yeah yeah yeah yeah yeaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhh i know this question has been done to death.

but.... the question is; should i put a turbo on my car or a cam?

my car can hold it's own, but... BARELY getting stomped, is STILL getting stomped.

just fyi, everything that can be cheaply done to the car has been. all of the stupid little mods "oh file this down and make the throttle body open 100%, cut the egr valve down, put an ls6 intake on it" etc. all has been done.

at the moment, i have enough money to either:

A. buy a cheap ebay turbo kit and upgrade the turbo for a garrett at some other point in time, and i have the knowledge and experience to install it myself. (as well as the fuel pump, and larger injectors etc. i could have the kit installed in a weekend in my motorcycle shop)

B. buy a large cam, with the rest of the kit, but don't necessarily have the money or knowledge to swap it out. I don't mess with car engine internals and the thought of my first cam swap being in my precision built LS1 motor is ... well, scary! I'm a motorcycle mechanic. i just don't mess with car motors. but.. i've installed enough turbos for it to be second nature to me. every bike i've owned in the last 5 years has topped 200-225mph. and YES i know it needs to be dyno tuned and the intricacies. not looking for a how to, just... if i should...


what i'm getting at is;

I'd have to pay someone to install a cam (lifters rods etc etc) but wouldn't have to pay someone to install the turbo for one...

for two, i think even the biggest cam should give me about 60hp when with a stock top and bottom, the turbo i'm looking at, when i swap the injectors, should give me about 150 extra, and realistically, the kits are about the same price.

my only thought is that a turbo on a stock cam would give it power, but it won't give the motor that "GRAAGAGGRGGAG" sound i love

someone will say "well your transmission can't handle it... what transmission do you have anyway?"

it's a stage 2 T56 with a stage 3 clutch. it's being built as we speak and will be back in my possession tuesday and ready to stick back in the car.. actually its a stage 2/3 hybrid, meaning, everything is viper except the input and output shaft which are hardened stock units. i didn't want to change out the clutch and drive shaft. i wanted a direct bolt in unit.


SO... 60hp cam or 150hp (up to 750) turbo???

at least with the turbo, i can start messing with the motor and doing things here and there to be able to throw more boost at it as i go, whereas, a cam is what it is and won't be much more. you can't turn up the cam, you just have to start the expensive machining process.

so?? advice???? please? i DONT claim to know everything.. i really don't.. i may be looking at this wrong. that's why i'm here.


thanks

 

oh... side note..

it also currently has long tube headers and a borla exhaust with a high flow cat. the restrictor plate was the first thing i removed when i bought the car. it's basically just a straight pipe right out the back of the car. but most of that would go away if i put a turbo on it, obviously.

 

Put a turbo on it make more than enough power and if u want more then add a cam to match ur turbo setup

 

Overly informative original post aside, that's kind of my logic behind it as well.

Turbo it, put a low pressure waste gate and BOV on it, and make changes to the motor over time to grow into the turbo, instead of putting a cam in it with the intention of turboing it and not making a good cam selection to begin with, ending up with too much compression or lean situations or any number of things that could happen with a bad match up.

at least if i put the turbo on it and have it dyno'd i will have the data to be able to make improvements in the future.

 

Forget eBay kits, look at Huron speed turbo kits...

They can package you up with a complete kit..

It all comes down to budget and how much time is on your hands..

 

Not sure why I'm posting but here it goes. Personally, a turbo and a cam are two totally different animals. A cam will get you around 400 to the wheels and a turbo, depending on how you set it up, will get you to 600 on up. I didn't read too much of your post but just slapping a turbo on a stock LS motor isn't exactly a good idea. Yea you can buy off brand parts and half *** a turbo for relatively cheap but again, it isn't a good idea. The cost to do a turbo build and a cam build the correct way are in two totally different ballparks. It just really depends on what you want out of the car. Power, drive-ability, and cost are the important things to look at. Expect to spend around $1200 +/- in parts on a cam swap. A turbo project can get as expensive as $8-10K depending on how in-depth you go. Check this link out if you are considering the turbo route. https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-in...induction.html
Hope this helps.

 

Huron speed!

 

If you are on a budget, then move on to something else. If you have enough money, double it. Turbo builds get pricey quick.