I posted this earlier on the Forced Induction page, but I didn't get any response. A lot of people don't ever go to that page, so I'm hoping I'll attract more eyes here. I don't like to double-post but here goes.

I'm new at performance upgrading and I need your opinions.

I've always wanted a street rod, but what with family responsibilities I've had to have a sensible car instead. Now I'm a little older and I bought an 08 convertible which goes fast as heck and looks cool even when it's standing still. It's not really a street rod, it's a daily driver, but it's the closest I'm going to get to one and anyway it's the best of both worlds. As you can see from my user name, I think it's a cool rod.

I've got the LS3 with the NPP so I'm sitting on 436 HP, at least the way GM figures it, and I have the factory performance axle. I want to give it a performance boost so when I run into someone who wants to show off his Mustang by beating a Corvette I can make him go home crying.

I don't have room for a nitrous bottle. I like the idea of a supercharger and that's where I'd like your input.

I like the looks of a polished Maggie, but I've heard it requires a new hood because it won't fit otherwise. That seems like an additional expense and it would also be a tipoff that I'm not running stock. If I went that way I guess I'd wait for the four lobe Eaton to come available and I'd just bite the bullet on the hood. It's a possibility if you guys think it'd be worth it.

I don't know anything about superchargers but from what I've read here it seems that a Procharger will fit. It seems that a lot of people went that route, so I'd like to hear why they chose it. Maybe that's the way to go.

What else is necessary to add to get the supercharger? Are headers required? Can they be used with the NPP exhaust that I have? What's the best choice there? I've seen some shops offering package deals, but I'm not sure what the best package would be. I saw one shop in California that includes a new hood in their package. What do you suppose a package would cost me? Is $7500 realistic?

Finally a question for the Florida guys. What is the best speedshop in the Southern half of the state, from Orlando to Miami? Who's the best at installing superchargers and whatever else is needed?

I looked at the Lingenfelter site and I see they have a package for about $8500 with big horsepower, but no supercharger. So maybe a supercharger isn't the only choice, maybe I could get Lingenfelter numbers a different way. Is there a speedshop in South Florida that could do that?

http://www.lingenfelter.com/Lingenfe...te520HPLS3.htm

I know this is a long post that covers a lot of territory, but I'm getting ready to drop some significant cash and it's a one time deal so I want to get it perfect. There's a lot of brainpower on this site.

Thanks very much for your advice.

 

ttt

 

Congratulations on the '08 vert... what a great car!

Now, if you are talking about racing on the public streets, don't forget to set aside a bundle of cash for lawyers, bail bondsmen, ER room visits, and/or funeral home expenses.... 'spensive stuff that!

Have a nice day!

Rob

 

not if you dont get caught!!



But your budget of 7500 is very realistic. the Maggie kit you can get on here with the hood for aroung 6500shipped i think it was then all you need to do is find a shop in your area for tuning and install. and someone to paint match the hood and your all set. then be prepaired to spend thousands on tires

im on the base tune supplied with my maggie no headers and a factory exhaust with mufflers removed and im around 470ish whp. its a decent amount of power i definitly want more. but all you need is a pulley. !

 

east coast corvette's paxton novi 2000

 

You have "family responsibilities", you have a new Corvette, you want to put down Mustangs when you run into them and you want us to help you figure out how to do that -- is that about right?

Sounds like stoplight racing to me and it's not condoned on this site. Sorry.

 

Well Rob I was having a nice day until now!

Thanks to the other posters for the help.

I still don't have a clear idea why to go with one supercharger over another. I've read a lot of explanations about roots vs centrifugal and so on, and with what little I know it seems to be a difference about when the power is generated, at low rpm or at higher rpm. From what I've gathered it seems that the ProCharger might be a good choice, but like I said I'm still studying the subject so I'm probably going to change my mnd when I know what I'm talking about.

I've found a couple of recommended speedshops in South Florida, and I'm calling them tomorrow to get their input. I'll get together with them and see their shops and see if I want them working on my car.

Cheers

 

Are you the stoplight police or what?

I didnt read into any of that and he said it wasnt a street rod. He said he had to have a sensible car before but is now older with a C6. Maybe his responsibilities have changed. But who cares? What's different about any others here asking questions on "how to" cam, DR's etc. mods cuz they wanted to go faster on the street?

