silverado889

Hey guys, I'm curious of thoughts or experiences running turbo setups on the autocross tracks? I run my 67 c10 daily, and at the track every couple weeks. It has an ls3 with a mild cam and longtubes. Trans is a t56. I have 2 precision 6266 turbos sitting around from a stalled project and was thinking about putting them on the c10. I'm so worried I'll be disappointed with lag on the short courses. Anybody have any thoughts. Will they come alive quicker than I think? Thanks guys

M4N14C

iTrader: (3)

I have yet to see a competitive FI LS car at an autocross. Couple weeks back there was a twin turbo viper and even on massive slicks he was all over the place and finished behind stock FWD hatchbacks. I just have a couple boltons and for autocross I really don't feel like I need more power, not to mention all that extra front end weight that comes with a turbo car. If you want to get into autocross sell those turbos and invest in suspension, tires and a couple driving schools.

silverado889

That's pretty much the way I've been leaning. The power is just going to come on at an unusable rate I think. The suspension is already pretty decent with ridetech coil overs and no limit components. I'll probably do some heads and a little more cam. It just has the Gm hot cam now

JD_AMG

Forget the lag, adding that much power will be completely useless and only slow you down. Im making a measly 433rwhp/420ftlbs and am much slower because of it compared to my bolt on ~350rwhp before where I could easily put power down, now if I ever go WOT in 1st im sideways, 2nd ill still spin pretty good, sometimes sideways(this is with 315 NT05s that would hook before the power bump). You simply cannot put the power to the ground effectively when cornering especially considering you are in an unprepared parking lot. In one of the lots I auto-x at its slick enough that stock AWD cars like WRX's with 200 tread wear tires are able to get sideways pretty easily.

Do not, its only going to make you slower. Usable power band or not its simply going to be way too much, especially if you are using a front heavy truck. If you want to be fast learn to drive first, and get some sticky tires/good brakes, you seem to have the suspension covered.
I honestly want to figure out a way to detune the car for auto-x so its much easier to drive.
Have you ever auto-xed before?

silverado889

I fully agree with you. Yes , I've run a bunch of evenuts over the past couple summers. I'm doing a bunch of chassis work this winter/now to hopefully be more competitive. I'm running 335 rear and 295 front. Going to a 335 front and a new coilover setup now. I knew turbo is not super desired as far as lag and just plain to much power. But I daily drive it also during nice weather and have have those turbos screaming to be used lol. It would be a hell of a fun time on the streets! I guess I need to decide which is more important. Being competitive or smiles during daily use.

JackrabbitSlim

I run a turbo LS1 in autocross. Is it ideal? Not really. There are hardly any occasions where full throttle is usable, and sometimes the torque spike will unsettle the car. Is it entertaining? Sure is.

Like was said above, it's not really a competitive setup. I don't much care at the moment, as my aim is entertainment value over competition, but you'll need to honestly evaluate what your "needs" from this vehicle are before taking the plunge.

smitty2919

Is this autocross or an actual track? Turbos will be nice at the track to get you down the straights and keeping rpm's up...maybe not so much at autocross unless you specifically tailor your build to spool quickly and at lower rpm/speeds.

IMO, autocross needs low/mid range stump pulling power, good tires and proper pedal modulation. You can absolutely have too much power and cause you to be slower. I think I'd have more fun with less HP that I can USE rather than gobs of power that just becomes a drift session each time...strictly speaking about autocross.

gscherer78ta

iTrader: (1)

Dusold runs a twin turbo LS2 in his '67 Camaro ( Tube Frame) and for autoX he turns the boost way down. He added traction control and it's frequently limiting what gets to his 335Rivals. He runs a lot of track days as well and on wide open tracks he can start to use the turbo power, ~900hp. In autoX, most of the tracks/courses I've been on are 1st & 2nd gear, so if you are making 430rwtq you multiply that by your rear end, ~3.XX and then by the gear and that's what's at the wheels... So, huge hp/tq isn't really usable until 4th & 5th gear.

RidetechJosh

I was getting ready to say the same thing, Greg!

1981TA

iTrader: (7)

I've seen one (and only one) FI LS car that was competitive in autocross. He came in second overall in an event last summer, beat by a 34 Ford midget racer. The magic combination appears to be a decade of experience + a C7 Z06. The Mazda guys were shocked I tell you. Shocked.

For front heavy vehicles like ours, best bet is to get suspension and tire stuff sorted out and put in seat time (not necessarily in that order). Extra horse power only becomes more difficult to harness. In fact, I make a point of keeping my car below its RPM power band and, often shifting to second within a few yards of the start box. Just get used to the idea Miatas WRXs, and M3s will pretty much own the course.

smitty2919

Yep, I've heard this same point from numerous friends that run 450+ hp vett's but have the ability to drive different cars. HP isn't everything, although it makes for a fun ride LOL.

For reliability/simplicity I think a properly built LS motor with HCI will be best...adding turbos on that are "F-you I do it because I can" LOL