LS1TECH - Camaro and Firebird Forum Discussion - Truck Manifold Turbo Set up FAQ's

Well I'd guess its about time to do this as its asked quite often.

A nice option for those who are budget minded or a good do it yourselfer, is to get into forced induction by fabbing up a turbo kit of your own.

A great way to do this is by using GM truck exhaust manifolds for your turbo manifolds. This is by far a great way to make big HP and be reliable as well.

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What year truck manifolds do I need to get? From what engine size too?

Basically you want to stay away from any truck manifold that has AIR/EGR ports.
02+ are good sources, from 4.8-6.0 trucks will work. Be sure to get the heat shields with them too.

What else would I need to get to start fabbing up my own set up?
You will need two outlet flanges for your crossover pipe. These are available from our Sponsor, Stainless Works.
PN#'s are
FLNGCDH
FLNGCPH
Price @35 ea.

Exhaust tubing mild or stainless, its up to you. 2.5 OD is plenty big for the crossover. Buy variety of bends and a few straight sections. Stainless works again will have these materials.

T4 or T6 Mounting flange, depends on what turbo you get/hp goals. Various turbo places will have these, forced inductions and stainless works.

Wastegate, they usually come with a mounting flange so thats taken care of. Can be found at a Forced Inductions or some of our other sponsors.

What do I need to do to make them fit on my 4th LS1 F body?
Just mount them facing foward.

Stock K member cars will need to have the K member notched on the passenger side to accomodate the outlet of the truck manifold. This is quick and easy to do.

Aftermarket K member cars have nothing to worry about, room is plentiful.

Powersteering lines will have to be rerouted or even extended. Careful bending will usually get them out of the way.

Oil dipstick will also have to be gently bent and reshaped to fit around the reward facing passenger manifold. Take your time and it will bolt up like stock or get an aftermarket braided hose dipstick tube assembly.

Two or more O2 bungs for O2 sensors, mount these as close to the outlet of the manifold as possible also available from Stainless works.

Heatshielding for lines, wires and turbo pipes is not mandatory but is a good idea on any turbo kit. Header wrap on the crossover keeps engine bay temps down and heat in the crossover where it needs to be. Coating is a great option as well but adds co$t to your set up.

An aftermarket fan arrangement is often needed as well. Fans usually have to be mounted in a pusher arrangement. If at all possible keep the stock fans. If not possible a good set of pushers are FAL-240's. They fit in front of the radiator nicely. A few of us have done a radiator relocation, depending on the person this is also a good alternative since you can keep the fan(s) in a puller type configuration.

What will I lose or have to relocate if I go this route?

You will lose your a/c, as the truck manifold goes right where the a/c compressor sits.

You will have to relocate your alternator to the top passenger side of the head. A few places have an alternator relocation bracket. One can be easily made as well.

What kind of dependability do these manifolds have?

Being a cast manifold means they are plenty strong and durable for a daily driver. Worries of cracking or heat fatigue will be greatly reduced.

Spark Plug access is just like it would be on a stock LS1. 30 minute plug changes and no special sparkplug wires are needed as the stock ones work great.

What kind of power will these manifolds support?

More than most of us will ever need, 1000+ has been done with the truck manifolds.

Can I do a twin turbo set up with truck manifolds?

Yes, a few members have done this quite nicely.

Do I need to make new powersteering lines to clear the driver side truck manifold?

No not really some careful bending will give you the clearance you need BUT if you want to make new lines here is a PN list. Everything can be ordered from summitracing. Thanks goes to Brains for this list:

2 x EAR-991955ERL (M16x1.50 o-ring to -6AN Male) - rack return, pressure side of pump
1 x EAR-991956ERL (M18x1.50 o-ring to -6AN Male) - pressure side of rack
3 x RUS-620421 (90 degree -6 hose ends) - Both rack ports, pressure side of pump hose ends
1 x RUS-620401 (Straight -6 hose end) - Hose to pump reservoir, along with
RUS-670300 (Straight -6 to hose barb) - Braided line to rubber hose, which clamps to reservoir fitting
1 x RUS-632610 (6 foot section of power steering hose)
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Hope this helps a few of you out there that are interested in persuing a DIY turbo kit.

Jeremy:D