Hi All,
I have a question that I have no doubt that you guys can help to answer for me.
It has to do with the decision that some have made to go with a twin turbo set up, or supercharger... My question is... what was the key driver that made you want to go that route and endure the additional expense?
I understand that you can pick up a good bit of additional horse power, but is that the only driver? I saw a website for some engine builder, (I can't remember which one) but there was an LS7 with twin turbos, billet injection rails, a very nice aluminum manifold with long tube runners, etc, etc, etc. Price tag was over $27,000.00. I saw another for around 30k, and the list just continued.
I've read that turbos tend to make the exhaust note quite a bit quieter. I sort of like that by-product, but it's a very expensive muffler...
Super chargers give ungodly levels of power, pretty much on demand. since they don't use the exhaust to help spin the turbines, it does nothing to lessen the volume from the exhaust.
So, is it really just the ability to add more and more power? I've read where Turbo chargers can actually increase gas mileage relative to highway driving. (As long as you're foot isn't constantly at war with the firewall.) And my assumption is that the opposite is true of the supercharger. I've read that the engine uses horse power just to spin the compressors; and quite a lot of horse power at that. So there is apparently a trade-off for a percentage of added horsepower, simply to make the rest of the horse power that it brings to the table.
I am asking these questions in all seriousness. I don't know the pros and cons well enough to make an educated decision as to which I would choose, if I were to go that route. My instinct would be to take the Twin Turbo path, but doing so opens a can of worms as to how to route the exhaust, and waste-gate blow off, etc.
Part of my head is still firmly planted in the Mercedes AMG (normally aspirated) plan. But lately, the other side of my head has started to think that a case could be made to go the simpler, but also more complex route.
Everyone seems to swear by the LS376/480 for the base power unit for the SLC. But I've heard over and over that the LS7 already has beefier internals that wouldn't need to be replaced. Couple that with a set of medium boost turbo chargers that would give just a bit more HP, say around 650, and take advantage of whatever additional benefits may come along with it. Better MPG (LOL), and a quieter exhaust note.
Back in the early 80's I had a euro-spec Porsche 930 turbo. It made quite a lot of power for that time period. (Or at least it felt like it did). Nothing like what cars today are producing, but it was very fast. The problem with that car, though, was that it took a bit of time for the power to spool up, and when it did you'd better have been holding on to it. Because it was going to go somewhere fast.
Are the set ups today similar? Is all of that power that these engines are making, controllable by anything other than your right foot? In other words, does the power come up all at once and slap you in the back with the seat? Or can it be controlled to come up somewhat gradually, without roasting the rear tires, and/or kicking the car sideways in the middle of an intersection... You know the one: the one with the police officer sitting on the other side waiting for you to make a mistake...?
I do know that there seems to be a lot a additional expense involved in putting a system like this together. I know that Schwartz Performance built one for David Stacey (Gearz), but I never heard what the cost was. I've wanted to call Jeff and talk to him about it, and get an idea what that sort of system would cost to build, but I haven't yet.
I wanted to ask you guys first. There are a hand-full of people here that have tackled this type of project. I'm hoping to get some insight as to whether it's tougher than you thought, and whether after you got into it, you felt that it was worth the additional expense? And when you finished, was your car fun to drive in city traffic? Everyone knows that it would be fun to drive in a straight line on the interstate; but how about through city streets with stop and go driving, and intersections, etc?
Thanks,
Mike
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I have a question that I have no doubt that you guys can help to answer for me.
It has to do with the decision that some have made to go with a twin turbo set up, or supercharger... My question is... what was the key driver that made you want to go that route and endure the additional expense?
I understand that you can pick up a good bit of additional horse power, but is that the only driver? I saw a website for some engine builder, (I can't remember which one) but there was an LS7 with twin turbos, billet injection rails, a very nice aluminum manifold with long tube runners, etc, etc, etc. Price tag was over $27,000.00. I saw another for around 30k, and the list just continued.
I've read that turbos tend to make the exhaust note quite a bit quieter. I sort of like that by-product, but it's a very expensive muffler...
Super chargers give ungodly levels of power, pretty much on demand. since they don't use the exhaust to help spin the turbines, it does nothing to lessen the volume from the exhaust.
So, is it really just the ability to add more and more power? I've read where Turbo chargers can actually increase gas mileage relative to highway driving. (As long as you're foot isn't constantly at war with the firewall.) And my assumption is that the opposite is true of the supercharger. I've read that the engine uses horse power just to spin the compressors; and quite a lot of horse power at that. So there is apparently a trade-off for a percentage of added horsepower, simply to make the rest of the horse power that it brings to the table.
I am asking these questions in all seriousness. I don't know the pros and cons well enough to make an educated decision as to which I would choose, if I were to go that route. My instinct would be to take the Twin Turbo path, but doing so opens a can of worms as to how to route the exhaust, and waste-gate blow off, etc.
Part of my head is still firmly planted in the Mercedes AMG (normally aspirated) plan. But lately, the other side of my head has started to think that a case could be made to go the simpler, but also more complex route.
Everyone seems to swear by the LS376/480 for the base power unit for the SLC. But I've heard over and over that the LS7 already has beefier internals that wouldn't need to be replaced. Couple that with a set of medium boost turbo chargers that would give just a bit more HP, say around 650, and take advantage of whatever additional benefits may come along with it. Better MPG (LOL), and a quieter exhaust note.
Back in the early 80's I had a euro-spec Porsche 930 turbo. It made quite a lot of power for that time period. (Or at least it felt like it did). Nothing like what cars today are producing, but it was very fast. The problem with that car, though, was that it took a bit of time for the power to spool up, and when it did you'd better have been holding on to it. Because it was going to go somewhere fast.
Are the set ups today similar? Is all of that power that these engines are making, controllable by anything other than your right foot? In other words, does the power come up all at once and slap you in the back with the seat? Or can it be controlled to come up somewhat gradually, without roasting the rear tires, and/or kicking the car sideways in the middle of an intersection... You know the one: the one with the police officer sitting on the other side waiting for you to make a mistake...?
I do know that there seems to be a lot a additional expense involved in putting a system like this together. I know that Schwartz Performance built one for David Stacey (Gearz), but I never heard what the cost was. I've wanted to call Jeff and talk to him about it, and get an idea what that sort of system would cost to build, but I haven't yet.
I wanted to ask you guys first. There are a hand-full of people here that have tackled this type of project. I'm hoping to get some insight as to whether it's tougher than you thought, and whether after you got into it, you felt that it was worth the additional expense? And when you finished, was your car fun to drive in city traffic? Everyone knows that it would be fun to drive in a straight line on the interstate; but how about through city streets with stop and go driving, and intersections, etc?
Thanks,
Mike
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