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High or Low compression?

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Old Aug 28, 2005 | 06:09 PM
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Default High or Low compression?

Well i have had the heads and cam on for about 6 months and like everyone else im ready for more so heres the question

Im wanting to put in a 402 which will more than likely be from SLP since i can get a pretty good deal on it. So what im planning on doing is putting in the 402 with the head and cam setup i have now with a possibly bigger cam, then hopefully within a year putting a supercharger on it, possibly magna charger?? so if i go with a low compression engine will it be a dog until it gets some boost or will it out perform my setup i have now with just heads and cam.

Second idea was to get the 402 and put it on an engine stand and just wait till i can get the supercharger befor putting it in the car.

questions and opinions please does it sound like a plan?? should i just go all motor high compression etc. etc.
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Old Aug 28, 2005 | 06:45 PM
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i think you hit the nail on the head on puttin the engine on the stand and waiting for the boost to come in when you have enough money, i would wait to get the boost, and do it all at once!!
but man the sound of a hi compression block is a bitcin sound **drools**
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Old Aug 28, 2005 | 07:04 PM
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as stated by PSJ a ton of times.....if you drop 1 full point in compression you lose approximately 3% of hp....which is nothing,youll prolli not even notice the difference.Go low compression and get a custom spec cam for the mangnacharger and boost away!
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Old Aug 28, 2005 | 07:05 PM
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I am going through the same questions right now. From what I'm hearing, the lower compression is not going to make a huge difference in performance. I was worried about down low performance, but everyone has told me that it's not an issue with a 347, so I'd imagine it's less of an issue on a 402.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 02:33 AM
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Each point drop in compression will hurt you hp about 4%. Each extra lb of boost will increase you power 7% minus whatever power loss from driving the compressor, which isn't much. For every point drop in compression, you can increase several lbs of boost. So you can get several times 7% for each 4% that you lose. When you do the math, you have to go ahead and setup the motor for future boost.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 05:01 PM
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i am still thinking of going with the high compression and a supercharger since i think a supercharger would be suitable for high compression. I dont know how long it will last but im planning on running about 6-8 psi.

Any ideas on hp/tq. numbers?? anyone with a similar setup have any numbers by the way thanks for the info.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 06:47 PM
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I would not run high compression with boost, you will be limited.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 06:50 PM
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Bad thing about boost, no matter who you are....you WILL want more.
Like PSJ just said your quest for high compression will limit you. You can get away with it, but your tune will always have to be dead on.

If you lust for high compression, go N2O not FI.
J
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 07:46 PM
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aight so yall talked me into it low compression

but with low compression i might as well do a turbo setup since im going to buy headers anyways correct? plus the sound of a turbo.............
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 07:53 PM
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I dropped my compression down to 9.3:1 and I can't tell a difference in the buttometer.

lower compression is better for supercharging and turbocharging. If you don't mind losing your a/c and p/s there are some nice turbo kits out there.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 08:01 PM
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Guys over at SilveradoSS.com run 9-10 psi of boost from the Radix with no issues on a 2.9 or 2.8 pulley, which is about as small as you can go and get max from the blower. And this is on an 6.0L LQ9, which I believe has 10:1 compression.

With a 402 you will be lucky to get 8 psi I think....trying to blow boost into all those cubes, you'll quickly run into the Magnacharger's spin limit (18K RPM's) before you'll have to deal with detonation due to excessive boost. I'd be very surprised if you saw anywhere near 9 psi on a Magnacharged 402.

So, I think a Magnacharged, high-compression 402 is certainly do-able. Can you get more boost with a turbo? Certainly. But I bet you wouldn't be able to match the low-end power and torque of the blown combo.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 08:32 PM
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Originally Posted by 02_CETA_ws6
... since im going to buy headers anyways correct? .............
wrong,a turbo setup usually uses custom headers to a crossover pipe of some sort,therefore getting longtubes for instance is a waste of money.
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Old Aug 29, 2005 | 09:34 PM
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Originally Posted by ddnspider
wrong,a turbo setup usually uses custom headers to a crossover pipe of some sort,therefore getting longtubes for instance is a waste of money.
Thats why i was just going to purchase a turbo setup that included headers instead of just buying a 1200 dollar set of headers
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Old Aug 30, 2005 | 08:17 AM
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thats the way to do it,you made it sound like u were just getting a set of headers and then getting a turbo kit after the fact.
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 10:00 AM
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FYI I'm assuming by your screen-name that you have a WS6. If so magnacharger is not even and option.
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 10:38 AM
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Originally Posted by WS6snake-eater
FYI I'm assuming by your screen-name that you have a WS6.

this guy's quick.

j/k man
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 05:21 PM
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will a magnacharger system for a vette not work?
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 05:30 PM
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nevermind the magnacharger question i just seen the forum on how it was to big to fit under the hood/dash

How about the phamspeed budget kit??

sry for all the questions i just wanna plan everything out befor i do it.
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 05:53 PM
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Magnacharger Fits Under A Vette Hood But Not Fbody Hood!
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Old Aug 31, 2005 | 11:54 PM
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I'm not too sure if Phamspeed is still producing kits...Perhaps somebody can verify. I think they got in a little bit over their heads, and had to stop taking orders until they could catch up. Does anyone have more info?
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