Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

OP, this is probably a "pick your poison" kind of thing. I'll say this -- adding a blower to a stock engine is easier than a heads/cam install. Hell, you could do a remote turbo in the back of the car and hit your 450 goal. There are also tons of LSA conversion kits now for the cathedral engines. Even kits for truck engines.

But, at similar power, for example two engines at 500 HP, I'll take NA over boost. But if it's 500 NA vs 700 boost, I'll take boost.

From your original post, I assumed you wanted NA, and for the most part, boost will get you far above that level anyway. but if you're only going to boost up to 450, I'd tell you to stay NA.

Again, personal preference / pick your poison.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

I agree 100%.

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

Id like to hear why you think that. A boosted motor will make more torque than an NA setup will and typically give you a wider powerband....or one that doesn't require revving as high which puts more stress on the motor itself.

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

Most supercharged systems really need a fuel pump also that isnt included in the kits. Some use doff fmu also tho. Some come with inj some do not.

Cost comparison isnt even a comparison as cam only is obviously way less expensive, even if adding in other inj or fuel pump.

Thats talking brand new kits like a p1sc procharger vs a cam kit. Not used or pieced together etc.

Both have their place but arent really interchangeable aa far as goals for alot of people. Ther is a huge reason most do heads cam vs a supercharger and with quite a few customers its sound. They want to sound like they make power. Crazy but true. Plus cost.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

Well, the blower type I drove had tons of torque, especially right off idle, but power fell off really fast after crossing 6000 RPM. I've always been interested in putting a blower on my suburban engine for that low end grunt. So, yeah, I guess I wouldn't have to shift as high RPM to hit a power number, but the car didn't feel faster to me.

The procharger one I drove felt similar to a turbo, where it didn't have much in the off idle range, but kicked in hard around 3500 rpm. it definitely carried better. but for DD, I felt like it wouldn't have the fun factor without revving it.

Lastly, streetracing, a guy with 535 HP camaro on a turbo wanted to run me, and I beat him handily - and I mean waiting at 5000 rpm in third for him to catch up and hitting it again while he was coming up on me and I still pulled him. We stopped and talked afterward. He said he had never got dragged like that by another LS car.

Is it possible all three were not optimally set up? yes it is, but I'll never know that for sure.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

That's very true. You see the threads where people ask how to tune their car to sound cammed or they want to spec a cam for "lope". I don't get it. Most of us cammed guys spend our efforts taming the cam. I'll admit it, cammed cars sound pretty cool, but you can just give yourself a vacuum leak to get it to lope at idle also for far cheaper...

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

In reality most overcam though. If there is a stg 1 - 5 then dammit they want stg 5. i dont get it, but youll soon see em selling the brand new cam "less than 1k miles etc of 5 dyno passes". Ive seen it alot. Hard to steer a customer the right way when they are already leaning a certain way.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

That's another good point. You really have to be brutally honest about how you plan to drive the car. And about how much a PITA factor you're willing to tolerate. If I were to cam my wife's vette, it'd be a stealthy cam, because she's not willing to tolerate the BS that goes with big cams. For me, as long as the bucking is below 1500 RPM, I'm fine with it.

It's almost better to tell someone how you plan to use the car and how much BS your willing to deal with and let them spec the cam accordingly, unless you really know what you're doing.

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

I would say you likely answered your own question lol. I think with your attention to detail you would really enjoy a boosted setup. I think some of your comments about low-end is interesting as when most have a decent NA setup made to rev to 6500-7000, low-end is exactly what they give up. The roots style is a monster down low, but not a very popular choice because it doesn't breath well up top as you mentioned. The turbo makes huge torque typically in the 3-4k range but some don't like the one-off style of power. The centrifugal is interesting and what I'm messing with now. It will continue to make more power the higher you rev it since it's boost is rpm dependent....i.e you choose how much power you want to make in each gear. All of these combos typically require much less cam or can be used with the stock cam, giving you much better DD-ability and in the case of the turbo, usually an increase in gas mileage. I like a big lumpy cam idle like most, but if money is taken out of the equation there's so many benefits to a boosted setup over NA....if it's done right.

SLP IROC-Z

iTrader: (14)

You can make that power to the wheels with a stock ls6 nd full bolt ons

1bdbrd

iTrader: (12)

Hell if you wanted to boost it, I'd sell a complete and brand new Huron truck kit for about a grand more than the TSP heads and cam kit you were talking about. Forced induction doesn't have to be expensive to get into unless you do like I and most everyone else do and overbuy in the hopes you will grow into it later. If you stay grounded, simple parts go a long way. And a turbo stock motor at 450-550whp will drive better than any heads and cam car ever will at the same power level.