Whipple vs Novi and Whipple insert options (2014)

[Big-T]

Hey guys, I have a 2014 SS and am looking to go FI in the new year!

The Novi price is nice... Have some friends in NJ that have a great rep in the corvette world, and have a nice package for a really good price.

On the flip side, I'm really interested in the whipple. The larger size and the cooling both look really promising. I'm concerned about the need for either changing or modifying the insert, though. The options I've seen for the "change" are the ACS option (I can at least get that in flat black if I want) or a carbon-fiber plate that looks similar to the stock option. That said, I'm wondering what the "modify" option is... is it as simple as removing the lower water shield? Ideally, I would like to keep as stock a look as possible, so if you have any insight/words of wisdom to lay on me they are most certainly appreciated.

Ideally, I want something that's fun on the street but also can handle some hot laps on a track day (road coarse). I'm particularly interested in anyone who's tracked either system (again, road coarse).

Any other antidotes from either side are also welcome as long as they come from experience (ie. don't tell me PD sucks because your Centi makes more power... If you want to tell me the whipple sucks, tell me about the problem you personally had with the whipple that made it suck).


Thanks guys!
-T

[Js2fst]

Both have heat and bearing longevity issues. Road laping the whipple is the worst heat pump and more likely to fail. I am buying a truck with 25 k miles with a whipple on it. I called whipple they guaranteed it will fail sometime maybe on way home or up to 150k miles. I can't wait to pull it off! I have had bearing failure before and destroy the engine very low miles on a boat. I will procharge it for sure

[Mr. Nasty]

Wow Js2fst sounds like you had some bad luck with the Whipple.

But OP I don't think the Whipple suck lol. Cant tell you about the Novi but I have been running the Whipple for 5 years now with no issues. I don't road coarse. But I drag race it. I am closing in on a 1000 passes with the Whipple with no issues other then the heat. Been working on that and it not so bad now with hot lapping it.

[Big-T]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nasty

Wow Js2fst sounds like you had some bad luck with the Whipple.

But OP I don't think the Whipple suck lol. Cant tell you about the Novi but I have been running the Whipple for 5 years now with no issues. I don't road coarse. But I drag race it. I am closing in on a 1000 passes with the Whipple with no issues other then the heat. Been working on that and it not so bad now with hot lapping it.

5 years sounds pretty legit.. How many miles you have on it?

[Js2fst]

I have Done 135k on Procharger 8 on whipple before failure there is a local 370!z just having all kinds of issues right now. But I talked to a few people at whipple about their product and they gave me their biggest distributor and they were not confident in them either. So how can I be

[Unreal]

Out of those 2 I would do the ECS kit.

[LTRS777]

Lsa not an option? Kinda hard to beat OEM as far as reliability and longevity go. I mean a ZL1 has a 100k mile power train warranty right? So I'm sure a lot of R&D and similar go into it lasting that long. 600-700whp is normal too on these setup with full power 2.5k up like other PDs. Also save yourself $2-3k over a whipple

[Unreal]

Look at the power you want now, and how much you want later, and what each system cost to get there. LSA conversion is great for 500-600hp but the whipple maybe cheaper to get to 650-700rwhp when you factor in other upgrades, or it may not.

One of the reason turbos kits are popular is they can make 500-1000rwhp without adding anything. No upgraded pumps, belt drives, headers, heads, cam, etc. Just need fuel and drive train to support it, which is a blower would need too, and sometimes even more since they tax fuel system more and can be harder on drivetrain.

Either way research what you want, and what it really takes to get there.

[pincushin3819]

Research AGP twin turbo kit, there are plenty of threads & information on this site about how great the kit is.

My experience comes from all 3: turbos, centrifugal & PD.
All are capable of making good power but you need to ask yourself where you want the power to be applied. I might ruffle some feathers there are a few sensitive people on this site but anyway I'm speaking on my experience. PD makes great instant power from idle to about 5200 rpms, it's full fledge so on street tires from a dig be ready to feather the peddle. I also noticed after a few pulls the heat soak is real & comes faster than expected when running hard. To make more power with the PD I was having to spend more money, headers, intakes, rib kits, pulleys ect. I also noticed the harder we spun the blower the less efficient it was becoming & the quicker the heat soak would take place. Centrifugal isn't on my Camaro but on a similar platform & I like it. The power comes on hard around 3200rpms all the way to red line which is easier to control the wheel spin. It seems to be more efficient than the PD & from research I've seen shows it gives more power per lb of boost compared to the PD. I also don't notice any heat soak issues. But in order to make more power it takes more money the same as with PD headers, pulley drives and ect. Turbos are my favorite by far, you can custom tailor your turbos for your goals depending on size of your motor & ect. You can have them hit hard like a PD or come on in a more usable rpm rang like a Centri. Anther cool thing is to make more power all you do is turn a nob or hit a switch. I would call Kevin at AGP discuss your goals my second choice is ECS kit. If your looking for the cheapest I guess LSA would be best for 550 rwhp or less.

