I need input on which way I should go. I have a 99 vette with 60000 miles on it, no problems with the motor at the present time, but I was thinking of having the motor rebuilt and turned into a stroker engine, new pistons rods bearings and forged crank. I have a estimate of 5700.00 to have this work done complete with dyno tune.
the other way I could go is with a a&a super charger installed for 6500.00. Which way do think I should go. thanks

 

You know the old saying "there's no replacement for displacement"?

For each atmosphere of boost you add to your engine, you are effectively adding the equivalent of the base cid to the engine. In other words, say you have a 347, and you run 14.7psi of boost -- that equates to 694ci. If you run 29.4psi, that's equivalent to 1041ci, etc.

I doubt you can run 15psi on a stock block, but drop in some forged slugs, new rings and drop the compression and you are there... IMO the potential from the SC is greater than the potential of an NA stroker.

Having said all that, it really comes down to your goals and wants. If you are happy with a few more ponies, either method is equivalent -- take the one that hits other sweet spots (e.g. s/c whine, whatever). If you want a lot more power... do the SC, plan on a rebuild when you can afford it and crank up the boost.

 

what do you think my hp increase would be with the stroker?

 

For the street the SC is probably the better way to go. Car will retain stock driving characteristics until you step on the throttle.

You will probably make more power with the SC also.

You will need to improve your drive line to handle the increased power and add some wider & more sticky tires for traction.

 

i once had a stock engine like you and wanted more....so i spent money on heads cam and all the other bolt ons....RESULT....nice but wasnt happy...then spent more money to buy a a&a kit with a s trim blower....that setup was really nice and kept me happy for a little while.....got greddy added some more boost....broke the motor.....now im building a stroker with a bigger blower.....moral of the story...plan ahead...plan ahead to a hp point that u never think you will reach cause sooner that you think you will be there and you dont want to be sorry you setup is all wrong....

 

It's my old vette and I say supercharge it!!!!!! Marc L.

 

building a forged stroker now so it will take additional power at later date is probably best way to go, that way you wont be as limited to how much boast you will run if you s/c, turbo. plan ahead. im doing one now and will add nitrous at later date and dont want parts on the ground

 

I would and did go with a stroker. How much you make depends on how big you go and what parts you choose. What do you want to do with the car and what is your end goal?

 

If I were you, I'd do the stroker now - build yourself a bulletproof foundation. Then, if you get bored with that power, throw a blower on it, crank the boost up, and try not to do too big of a wheelie when you leave the line.

 

Nowhere in your $5700 stroker estimate did you mention upgrading the heads to go along with a hotter camshaft.

Simply stroking your LS1 to 382 cubes won't mean much when you have the same crappy heads.

Others said to forge it now in case you decide on boost later, then you can crank up the psi... um no.

If you don't use dished pistons to drop the compression you will detonate your forged engine running more than 7-8 psi just like a stock one. Dropping compression without plans to boost will net a soggy street engine since larger duration cams prefer more compression.

Another thing.... paying $5700 for a 382 is silly. For the same money you can build a 402 and some budget ported heads although it doesn't leave much for labor to remove install. Since you have it out you should swap the clutch, etc.

Just add the supercharger, enjoy your 430+ rwhp on your stock engine and save for a clutch because you will need one in short order.

Honestly, I'd find a different mechanic if he hasn't filled you in on all this and more. I'd type LOTS more but this little iPhone isn't fun.

One guy told me once when I bought a twin turbo kit for my last LS1, "welcome to the wild, crazy, EXPENSIVE world of forced induction."

He wasn't kidding... It was a slippery slope, and in the end 600rwhp still didn't make me happy (no traction)

Doing it all over again I'd stick with 7 psi and enjoy life. Wrenching isn't fun after several months of slaving with no end in sight and paying for others to do the work is just too expensive.

 

Hmmmm....I guess I'm in big trouble ......

 

Options:

Meth injection
Large chamber heads
Cut ignition timing way back

 

I vote for the stroker. See sig. Unless you have emissions considerations. I have an NA 403 that is plenty of fun. You will however need to put in a bigger clutch any way you go. THe stock clutch can barley handle 350 at the flywheel.

I have a 99 and as Joshua said, it will be expensive, because once you start with the motor the rest of the driveline is affected.

