Generation IV Internal Engine - How much power can a stock LQ4/LQ9 shortblock handle?

My apologies if this is a noob question that's been answered a hundred times, but I just get a "503 error" every time I search, and reading the forums hasn't answered it yet.

So anyway... I'm thinking about a low budget swap into my IROC that consists of an LQ4 or LQ9, L92 heads, L76 intake and some sort of cam. From what I've read, this should put me in the neighborhood of 500 horsepower. I'm not sure that I'd ever decide to spray or supercharge the car down the road before upgrading to a stronger block, but incase I did, what kind of power can one of these motors handle safely? This car will certainly see some 1/4 mile use, but it's mainly a street car that I like to use on a regular basis, so reliability is a big concern. Also, the reason that this is a low budget build is because I have limited funds. I'm planning to sell my Corvette to pay for this, so if I break a rod or a crank and wipe out the bottom end, I'm screwed.

Thanks. :)

If you put forged pistons in it, given that you have limited funds. I doubt you could break it. Totally stock, I don't see why you couldn't spray a 150 shot on top of what you are planning and it live fine, as long as the tune is spot on..

Can I really do new pistons & rings in the motor without touching anything else? I've always felt queezy about not doing at least a cylinder hone, plus if I'm taking the whole bottom end apart, then I start thinking about new bearings, which means turning the crank, blah blah blah full rebuild.

How fast do you want to go???

I'm not sure that I have a specific 1/4 mile time in mind, though being deep into the 11s would be a fantastic goal to begin with, so long as it can be done without building a tweaked all high-rpm type of motor. I'm going from TPI and I have to admit that I'm quite fond of the low end torque. I have a modified 355 TPI motor in the car now, and had planned on vortec heads and a stealth ram in hopes of getting it down into the mid 12s, but it seems that I can run 11s with a gen 4 motor and get better street manners than I can get out of a gen 1 small block that runs 12s.

Keep the bottom end stock, put a custom cam in it, spray a 150 shot and you are golden. I am assuming you are running a stalled auto??

Check your compression, mill the heads to get it where you want to be and have fun!!

I'd be running a T56. Nitrous sounds good later on, but I want 11s that I can use daily, and since turbo and supercharging kind of kills the budget, 11s n/a is probably the way for me to go.

I'm doing the same thing stock crank and rods custom forged aluminum diamond pistons L92 heads. Unfortunately it's not assembled yet but i really don't expect to have any problems with the crank or rods.