Thread: Building an engine

He's taking out his N/A and going to swap in his S/C engine. The point of this thread is what he should do to the engine before it goes in.

I say that since your putting it in before the built transmission, then I would hold off on rockers or cam until you put in the trans. The IC will put plenty of power for a stock trans on a DD. When You put in the trans, it will be easy to install the cam. Rockers can be installed whether the motor is in or out. So you could see what power the your getting with the IC and see if you want to put rockers on. In the end though, a cam will be better for power.

I drove a XP'd car on the daily. I'd daily my Thrasher cammed car if I could.

Your all a bunch of nancy's.

Originally Posted by EJOUIE

He's taking out his N/A and going to swap in his S/C engine. The point of this thread is what he should do to the engine before it goes in.

I say that since your putting it in before the built transmission, then I would hold off on rockers or cam until you put in the trans. The IC will put plenty of power for a stock trans on a DD. When You put in the trans, it will be easy to install the cam. Rockers can be installed whether the motor is in or out. So you could see what power the your getting with the IC and see if you want to put rockers on. In the end though, a cam will be better for power.

ok, i will probably do that.

Originally Posted by Bedwards

A turbo won't cost $4000. Do a little snooping around, I'm sure you could find a used turbo kit for cheap. The Z3 kit on ZZP isn't too bad of a price either. With all the money I spent going supercharged, I wish I just went turbo been done with it.

I don't know if this is dumb, but wouldn't a turbo cook an engine faster than a supercharger? wouldn't i have to get, turbo powerlogs, hv3, and other things (don't know what else)? My engine does have 140K miles on it, would that be safe/smart(i know, modding is never safe)? i love turbos, i think they are the coolest things ever, so if i should go that route, just say so.
Thanks for the help guys

So the real question is, which is cheaper, and better: Turbo a 140K engine OR Do the original L32 Build?
Sorry i know this is the supercharged forum.

Turbo is just a more efficient power adder, the downfall becomes the owner. It's easy to turn up the boost and you just want to be more aware of what the car is doing, meaning get a aeroforce guage or a scanner and learn what to look for. A basic turbo kit on a completely stock motor is fine. I would recommend getting a wideband, 42.5# injectors and fuel pump rewire, a Z3 kit and keep the boost at the wastegate setting. If you want the trans to last, keep that in mind and don't beat it during shifts. Once you have a built trans you should have built up enough knowledge on what to do next to get some more power. It is very easy to go 12's without a cam on a turbo setup.

if it hasnt been discussed yet, take that 3A racing exhaust off and put stock cat back on, 3A racing mufflers are for tools.....

Originally Posted by bluegtp91

I drove a XP'd car on the daily. I'd daily my Thrasher cammed car if I could.

Your all a bunch of nancy's.

he preaches like a mad priest yo. daily driving RACE cars is ftw.

3A racing are ricer mufflers, and not even decent ones, the cheapest parts store ricer muffler you can get....All its doing is making your car sound like ass....and if you think those ricer mufflers are making your car sound "good".....well, im not even going to go there....

Originally Posted by neel2008

3A racing are ricer mufflers, and not even decent ones, the cheapest parts store ricer muffler you can get....All its doing is making your car sound like ass....and if you think those ricer mufflers are making your car sound "good".....well, im not even going to go there....

Mine sound like a deep rumble of a V8, nothing like any of the fart cans, cherry bombs, racer exhaust, ect. My dad, stepdad, and step brother loved the sound, and even said they sound like a V8. I guess they cost like $500+, its a dual muffler system.

Im sorry, a stock 3.8 will not "have the deep rumble of a v8" esp when you get on the gas, xp cammed at idle, yes maybe it will kinda, but not a stock 3.8 with ricer mufflers....

For a turbo you would need:
~$2750 for the z3 kit for a L32 on an 04
~240 WHP

For the IC Gen V:
plugs $50
Headers $200
IC $1000
Injectors $270
Tune $150
Pulley $150

Total : ~$1820
~280 WHP

For your goal of 350 WHP I would recommend a cam'd and IC gen V.

Originally Posted by honda237

it was the best reference i could come up with, but to each his own, and you haven't heard them, so you wouldn't know.


The turbo would be for my L26.

Then take off $50 (The cost of the m90 block off plate).

That number was for just the basic kit. No other mods.

ZZP doesn't have any rear plogs in stock and who knows when they will return.

Front and rear plog would be $350ish.
Hv3 is $200.

Cam would be about the same price for either setup. So for a basic cam it would be around $450.

350 WHP I believe is around the point where a turbo begins to be cheaper than an m90 setup. Another point is that traction would be a major issue for DD tires. More then likely your tires will be a weak link and most of the turbo's hp benefits go to waste.

The other slightly different option is to topswap the L26. Gen V with high compression will be even easier to hit the whp goal. I have an L36 and my wishlist/build would be:

Gen V topswap
VS cam
Built TEP transmission
W body store IC
Ported LIM
SD headers
HAI
Custom tune
3.0 pulley

Hoping that would get me around 320 WHP. I also live in GA so I have emissions to worry about otherwise I would do an XP cam.

Originally Posted by EJOUIE

For a turbo you would need:
~$2750 for the z3 kit for a L32 on an 04
~240 WHP

For the IC Gen V:
plugs $50
Headers $200
IC $1000
Injectors $270
Tune $150
Pulley $150

Total : ~$1820
~280 WHP

For your goal of 350 WHP I would recommend a cam'd and IC gen V.

240whp on a base turbo kit is very low, I doubt it would actually make less than 275whp, a writeup is available for making your own a/a ic and they come out to about $400 max depending on your choice of heat exchanger, bring the whp above 320+.

You don't absolutely need plogs.



For the IC Gen V:
plugs $50 -20
Headers $200 - $200 + 50 to 100 for band clamps/gaskets etc.
IC $1000 - $800 min. used - $1200+ new (not a lot are selling used genv ic)
Injectors $270 65# inj. are a lil overkill
Tune $150 $150 min. to $200-300 when all said and done
Pulley $150 $70 min.

Total : ~$1820 to $3570 (including L32)
~280 WHP

Add L32 engine or gen V topswap 400-500 min. $1300 max (blower + Lim + tb adapter + gaskets)

The amount of time it takes to install a turbo kit is about 6 hours, probably less with no intercooler. Doing an m90 build takes days/weeks to sometimes even put together or get running right.

Originally Posted by EJOUIE

The other slightly different option is to topswap the L26. Gen V with high compression will be even easier to hit the whp goal. I have an L36 and my wishlist/build would be:

Gen V topswap
VS cam
Built TEP transmission
W body store IC
Ported LIM
SD headers
HAI
Custom tune
3.0 pulley

Hoping that would get me around 320 WHP. I also live in GA so I have emissions to worry about otherwise I would do an XP cam.

That vs cam is very streetable and the powerband on it is great for daily driving, you will be happy with it. It has made similar peak hp numbers as the s1x cam and xp cams, probably due to the m90.