NA or Blown? Limited budget.....

[mklovell]

Ok, I know this has been done but I wanted to get some feedback on what people think. I've got about a $4k budget to work with and have been researching for quite some time now. My installer/tuner is ready and waiting to order parts as soon as I can figure out what to do.

As you will see in my mods I've done about every bolt-on you can do.

I was at first looking at going NA with a Cam/Head/spring swap (Rick Anderson N-22, Patriot II, Comp beehive) and after the quote for labor, parts and tuning, will take pretty much all the budget. I also wanted to get a new clutch swapped in while everything was out. (Installer wants to pull motor)

Given that I want to keep the car streetable, the most I can realistically expect NA is 320-340 rwhp and still be able to drive it.

On the other hand, if I went SC and after looking around, I have found a few good deals on either slightly used or extordinary deals of people buying and not installing and wanting to unload their kits. I am leaning torwards the ATI P1SC but have seen some pretty good deals on Vortech V2SQ's and Novi 2000's. In my research I should be able to achieve at least 400rwhp and probably more with my mods.

But in all honesty, you can't beat the sound of a NA cammed car with the lumpy idle and overall agressive sound. There is also merit in hearing that blower whine under the hood for those in the know.

Any ideas would be appreciated and I'm sure I'll get responses from both camps. Being that my car is still relatively new (just out of warranty) either way I go should not be a problem as far as wear, tear and longevity. The car has only 12k miles on it now.

I look forward to reading responses and thanks ahead of time!

ps. If anyone has a good deal they want to get rid of let me know!

 

[BlackenedSVT]

I didn't even read all that, i just went down to your sig and see you have a 2v. If you are serious about power, get blown and be done with it. The 2v is not a strong platform to build a car up N/A. Even with Stage 2 cams and head work, i think you'd be around 320rwhp. I HIGHLY doubt you'd see anywhere near 340rwhp or 340+.

A blower would give better resale on your car too than a cammed/worked N/A GT would.

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

check out modularpowerhouse.com look at the mongoose kit. the money is well spent, who cares what it sounds like when you have 420 horses under the hood. Plus nothing beats the S/C whistle

 

[DocG]

Yep, with the 4.6 2v motor, and a budget like that, blown is the only way to go. Nothing wrong with NA, but I'd say it would cost a lot more to get the same HP with a NA 4.6 2v than a blown 4.6 2v. But you won't have as solid of an engine when you're done either.

On a side note, anyone ever dumped a big block crate engine in one of these cars?

 

[WillDuhhBeast]

Agree with those guys..


You have to go with some kind of forced induction, unless you can spend lots building the engine up.


Cost per horsepower is much more efficent with FI as opposed to N/A builds on our cars.

 

[BlackenedSVT]

Or you can do what I'm doing. Keeping the Car N/A. My goal is 300rwhp with some Stage 2 Cams, tune and maybe some other minor work. Then, when the car hits 100k miles. Out comes the 300rwhp GT engine and in goes a 4v Cobra Motor and then work the balls off of that!

 

[SaleenGT2001]

just get the vortech mongoose kit and you will still have about $500 left to blow on gauges and other fun stuff. S/C will give you WAY more power than heads and cams

 

[Jackie Chan]

blowers are great. i think most people forget there is so much more involved when adding one. maf/injectors/fuel pump/wideband/boost guage/belts. then with a blower you always have a better chance to lose your bottom end.
plan out you mods, plan your budget and then double it

 

[CobraRed_96_GT]

blowers are great. i think most people forget there is so much more involved when adding one. maf/injectors/fuel pump/wideband/boost guage/belts. then with a blower you always have a better chance to lose your bottom end.
plan out you mods, plan your budget and then double it

mongoose kit come with all of that except boost gauge....comes with a tune too, but id recomend one still

 

[Jackie Chan]

mongoose kit come with all of that except boost gauge....comes with a tune too, but id recomend one still

i'd stick with tim's tune over anyones on a 2v. that kit doesnt have a wideband either. something i think everyone should have with a FI car

 

[ADRENLN]

what the wideband? sorry not very good with electronics.

anyway, i would still go with the blower as you will get nowhere near 340rwhp with heads and cams.

i could have 305 rwhp if i got na cams but knew i wanted a blower.

i could gain another 10rwhp fron aftermarket intake = 315rwph.

blower will make 350 min.

 

[Jackie Chan]

widebands monitor your car's a/f ratio and give you real time feed back what your car is doing. so if you are running lean...you know it b4 you fry a piston

 

[helty]

i'd stick with tim's tune over anyones on a 2v. that kit doesnt have a wideband either. something i think everyone should have with a FI car

+1. I'd also go with a Fuel Pressure guage.

Blowers are fun, but so is a cammed/bolt-on/geared 2V. Both pull incredibly hard, and you get some great looks from both the whistle and the lope. Ive been fortunate enough to drive my blown 2V and jason_86s (formerly....RIP) cammed 2V. Both very fun cars!

IF you would decide to go the cammed N/A route, please do yourself a favor and have a 4.6 Modular friendly shop do the install! Just because Earl's Performance down the road has done 500 cam swaps on a 350 TPI doesnt mean he's qualified to swap cams on a 4.6. You're in Ohio, so Id say MD (Cincinatti?) or Kauffmans in PA would be two reputable shops within driving distance.

 

[Jackie Chan]

definitely good stuff. a safely tuned blower car is not much faster than a h/c car ... the power might be there, but in the real world power doesnt always win races

 

[mklovell]

Thanks for the input. I could get the best of both worlds by putting in a couple of SC Cams with the blower but the budget won't allow it. I believe I am going to go the blower route. I should get it into the shop mid november and will post what was installed and the difference it made.

I'm probably going to go with a P1SC since I like the self contained oiling system. From what I'm reading it runs much cooler than the other units.

Thanks!

 

[Jackie Chan]

vortech or novi 2k