S/C: Should I, and where can I find the best deal installed near NJ??

[ShadowHawk]

I'm looking to get back into an LS1 camaro in the not too distant future and I want 400+ RWHP and a nice daily driveable car. I figure supercharger would be easiest. Nothing psychotic...for now I figure a base model supercharger would do. I want semi-decent gas mileage and a basically stock running car, so I have a few important questions...

-Will I have any reliability issues? (I want this car to be my daily/only car and last as long as possible, like a few years at least. Will the drivetrain put up with that HP and boost?)

-Where in NJ can I get a full kit installed for reasonably cheap? Or where can I get a package deal on the kit and install? I've seen a few places say over $7000, but are there any for less, even if only slightly?

-Here's a list of a few things I think i may get, anything I'm missing or should leave out?
-Trans cooler(A4)
-converter
-driveshaft loop(for good measure)
-3:55's or similar
-LSX manifold
-90mm Throttle body
-full exhaust(long tubes/y-pipe/cat-back)

[Packy]

I'm looking to get back into an LS1 camaro in the not too distant future and I want 400+ RWHP and a nice daily driveable car. I figure supercharger would be easiest. Nothing psychotic...for now I figure a base model supercharger would do. I want semi-decent gas mileage and a basically stock running car, so I have a few important questions...

-Will I have any reliability issues? (I want this car to be my daily/only car and last as long as possible, like a few years at least. Will the drivetrain put up with that HP and boost?)

-Where in NJ can I get a full kit installed for reasonably cheap? Or where can I get a package deal on the kit and install? I've seen a few places say over $7000, but are there any for less, even if only slightly?

-Here's a list of a few things I think i may get, anything I'm missing or should leave out?
-Trans cooler(A4)
-converter
-driveshaft loop(for good measure)
-3:55's or similar
-LSX manifold
-90mm Throttle body
-full exhaust(long tubes/y-pipe/cat-back)

Yeah with those supporting mods you will be around 450 or so with an 8 psi kit whether you go Vortech or ATI. I would say to not worry about the 90 mm throttle body though. I had one and it did nothing for me. I gained nothing at all with it! So I switched back to stock. Your drivetrain should hold up fairly well being an A4. Just remember to get a tighter converter. The reliability is always there with FI as long as you keep your foot out of the gas! My car makes around 540 rwhp and if I keep out of the gas it drives like stock with decent gas mileage 18 city / 24 highway. I have a six speed though.

As far as shops go I think that Cartek and East Coast Supercharging are the only ones in NJ that I know of. They both do excellent work from what I have seen and heard of online.

[Packy]

Also SLP is up around that area and T-byrne is in Mass...

[ShadowHawk]

Thanks man, I appreciate the info! I love this forum, and I love F-body guys. Most "car guys" are ego maniacs...which is the main reason I don't have many car buddies; but I've noticed a lot of the f-body guys seem to stick together and not be arrogant. Stang guys, in general, as much as it bothers me to say this, are mostly one-uppers...always "my car's better than yours"...god I hate that crap! Too many times i'll ask questions on other forums and get chewed out by some a$$hole who takes his hobby too seriously. To me, speed is speed, and as long as it's rear-wheel drive and made in the US, I LIKE IT! Anyway, sorry to chew your ear off so to speak, but like I said I appreciate the info and I have much respect for most everyone on this forum! It's one of the few forums where the members(the REAL "car guys") conduct themselves in a respectful manner and are quick to help out other car guys.

I actually heard that about the throttle body too. That's kinda screwed up...most aftermarket throttle bodies are mid $300range. All that for nothing...

As for the stock 4L60E, will it put up with that kind of power? I want a converter too, but I'm not sure what to get...I think 2800+ would be too high for what I want. I heard 2800 stall's on the street don't hook well. Ideally I'd like a car that hooks like a monster on the street, because that's where most of my battles take place. The 88 Stang I'm driving right now is making 510 RWHP with potential for a lot more, but it won't hook at all on the street...at any speed. I even thought about de-tuning my car, but even with that I don't know how well it'll hook. My other problem is that the gas mileage is terrible...I eman, you can tune it, but it still won't be daily. I figure an f-body with a blower and suspension should do the trick! They're great for making gobs of power and still being drivable. My main dilema is I'll be going up against a 603 rwhp 03 Cobra and a 430 +/- RWHP 02 SS and I want to take them out. They may have more power and better 1/4 times, but on the street that means nothing without traction.

Also, what mods do you have done to you car? From the HP number it sounds SICK! Maybe I could use your's as a blueprint to build mine(if you don't mind).

Oh, and Cartek KICKS ASS! Those guys are awesome! They helped me out BIG TIME abaout a year and a half back with my old Z. I did actually want to call them up about pricing the labor on a blower.

[Packy]

I know what you mean about some of the other car forums and guys too!

