Supercharger or Turbo?

[Txturbo]

I would like to go all out on mine, but I probably won't do anything for awhile. These motors are pretty tough. I don't know the specifics on the LS3 but the motor builder at GMMG has said the stock LS1 crank and rods are good up to 1000hp. I don't know if the LS3 crank is the same or not. But you can't just up the power output of the motor and leave it at that. You will start breaking other drivetrain parts. Normally I would say I would buy the highest HP version and leave it alone until the warranty expires, then start adding power with a turbo or SC. But now that GM has the 5year/100K powertrain warranty, that would be awhile. Although I'm sure it won't be offered on a SC factory motor, like Dodge has done. It would be nice if it was covered by the same warranty though. I have a factory turbo car.Its nice, but modding it is tricky and expensive. Its Japanese and an 87 model but I'm sure a GM factory turbo/sc car would be a lot easier to mod. The electronics are a lot more modder friendly than they were in 87.

[Jinx]

This could go on forever. But Blur puts it best. His Pick 2 statement is very true.

Even if the car is originally FI from the factory, a great deal of research is needed to upgrade to the right sized unit.

03 Cobra guys who just throw on a huge Kenne Bell on a stock engine can be as far up shit creek as a guy with a Evo 8 just throwing on a GT40R sized turbo.

Sizing your induction method is important because it will determine engine life, where the powerband is optimized, and overall driviability.

My general opinion on if I was to pick any combination of the two on a originally NA engine such as a LS3:

Cheap and Reliable: Supercharger, Commom Street Size (P1SC, D1SC, V2-SQs and etc), low boost (5-7lbs.), stock engine, dyno tuned conservatively.

Cheap and Fast: Turbo system with correctly sized turbos, mild boost (8-10lbs), stock engine, dyno tuned aggressive, and prayer.

Fast and Reliable: Turbo system with correctly sized turbos, built engine with forged internals (low comp), cam spec for turbo application, heads designed for boost applications (I hope LS9 and LSA heads will work with LS3 block without modding the block and the LS3 intake works witht the heads), good intercoolers system (street: air to air, with maybe water/meth injection if taken to the track; or track only: air to water with ice water res), and dyno tuned conservatively.

I prefer the latter, but prolly consider between Cheap/Reliable and Cheap/Fast if going FI:

Me: Turbo system with correctly sized turbos with room to grow, low boost @ 7lbs, stock engine, conservatively tuned, mild boost, and turbo app cam.

Im hoping that APS comes through.

[Tomash]

Definitely turbo. With "conservative tuning" as Jinx said it will make the engine live its years whilst having some serious kick

BTW, what are the expectations on how much will one for a Camaro (DI 3.6L) could cost? And how many ponies could it add to the 280-300 of stock engine?

[2010_5thgen]

ive been a big fan of vortech so i think im going to stick with them and put one on my camaro.

[nfamous209]

i'm a fan of Positive displacement blowers. the New eaton TVS unit is nice, but i love twin screws. love the tq curve and u get nearly as much power out of it to an equivalent centri blower. turbo's u get incredible power out of em but lack a nice tq curve. plus i love the whine of a PD blower. my cobalt with an intake screams, i need to pulley down and really hear it whine. and second someone comes out w/ either a twinscrew, tvs or mp122 kit for the camaro, i'm so gettin it. more leaning towards tvs and twinscrew.

[Wm Holden]

Magnuson

[Shadowsong]

I haven't read this whole thread, so I don't know if what I'm about to say has been covered already.

Superchargers are parasitic, meaning they need power to make power BUT the power is there the instant the petal hits the floor.

Turbos do not need power to make power, they run off the exhaust fumes, it might take a little while for the power to wind up (it should be instant if you have your turbo sized right, but most people don't get that, so you hear people complain about lag...these people typically have turbos the size of dinner plates..) But really, a turbo will make more power than a S/C (usually) while running less boost, therefore it is not as hard on the motor.

Here is a write up on turbos for anyone who wants to read it, yes its long, and yes it talks about turbocharging a mustang, but its still a good read.

http://forced4.com/v6project1.html

[Shadowsong]

Originally Posted by Tomash

Definitely turbo. With "conservative tuning" as Jinx said it will make the engine live its years whilst having some serious kick

BTW, what are the expectations on how much will one for a Camaro (DI 3.6L) could cost? And how many ponies could it add to the 280-300 of stock engine?

Well, if a 210 hp mustang can see 420ish (believe it was 417) with a turbo, I'd say we could see over 500...

[Grape Ape]

Originally Posted by nfamous209

i'm a fan of Positive displacement blowers. the New eaton TVS unit is nice, but i love twin screws. love the tq curve and u get nearly as much power out of it to an equivalent centri blower. turbo's u get incredible power out of em but lack a nice tq curve. plus i love the whine of a PD blower. my cobalt with an intake screams, i need to pulley down and really hear it whine. and second someone comes out w/ either a twinscrew, tvs or mp122 kit for the camaro, i'm so gettin it. more leaning towards tvs and twinscrew.

Have you seen the torque curve for the (turbo charged) '08 Cobalt SS?

Here are links to the specs for GMs 07 & 09 engines. Checkout the fast Cobalts.
http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en...2007/07car.htm
http://media.gm.com/us/powertrain/en...009a/09car.htm

[Wm Holden]

[2kwik]

Both can be great additions to the engine, obviously. Turbo's usually produce more peak power, but Superchargers have instant power... it's a tough one. APS (air power systems), STS, and others, has been producing some GREAT turbo kits, whereas Vortech, Procharger, Magnuson, and others have created GREAT supercharger kits... I guess we'll just have to wait and see what's offered for our camaro's... either way, you're probably looking to spend around 10k

[Supermans]

Originally Posted by Tomash

Definitely turbo. With "conservative tuning" as Jinx said it will make the engine live its years whilst having some serious kick

BTW, what are the expectations on how much will one for a Camaro (DI 3.6L) could cost? And how many ponies could it add to the 280-300 of stock engine?

It won't be worth it for the gains when you could buy the V8 for the price of the V6, turbo parts and labor..etc..

[radz28]

Does anyone know how much power a turbo actually makes than a supercharger under the same conditions? I understand how both function, however, it seems to me turbos choke the exhaust a little just by them having to be placed IN the exhaust to function. Surely there is a power loss there too, is there not? It is claimed the new TVS superchargers are nearly as efficient as turbos, so it just seems to me that adding a supercharger will be "easier" and won't be as difficult to control and tune.

I've never had either but have done a good bit of reading, so I can't speak from experience. Maybe someone who has dealt with both could chime in.

[Chevyrocker]

why not go for the new eaton 4-lobe super charger? (it's the one they're putting in the ZR1 which uses a variant of the same motor)