Thinking about Supercharger or Turbo
Thread Starter
Banned
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 24
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati, OH
Thinking about Supercharger or Turbo Welp, I finally took the plunge and registered here. I've been reading this site religiously for about 2 years now. But it seems that it was just a lot of mudslinging and bickering for a long time. I hope that's over and and I can get some honest opinions.
First of all, I have an '02 SOM WS6 and my boyfriend has an '01 NBM WS6. We are both looking to boost them. Before you tell me to search, I already did. I don't feel like reading through all of the BS to find the info I need. So hopefully we can start this thread here with all of the pertinent information, and not bashing?
What kit consistently makes more power?
How much boost really is safe on a stock engine?
Can we drive our cars daily without problems?
Where can we get the kits for the best price and have them installed and tuned? (We live in the Mid-West)
Why do so many people on here seem to change kits? I understand going from a supercharger to a turbo or the other way around. But why change brands of kits? Seems silly.
Thank you.
First of all, I have an '02 SOM WS6 and my boyfriend has an '01 NBM WS6. We are both looking to boost them. Before you tell me to search, I already did. I don't feel like reading through all of the BS to find the info I need. So hopefully we can start this thread here with all of the pertinent information, and not bashing?
What kit consistently makes more power?
How much boost really is safe on a stock engine?
Can we drive our cars daily without problems?
Where can we get the kits for the best price and have them installed and tuned? (We live in the Mid-West)
Why do so many people on here seem to change kits? I understand going from a supercharger to a turbo or the other way around. But why change brands of kits? Seems silly.
Thank you.
whats up, are you on www.gcfba.com ?
whats you and your boyfriends username on there, i vist that board from time to time.
also stop by the dayton board and say high, there are a couple of turbo guys on there. www.daytonfbody.org
definatly go turbo, nothing is better. though im a little biased.
turbo will make more power for the given boost
7psi will be safe on a stock engine and pump gas
should be able to drive it fine without problems if you get a good kit and instal with supporting mods.
people usaully change kits to make more power boost is an addiction stronger then crack cocaine and you keep wanting more.
i havent seen too many people go from turbo to super charger.
whats you and your boyfriends username on there, i vist that board from time to time.
also stop by the dayton board and say high, there are a couple of turbo guys on there. www.daytonfbody.org
definatly go turbo, nothing is better. though im a little biased.
turbo will make more power for the given boost
7psi will be safe on a stock engine and pump gas
should be able to drive it fine without problems if you get a good kit and instal with supporting mods.
people usaully change kits to make more power boost is an addiction stronger then crack cocaine and you keep wanting more.
i havent seen too many people go from turbo to super charger.
[QUOTE=NaughtyGirlTA]Welp, I finally took the plunge and registered here. I've been reading this site religiously for about 2 years now. But it seems that it was just a lot of mudslinging and bickering for a long time. I hope that's over and and I can get some honest opinions.
I’m biased towered the turbo setup's, I drove mine to work all summer on rt 80 in NJ 42mi ea way, never had a problem. I think it's just amazing.
Its the best of both worlds, I get good gas mi. when I’m not hammering, I’ve ran 3 cobras and 2 wrx's, and peeled the paint off their cars, and to top it all
for Christmas picked up my 90 year old, frail, grandmother w/ my 700hp SS curser in Brooklyn, and drove her 50mi to my sisters, she loved the car, thought it was,
"nice", and it ran ‘real smooth”. Turbo's make your car a supercar, no doubt.
I’m biased towered the turbo setup's, I drove mine to work all summer on rt 80 in NJ 42mi ea way, never had a problem. I think it's just amazing.
Its the best of both worlds, I get good gas mi. when I’m not hammering, I’ve ran 3 cobras and 2 wrx's, and peeled the paint off their cars, and to top it all
for Christmas picked up my 90 year old, frail, grandmother w/ my 700hp SS curser in Brooklyn, and drove her 50mi to my sisters, she loved the car, thought it was,
"nice", and it ran ‘real smooth”. Turbo's make your car a supercar, no doubt.
on a stock engine its hard to run alot of boost unless it previosly had forced induction. with that said whichever you buy you can buy a alchahol kit. i went from 16#s on my GN to 24#s with no knock and thats with 93 octane gas not race gas. granted with yours you might go from 7 to 14 or so. go to www.alkycontrol.com and id get the snail
Well I'll stick a vote in for Supercharged, since I have an ATI belt driven turbo 
But either choice is going to be good for what you wanting to do. Really comes down to preference and cost. There's a few of us around town that could help with installs/tuning depending on which way you want to go. I'm in Cinti (Liberty Twp actually near Lakota East) feel free to shoot me a PM and maybe you guys can come up and see my set-up. I could do alot better talking and showing than typing 
Mark
But either choice is going to be good for what you wanting to do. Really comes down to preference and cost. There's a few of us around town that could help with installs/tuning depending on which way you want to go. I'm in Cinti (Liberty Twp actually near Lakota East) feel free to shoot me a PM and maybe you guys can come up and see my set-up. I could do alot better talking and showing than typing Mark
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isn't that just like a woman..........first thing she wants to do is CHANGE US!!!! first suggestion.........get some Tide, just in case some of that mud lands on ya! j/k. welcome to the group. Go Turbo!!!!
