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Supercharged 2001 c5 lower than expected power

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Old Oct 3, 2020 | 12:24 PM
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Default Supercharged 2001 c5 lower than expected power

Good Afternoon.

I have a 2001 6 speed coupe with 30k miles that baselined 316 RWHP and 340 RWTQ before the A&A Supercharger. All stock except K&N intake and a Corsa Sport axle back.
I brought the vehicle to a well known corvette shop and after the A&A supercharger only it made 488 RWHP and 440 RWTQ.
Both the shop and myself were a bit disappointed, so we decided to add ARH 1 7/8 long tube headers, x pipe and a clutch since the stock one was angry.
The car picked up 3 RWHP and zero RWTQ.
I have yet to pick the car up, and I do not wish to name or speak ill of the shop, however something seems amiss as I was expecting ~530-550 RWHP total, and headers should add 20 - 30 RWHP plus area under the curve.

The head unit is a v3 ti on the 3.6" pulley.
Hp tuners shows plenty of fuel and injector, a/f stays right at 12.0, and 12* of timing. 93 octane non ethanol fuel.
I am not looking to run right on the ragged edge, and plan on driving the car quite a bit, so safe is good, but I was still expecting more.

Any thoughts on what I should have the shop look at prior to picking it up?
Thank you for reading.

Last edited by neubauej; Oct 3, 2020 at 12:59 PM.
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Old Oct 3, 2020 | 01:33 PM
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If the shop cant figure it out for you then you need a different shop.

What injectors? What type of dyno? What were the temp, humidity and altitude?

Is there any black dust on/around the blower bracket?

Do you have the logs and/or dyno sheet?

Did they pull and check the plugs? Compression test? Leakdown test? Boost leak test?

488 rwhp seems low but not outside the realm of possibility depending on a number of factors. The 3rwhp after adding headers makes me skeptical and think something isnt right.

Edit: just realized you said v3 ti and not si. 488 is low. Are you in a stock fuel pump and wiring?

Last edited by Turpid porpoise; Oct 3, 2020 at 01:35 PM.
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Old Oct 3, 2020 | 01:39 PM
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I made 488 on an si, 91 octane years ago. Can't imagine not picking up any power with longtubes.

Last edited by ascastil; Oct 3, 2020 at 01:40 PM.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 01:28 AM
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The fact it picked up nearly nothing after a header install shows the issue is tuning.

The shop has a weak person tuning the car.

Take the car elsewhere for a better tune even if it means traveling outside the local area.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 06:47 AM
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Thank you all for your replies.

To answer a few questions,
60# Siemens Deka Injectors
Dynojet, SAE Smoothing 5
1,000' elevation, Weather on Friday when tuning was 76 degrees, 56% humidity.
No black dust on or around the blower bracket, nor any other sign of belt slippage.
The Plugs look good, boost leak test performed, no leaks. I don't believe they have performed a compression or leakdown test, but I will once i receive the car back.
I do not have the logs or dyno sheet currently, but will once I pickup the car.

I believe doing a compression and leakdown test make the most sense, and assuming that looks like a 30k mile motor should, will need to find another tuner familiar with boosted ls1's.
Any good suggestions around Mpls/St Paul or Chicago? I live in the middle of nowhere in northern Wisconsin, so travel is expected.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 11:29 AM
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Personal experience, friend had literally same set up except and better fuel system, 80 inj and a p1 procharger. 12psi boost he had 550rwh. I know all set ups are different but the timing seems low he had 17. 93 oct. 11.6afr

And another thing, usually you get 20 30ish hp per 1 degree of timing, so lets say on the low end 20hp add 4 = 80 hp gain which puts you into the range that's excepted. I know i know but it makes sense.

Last edited by helga203; Oct 4, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 11:37 AM
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Originally Posted by neubauej
Thank you all for your replies.

To answer a few questions,
60# Siemens Deka Injectors
Dynojet, SAE Smoothing 5
1,000' elevation, Weather on Friday when tuning was 76 degrees, 56% humidity.
No black dust on or around the blower bracket, nor any other sign of belt slippage.
The Plugs look good, boost leak test performed, no leaks. I don't believe they have performed a compression or leakdown test, but I will once i receive the car back.
I do not have the logs or dyno sheet currently, but will once I pickup the car.

I believe doing a compression and leakdown test make the most sense, and assuming that looks like a 30k mile motor should, will need to find another tuner familiar with boosted ls1's.
Any good suggestions around Mpls/St Paul or Chicago? I live in the middle of nowhere in northern Wisconsin, so travel is expected.
https://www.blackdogspeedshop.com/index.cfm? There's another one but it's a hit or miss. If you want there name pm me.

