Kenne-bell vs. head swap

Nopantz · Jun 5, 2004

OKay guys....Im only a junior in high school but i worked since im 14 and bought a 96 gt convertible and now. i plan to work all summer again so i can do some serious mods.....my questoin is should i do the PI heads/intake swap or go right for the Kenne-bell and worry about a head swap later when i have enough money to also build a bullet short block... Im sick of these kids in these eclipses and integras who think there hott stuff...

slvrbullIT · Jun 5, 2004

CAMAROEATER01 said:
OKay guys....Im only a junior in high school but i worked since im 14 and bought a 96 gt convertible and now. i plan to work all summer again so i can do some serious mods.....my questoin is should i do the PI heads/intake swap or go right for the Kenne-bell and worry about a head swap later when i have enough money to also build a bullet short block... Im sick of these kids in these eclipses and integras who think there hott stuff...

if you have the money, you should get the kenne bell blower. i got the headswap and love it. it all depends on how much money you want to spend.

FallenPhoenix · Jun 5, 2004

Well, I'm of the opinion that if you can't afford to replace what breaks, don't do forced induction. It's your call but I'd go with the headswap in your place.

Nopantz · Jun 6, 2004

I understand what u mean by dont replace what breaks but I think I'll be okay my 96 has 38,000 miles on it and i would only run 9psi.....

kurst · Jun 6, 2004

Do the headswap and then get a 100 shot.

Nopantz · Jun 6, 2004

Kurst u think that would be cheaper and put me runnin about equal to what i would with juss a kb 9psi kit?

68 & 00 GT · Jun 6, 2004

kinda a good question.

Have you seen the gains of a KB on a non PI headed 4.6 ? I'm quite sure the KB in this appication would give more RWHP than the headswap (also would have to worry about a PI intake) but on down the road you may be limited by your heads. Of course when the day comes if you ever plan to build your engine w/ forged parts you could have some PI heads handy then and do it at the same time for no extra instal / labor cost since the engine would already be pulled, and be disassembled. And yes adding forced induction on a stock engine is kinda a gamble if you run it safely, and conservatively you should be OK. On a PI engine anyway not sure about non PI. I'm running 10 #'s of boost on a stock 103K mile PI engine, but I kept my timing stock to keep it all a bit safer, and my car runs like new -

Just depends on what you plan to do w/ it in the end, but Id say get the blower ! Plan way ahead to avoid doing thing twice.

kurst · Jun 6, 2004

CAMAROEATER01 said:
Kurst u think that would be cheaper and put me runnin about equal to what i would with juss a kb 9psi kit?

Yes,

1. Headswap= roughly $2000 + Nitrous $750 = $2750 round to $3000 installed, tuned, etc...

2. Kenne Bell kit= $3800 non intercooled, $4800 intercooled. not installed.

The nitrous will put down probably slightly better horsepower numbers and definately better torque numbers.

Lostcause · Jun 10, 2004

If you put a kennebell blower on your motor with non pi heads,make sure the same blower will fit your car when you put th pi heads on.I'm not sure if they have different blowers for non pi to pi motors.You may want to contact kennebell and ask their opinion and see you will have any problem blower going from a non pi head to a pi head.

DBMSTNG · Jun 10, 2004

i say do neither!

get a 99-00 GT engine and swap the entire engine. that way you have low compression (9.0:1) so you can boost later. doing the headswap will result in 10.5:1 compression which is not blower friendly.

TARZAN · Jun 10, 2004

I'd say do the head swap now. that will give you a nice lil pick up in power, and later when you're ready, you'll have a better basis for a blower

-Will

Nopantz · Jun 10, 2004

I think for now I'm juss gonna go with the Headswap and some juice..and save up for a new short block that will be able to handle the boost with the PI Heads. Also I just sent an e-mail to Kenne-Bell asking for dyno results of the 9psi kit on Non-PI Head cars..When I get a reply I'll let u guys know wat they said. I'm assuming the Horsepower and Torque will be lower then on 99-up GTs but I wonder how much lower.

mrvax · Jun 10, 2004

CAMAROEATER01 said:
I think for now I'm juss gonna go with the Headswap and some juice..and save up for a new short block that will be able to handle the boost with the PI Heads. Also I just sent an e-mail to Kenne-Bell asking for dyno results of the 9psi kit on Non-PI Head cars..When I get a reply I'll let u guys know wat they said. I'm assuming the Horsepower and Torque will be lower then on 99-up GTs but I wonder how much lower.

That would be very interesting. The basic Vortec kit was advertised to put down about 280rwhp. Start a new thread when you get the results.

Dan_Soprano · Jun 10, 2004

CAMAROEATER01 said:
I think for now I'm juss gonna go with the Headswap and some juice..and save up for a new short block that will be able to handle the boost with the PI Heads. Also I just sent an e-mail to Kenne-Bell asking for dyno results of the 9psi kit on Non-PI Head cars..When I get a reply I'll let u guys know wat they said. I'm assuming the Horsepower and Torque will be lower then on 99-up GTs but I wonder how much lower.

I don't think that KB offers an intercooled kit for the 96-98. I think that it's just a base 6psi kit. I may be wrong though.

Nopantz · Jun 10, 2004

they offer a 9psi kit for 96-98gts....Its on there pricelist

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