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I had pretty much decided I didnt want a Turbo or Supercharger simply because of the cost and necessary engine work. I thought if you ran over 7PSI you needed Forged Pistons,Crank, and new rods. Halltech says on thier slam twin turbo page that the stock bottom end with just Forged pistons can handle 9-14 PSI http://www.corvettec5.com/news_halltech.asp. If i can run 14 PSI on a cerra or other turbo kit safely with just new pistons, that would seem to cost me alot less than my previous Nitrous Oxide 436 inch setup idea. Basically i want 600 rwhp and im looking for the cheapest way to go.
The pistons are definitely the weak link in the LSx platform for FI applications. They are too high compression, the rings are wrong and they are hypertutectic(sp?). The cranks are definitely good for 700+rwhp and as far as I have seen no one has had problems with throwing stock rods. It has been suggested that you upgrade the rod bolts though, cheap insurance.
If your goal is 600 rwhp, people are getting that with ATI's with heads/cam. I would guess that if you got the Halltech setup you could pull 600 rwhp at 8-9 lbs of boost with room to spare. I think this year will be the start of high hp affordable LSx applications. Once a few of the lingering issues are figured out, the LSx engine is going to dominate pretty much anything on the street. Time will tell. :steering:
Thanks for the input that helps alot. I would not go with Halltech too expensive. I was just quoting a claim they made. If I go turbo I will probably wait for Cerra Racing to come out with a stage 2 or get a Stage 1 and upgrade the turbo myself. Their current turbo stops flowing at 5300 rpm.
If you have to go to all the trouble to replace pistons, you'll have all the rods out and the crank will only be a couple of bolts away from falling out also, so why not just spend another grand to have it all bulletproof, when your spending in excess of $10,000 whats another grand here or there. :cheers:
Godspeed,
I definitely agree, I think 500 rwhp is about as much as I would go without a full bottom end upgrade. If your goal is to hit 600 rwhp, I think you should be prepared to spend the extra cash to make sure you don't grenade your engine and then end up spending 10x what you could have saved by going with the right parts in the first place.
Great advice! While you're in there, don't forget the blueprinted oil pump, and a good timing chain. just some more insurance. I think forged rods would be worth the extra money, since you're spending a boat load already.
Well If this is true looks like its back the Nitrous 422 or 436 stroker Idea. I simply dont have enough money to buy a forged bottom end and turbo kit.Im trying to stay under 15K in upgrades. I know people have run 10's with Nitrous on a 422 so that should be fast enough. I just wanted the turbo cause the power would be their all the time. Looks like ARE engines has the best prices