[Moreair1]

I was going go with the whipple supercharger before I decided on the agp kit,but one thing with the agp kit since you mentioned keeping the car with a stock look, you can make your car look perfectly stock if you wanted too with the agp kit you just have too put the time and effort in to it plus it also helps if you dont mind drilling/tapping your valve covers

[Big-T]

Originally Posted by LTRS777

Lsa not an option? Kinda hard to beat OEM as far as reliability and longevity go. I mean a ZL1 has a 100k mile power train warranty right? So I'm sure a lot of R&D and similar go into it lasting that long. 600-700whp is normal too on these setup with full power 2.5k up like other PDs. Also save yourself $2-3k over a whipple

So help me out a little.. I thought there was a whole pully set you had to replace in order to use the stock LSA set, and that made it more expensive than other options? Sounds like I may have read some bad forum posts?

My attraction to the whipple is the extra .6L volume... that generally results in lower temps an higher potential. The PD aspect also gives you that awesome seat of the pants feel on the street you can't get with a centri.

My attraction to ECS (the Novi option.. I didn't want to mention them if they were an "unapproved vendor" or something, but I've seen them mentioned a ton so I'm thinking it's okay) is the price and the fact that they make an awesome kit for the C6 and I trust them to make a similar quality kit for the Camaro.

For the Procharger fanboy that keep trying to thread-jack, I've seen more D1 complaints than T-trim V's or Novi 1500's... not to say they're not a solid option. My cousin in KC swears by them, and has never had a major issue... but this notion that "everything else has problems and Procharger is the only one that got it right" is exactly why I asked people to only post about Whipples or Novi's that they have owned.

[Big-T]

Originally Posted by pincushin3819

Research AGP twin turbo kit, there are plenty of threads & information on this site about how great the kit is.

My experience comes from all 3: turbos, centrifugal & PD.
All are capable of making good power but you need to ask yourself where you want the power to be applied. I might ruffle some feathers there are a few sensitive people on this site but anyway I'm speaking on my experience. PD makes great instant power from idle to about 5200 rpms, it's full fledge so on street tires from a dig be ready to feather the peddle. I also noticed after a few pulls the heat soak is real & comes faster than expected when running hard. To make more power with the PD I was having to spend more money, headers, intakes, rib kits, pulleys ect. I also noticed the harder we spun the blower the less efficient it was becoming & the quicker the heat soak would take place. Centrifugal isn't on my Camaro but on a similar platform & I like it. The power comes on hard around 3200rpms all the way to red line which is easier to control the wheel spin. It seems to be more efficient than the PD & from research I've seen shows it gives more power per lb of boost compared to the PD. I also don't notice any heat soak issues. But in order to make more power it takes more money the same as with PD headers, pulley drives and ect. Turbos are my favorite by far, you can custom tailor your turbos for your goals depending on size of your motor & ect. You can have them hit hard like a PD or come on in a more usable rpm rang like a Centri. Anther cool thing is to make more power all you do is turn a nob or hit a switch. I would call Kevin at AGP discuss your goals my second choice is ECS kit. If your looking for the cheapest I guess LSA would be best for 550 rwhp or less.

My concern with the turbo's is the obvious one... heat! Have you tracked a TT car? if so, how many laps? The big downfall to me with the TT is that regardless of the power I want, the heat is always going to be there because the turbo is always going to be spinning. That said, I have read some great things about that AGP kit, and my track time would be very small. Might need to put that option back on the table, but a bit timid on the TT thing.

Thanks for the opinion!

[Big-T]

Originally Posted by Moreair1

I was going go with the whipple supercharger before I decided on the agp kit,but one thing with the agp kit since you mentioned keeping the car with a stock look, you can make your car look perfectly stock if you wanted too with the agp kit you just have too put the time and effort in to it plus it also helps if you dont mind drilling/tapping your valve covers

I don't necessarily care if the under-hood looks perfectly stock.. Just don't want to mess up the natural aesthetics of the car.

Out of curiosity, how noisy is the TT kit? Any chance I could get a sound bite of the exhaust note your getting out of the turbo?

[pincushin3819]

This is a picture under my car, I installed the kit on jack stands lol.
But my reason for posting this is to show you where the turbos are located. There will be no heat issue with this kit. There pretty much where your stock cats would be getting incredible cooling from air flow under the car.