Last edited by helga203; Oct 4, 2020 at 11:47 AM.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 01:38 PM
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I’d also strongly recommend Blackdog Speed Shop Lincolnshire. Tim is a very good tuner and has been tuning my car for years..
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 04:31 PM
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12 degrees of timing is very low. 15 is generally safe, and getting to 17-18 depending on knock would be what the dyno is for.
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Old Oct 4, 2020 | 09:20 PM
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100% tuning issue. Easy enough problem to solve.
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Old Oct 5, 2020 | 11:23 AM
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Perfect, thank you all!
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Old Oct 5, 2020 | 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by neubauej
Thank you all for your replies.

To answer a few questions,
60# Siemens Deka Injectors
Dynojet, SAE Smoothing 5
1,000' elevation, Weather on Friday when tuning was 76 degrees, 56% humidity.
No black dust on or around the blower bracket, nor any other sign of belt slippage.
The Plugs look good, boost leak test performed, no leaks. I don't believe they have performed a compression or leakdown test, but I will once i receive the car back.
I do not have the logs or dyno sheet currently, but will once I pickup the car.

I believe doing a compression and leakdown test make the most sense, and assuming that looks like a 30k mile motor should, will need to find another tuner familiar with boosted ls1's.
Any good suggestions around Mpls/St Paul or Chicago? I live in the middle of nowhere in northern Wisconsin, so travel is expected.
I was about to ask what type of dyno as I only dyno'd 494 rwhp on a mustang dyno (auto trans). I felt this was low and was a bit disappointed as well....Question, do you have stock cats on it? My stock cats plugged mine up a bit....
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Old Oct 5, 2020 | 10:20 PM
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12 degrees of timing is not enough to make power. That is very low especially on an LS1 car. Hit us up, we have plenty of A&A cars in the 500-700rwhp range. With a 3.6 pulley and headers you should be in the 500s.
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 12:14 AM
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had a 2000 coupe automatic c5, with vortech blower and 60 pound injectors and a blower cam, car made 503 safely on mustang dyno. automatics dyno much lower because of the converter and valve train loss. my automatic, with long tube headers, blower without cam was 465, cam brought it quite a bit to 503 all on mustang dynos which do not give high numbers compared to dynojet dyno. I dont think you are that far off for stock cam ls1. my automatic base lines 295 rwhp with long tub headers, z06 intake and tune before blower and blower cam installed.
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by edram454
had a 2000 coupe automatic c5, with vortech blower and 60 pound injectors and a blower cam, car made 503 safely on mustang dyno. automatics dyno much lower because of the converter and valve train loss. my automatic, with long tube headers, blower without cam was 465, cam brought it quite a bit to 503 all on mustang dynos which do not give high numbers compared to dynojet dyno. I dont think you are that far off for stock cam ls1. my automatic base lines 295 rwhp with long tub headers, z06 intake and tune before blower and blower cam installed.
He is very far off if he only picked up 3rwhp and no torque after adding headers. He also has a Ti and not an Si
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 08:25 AM
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Originally Posted by Turpid porpoise
He is very far off if he only picked up 3rwhp and no torque after adding headers. He also has a Ti and not an Si
Exactly.
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by JUICED1
12 degrees of timing is not enough to make power. That is very low especially on an LS1 car. Hit us up, we have plenty of A&A cars in the 500-700rwhp range. With a 3.6 pulley and headers you should be in the 500s.
Just a qq or two.....what timing do you feel is safe for a stock engine (with headers) automatic tranny? And at what rpm are we taking here for 12 degrees? My car is at 13 degrees for the most part are WOT and higher rpms.....Do you think I have some room here? I do have HP tuners and do know how to use it, but you did comment on this matter....Just wanted a professional opinion....Thanks
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 12:11 PM
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Is the car making the boost, what KPA/boost numbers is it seeing. what fuel and timing
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Old Oct 6, 2020 | 09:56 PM
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I agree on it being the tuner. Your scenario was sounding exactly like mine to the point that I looked at the username at least twice to make sure it wasn't one of my past posts LOL.Then I realized there were several key differences that should have you making much more power. 12psi on a T-trim with headers and 93 octane should put you in at least the mid 500s. Unless your tuner is keeping you at 12 degrees for a specific reason, there's room to bump that up safely as others have said.

I was going to ask if you've replaced your rear gears with something steeper, because that would be a good reason for it reading low, but your baseline numbers say otherwise.
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Old Oct 7, 2020 | 11:51 PM
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I just realized his was a 6speed car. he should dyno with headers and blower stock cam 530... on chassis mustang dyno. like i said my automatic car lost lots on dyno because of the converter. the header thing is strange.. 3 horse is not enough maybe 20-25 horse with longtube header gain.
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