroker. I spent $1800 on the rotating assy (Scat 4340 crank, H beam 6'' rods, and SRP pistons and CC small base circle 306 cam.) Then another $600 in block prep, for cleaning, bore, and splayed mains, still need to get the block cleared so it wil be about another $150 in block prep and $150 for ballancing. AFR 195 comp ported LT4 heads $2300 (Ouch that hurt but they are on ther way). So around 5K I have a solid fundation for 500 + HP and built it strong enough for a good size shot if I get bored in the future. For about the same money as a SC you could getthe heads cam and headers and be about the same HP as you would with the SC and if the motor decides its had enough you can still use the heads and exhaust. Its just a mater of prefernce but the SC rout is a viable option just not one I realy wanted to deal with especialy when it comes time for tuning.