cell6ida

Has anyone been able to compare a supercharged LS2, to a Naturally Aspirated LS2?

What are the positives and negatives of each? I'm leaning towards Supercharging, for now, but I love the sound of a mild (not insane) choppy cam.


Any advice on which to get, and the positives/negaitves of each?

Thanks, and HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!!!!

BornSUPERCHARGED

Go for a supercharged LS2. Tons more power for a fraction of the cost to make "nearly" the same amount of power N/A.

SinisterC6

i was once in the mind set that adding a supercharger would be expensive and lack the torque that a NA setup would have. After about a year of researching I have opted to choose a supercharge for my build, if you go with a centifugal supercharger you retain stock drivability but with exponential power increases from 3-6.5k rpm, you will still get great mileage and no heating issues, going with a roots type blower will give you the instant torque of a big inch motor. most reputable shops on here will charge you under 7k for a complete package install and tuning

the con with NA is that to make 500rwhp on an ls2 would take about 7-10k and require a large camshaft that may result in undesirable drivability characteristics, the pro however is that 500-600rwhp through a big inch NA motor sounds wicked

sparknotes on my rant

sc builds: more power, equal torque if centri, even more is roots type, cheaper, stock drivability

na build: radical sound, sleeper when motor is off, more cost, favorable to purists

GREENTAHOE

You should drive all of the options and speak to owners. I've had nothing but problems with my superecharged (belt slippage, boost leaks, not having tired to put the power down, constant upgrades) and turboed (all the above minus the belt slippage replaced with wastegate and boost controller issues) vehicles. I'm going N/A with this build after riding in an N/A corvette, hence my choice. I want reliable maximum acceleration up to 100 -120.... 1/4 mile stuff.

saplumr

I love the sound of a cammed car but when it comes to big power FI is where it's at. The problems mentioned above will never be an issue with the "expert" installers available to us on this forum.

Wayne O

Irrespective of the fact many use superchargers without a problem, I have reservations about slapping a SC on a stock, cast-piston engine. There are always some who get a little greedy with the boost and end-up with internal problems. FI is typically a considerably less expensive proposition but IMO there's no substitute for the reliability and power range of a fully built, naturally aspirated motor. A SC is probably fine for certain street applications but its not something you often find on track cars...for good reason.

saplumr mentioned the "expert" installers here on the forum. IMO you can't do better than getting a fully built motor from Lingenfelter or Katech...these guys are the gold standard for Corvette performance. I believe LPE offers a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty on their built engines (racing excepted which is standard in the industry). This speaks volumes for the quality of their product. I'm not sure but I imagine Katech also offers a warranty.

I know anything mechanical can break and Lord knows I've seen quite-a-few very nice modified Vettes breakdown on the track over the years. FWIW I run road course events maybe a couple weekends a month all year long. I run the snot out of my LPE motor and its been bullet-proof for 3.5 years. Actually, I've got my eye on a built 427 motor but my 403 just keeps going without so much as a hiccup....it's been great!

Here's an old thread that touches on some of the pros and cons of FI versus a forged motor:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1527668

dovervold

Here are some answers from my experience. Stock 2007 with A6. Stock car was fun and quick, but not that fast. Stage 1: went with LT headers, X pipe, high flow cats, Corsa, and a pretty strong Comp Cam. Loved the headers and cam.

Much deeper sound for sure. The lobing of the cam is really cool. Sounds mean, feels mean, runs mean, and idles just fine. Made 400 rwhp. Stock was 330 rwhp. Car would now burn the tires pretty good in 1st and scratch some rubber in 2nd. Raced my friend who has a 2008 LS3 with M6 and CAI. I barely beat him in a safe street race. That is when I decided on stage 2:

Stage 2: A & A S/C kit. Installed and tuned locally by Doug Rippie. Car made 550 rwhp on dyno. I have 2,000 trouble free miles. Performance is unbelievable. Car explodes in 1st and fries the run flats, still spinning in 2nd up to 70 MPH, finally hooks in 3rd and pulls like a Freight Train.

After doing both mods, the blower by far is the best choice. Huge power and torque, very friendly for average daily driving, and BIG cool factor under the hood!

3 Z06ZR1

NO problems here, With a DIY install! 16k now.

FrankTank

Supercharger is the way to go for sure. You get lots of power and torque, but drivability is almost stock vs. to get the same amount of power from a cam or heads/cam you have to use a huge cam, which will effect the manners of the car.

Now, plenty of folks like the old school raw muscle car sound a cam makes, which is fine.

NormWild

I did the homework on a full N/A build for months, and the bottom line is, if done right, will cost you about the same as FI and won't make near the HP. A proper N/A build would require a quality set of heads (Trick Flow/AFR) and the addition of a FAST, both of which will put you around the $5K mark with labor. The major deciding factor for me was that if I ever have to get rid of the car, I can upbolt the SC and at least re-coupe some of the cash. These motors are extremely durable and modest amounts of boost will not cause you any problems. Ton's of cars running around on stock bottom ends with lots of FI miles and no issues.

rovers2000

superchargered ls2's are great. I love the power. The nice thing about the centrifical is that the power comes on at about 3 thousand rpms so it gives the car a little time of the line as you feather it to try to hook up some traction. Na cars sound great, but dollar for dollar sc is less money. If you want the na sound add a cam to the sc, thats what i did.

cell6ida

Rovers2000,
Nice dyno numbers. What are your mods, and is yours a true Z06, or an LS2 with Z06 panels?