I have heard that NA is 'snappier', i.e. more torque in the low end, than a SC, especially if you build it that way. The SC needs some revs to start compressing air, and the lower compression makes it somewhat less responsive off the stoplight.

SC is less prone to emission problems than a built stroker. I believe you can build a more EPA friendly motor with lots of power with a SC than NA. However, with NA and a big cam you get that nice lope at idle that is very cool.

I think rather than looking at the price of, how much will it take to do this or that, I would suggest defining what you want the car to be when you're done. Do that, do it once, and do it right by going with proven combos and an experienced tuner. You will be able to get a realistic ballpark number and a parts list.

For instance, I decided to do my own work, so I needed to take into consideration it would take a lot longer than if a shop did it. I also needed to buy a few specialty tools to accomplish the job. At a few points along the way I considered the sanity of what I had undertaken. Also, there were a lot of expenses I hadn't figured in. The short block I went to buy was $4995, but when I got finished configuring it to what I wanted it was closer to $7000. Then I needed my heads repaired and ported. That was expensive. Then there were wiring issues, new injectors, new headers, new clutch, tranny brace, master, slave, remote bleeder, new gauges, a tune... I didn't need some of the latter stuff except the tune, but it made sense to add them while I was doing what I was doing.

In the end it was all worth it, for me. The car is better than I expected it to be and it's a full 10 on the fun-meter when I get to play with it.

I guess the bottom line is, a lot of people get into this with a budget, and a preconceived idea of what the outcome will be based on the inital outlay of cash only to be disappointed at the end result because they ended up 'cheaping out' because of the 'hidden costs'.

 

Some good advice and experiences above.

One consideration not mentioned is the risk of failure. I have read a number of threads where people have had problems with excessive oil burning with their stroker motors. You don't have that problem with a SC.

Also, if you ever decide to go a different route you could take the SC off and either sell it or put in on your next car. Can't do that with a stroker motor.

Since you have a 99 you have the LS1 intake. You will want to upgrade to an LS6 intake or better with the stroker.

As Arkay99 noted with the SC it takes a little time to build up the power versus the stroker. That can be good with these cars since one of the weak areas is the transmission and differential. The more power you make especially at the low end the more likely you are to break these items. That gets to be $$$$.

 

If you plan on dd your car or occasional drag strip, the sc is the way to go. Below ~3500 rpms it is pretty much like stock. Above that it is a blast. If you ever plan on tracking it on road courses, the sc is definitely not the way to go on a low budget. Plus when you are done and ready to sell your car, you can remove the sc and get 2/3s of your money back. You don't get much back when selling your stroker car. Good luck. You will love it whichever route you choose.

 

Given the hundreds of guys running 10 psi kits, with stock bottom ends/compression........I think I'll be just fine.

 

Andy should hit the 1000 sold mark this month. Surely more than 1/2 of them are on stock motors.

You should add "low boost" to your "options".

 

Please, for once offer some positive insight (or tech advice/help) instead of picking at one part of somebody's post [in any thread] sounding like grampa scrouge.

Sorry to call you out, but GOD seeing your sour, helpless remarks everytime I scroll past your name is one of the few sore spots of this forum.

Good luck with your 10 psi... care to say what your timing is? (to prove a point is it below 20 degrees in the midrange, post a hp tuners screen shot) I bet it's far lower. (you gain 10rwhp for every point of timing you can keep on a boosted motor, making it soggy to run peak boost is one trade-off)

Turn your own wrenches?

 

Yeah, I NEVER offer any tech advice.... and no, it's not picking apart your statement, as much as clarifying a blanket statement does not represent a large part of SC owners with stock engines.

Absolutely....at least for the last 25 years. I did not tune my own car after I installed the SC though.

 

When you said $5700 for the stroker. Was that installed? Because the price of the supercharger kit you listed was with installation. The kit without installation runs $5200. That pricing for the stroker looks like just the cost of a long block if even that.

My preference would be to supercharge first if I was doing it myself. I'm just impressed with the power and ease of installation. It's proven setup with about 500rwhp on a stock motor.

I'm still think about installing a supercharger myself. My eventual goal with a supercharger setup would include beefing up the driveline as well. I have a DTE diff installed and would like to beef up my trans along the way, faceplated if possible.