Hey Cool Rod...why limit yourself to slow stangs? With that SC you can aim at blowing off Porsche's etc. I say, more power to you!....

 

The Procharger kit is an excellent kit, and I'd recommend it to anybody. For our kits, we use the ProCharger brackets, pulleys, head unit, intercooler, and piping. We then supply our own upgraded injectors, boost-a-pump, and tuning.

For the C6's we run a Supercharger Package that includes all labor and tuning, a Pro Charger D1SC, Injectors, Boost-A-Pump, Thermostat, and Boost and Fuel Pressure guages for $8800.

I would highly recommend long tube headers with 1 7/8" primaries to help get that hot exhaust out of the engine quickly. Here's some pics of a 05 A4 we did a while back. The car made 565rwhp through an unlocked converter on a Mustang Dyno with 6.5lbs of boost (this particular car had Kooks 1 7/8 headers, off road pipe, custom boost cam, Vigilante 2800rpm stall, and DTE 3.90:1 rear end).

If you're in Florida, I'd talk to Tracy over at Rev Extreme.

 

Thanks Tuner.

I've been checking prices down here in Miami, and they're higher than what you charge. Without the gauges the complete Procharger job runs from $8500 to $9400. Everything else is the same. I won't be able to afford headers at this time.

I have to see if I can get it done cheaper, even if I have to drive a little further. The problem is that it takes about 2 to 4 days to do the job, and if I have to stay in a hotel it'd be cheaper to get it done closer to home.

I see a ProCharger in my future!

 

Don't bother doing anything in Miami. Everything is a ripoff here when it comes to this kind of stuff. Actually for most stuff. The shops here charge 40% or more than better shops a little further north.

Most shops also like to be arrogant and treat you like you are some ignorant boob. I know I am generalizing but I have lived here all my life and had various perfomance cars. I have never had any work done nor purchased any parts locally due to the rip-off factor. Also you will find loads of self-proclaimed experts. They are not!

Good luck.

 

Don't you love it when you ask a question and get a bunch of lectures
I would recommend the Procharger. I did heads/cam first then added a Procharger. I think the procharger is a little better because it has the capability to provide more HP if you do other mods. I think the maggie will top out much lower with the max HP. You will probably spend close to 10K for an install with all the other stuff needed. Guages, boost a pump? injectors?...then again on a stock motor you may not need the extras. I only have good things to say about my procharger....it will surely surprise the average mustang driver....of course I would never race on the street I've always wondered what the cops would say if I got pulled over wearing a 5 point harness with a helmet on seriously, I do race at the track....please spare me the lectures.

 

2-4 days for a procharger seems like a long time??? If the shop is experienced they should be able to have everything on site ahead of time and do it in a day??...maybe two days??

 

Hey bro, all I can say is listen to BAAdC6. I've seen his car, know where he got the work done and was fortunate enough to be there while it was being "pre-tuned". Those with mustangs, porches, vipers, etc..., just pull over and don't even try it with this car...

 

Thanks

 

 

Thanks everyone for the great advice and encouragement (except for that one guy, sheesh ).

I got a PM to look at an ECS kit, and when I did I found they had a Paxton Novi 1200 kit on sale for a little less than $5000, everything except gauges included. The dyno sheet showed well over 500 HP with a C6 last January, so it must have been an LS2. It doesn't say what other equipment he had on the car.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1910772

Seems like ECS has a lot of fans on this site.

Then I contacted Horsepower Sales down here, they're a well known speedshop in this area and in partnership with Next Level Performance, and it looks like I can get it installed for $2350 including dyno and tune. I saw a thread here showing how a guy installed his own, step by step, and it sure looked like a ton of work, but the man at Horsepower Sales looked at the thread and wasn't daunted by it at all.

So that gives me the horsepower I want for a little under $7500, which is my budget.

The only thing it doesn't have that some people want and others don't want is self-contained lubrication. That would cost me about $1000 more and my budget wouldn't stretch that far.

Unless everyone screams at me that I'm crazy or something, I'm going that route.

 

There's nothing wrong with non self lubrication, it's just preferred by a lot of people (Including me).