Hi fellas, I am new to this site, and new to getting into the real deal for making my 92 camaro a street rocket. A little background... I have a 92 Camaro RS that I bought when I was a sophomore in high school. I am now 25 and have some money to play with. Currently the only real mod that I have done is to replace the TBI with a TPI off of an Iroc. This left me with a 5 speed manual, 305 cu in fuel injected smallblock. Well, it is time for a change. I recently bought a 1972 GM 400 smallblock(4-bolt main) that has never been machined. I am looking to send it to Lingenfelter Engineering to prep the block, strapping on a set of Brodix or AFR heads, using my current TPI if possible, and adding a supercharger. This is where I need suggestions. The 400 block is a done deal, but nothing else has been purchased yet. I have heard good things about Brodix and AFR, and I have no clue on which is the best S-charger out there for my setup. I could use all the suggestions that you guys have so lets hear em. Thanks and hopefully I can return some favors on down the road.
Cole

 

Procharger P1SC or D1SC. If you are sticking with tuneport upgrade it. For the few hundred bucks you'll spend on a good base and runners you'll be amazed what it does for you under boost.

 

How do I go about upgrading the TPI? What do I look for? Thanks,
Cole

 

go with a turbo a supercharger is pulling up to 45% hp that its putting out away from the rear wheels because its belt driven. unless you really want a blower go with a turbocharger, they run of the exhuast and dont pull hp away they just add it. If you really want power you dual turbo with intercoolers and smoke anyone still leaving nos as an option later.

 

you also have to figure the turbos will cost more money... more running of pipes, and the turbo's arent always their. Ive got a weiand blower and from idle i punch it and ive got boost... Thats one thing i dont like about turbo's you dont always have the boost. I know their many many ways to correct this with turbos but its just something to thihnk about.

You can also go with the vortech S-trim. Thats a meannnn supercharger

 

Not necessarily. If you know what your doing you can turbo your car for half of the cost of a SC. And the thing about turbo V8s.....you already have the V8 power anyway. And one more thing; powerwise, 6psi with a SC is nothing compared to 6psi of a turbo.

 

I used to run a 383 with a procharger D1-SC(best blowers you can buy) blowing through a holley stealth ram and AFR 210 heads and it made 614rwhp/643rwtq. The tpi set might/will hold you back a little but if you get the "typical tpi mods" (base runners, ported plenums etc) you can still make good power. The thing is though, the tpi's design inherently kills any high rpm gains...it would struggle to feed a built 383 with killer heads, cam and a blower so anything bigger, the tpi will become a serious bottle neck where breathing is concerned especially over 5000rpms. It might rev past 5000rpms but you probably won't be making any power, just revving the motor.
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BigWhiteGTP, I thought 6psi is 6psi whether its coming from a turbo or a blower.

 

I was thinking the same thing, boost is boost no matter where it comes from. blower, turbo, leafblower...

 

45% ? Where'd you pull that number from? Nevermind, I don't want to know. I suppose you think a turbo is "free horsepower" too, right?

Hollowcd - Do some research before jumping into anything. Whether you go turbo or supercharger, they can both be a lot of fun. My opinion, you can't beat the simplicity of buying a bolt-on supercharger kit.

 

I am sticking with the SC. I have known people with both, and the SC's have caused less headaches along the way. Right now I have the 400 4-bolt main block, and a 9" Ford rear end built by Moser retrofitted to fit my car. Due to some of the responses and tips I have picked up in the forum, I am currently looking for a transmission upgrade from my T-5. I have heard that a T56 will do the trick, but right now I am in the learning stage. I do not want to cut corners with this build. So far everything that I have purchased, has been quality things. Next probably is the tranny, then heads, then blower. I am keeping an eye on ebay for all of these things, so when I find deals I will see what I can do based on the money I have to play with, but I wont go cheap on anything. I want a car that I can drive every day, and be reliable, and oh yeah, stupid powerful. I appreciate the info you guys are sharing, and welcome more of it. Types of trannys and heads that would work well for my application are tips that I need, someone already suggested AFR 210's. Thanks again all,
Cole

 

 

"Compound Turbo Charging can create boost levels above 200psi" Straight off of wikipedia. One large turbo blowing into a smaller turbo to compress the air even more and with turbos one ebay selling around 300 dollars its cheaper than any supercharger and will get more psi than you could imagine a supercharger ever putting out.

 

That was a pretty pointless post considering he probably won't need any more than 10-30 psi, which most superchargers are easily capable of.

 

the only thing I have ever seen a turbo into turbo setup on are tractor pull trucks very very useless post in an automotive forum

 

Am I totally wrong?

 

Blowers are less efficient then turbos for the reason that a blower runs off the crank directly (useable power) versus a turbo which is largely waste power (exhaust heat) but don't forget that there ain't no such thing as a free lunch so you do lose power due to the restriction of the turbo in the exhaust tract. Honestly dependent on what direction you go with the turbos is what determines the total outlay. Turbos are neat because you can substitute a lot of time instead of cash. You can pick a turbo up that'll run low 9s into the 8s for $600 shipped new, or a couple of stocker GN turbos at a hundred bucks a pop to run low 10s.
It's easier for most people to fabricate an exhaust then mounts for a supercharger but the SC really takes the victory on this one because it uses "off the shelf" exhaust parts without any wierd crap to make em fit. There is also the "bolt on and go" part of it. IMHO if you consider a blower also account for an exhaust system in both prices, as you wouldn't run the blower with stock manifolds, it's a hidden expense. The other thing is that there are tons of vendors out there who service turbochargers so if you need servicing you don't get violated as bad.
The other thing is that I'd do some research on that 4 bolt 400 block supposedly they're weak in the webbing although I'm not sure how much of that is BS, do your homework and take that with a grain of salt. Turbos don't put a big stress on the crank in the front which is an edge to them, even though something like a cog drive would take care of that. Regardless of what you do a short fill would probably be a good idea. Also keep in mind if you look on the Racing Junk Dynoflow will make you a short block for like 4K that's a Little M block and will take near as much power as you can throw at it. You've gotta decide what your goals are outa this. With a 406 and some decent heads you can make killer power even N/A. 500+HP is possible with the right H/C/I and compression.
I guess where I'm going with this is both turbos and superchargers are effective means of generating gobs of power so what I'd let make my decision is wether or not I wanted to fabricate or pay someone the extra cash to fabricate the turbo system for me, if not the blower is the way to go.

 

Is your 400 4 bolt block a factory 4 bolt or did you install the splayed end caps?

 

Factory

 

Are the splayed end caps something that I can just get and bolt on? Will this make the 400 a good block to build what I want?

 

you need to get it macniened for splayed caps ...then an align hone is a good idea aswell

 

6 PSI is 6PSI, wheather it's a supercharger or turbo. What he was getting at is that at 6PSI an engine will put out more hp with a turbo then It would with a supercharger because the parasitic power loss due to turn the supercharger. Superchargers are a big "drag" on an engine. But in this case he's better off with a supercharger. If I was you and had the money I would go with the D1SC intercooled kit from Procharger. Pretty much bolts right up, and great power!! The P1SC is a great kit too, but I'd go one step up. More room to grow with the D1SC. Good luck with your build, hope this helps some.