JumboShrimp

I'm about an inch away from pulling the trigger on a 'kit' to put one of the Recalled / Rebuilt LSA blowers on my car. (Man, how I wish I knew about these things when they were $600!) The thing that attracts me the most is that I can get the SC, Modded snout / pulley, Heat Exchanger, Phenolic Cathedral to Rectangular adapters (to help with heat soak), injectors - EVERYTHING ... PLUS a BTR Stage 3 PD blower Cam with ALL the fixn's (New Chain, Gear, pushrods, trunions, springs, seals, etc - VERY complete and from BTR) ... ALL for a GRAND less than a Maggie, Whipple or Edelbrock SC only. There's been a few OLD threads on the LSA's with mixed opinions. Yes, I know I have to cut the firewall a little and Yes I have to run a 6 rib belt but for the money and the ability to use OEM parts - I kinda like it.
I've been researching the CRAP out of these. Popular on G8's and GTO's but not many on C5's. I'm planning to run around 9-11 PSI coz I'm keeping the bottom end stock. I'd like to get close to 600 WHP when done. Will also have headers, CNC'd LS6 heads, Beefed up Diff, maybe mini tubs.
I'm an old skool Hot Rodder. I LIKE things sticking out of the hood. Don't mind cutting a little to make things work. And I DO NOT WANT A Centrifugal Atmospheric Modifier.
Just looking for some fresh input. What say you??

nickalltogether

This thread is on the first page of the forced induction forum still:

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-and-how.html

To me, it's not really worth doing and hacking your car up when you can make the same power with other blower options. I'm all for making stuff work that doesn't fit, but only if there's not another option that DOES work and DOES fit already.

JumboShrimp

Nick, I appreciate the reply and did read the mentioned thread - and every other LSA related thread.
My son & I recently finished a LS1 - '93 RX7 swap (very fun project & car). There are Wankel (THAT says how old I am) purists out there that would say that car got hacked up, ruined, Blasphemed. We used a LS6 intake that had to be modified (The MAP sensor sticks out the back like a Wedding Night Woody) and there was some gentle firewall and trans tunnel massaging in the project.
I haven't written the check yet but Dollar for Dollar I can get a BOAT LOAD of stuff for $1000 less than the 'big name' blower only (I guess GM counts as a 'big name?) The money I can save will go into putting C6 Guts in my C5 Diff (is that hacking?), better brakes, etc.
I'm not trying to sell you all on the idea - or talk myself into it. Cutting that lip behind the blower is not a big deal. Won't affect the car's structure / strength. I'm looking more for opinions on drive ability, reliability, tuning issues. That type of thing.
I am one of the lucky 1829 people that has a G8 GXP. and a G8 forum member ,maybe I should ask over there? This is quite popular with the G8 GT crowd - and there are some REAL strong running GT's out there. (Don't ask me how I know)

_zebra

lucky!! i wanted a GXP ... just for the stick shift

but after talking with Brian Tooley a couple years back about the PD Stg3 in my TVS2300 LS1, i'd shy away from it unless you want to idle at 1000ish or more just to keep it running. it's a healthy cam even for the 6.2L it was designed around... then take away 30ci. he did mention that the PD Stg2 is built around the same valve events, but me wanting a little more lope to it asked about the feasibility of cutting the Stg2 dur/lift on a 117.5° LSA to bring it up to about -0.5 overlap (same as the Stg3), but i never heard back.

fast forward a few years and they coincidentally now offer a PD Stg3 'torque' version that's roughly similar in specs to what i'd suggested above. it's also similar to a rough spec i got from Martin @ Tick a couple years ago, too, so if you're looking for an off-the-shelf cam, that could be a better bet.

i also ain't personally dealt with the LSA blowers, but i did read on a colorado forum where a guy using the port adapters to slap one on his 5.3 had a real tough time tuning due to weird airflow dynamics the spacers caused with respect to fuel atomization & the injectors he had to use... so i'd read up on a few different sources regarding that.

ttchybrid

You could change the motor mounts to shorter ones(Hinson 3/8 shorter) and also use the front sub-frame shims from Ligenfelter(1/4 shims). Maybe with these two pieces you won't have to trim the cowl??

_zebra

with the mounts, you run into potential balancer/steering rack interaction unless you run an underdrive (counter-productive with a blower), and the stock oil pan can also contact the leaf spring unless you swap to coil-overs. i learned that a few weeks ago in talking with Mark at AMT (makes nicer mounts than Hinson), so i ended up trying 3/8" cradle spacers... hopefully won't need 1/2", but i won't know for a couple weeks.
i'm putting a 1/2" phenolic spacer on my blower & need the hood clearance in addition to wiper cowl space.

ttchybrid

Please keep me informed. I wanted to install this blower from boost district but was turned off about having to cut into the cowl. Please send a pic of what you had to do to the cowl when you're done. Thanks.

Turpid porpoise

JumboShrimp

GREAT feedback here! THANK YOU!
Especially interested in the BTR Cam opinion - will look into that. Thanks Zebra
Motor mounts won't help - I need to move it forward 3-4" to avoid cutting. Not down. I think the Z Lid, painted body color, would look pretty mean sticking thru the hood.
If done right. - A BIG 'IF' !
Haven't written the check yet, still over thinking (as usual). If I do proceed I'll be sure to do a 'build thread' on it. My goal is to have ALL the parts before I start - and I mean EVERYTHING. So it may be a while till I start rip'n & tear'n. Its a big project but not all that difficult. I've learned a long time ago to never start something like this without a plan or you end up with parts everywhere for 2-3 years.
Zebra - the GXP only came with 3 options - 6M, Sunroof & 2-Tone interior. I have all 3 . It is my all time favorite car! A lot of people with SS's did the LSA swap to them and like the results. A lot more room under THAT hood.

tlrskunk

I'd like top watch this.
I'm doing an LS3 swap on my C5Z so this would be a fairly eay option to add to it.

Podium

That and people caught on to the LSA so they are going for a lot more than they were at first. Ive seen people ask 3k for just the blower.

Podium

I agree. Thats what I was going to do when this swap crossed my mind.

_zebra

oh... i should also say that based on the update i got from the shop today, maybe the full-on 231/248 cam ain't gonna be as rough as i originally thought.