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One of the good supercharger kits from ProCharger, A&A, or ECS, a set of long tubes, and a proper tune is all you need to start with. Don’t have to go crazy with these cars to make power. If you want to swap the cam at the same time then fine but not necessary.
Yes, you can make the same power as a Z. You got to figure, most "Zohs" are making around 540-560hp at the tire stock. That is very, very easy to hit with any of the supercharger kits out there. A&A, ECS, Procharger, are all proven, and around the same cost 4500-5500 for the base kits. They are fairly simple to install as well, and could be a fun project for you and some friends if your willing and want to save some money.
If you didn't want to add boost. For about the same price ($5K), Full bolt ons, and Cam and/or ported heads will get you anywhere from about 500-540rwhp. Even at 500rwhp this will be a huge increase of about 100-120hp at the tire, as stock LT1s put down around 380-400hp give or take. Your not going to pull on a Z in a drag race, but it would be pretty close anyway.
I don't like the idea of boost on the LT1, not for the compression or forged difference to the LT4. But for the fact that is has been proven time and time again, the tiny ring landings and tight ring gap are prone to failing. Would rather spin the motor a little faster than increase cylinder pressure and take the chance. There are lots of people that run boosted LT1s and don't have any problems as well, so its all what you are comfortable with.
I just picked up my 2017 Grand Sport, I’m doing a A&A kit, methonal and headers. Will be around as fast as a bolt on Z06. I personally prefer the centrifugal supercharger on the vettes with the way the power is delivered. My tuner along with what I’ve seen my car should make about 650-675rwhp.
procharger p1x kit and call it a day. you can run the supplied tune or go custom tune. i started with the supplied tune, then went custom. 7psi and a good tune is safe and makes great power
I'd go the Z06 route. You get 650 horsepower with a factory warranty and the reliability of an unmodified car. The LT4 is low-compression and has a forged bottom end to handle the blower and additional power. When you factor in the cost of modifying your car, which could include: purchasing a blower, having it installed, then having the supporting mods installed, then having the whole thing tuned, THEN sorting it out (parts breakage due to the increased horsepower and different tune), a new Z06 is a no-brainer.
This. You can’t just slap a supercharger on an unreinforced high-compression LT1 and expect it to work reliably. And headers and exhaust will get you virtually nothing unless you do head work and cam.
Last edited by red62vette; 02-24-2018 at 11:38 PM.
If you're just a street guy like most of us that want a fun street car for half throttle surges between say 20/30 mph to 60/70 anytime you feel like it or an occasional quick blast up 100 out in the middle of nowhere where it's okay and safe to do it, replace the GS with either a nice left over or low mileage one owner mint condition Z06 ( that you can add a GMEPP extended service contact to for not much money) and you're good to go.
You've already taken the depreciation hit on the GS, so that coin is gone. Forgeddibout it. If you supercharge or otherwise mod the engine spending the 10 grand you mentioned, that's gone and odds are you'll never get any back when you sell it, plus your power train warranty is kaput. Callaway is a good option, but the price is around 18 grand, which is more than you want to spend.
If you are a track guy, then we need a lot more info on what kind of track ( road course, drag strip, auto cross etc) you're interested in and whether infrequently or a lot.
So if you're just a street guy, I'd go either Z06 or Callaway. You're gonna take a big hit either way, cause you've made the classic mistake of not getting the Z06 to begin with. If it's any consolation, many of us performance junkies on here have made the same mistake more than once, so you're in good company. FWIW, I just replaced a mint condition low mileage one owner 3LT 2014 Stingray that I bought a year ago with an equally excellent low mileage one owner 3LZ 2016 Z06. I was coming out of a 2012 Caddy CTS-V and wasn't sure if I wanted to go back to a corvette so I bought the Stingray knowing I would have to go with a Z06 if I was okay with crawling in & out of a vette again. Turns out I love the C7, soooo….. like you it was either supercharge the Stingray or replace it with the Z06. IN 20/20 hindsight, should have just bought a left over Z06, but if I had and after a short time said,F--- this with having to get down and shoe horn myself into the vette, then I would have been stuck with unloading the Z06 taking a huge hit. So you can't always get it right, just do the best you can as you feed your performance car addiction.
So, have fun and somehow get into a supercharged vette. You'll love it.
So, yes, it is possible. Easiest and cheapest route would likely be the WeaponX kit using the LT4 supercharger. Would be hard to beat the price, performance, and reliability of that OEM based kit. The A&A Supercharger kit is a slightly more expensive route, but is using a self contained head unit so is more "modular" so if you have higher power aspirations in the future it would have a higher ceiling.
Don’t be afraid to mod your car and make it your own over a basic stock car, I personally like the modding process hence why I went with GS which left room in the budget to do mods and still be money ahead over buying a high mile Z06. Find a good tuner in your area and ask what they recommend and what they’re comfortable with, that will yield the best results.
You could always remove the supercharger and other bits and sell them separately when you're ready to sell. Now you're selling a "stock" car which you will get top $ for and also be getting more money back by selling the supercharger, headers, CAI etc..
What is the purpose of modifying the car? First question you have to answer for yourself is are you personally capable of holding the throttle wide open for 60 seconds with the stock engine? 60 seconds gets you into some serious triple digit speeds. Will you be able to hold it wide open for that long if you modify the engine? The reason I ask these questions is it is a waste of your $10K if you can't hold the throttle open long enough to make use of any added power. Short 2 to 5 second bursts around town don't change much with more power. More power comes at the higher end of the rpm curve and it requires staying in the throttle long enough to make use of it.
Agreed. Turn off traction control on an LT1 Vette and then nail it off the line and see whether it needs more power. It really doesn’t.
Another thing to consider is if and when you will be selling it. It could make it more difficult to sell and decrease value. If that is not a concern, like the warranty, no biggie. Just remember seeing someone not long ago that was concerned about the resale value on their modded car. Not everyone has the same ideas on mods so once you change the car you are potentially narrowing your potential buyers down.
02-24-2018, 12:09 PM
100%!
