vette505

I have a 33k mile 2006 Z06 that is perfect in every way, and I've thought about boosting it (either centrifugal s/c or twin turbo), and I would do a very mild tune (600-650hp). I'm worried about one thing..

The car is perfect..streetable..doesn't overheat..etc, and honestly..its still quick even though its stock. I could drive it coast to coast..and not worry about any problems. I worry about loosing that reliability. I dont want to afford really screwing something up, especially with the ls7, and especially with such a nice car.

Some of you may say, then why boost it? Leave it alone! (Though that isn't the purpose of the thread I will entertain said question). I'm young, a few friends have boosted tuners (600-800hp cars), and they are a LOT of fun. So why not?! (Don't even think about suggesting me get a tuner. Sorry, not me.)

My ultimate question in all of this, is how reliable is the ls7 bottom end boosted at say 600-650whp (probably 700-750 crank hp)? Can it be a matter of, install, 5lbs of boost, tune, and have an equally reliable streetable 600whp car good for 150,000 more miles? Occasionally I may take it on a road trip, but this car is usually just a weekend driver with the occasional street racing just for craps Hope I've made sense in all of the rambling. Any experienced opinions would be appreciated!

Must_Have_Z

No matter what you do, make sure you get the heads checked (and fixed) first or as part of your build. See all the associated threads. You may well be ok for 1,000 more miles, maybe 50,000 miles, but just because it's stock doesn't mean it's "perfect." As many here will say who have had their valves drop and destroy engines, the LS7 is a ticking time bomb if you have the valve guide issue. I'm sure you're already aware of this, but just wanted to make the point. Good luck with your build!

croatbob

6lb t trim and ur at 600 and no less reliable then stock

etekberg

If you modify your car for more power, it will be less reliable. That is just a fact. There are no free lunches. You pay to play.

That said, certain things are more reliable than others. Exhaust and intake, for example don't increase the complexity of the systems. Adding a supercharger for sure does.

croatbob

true to n extent. i wouldnt call a boosted z06 unreliable tho with just a bolt on blower. id have no issues using one as a daily.

Vito.A

You can achieve 550-600hp normally aspirated and remain fun to drive. Anything above that and driveabilty suffers.

The #1 thing in adding a blower is not to get greedy. To many of us think just another 100hp and pretty soon you overwhelm the OEM parts and end up driving a grenade.

The weak links are the exhaust valves, the cast alum pistons, the thin wall bore liners, the clutch, and if pushed too hard the cooling system. A good plan for adding boost should address these systems.

croatbob

a 600whp mild blower combo will be much more streetable than all engine, big cam setup. keep the boost low, leave the stock cam and u will love the difference

0Livernois Motorsports

There are options on something like this. It's really up to you. If your heart is set on having a blower on your car nothing but that will satisfy your need. Reliability with a properly engineered blower that has been installed and tuned properly should not be a problem. We have had several customers put a large number of miles on their supercharged combo's with great success. 150K on a stock let alone modded engine might be a bit much to ask for. Food for thought like some others mentioned you can hit your goals on a N/A build with the LS7. Our Stage III package makes 590-620 RWHP N/A and drives great.

Unreal

Heads first. Might as well do a mild cam at the same time. Then a mild blower setup and make ~650rwhp.

I've had heads/cam, cammed, heads/cam blower.

Heat is an issue but can be overcome.

vette505

Well..I certainly appreciate all the advice. I'm going to do a little more reading up on this before I decide to go in on it. Thanks again!!

MTPZ06

My thoughts exactly.

Unreal

I had a 550rwhp cammed car, 580rwhp heads/cam car, and 700hp blower stock block car, and now a 1100+rwhp blower car.

The 700hp car drove closest to stock, best mileage, no issues. 1100 right behind that, then 580 then 550. A 600-700rwhp blower car will drive SOOOOO much nicer than a NA car, get better mileage, no low RPM quirks, etc. The only way I would do another 550+na build would be for a road course car. For street or straight line, forced induction all day.

Heads need to be done either way.

gatti-man

Where do you live? I worry about Texas heat and forced induction.

C6z06man

It really depends on what you "need." Do you need the 650 number or would a close to 600 NA car be enough. Heads can is much cheaper than FI but depending on setup/fuel etc depends on how close or over that 600 mark you get.

Unreal

Arizona...

A 575+ heads cam car will not drive like stock. A 700hp blower can.

A 600-630rwhp blower car is nothing but an ECS kit bolted on for ~$5500 plus heads

Cam car for that power will be a big cam, intake, TB, headers, etc. Cost gets fairly close. Cam is cheaper in the end, but it isn't as big as many people make it out to be.

Basically got to decide on what you want. Both are great options.

I would do heads and a mild cam, make 520-530na, then when you want more, add the blower and you have a solid 650-700rwhp car. Just keep the cam small and blower friendly.

jimbob8915

Its hard to beat a twin screw Edebrock system. Street legal and at 6 psi will run like a stocker until you mash the go pedal. Professionally installed can come with a warranty.

Unreal

I rather do bolt ons and a mild cam than the eforce system.

MyLS1Hauls

Can't argue with this logic

agentf1

No issues here.

Michael_D

I do not agree that the exhaust valves are "weak", but I do agree with some of your other points. The OE exhaust valve would not be my first choice for a boosted engine, but if you keep it under 6 pounds, I would not lose sleep running them. Same goes for the pistons. If you are going to push the OE bottom end to the point of needing forged pistons, then you are at the ragged edge of needing to re-sleeve the block, and a different exh valve will also be needed. And, while the rods are out, they might as well go to Katech for some of their magic.

I do not like power adders, in general. They complicate things, add failure points, and can be downright irritating when they don't behave the way they should. N/A is always my preferred route, up till the point where you need a power adder to remain competitive. Then you don't have any other option. I friggin hate spray. Hate it, hate it, hate it….. I’ll take boost over nitrous, and take turbos over boost; but turbos do pose installation challenges and it takes time to get them to spool up.

The one benefit boost has (as long as you aren’t being stupid with it), is it can build a down right gorgeous torque curve, while maintaining excellent lower rpm manners.