Well, Nows the time for me to look around for different turbo kits! I've had my eyes set on APS or STS.. but theres also many others out there, like Speed Incs, Finish Line performance, DID, Straightline.. the list doesnt end. What I would like is what kit you recommend, Why you like it, Average HP/TQ, Pro's and Cons. I am looking into a 650+whp build, and I want to get everything right. I also posted in the trans thread about upgrades to that and will be making an Engine thread so i Know what internals,cam,heads to go with on a turbo car.

Thanks
Shaun

 

I went with a smaller company first about a year ago..I lost 2000 bucks when the company shut down

Go with the big guys..ATI,Sts or APS. APS delivered my system ahead of schedule. All three of the above systems work and work well. You can find lots of posts on any of them.I have had rides in sts cars and ati cars. All the power adders work. Pick one of the above if you want to pretty much plug and play and keep your air conditioning and not have to muck around that much with moving things.

You can hit around 650 with any of the above.But need to go up think a bit on the sts turbos from their basic one. You want forged parts for this power level. 346,370,402/408 all are fine. 427 is a bit overkill for fi and your power goals. You can do things a bit cheap and stick with stock ls1 crank or 6.0 crank. Cams are not that critical ,heads are not that critical.ls6 intake works fine. If you have the money then you can do the full meal deal. I am pretty much copying aps test mule but in 408 size rather than 346.They used afr heads, lingenfelter gt11 cam , fast 90/90 tb. Worked for them should be good enough for me.

Trans well turbo 400 are strong,480s..460s might be borderline but you can get them built up too. m6 well you need a good clutch for sure. Tex, spec,mcleod,quite a few choces there.

 

wow, great info thanks!! So if i picked up any of the following kits what shop would be recommended to install in the chicagoland area? like speed Inc? Finish Line performance or something? Or would it just be easier for them to use there turbo systems? I will be going with probobly the forged 408. The car will be turned into a speed/show car so ALOT of pieces will be Polished and carbon fiber in the engine bay, so i need to find a Intake manifold that is aluminum and match the TB but also is top notch performance. Also for the Trans I hear the Turbo 400 is the route to go.

 

for just 650 RWHP go with a signle turbo kit and keep your A/C.

 

speed inc by far has the most turbo experiance around chicago(as far as lsx,lt1) they built my twin turbo system and hands down not one complient... mine is a custom deal so its not as cheap as an aps.. but i know they have installed aps systems before on gto's , c6's and i think even c5's.

and not to mention they are the best tuners around

 

How about you use two cast truck manifolds have your local speed shop/exhaust shop bend/weld some pipes and you buy bov,ic,wastegate a garrett gt45 or bigger ball bearing turbo?......You do it that way and get a bunchof upgrades etc and you can afford a proper forged build as well!!!
The guys here have done it with great success......
https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-induction/508764-truck-manifold-turbo-set-up-faq-s.html

These guys are pulling down these numbers and it works great.....

 

I dont really want to custom fab my own kit... I'd rather take my stuff to a shop and know its been done right. Right now im looking into the STS kit as it is relatively cheap... BUT what else would be needed to support it? do i need new rods, springs? Also I know people are against the aluminum intake manifold.. but this is being turned into a nice show car.. with alot of polished/chrome/carbon fiber pieces under the hood. again any help i can get would be greatly appreciated.

 

I would GO aps before STS or some of the others

What I look for in a turbo kit, is a manufactured part, ie, no fabricated headers, and such. Less to break. I wanted an incon kit for years, and even had some of the hard to get parts (cast iron manifolds and dump tubes) but sold them all when I heard of the APS kit.

However, th Speed Inc kit, is VERY nice, and if your looking to have them do the work for you, then that would be a very good option as well. They use some great turbo options including the GT35's which will support a bunch of power.

For me, the APS was thousands cheaper than the Speed inc kit, and I picked it up locally.

Ryan

 

If i read correctly is the Speedinc. the APS kit? and then they do custom kits as well? or is that some bs i heard from a local? haha. I did alot of searching on a WHOLE setup from speedinc and with the turbo kit,rearend,Trans,heads/cam internals it came up to around 17-18k... obviously there is no possible way for me to do that at once, unless the lottery is on my side. but i doubt that. Then there is also the installation/tuning... so its an easy 20k+ project... If i went with the APS kit with supporting mods would the trans/rearend i have in there now hold? im looking for a start of 500whp that i can work my way up. Sorry for all the questions but i'm new to this and again i just want to do everything right the 1st time. So if anyone wants to help me big time and toss me a list of things that you would recommend to do from the trans-rearend-engine that would be awesome!

 

OFI kit seems to be a pretty good one but until I get mine I can't say for sure

 

I'd have a custom turbo kit made by a local shop that fits my needs. oh wait, thats what I am doing.

 

Sts don't come with intercooler but dont' really need one. You need a good fuel pump like racetronix and some 42 pound injectors or you could get 60s in case you go up a bit later. You should at least put in better valve springs..comp 918 are popular.Turbos can make the stock valve springs float.
You need tuning from local shop or not sure think sts comes with predator thing for that.
Thats about it. If you stay at 5 to 7psi on stock engine you should be fine.Buddy has sts kit on bone stock engine at 5psi he has not done his fuel pump install yet but does have injectors and it runs great. Estimate 400 or so rwp at 5psi and think get 500rwhp at 7 psi.
500rwhp is nothing to sneeze at . You can put a shiny wieand intake on there or there might be a few more metal ones out there not sure.It will work ok. Might heatsoak a bit but not a huge deal. You didn't say if your car is auto or stock. If stick you will need a clutch upgrade..tex single, spec 3 couple of choices for you to 700 rwhp or so.
If auto you 460 might live at 5 to 7 psi fo awhile. Upgrade there for cheap is turbo 350 or turbo 400. 480 or beefed up 460 if you want to keep overdrive.
Engine internals if you want to start going past 7 psi and really put out the power. Then you should at least have forged aftermarket rods,good rod and main bolts like arp.You should for sure have forged pistons factory are crap. You can save money by running stock crank and you can do a 6.0 iron block up pretty reasonable if you stay with stock crank and 370 size.Or just put forged rods and pistons in your ls1. Stock ls1 cranks are pretty tough it seems. and even the rods are not too bad you might get buy with rod bolts.To 600 or so anyway.

Not sure how much more the aps kit is over the sts. It was a great deal when I bought mine.I am sure I will love mine when get it installed hopefully in next few months.

 

I would go Aps Twin turbo. I was in the market for turbo or turbos as well and could not make up my mind. The website and the people at APS sole me. Check it out. WWW.Airpowersystems.com
They know their stuff, price is fair, real dyno numbers!!!! Completely upgradable kit. The whole bit. Talk to David. he helped me out alot. And you can tell that they really know what they are doing. Once you hear what he has to say, you will be an aps turbo customer too!!!! Im certain of it!!!

 

wow... I'm dumb.. I kept wondering why the hell I am getting emails on this thread... forgot I even started it. lol.... My dad has a callaway corvette and he knows some guys around here that might work on my car and turn the T/A into a callaway TT setup. APS and STS gave me a ton of info, but STS kind of sounded like a car sales person to me on the phone, which kind of lost interest in what they have to offer. APS has great customer service and I contacted Speed Inc. on install and are just fine with everything... So I am still browsing to get the best for the money and get it done right. Thanks all for the help, I really appreciate it.

Edit: forgot to add, here is my mod list as of now.
TTS Longtube headers
Corsa Catback
forgot what company LID (its carbon fiber.. haha)
3200 Stall
Shift kit
Trans cooler

350whp and 360tq