As far as the stall goes I think that a 2800-3200 would be about right for you. A friend of mine used to have a 2800 in his H/C N20 car and it rocked he had excellent traction on the street with 315/35 R 17 Nitto Drag Radials. He would cut 1.6-1.7's at the track on the same tires. He had a stock 2.73 rear too! LS1 Auto's do well on the street wioth the right tires and stall!

I would say that around 480-500hp would be your limit for the 4l60. I am mostly a 6 speed guy so i don't know much about the auto's just what I hear my friends who have them talking about.

My mods are Forged 346 ci LS1, p-1sc(7 psi), stock 241 heads with dual valve springs and mild port and polish, LS6 intake, Comp XE 214/224 .541/.541 114 lsa cam, Mac mid lenght headers with an ORY, and Corsa exhaust. I have some Hal QA-1 front shocks with stock De-carbons in the rear and Spohn Tq arm too. Soon I will have a Denny's Nitrous ready driveshaft too!

[Packy]

I also wouldn't spend your money on a fancy intake manifold if you are going with FI because they won't give you much gain for the cost. My buddy put a FAST 90/90 on his FI car and gained a whole 10 hp and 8 ft. lbs. of tq. All that for like $1,200 is a waste of money too me. There are plenty of guys using the LS1/LS6 manifold and making good numbers!

[ShadowHawk]

I also wouldn't spend your money on a fancy intake manifold if you are going with FI because they won't give you much gain for the cost. My buddy put a FAST 90/90 on his FI car and gained a whole 10 hp and 8 ft. lbs. of tq. All that for like $1,200 is a waste of money too me. There are plenty of guys using the LS1/LS6 manifold and making good numbers!

very good to know...that'll cut my cost down a ton! I noticed too a few people were saying 8-9lbs of boost is dangerous in a stock shortblock?? They said not to go that high w/o an intercooler. are there any reasonably priced intercoolers for thses cars that'll fit without cutting things up?

[Packy]

very good to know...that'll cut my cost down a ton! I noticed too a few people were saying 8-9lbs of boost is dangerous in a stock shortblock?? They said not to go that high w/o an intercooler. are there any reasonably priced intercoolers for thses cars that'll fit without cutting things up?

Oh yeah, the ATI kit comes with twin intercoolers that mount fairly easily and you do not have to cut anything up to mount them! You can run 8 psi on a stock shortblock all day provided you have the proper fuel provisions and tuning taken care of. The new ATI D-1SC kits come with 8-rib pulleys for the drive belt and they also come with 4.5" intercoolers!

The Vortech units come with aftercooler on them if you opt for it. Those cool the intake charage pretty well.

[ShadowHawk]

wow, the ATI kit comes with intercoolers? Sounds badass! How much does that sucker cost?

[Packy]

wow, the ATI kit comes with intercoolers? Sounds badass! How much does that sucker cost?

Usually around like $5,000 or so depending what extra's you buy with your kit. If you do get a Procharger then go with the D-1sc kit. It is only $200 more to upgrade when you buy your kit, but if you buy the P-1sc kit and want to change later it will run you like $1,200. The D-1SC flows a bit more than the P-1SC does.

[MikeSomething]

NightHawk, where in Jersey? I was really wondering about CarTek to man. I see alotta mean fbodies parked outside of it like nothing!

[ShadowHawk]

hehe, I'm about 20 minutes from you Mike, in Edison. Cartek is definately a badass place...every once in a while I drive by just to see what kind of sick sh*t they have outside.

They helped me out with a Z28 I had...it had the check engine light on for the rear 02 sensors, so i got sims and had a mechanic put em in(not at Cartek). When I went to pick it up he said he couldn't turn the code off cuz his scanner wouldn't work with the car's computer. Well, I was pissed cuz when I left the car was running worse than when I had dropped it off and I was trading the car the next day, so i needed the car running right and the code cleared as part of the trade deal. I called high and low and drove all over NJ and NO ONE could figure out what was going on(their scanners couldn't clear the code either). I looked up Cartek in the phone book and called...the guy was like "I can't gurantee that I'll be able to fix it today, but bring it down and I'll check it out." So I did...it took him about 20 minutes to get to me, but trust me it wasn't a problem...I got to see some truely psychotic cars(nice ass blue Z06 on the dyno, C6 getting exhaust work, twin turbo Z06, etc). Anyway, he hooked up his scanner and after hitting a few buttons got out of the car, put it on the lift and moved the sims(they were put in the front 02's and they were supposed to be rears), and then cleared the code! And on top of that, when I asked him what I owed him he said DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT! So yeah, I'd definately bring my car to them again if I get one, they were nice guys!

[Packy]

Sounds like they are good people to deal with. Every Cartek car I have ever seen or heard about runs very well too! Good luck!