I'm currently LS/Vtec on stock bottom block and CTR cams, what are your thoughts on High Compression vs. Boost? I've heard negatives from boost about always breaking down, but I've never owned a boosted car before and i love the idea behind it. I also want to go high comp because, well frankly boost is a whole different ballpark than my all motor setup and I don't know if I want to trek into that territory. Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks

 

it's all about money and budget

i would have left the LS bone stock and boosted it if you wanted more power, that or used a stock ITR combo NA

$3500-4000 will get you a nice turbo setup, a disco potato on an inline pro manifold would be a really responsive combo on a stock LS

NA is kind of the expensive way to go slow. cams, pistons, machine work, head porting, custom headers, easy to spend the same $4000 and make like 210whp

turbo setups that stay within what the bottom end can handle and are done correctly, like aeroquip lines, garrett or precision turbo, quality manifold and a tune and pressure level that will live awhile are fine

guys get into trouble wanting more power. most people who turbo the cars tinker, they don't just make 280-300whp and leave it there

if you have an LSV the rods are already a major weak point

if you want maximum reliability taking that same 3500-4000 will net you a lower mileage JDM ITR full swap. better trans, much more rugged engine and good resale.

going fast gets expensive. it's not uncommon to see guys with 20,000 or more in a turbo honda after a few years

it's actually one of the reasons i sold my integra and have a stock z06 for a daily now. for the HP and handling i wanted it's cheaper and more reliable in the long term

 

Thanks for the input. In all honesty I would probably leave it alone at 280 whp. That's a good number, and I'm not looking to be the fastest, just fast enough to challenge anything on the road comfortably. I would have went ls turbo but i picked up the entire head with cams, cam gears and everything else i listed for 250 bucks. It was too good not to get it. I've also heard lsvtec is one of the more reliable platforms for turbo.

 

Boost is without question the most cost effective way to make power, and it can easily make more power than you can ever get all-motor. However there are good things about all-motor, too and for some people it may suit their personal style better.

 

By no means calling you out or say you or wrong whatever like that

But I'm confused what you saying here

Wasn't sure if you mean overall it's weak point or specific to his LS/vtec setup. It seem contradictory to me, but maybe I missed something about his setup I don't understand

In both scenario he has the same bottom end so if he boost stock motor or boost his b18btec

 

put the arp rodbolts in that lsvtec you have if you didnt already and boost that. its compression isnt too high if its stock block, less than 10:1. with good tuning that setup should be able to hold 300-350whp for quite a while. what tranny do u have, i hope its not an ls tranny

ctr cams are great the motor will make good power with a good turbo setup.

not to discredit previous replies, but i dunno if a gt28rs "potato" is the right turbo for that motor and/or a budget setup. you dont need a water cooled ball bearing turbo to make 300 hp. any basic t3/t4 with a .63 exhaust housing will be more budget minded and make the power u want

 

I do have an LS tranny. All my money recently has been going to college and I haven't had the funds to buy a new tranny. ARP Rod Bolts are next on my list, after getting new headers and piping. I'm planning on this being an elongated build because of my financial issues. Thanks for the input again guys.

 

understandable, i was kind of all over

the LS has weaker rods and isn't balanced as well so they can get into trouble spinning high rpm, boost just amplifies the problem. the stock LS seems to live quite awhile around 250-260whp if you keep the stock 7000rpm redline and install arp rod bolts. it also makes the turbo setup inexpensive as you can use a go autowerks package which i totally forgot about in my last post. go autowerks uses good parts and is fairly inexpensive for what you get.

what would make me nervous is boost + an 8000rpm redline on LS rods. if he could get a b18c bottom end it would live a good deal longer, or just drive what he has until it pops. there is always the option of changing out rods and pistons. if you do that you can really turn the power up. 350whp, no problem. would go forever with a good PCV or catchcan setup

keep in mind, i know guys push more than this and it's nearly a daily occurrence. personally i like the idea of not wrenching on cars all the time and getting 100k miles or more from a motor. you can do that, you just can't push them hard or drive around at redline daily.

also agree with eg's post if you do aim for 300-350whp you'll want something around a 50-57 trim. precision 5431e comes to mind. the potato is designed more for a fast response almost NA feel and performs well in the mid to high 200 range. guys have gotten more but it requires more pressure which isn't good on pump gas. a 50 trim with a .63 housing could make the same power with less boost.

i just wouldn't push a stock LS bottom end, even with better rod bolts to that much hp...even though people do it.....like i said, almost daily

 

Run all motor, with a 75 shot of nitrous readily available. Kinda the best of both worlds, boost when you need it and never when you don't. just make sure to wire up a switch to switch between ECU maps.

 

Turbo is reliable, as long as you aren't going insane amount of power. And the parts you use and the way you set everything up.

 

What's the highest compression you think you can run safely without blowing the motor? I've seen a 12:1 b18c1 motor running 5psi on the track and also seeing this guy Dailying it around town. Tune must be insanely good.

 

Ditto that, the 75 shot I have on my 94 RS is more then enough for what I need, [autocross] and now with just over 225k on the engine and no problems, I am glad I went with nitrous. 94

 

That depends on the fuel...Muckman is running a 13.5:1 compression turbo setup that makes crazy good power (and its not some bullshit 4psi setup either)

 

I was thinking of doing this setup. I have 12:1 right now and wanna run 5-7psi. Right now I make 195whp with a bad tune.

 

you'll need very high octane fuel.

i blew up a stock itr which has 11:1 compression using 7 pounds through a 50 trim and had an excellent tuner try it. engine lived just fine on e85 under boost and took even more pressure without blinking. new owner eventually lifted the head on an 11 second pass but the ringlands held.

you can't even put a full timing curve on a 12:1 motor NA. boosting that is either going to require a lot of octane or you changing out the pistons to something more friendly to boost. in general really tall domes aren't the best pistons to use for boost. flat tops are more or less ideal. thicker ringlands and no hot spotting

 

OP GO WITH NITROUS

Screw turbo or N/A

 

soo much truth to this. its really is about the fuel. the timing about the na motor is true also, my lsvtec was 12:1 and it liked total timing in the mid 20's, certainly a few degrees lower than oem

 

I was just curious cause I've always NA. My build so far from the head is a GSR head with..... skunk 2 springs and retainers for hi rpm Type R cams type R water pump RC 310 injectors bloc k manifold gsr stock throttle body.. for the bottom and is a GSR block boarded to 82mm ( millimeter) cp piston polished crank all new seals GS. I need a new tune but from what I named I think I should atleast 200whp high comp after a good tune. I'm at 195whp now