Rpaschall

I'm dying to put a boosted iron block 5.3 in my 91 camaro. The problem. I've never done a ls build before and I've never done and turbo build before. ANY input would be appreciated. Cost? Will the lm7 be suitable? How much power can I expect to get out of it?

FourG63 97GST

iTrader: (1)

start by reading the stickies listed at the top of this Forced induction section........

DavidBoren

How much power can you expect out of it?

Depends what you are willing to do/pay for. Stick two turbos and a cam in/on a 4.8L and get over 1000hp... It's been done and documented.

What SHOULD you expect? What should you try for? Considering this is your first, I would keep it as simple as possible if I were you.

Use the truck/'vette manifolds as a starting point for your hotside. Simple 2" or 2.5" crossover pipe. Single 75mm to 80mm turbo. Whatever intake you have, or whatever fits, or whatever you like the looks of. Who cares, it's boosted, you aren't going to be pushing the limits of any intake on your first build, so it literally comes down to what fits or looks good. 80# to 100# injectors. 340lph or higher fuel pump. Afm/dod delete kit. Stock cam will still give you 400+ horsepower at the wheels, so you can use that, or literally any other cam... Once again, you won't be pushing the limits of any cam on your first build. Biggest air filter that you have room for. Biggest intercooler you can fit. Biggest pipes you can manage. Rocker/trunion upgrade. Good valve springs and pushrods.

Focus on the fuel system and cooling systems.

If you're going to open the longblock, maybe a valve job to the heads and open up the gaps in the piston rings if it's a low mile engine.

ARP hardware/ studs are nice, but not necessary.

Stay around 15psi and get a damn good dyno tune.

Have fun and keep us posted.

6669camaro

iTrader: (1)

Check out the sloppy mechanics wiki page. Lots of great information there.

DavidBoren

We really just need to find a sponsored vendor that has everything you need, and just put all such items in the "cart" or on a wishlist that shows prices, and sticky that. At least to give people an idea of all the little things that go into something like this, and how much it costs.

1320king

iTrader: (4)

I would suggest since you never built an LS based motor before or boosted, to take baby steps. Grab yourself a LM7, leave it stock for now, and get a nice turbo kit from one of the vendors on here. It will give you a good feel for things then gradually start modifying the motor. People have made 500+ on bone stock motors turbo so that should be a good start.

Later on after having a good feel for things, grab yourself a turbo cam kit from a vendor on here, some headstuds, new headgaskets, and maybe even heads if you have the funds. Then up the boost and let it rip. Good place to look is the stock motor turbo list thread.

Rpaschall

Thanks for the input guys. So pretty much I can run a stock lm7? Maybe a ls1 intake? 500hp would be more than enough for me. Could I run a eBay kit? I've seen them for 1500 including intercooler and piping?

Rpaschall

Ultimately I just don't want to get beat by these new v6 stangs pushing 300hp and would love to hear a bov on my car. So if I can get 500 safely and simply I would be more than satisfied. I agree though. I want to keep it as simple as possible. If you don't recommend a eBay kit is there a specific vendor you do recommend? For 500hp and I leave my long block stock?

Cyrperformance

iTrader: (1)

http://www.vsracing.net/catalog/prod...oducts_id=1320
Cheap kit, works well. Add the injectors and walbro pump in the tank, good wideband, LC2 or AEM UEGO and as mentioned above good dyno tune.

Rich Halsey

iTrader: (4)

This is the kit I used on my first ls and first turbo. Denmah tuned on a Gen III 4.8 and made 500 whp. Only changes were PAC springs, ebay head studs with mls gaskets and a ls6 cam

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

A lot of guys have had luck with them but some haven't. The problem is the cheap material they use to make them, hence the low price. I guess it all depends on what you can afford, but imo if you have the means I would feel more comfortable w/ a good custom setup or something like a Huron kit.

Rpaschall

What else will I need with that kit? Manifolds I assume? I see the pump and injectors and tune of course. What do you mean by wideband and lc2?

Rpaschall

That kit is definitely affordable. Thanks for the suggestion! What are the chances I can maintain ac when putting this all in a 91 camaro? I've seen a lot of kits with "gt 45" turbos. What exactly does gt 45 mean? I've seen them for so many different prices and sizes it gets a bit confusing. Again. Thanks for all the info guys and for not ripping on me for being uneducated, I'm learning a lot here!

Rpaschall

Any other kits you suggest? I keep seeing different types of turbos like gt45, os3, t70 etc. what does all that mean??

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

GT45 is just the naming. its a knockoff of older garrett stuff, ON3 is ON3performance found on ebay. Dont get caught up in naming like T70 or T76 or T88 etc. Ebay is flooded with tons of turbo's named that.

You will want to look at the turbine sizes hot and cold side. If you are looking for a known reliable bang for the buck then the Ebay GT45 is it, or an ON3 performance 76 or 78mm. They just recently released these with a 75mm turbine, I think its around $400 or so. The older version was around $300 and it had a 64.5mm turbine. Basically a replica of a Masterpower turbo.

If you want to spend a bit more for a known turbo the best bang for your buck will be the Borg Warner S475 T6 1.32 a/r. But if you plan on a 4.8L or a 5.3L you better have a good cam in there to spool it. If you are going with a 4.8L you could also consider the Borg Warner S366. It is a 66mm compressor turbine which should flow 600whp on a 4.8L no problem.

Just remember there are thousands of junkyard 4.8L and 5.3L setups. Spend some time searching and all your answers will pop up lol

Jay

Rpaschall

600hp on a 4.8?? What else would I have to do to the long block to achieve that? Since this is my first turbo build I'd like to keep it as simple as possible and would prefer the 5.3. What would be your suggestion to achieve 500-600hp without major mods? What cam would you suggest for a 5.3 if I use the s475? What does 1.32 a/r mean?

Rpaschall

What would be a good turbo to get 500+ that's not too big in size since I want to keep my ac components? S366? Is there a write up somewhere that can educate me on all these different models? I've tried looking one up with no luck.

Rpaschall

What about the gt35? It seems smaller and spec says its capable of 500hp?

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

GT35 is was too small, twins would work well. There is a few builds I know of 5.3L GT35's.

What would your budget be for the turbo setup and will you be building any of it yourself? Probably better of starting with a budget and working it all in.

Jay

Rpaschall

Ok cool. So you think the s366 will be my best bet or the gt45? As far as budget I'm good to spend as much as I need. Single/no kids lol. With that being said I would still like to keep it as inexpensive as possible since it's my first time and I'm learning a lot along the way. I'm expecting to spend 7-8k but the cheaper the better. Once this one is finished I'll buy a another third generation and really go nuts.
Ultimately the goal for this one is 500hp as cheap and easy as possible while retaining a/c
Can I leave my long block stock? Will the ls1 intake be good? Which turbo will be the best bet for cheap? What size piping for hot/cold side? Fbody accessories and oil pan? I'm about to start ordering these things