LSA Supercharged Tahoe Throws Its Weight Around the Strip
How quickly can a Chevy Tahoe with a supercharged LSA clear the quarter-mile? The results may surprise you.
What are the most popular segments of vehicles today for everyone’s garages? Trucks, SUVs, and crossovers. Their popularity has pushed nearly every automaker to step up their game, jump in with their own models for the first time, and in one case, throw in the towel on everything that isn’t a Mustang or a GT. Thus, it should come as no surprise that such vehicles are becoming a new platform for LS engine swaps.
But how much performance can an LS and the aftermarket provide to something like, say, a Chevrolet Tahoe? Jeff Shortt, host of YouTube channel High PSI tv, plans to find out by heading down to Fayetteville Motorsports Park in Fayetteville, North Carolina in his Z71 Tahoe with a supercharged LSA V8 swap.
“I wanna run a quarter-mile for you guys,” says Shortt, “because that’s what most people can relate to. I can go run it on a eighth-mile all day; the track’s about 20 minutes from my house. But no one really understands eighth-mile; I still don’t. I can’t say a 7-second eighth is a whatever quarter.” Thus, he plans to add five gallons of 93 octane and a lot of E85 to his Tahoe’s tank to keep his fuel pressure from dropping and his fuel injectors from maxing out, plus some ice for his ice tank to keep things cool between the runs.
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Shortt’s plan for the first pass is to skip the burnout and head up to the line, roll into the throttle, and “try to be wide-open by about 30 feet out.” His Tahoe briefly spins its wheels off the line on his first pass, resulting in a time of 13.6. His second run goes much better, pulling a 13.25 at 102 mph.
“I’m looking at the logs right now, and everything looks pretty good,” Shortt says. “It did not spin the second run, which is good. Making 10.5, 11 pounds of boost, which is right where it’s supposed to be. Inlet air temps were 120 at the end of the run, so that’s a little high. I could’ve probably put a little bit more ice in there, but I only brought two bags with me.” Despite the heat, he plans on making a glory pass, though he’d rather race somebody than go down the track alone.
Prior to making his glory pass, Shortt watches his friend John Doc blast down the quarter-mile in his blown Trans Am at 12.0 seconds, though no speed was posted on the board. He then hops back in the Tahoe to sling all 5,700 pounds of metal and fury down the right lane.
“I ran a 12.91,” he says upon picking up the slip. “That is absolutely ridiculous. I have a 12-second Tahoe. This is the coolest thing ever. 12.91 at 105. That is so dumb! I’m glad it did it. I’m glad all the parts are working together.” As he says at the end of the video, the 12.91@105 mph run was faster than he thought his Tahoe would run, and is very pleased with the results.
Get ready to see a lot of Tahoes and Silverados on the strip in the near future, at least until the SUV craze dies down due to fuel costs.
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