IMHO even nitrous is not an option for you. UNLESS you are willing to accept everytime you press the button, you might have it in pieces.

These motors were NOT built to take that sorta abuse. I realize as I outlined earlier that people do get away with it, but MANY do not. As I said, are you willing to pick up the pieces and accept the damage that will result from taking a shortcut is really the question when using a power adder. Hell for that matter it even applies to a properly built motor. Every run - your pushing everything to the max. What falls out/breaks etc is something you must deal with. On a N/A motor making good power your odds of failure are MUCH less however.

As I said before, there are no shortcuts....sooner or later your going to pay the piper. As soon as you deviate from stock, you assume the resposibility of a failure occuring. The further you deviate, the more you risk.

Also I don't think the individuals suggesting nitrous are trying to pizz you off. They are just simply saying that you could do the same thing HP wise that you could with the SC for MUCH less money and hassle. I don't like nitrous for the same reasons as you. However if I put a solid axle in mine, you can bet eventually a 300+ shot will find its way on - but I already have 500+ rwhp at tap without it and cause the motor is built correctly with aftermarket block etc, I wouldn't fear that large of a shot on it.

 

Oh believe me, I know that if I bolted on a blower to my car it's days would be numbered. But as you pointed out, so it would be with nitrous. Hell it could fly apart on my way home from work!

Ultimately what I'm getting at though is that in my experience people who have had catastrophic failures have brought them on themselves. They have expected too much without doing their research first. They want to just bolt it on and forget it, it's not that simple. You have to detune the holy crap out of it first and then very graudally get more aggressive with the tune and boost, and pray it holds together.

I know that the car wouldn't handle a ton of boost. I just got to thinking about the whole dynamic compression ratio thing the other day and realized that "it just might work" Of course this all goes under the assumption that the advertised 6-8 PSI of boost of the vortech kit truly is safe on a stock engine. I've heard horror stories there as well.

If I had the money to do whatever I wanted, it would be the follwing:
I love the LT1 so I'd have to keep it.

396 or 409 stroker, fully forged, callies / oliver / JE / SRP components, built with blower compression in mind.
4 bolt splayed block with ARP studs.
TEA 300 CFM+ LT4 heads with titanium valves
Relatively mild cam, something that would give a nice lope to it and work well with the blower.


You get the idea. I just don't have the money.

 

I know of someone with a c5 (LS-1), he's got a bolt on SC, said he likes it, 100-150hp gain. He's not into [serious] racing, but likes the extra power once in awhile. He keeps the boost down low.
If one wants to cruize town with 500hp, one that would be normally aspirated, or a "sleeper"? The SC would work good for a sleeper.

But, to cross the 2 together, I agree with ski_down_it, it needs to be done right. He plans every 2 or 3 years, the maintenance and evaluation is coming up. And, the transmission/drivetrain ...

In Theory: You could get by with lower boost, but sooner or later the rotating mass is going to give out. Then, how much $$? If it were me [and I had your car from you] I would start with a stroker short block, put your money in there - today, then bolt on the stuff you have now. That'll boost your displacement, where the hp is, correct? Hey, you got some good stuff on you LT1 now! If you're theorizing a SC, I think there'd be more gain, at this time, in a decnt short block. Then while this is going on, I'd build it up for an SC, put that on later.

 

The only problem with that theory is that you can build a short block two ways. You can build it with boost in mind or not. If you want it to perform really well without the blower, it won't be able to handle a blower later down the road. If you build it to handle a blower down the road the compression ratio is going to be so low that it runs for crap now.

Kinda an all or nothing kinda thing. Too much money......

 

Not unstreetable, unusable. More specifically, a total waste on a car that rarely sees a race track (or the Autobahn). That's like buying a new computer just to use the calculator.

It just sounds like you're looking for something that's going to allow you to go very fast in a straight line, for short bursts at a time (at least on the street, 'cause you'll probably want to hit the brakes around 140 or so). To me, without making any additional changes to your motor, that means a big honkin bottle of nitrous. However, you also have the additional requirement of being able to do these accelerations all day long, all week long, basically until you run out of gas. So that rules out nitrous and leaves you with having to mod the motor.

Personally, with the substantial amount of power you're making now, and the fact that you're not a solely a drag racer, I'd switch focus to the suspension and work on improving your driving skills. For about less than half of what a blower kit would cost, you could go to a 3-day driving school and come out being quicker on the street than you'd ever be with more horspower alone.

I know, that idea probably sucks, but I'm putting it out there anyway...

 

You're right, driving school would be fantastic, but these cost hella money too! Unless you know of some affordable ones, I'm all ears.

The HP is mainly just for bragging rights! I know a fast car in the hands of a crappy driver might as well be a slow car. I like to think I'm, OK, but far from great.

 

my appologies... I'm going to crawl back under a rock now.


And to add my 2¢ to the streetable horsepower portion... my neighbor has a 600hp 69 Camaro... and we are in the process of building and 800+hp twin turbo 41 International. He drives his Camaro everywhere as he will the International. The maro isn't as tame on the street as my vette is, but then again, my car is pretty much stock.

He built his car so that he could be cruising at 55 and punch the gas and roll smoke... and he can. It is a wild ride and can be driven on the street. It is all a matter of preferences. I want to put 400hp to the ground out of my car. And I plan to install nitrous for track days... but when I hit the gas pedal around town or some import wants to race (not that I race on the street)... I want my motor to have ***** without the nitrous too.

 

I'm seeing 9:1 normally aspirated engines in the power band you want, stroked, you need to run the right cam & work on air flow. If you don't want to spend the money, then cut the heads/copper gasket & put in a big cam, then you can keep the 350ci block. That'll increase your flow & raise compression.

The theory is: if you want to add a turbo or SC later, then spend your money on the block now. If you don't, then spend the money on a stroker, which will get you right there.

 

I know I suck, that's for sure. I'm about to do my first autocross tomorrow, that ought to be quite humbling.

I've seen driving schools for $1500-$2500. Expense really depends on the accomodations. If they put you up in a 5-star hotel and feed you gourmet meals it's gonna get pricey. I would just want to take my car to a track and basically have three days with a skilled professional showing me how to drive it.

 

How about thermal coatings??? Start with a strong bottom end, drop the CR to 10:1 so you would basicly have all the same non-boost power that you now have. Then have the piston tops, combustion chamber, intake and head runners thermal coated. Then add a SC with a killer intercooler. If the air stays cool all the way down you should be able to run higher boost. Maybe toss on a MSD with dash mount spark retard just incase.