Dave
j/k. welcome to the group. Go Turbo!!!! Dave
Well I think so it is my opinion that there haven't been any good Turbo kits sold for our cars until recently. I have been waiting ot see what it going to come of them before I do any swapping. I love my Vortech I make great power and I have good reliability. I will say it is 100% complete I would recomend a good profesional tune over there canned tune for sure. The STS kits seem to be working ok it just isn't my favorite set up but it is inexpensive for the power. Your choice your money have fun and enjoy the hobby etc...
Launching!
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 281
Likes: 0
I personally think turbos are the way to go, you can turn the boost up or down, whereas a supercharger you must change pulleys. Also the centrifugal kits only hit max boost at redline, this makes for an unexciting street car-compared to a turbo or positive displacement charer. Don't get me wrong they will still feel good on the street, but the others will feel more powerful. I am also looking into forced induction, my first choice is the STS, mainly because of price and ease of install and performance you get for the price. There is a kit in the works that uses a Eaton positive displacement supercharger, this one would be awesome for the street because you get instant boost at all rpms. The STS will hit max boost around 3000 rpm so until that point not a whole lotta boost is happening. So imagine getting 400 rwtq at 3000 on up for the turbo and getting 400rwtq at 1500 or less rpm with the eaton, obviously the eaton wil get better throttle at the lower speeds, but hte downside is hte turbo has more potential with added boost. Turbos are more effiecient and can be great fun as well since the boost hits hard and you feel a big power gain pull you back.
The thing you are going to have to remember with more power is it will eat up a lot of stock parts. Tranny if you have and A4 and the clutch, drive shaft on a M6. And most likley you will need to get a new rear end. Like a 12bolt or a 8.8 or a nine inch. There are some upgrades you have to make to make it safe. If you are running small boost you could most likley get a new fuel pump and a new set of injectors. Also you are going to have to have it tuned. You have to pay to play but once you have payed it is a lot of fun.
yeah when i first started thinking of F/I all i could think of is power power power!!! ARGHHH I NEED IT OMG NOW!!!! But then reality started to set in and now i wouldnt do any such power adder such as F/I until i do my drivetrain stuff (i.e. rear end, clutch, torque arms, panhardrod, suspension, etc) when that **** is done then i will be saying hello to F/I and since i need to stay street legel its either gunna be the STS kit or the ATI P-1SC, should be a whole bunch of fun when its done though and i cant wait!!!
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 742
Likes: 0
From: Cincinnati, OH
Hey, I see you're from the Queen city. If you need anyone to talk to about it, try Tracey Scott of Scott Racing and Performance or LT1Dave. They're both very knowledgeable fellas. Good luck!! 
[QUOTE=NaughtyGirlTA]Welp, I finally took the plunge and registered here. I've been reading this site religiously for about 2 years now. But it seems that it was just a lot of mudslinging and bickering for a long time. I hope that's over and and I can get some honest opinions.
First of all, I have an '02 SOM WS6 and my boyfriend has an '01 NBM WS6. We are both looking to boost them. Before you tell me to search, I already did. I don't feel like reading through all of the BS to find the info I need. So hopefully we can start this thread here with all of the pertinent information, and not bashing?
Honestly you should really read up as much as possible before deciding or listening to a few people's opinions as this is a pretty big decision you are making. I didn't do much research before i bought my, recently sold, Vortech kit and right after i realized i needed to do work on my engine to hit the goals i wanted to obtain. After i sent my engine off to get fitted with new internals i then wanted more power but found the vortech maxed out at about 575hp and thought i would feel stuck if i ever wanted to get silly with the power. So now i am working with an out of production twin turbo kit that will need some extra fabbing to make what i want. I could have saved lots of money if i would have sat down before i started buying things and just learned as much as i could have.
What kit consistently makes more power?
It depends on what power you want. I believe most of the kits start out with adding around, a minimum, of 100hp but go up to 200hp for use with stock internals. The more powerful kits usually require you to do upgrades at least in the bottom end of your engine. Some kits have a nice cushion between min and max power so that you can still go higher if you wanted to but still would have plenty of power from the get go. More so, you should be worrying about reliability issues or long term issues. I am pretty sure all of the kits sold work and when they work they work well(or atleast work as advertised). In your case i would recommend a turbo kit that does not require you to lose your A/C or power steering. Turbo kits can be more troublesome as they are still evolving on our cars but would be worth the trouble once they are working properly. Also, turbo kits are proven to be more efficient as they do not require power to make power as a supercharger would.
How much boost really is safe on a stock engine?
On pump gas and stock compression (10.5:1 i believe) then you shouldn't try and push more than 9PSI. I am not saying noone has, as there have been many that wanted to test the limits of the engine in stock form, but noone has done it long term or wound up breaking things and went with forged internals and/or lower compression.
Can we drive our cars daily without problems?
Yes, depending upon your setup of course. If you just get one of the "bolt on" kits then expect normal driving to be the same but the differences will be apparent the more you push on the accelerator.