GotVett?

Sounds like it means business!

PowerLabs

I did a write up on that some time ago...

The summary: Even a basic, low boost, bolt-on, stock engine centrifugally supercharged car will make a LOT more power and a LOT more torque *EVERYWHERE* in the powerband than any N/A stock displacement LS2 car. Throw in the fact that that "cool" lope translates into a car that shakes and surges at idle, and its a no brainer, IMHO.

knkali

Powerlabs,

I have the utmost respect for you and your back round but the picture you paint, although accurate, does not completely address the op's open ended question. If we drive dynos then yes your data and reasoning are flawless, especially if you are looking at $/HP. BUT if throttle response/feel is important, then one has to address the different types of FI, their driving characteristics. Keeping this strictly FI, non stroker same ci motor comparos, there IS a difference between the feel of the centris, roots, PD blowers which a WOT dyno pull doesn't measure. I am NOT saying one is better than the other but if one gets caught up in dyno driving, there could be a disappointment in their future.

I look forward to your postings and analytical style and I am saddened by your decreased posting frequency here. BTW Is your car finished and running 5X5?

GREENTAHOE

Where do you plan on driving? At what speeds to do you want power? There is SO much to it!! I have had everything from a mild N/A package to a stock motor with blower to a 408 with a big turbo and meth. I know what I can handle and where I will be using it most of the time. To me 480 N/A rwhp is all that my vehicle needs for 99.9% of my driving. I will also install my own 125hp dry NANO system for grins once a year or so. Other than that I would strongly suggest going only with a self contained (oil) unit. The TVS 2300 is what I really want, but I just don't know if I can blow all that money at once. Plus what that thing would eat in tires! The A&A and ECS kits seem very well put together too. I'm sitting on my hands for now.

C6FirstVette

I debated the SC vs NA issue for a long time...basically if you are looking for pure HP/T numbers then go SC... I did not...much prefer the linear feel of a NA set up. Also, it does not matter how much output you make if you can not get it to the ground. I went with a Lingenfelter 366 set up and then had a custom tune...result is 470 RWHP and 430 RWT...you can choose whatever % loss for drive train for CHP etc, but for me I know (1) drive train can handle gains, (2) a very linear predictable power curve, (3) can cut loose the tires in the 1-3 gears (which comes to my point about 'getting it to the ground') and (4) not concerned about stressing any engine components. The guys who SC etc love their set up and more power to them....some of us are a little more conservative.

Joe_Knesek

My LG Motorsports built NA 05 LS2 produces over 475 RWHP and is very drivable. Their head/cam package coupled with their long tube headers & GHL exhaust will run well under 10K.

http://www.lgmotorsports.com/catalog...oducts_id=1526

cell6ida

Head/cam package + LG pro longtube Headers + Halltech CAI + BB Exhuast = just under $8,000, before shipping, before installation. Geeeez
it'll be $10,000 after shipping installation, tuning.

Supercharger ..... hmmmmmmmmm .... leaning that way.

SpinMonster

It depends entirely on what you will use the car for. The best indicator of true power you will see in real driving will include the off boost rpm’s and shift boost pressure losses.

Recent results for N/A vs FI at the track for trap speeds indicates that you need more FI HP to hit the same trap speed that an N/A car sees.

Example 1:
The four top N/A head cam cars all see 132-134 trap speeds all having less than 525rwhp. Powerlabs with a base kit comparable to what you get for the same cost of install has 600rwhp and ran a 129 trap speed.

Example 2:
ECS ran an A6 with 660rwhp to get a 10.4 ET with a 134 trap speed. Subfloor running an N/A LS7 on his A6 ran a 9.95 @ 139mph trap speed.

While you do get more in gear HP more usable for high speed roll-on races, IAT and boost pressure losses detract from overall average HP in a multi-gear run. This results in needing more HP to accomplish the same 0-132 mph run compared to the power needed of an N/A run to the same speed from a stand still.

You can raise the power of an FI car more readily to make up this difference but then the stock cam would be out and you will need to add the cost of that and meth injection to the base kit’s cost.

Some other points to think about is that at 10psi on a base kit without meth injection, you are going to need a new engine if anything happens to the fuel system’s boost a pump or if you get a bad tank of gas. Powerlabs is looking for a new engine now due to this. N/A cars are much safer to run and there is much less chance of engine damage compared to FI. Driveability is the most exaggerated of all aspects of N/A cars. The best H/C packages do not have bucking and surging. I was in C6DVL’s car at 525rwhp mnentioned above and it was fully comfortable for daily driving. Guys who over cam with a poor tune suffer this. 700rwhp FI cars are going to be running a cam.

I have both on my car and love FI. I just disagree as to the order they should be done in. Most base kit cars that didn’t regear or swap the cam don’t have a chance against the fastest H/C tuner packages. I base this statement on the track results posted in this thread.

If your thing is 3rd and 4th gear roll-on races to 150mph, get the FI set-up. If you want to be fastest 0-130, get a tuner H/C package. If anyone has a 132 trap speed with a base kit, please post it for others to have the data point.