Stock LS1 boost levels
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 4,326
Likes: 140
From: Weatherford, TX
Depends on your idea of reliability. Alot of people start with 7psi and consider that safe. Some take it up around 14psi and are the certified nutcase. I started small and went up in small steps, to the point now even the tuner shakes his head and wonders what I'm thinkin. 
Using nitrous as an example you could blow a motor with misused 50hp, but attention to detail and careful tuning you can get away with 250. In general 7-10psi is accepted by the community, and you can expect 20-30rwhp per psi boost, depending on the setup.
Using nitrous as an example you could blow a motor with misused 50hp, but attention to detail and careful tuning you can get away with 250. In general 7-10psi is accepted by the community, and you can expect 20-30rwhp per psi boost, depending on the setup.
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Race Director
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 18,682
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12
Depends on tune, use of meth and hi octane gas. I ran (hard) 15lbs of boost on my stock LS1 bottom end for over 2 years before going forged and my motor was in perfect condition at the time of swap. My tuner(s) told me and still tell me I need serious help 
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 27,567
Likes: 99
From: San Diego
I've been running 8psi for the past 2 years on my Ls1. She had 107k miles when she was boosted, she now has 120k miles. I bought a smaller pulley I really want to throw in but... Better safe than sorry. 
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: Havertown PA
Yeah the tune is everything. You can run 15 lbs with no timing in it and not hurt anything. Or run 7 lbs with 20 degrees advance at peak TQ RPM and pop it.
A better question is at what power level will the short block hold.
And that is usually a tq # not a HP #.
And what boost/timing does it take to get it to that level safely.
A better question is at what power level will the short block hold.
And that is usually a tq # not a HP #.
And what boost/timing does it take to get it to that level safely.
Advanced
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 50
Likes: 3
Yeah the tune is everything. You can run 15 lbs with no timing in it and not hurt anything. Or run 7 lbs with 20 degrees advance at peak TQ RPM and pop it.
A better question is at what power level will the short block hold.
And that is usually a tq # not a HP #.
And what boost/timing does it take to get it to that level safely.
A better question is at what power level will the short block hold.
And that is usually a tq # not a HP #.
And what boost/timing does it take to get it to that level safely.
+100000000000000000
I see this all the time. Think HP and or RPM not boost. Boost is a measure of restriction (pounds per square inch)
http://www.businessdictionary.com/de...-inch-PSI.html
for instance a stock LS1 with a blower will make somewhere in the neighborhood of 550 RWHP. The Stock LS1 motor has been known to handle this power no prob. This can be done anywhere from 6-9 PSI of boost (as said above, it depends LARGELY on the tune) at a certain power level however, no matter how efficent the tune, the stock pistons will not handle the explosions in the chamber and or the rods will cave. There are certian things you can do, like meth which cools the air and allows you to run more power. I have a friend with a stock mustang 5.0 shortblock that ran 22 PSI of boost for over a year. he finally took that engine out and went with an LS2
in his mustang 
He inspected the engine and it was fine.
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 134
Likes: 0
From: Havertown PA