Where can we get the kits for the best price and have them installed and tuned? (We live in the Mid-West)
Your best bet would be to go to a known good seller. I think that any of the sponsors would be the best choice as they have a lot of experience with F-bodies and would be able to answer your questions. The sponsors should also offer competitive pricing as well.
Why do so many people on here seem to change kits? I understand going from a supercharger to a turbo or the other way around. But why change brands of kits? Seems silly.
Like previously stated, people want more power or more effeciency(ie turbo). Any kit you buy will have a limit and that should be one of the factors used in deciding on whether you purchase it or not. If you buy a kit with a limit of 400rwhp on a 346 cu LS1, to me that would not be a good kit as it only would boost the output a max of approx 100hp. Turbos in the LS1 world have never been a solid area such as the mighty cam and heads or N2O setups so, some brands are better than others, some are simpler than others, and some are just not practical outside of strictly drag racing or very little road use. The production is usually done by trial and error and put together by hand. Also these companies seem to go under faster than women try to get down my pants (that's a bad analogy because women never try to do that with me
) but........anyway, the point i am trying to make is: these companies don't last very long so we're always seeing new ones coming up and a ton of different ideas. Some get it right the first time, some try new ideas, and some just don't care. A few of the supercharger companies have been around for a lot longer (10+ years in some cases) and usually build a complete kit down to the last detail. Ultimately you need to come up with a list of goals or a list of dreams as some may call it then once you start that you can work out the details from there.
Thank you.
You're welcome
First of all, I have an '02 SOM WS6 and my boyfriend has an '01 NBM WS6. We are both looking to boost them. Before you tell me to search, I already did. I don't feel like reading through all of the BS to find the info I need. So hopefully we can start this thread here with all of the pertinent information, and not bashing?
Honestly you should really read up as much as possible before deciding or listening to a few people's opinions as this is a pretty big decision you are making. I didn't do much research before i bought my, recently sold, Vortech kit and right after i realized i needed to do work on my engine to hit the goals i wanted to obtain. After i sent my engine off to get fitted with new internals i then wanted more power but found the vortech maxed out at about 575hp and thought i would feel stuck if i ever wanted to get silly with the power. So now i am working with an out of production twin turbo kit that will need some extra fabbing to make what i want. I could have saved lots of money if i would have sat down before i started buying things and just learned as much as i could have.
What kit consistently makes more power?
It depends on what power you want. I believe most of the kits start out with adding around, a minimum, of 100hp but go up to 200hp for use with stock internals. The more powerful kits usually require you to do upgrades at least in the bottom end of your engine. Some kits have a nice cushion between min and max power so that you can still go higher if you wanted to but still would have plenty of power from the get go. More so, you should be worrying about reliability issues or long term issues. I am pretty sure all of the kits sold work and when they work they work well(or atleast work as advertised). In your case i would recommend a turbo kit that does not require you to lose your A/C or power steering. Turbo kits can be more troublesome as they are still evolving on our cars but would be worth the trouble once they are working properly. Also, turbo kits are proven to be more efficient as they do not require power to make power as a supercharger would.
How much boost really is safe on a stock engine?
On pump gas and stock compression (10.5:1 i believe) then you shouldn't try and push more than 9PSI. I am not saying noone has, as there have been many that wanted to test the limits of the engine in stock form, but noone has done it long term or wound up breaking things and went with forged internals and/or lower compression.
Can we drive our cars daily without problems?
Yes, depending upon your setup of course. If you just get one of the "bolt on" kits then expect normal driving to be the same but the differences will be apparent the more you push on the accelerator.
Where can we get the kits for the best price and have them installed and tuned? (We live in the Mid-West)
Your best bet would be to go to a known good seller. I think that any of the sponsors would be the best choice as they have a lot of experience with F-bodies and would be able to answer your questions. The sponsors should also offer competitive pricing as well.
Why do so many people on here seem to change kits? I understand going from a supercharger to a turbo or the other way around. But why change brands of kits? Seems silly.
Like previously stated, people want more power or more effeciency(ie turbo). Any kit you buy will have a limit and that should be one of the factors used in deciding on whether you purchase it or not. If you buy a kit with a limit of 400rwhp on a 346 cu LS1, to me that would not be a good kit as it only would boost the output a max of approx 100hp. Turbos in the LS1 world have never been a solid area such as the mighty cam and heads or N2O setups so, some brands are better than others, some are simpler than others, and some are just not practical outside of strictly drag racing or very little road use. The production is usually done by trial and error and put together by hand. Also these companies seem to go under faster than women try to get down my pants (that's a bad analogy because women never try to do that with me
) but........anyway, the point i am trying to make is: these companies don't last very long so we're always seeing new ones coming up and a ton of different ideas. Some get it right the first time, some try new ideas, and some just don't care. A few of the supercharger companies have been around for a lot longer (10+ years in some cases) and usually build a complete kit down to the last detail. Ultimately you need to come up with a list of goals or a list of dreams as some may call it then once you start that you can work out the details from there.Thank you.
You're welcome
Last edited by disassembled; Jan 12, 2005 at 06:33 PM.