Engine age and supercharging

[dnos]

Hi all, I'm after some advice from the experts. I recently purchased a VYSSII ute from a single owner with 225,000kms on the clock.

Car runs well, has dyno sheet to show 230rwkw, has cold air, exhaust, tune, all the standard changes.

I'm toying with the idea of getting it supercharged. I have ready many many posts on here regarding various configurations, however I like the sound of the vortech / 9psi / cooler setup, although my concern is the engines age and the longevity after supercharging.

The questions I have are:

- should I have any internal work done on the motor first to strengthen and/or check for wear and tear before supercharging, especially given the number of k's its done?

- if I do get it internally checked, is it worth lowering the comp of the pistons incase I get bored of 9psi and want 15psi? (hard question :))

- how many km's can one expect from a blown cooled 9si vortech based ls1 setup before things start to break, any experiences out there?

I'm really not after masses of power, around 300-320rwkw would be plenty, good longevity and streetability.

Thanks team

(first time poster, long time reader :))

[MR57SS]

Changing valve springs would be recommended to be sure they will hold up

[dnos]

Changing valve springs would be recommended to be sure they will hold up

Cool thanks for the tip, looks like you can get a pretty decent valve spring set from crow cams for about $700.

[Girvo]

230kw doesn't seem like much for a bigger breathing, tuned ls1. My VX Clubsport makes 263rwkw, and all I have is an OTR, SureFlo exhaust and Oztrack tune. With a cam and internals, you should see well over 300kw. Maybe get your tune done elsewhere, or faultfind through the block and drivetrain

[dnos]

230kw doesn't seem like much for a bigger breathing, tuned ls1. My VX Clubsport makes 263rwkw, and all I have is an OTR, SureFlo exhaust and Oztrack tune. With a cam and internals, you should see well over 300kw. Maybe get your tune done elsewhere, or faultfind through the block and drivetrain

hmm that's interesting, gee thats +30kw on my ute and it sounds like very similar upgrades thanks for the tip Girvo. Is your clubby auto or manual? My ute is auto.

[blackvussii]

230kw doesn't seem like much for a bigger breathing, tuned ls1. My VX Clubsport makes 263rwkw, and all I have is an OTR, SureFlo exhaust and Oztrack tune. With a cam and internals, you should see well over 300kw. Maybe get your tune done elsewhere, or faultfind through the block and drivetrain
Have you run it the strip? Thats pretty high for a tune only ls1. Mine made 265rwkw with ls2 heads and baby cam.

[shaness8]

Nothing wrong with 230rwkw for a tuned auto, 320rwkw should be achievable on the standard motor with valve springs, wanting to supercharge mine got 150k.

[dnos]

Nothing wrong with 230rwkw for a tuned auto, 320rwkw should be achievable on the standard motor with valve springs, wanting to supercharge mine got 150k.

which type of blower are you thinking of going for?

[calais190]

It's so easy to get carried away with dyno figures. My car has made 241rwkw, 235rwkw and 271rwkw on 3 different dynos. All with exactly the same mods...

Back on topic, there a lot of guys throwing in a big cam on older engined cars. So i don't see how supercharging will be any different. You might want to get things checked while you're at it though - pressure test etc. Changing valve springs and lifters will never hurt so definitely look into that. Being in melbourne you have 300 reputable workshops to choose from, call one that you like up and ask them when you can go in and have a chat. Be honest and tell them you're looking for a reliable, powerful car that is going to be a daily and i'm sure they'll tell you everything you need to know and how much it will all cost.

[shaness8]

which type of blower are you thinking of going for?

I'm going for the Harrop htv1900.

[Tom333]

I'm going for the Harrop htv1900.

good choice!

[blnls1]

My experience so far,
Ls1 first supercharged at 60,000kms running 7psi.

Valve springs and cam installed at 80,000kms and 10psi

Bigger cam and 12psi at 85,000kms

14psi at 90,000kms.

Up around 100,000kms now still going strong. Still made good power last time on HPF's Dyno.

Engine is still pretty much untouched besides cam and valve springs. Has run 10.91@127mph full weight on 235 drag radials.

Don't worry about the kms! If something. Breaks just fix it. All part of the fun!

HTV 1900 here too.

[dnos]

My experience so far,
Ls1 first supercharged at 60,000kms running 7psi.

Valve springs and cam installed at 80,000kms and 10psi

Bigger cam and 12psi at 85,000kms

14psi at 90,000kms.

Up around 100,000kms now still going strong. Still made good power last time on HPF's Dyno.

Engine is still pretty much untouched besides cam and valve springs. Has run 10.91@127mph full weight on 235 drag radials.

Don't worry about the kms! If something. Breaks just fix it. All part of the fun!

HTV 1900 here too.

Very interesting info, thanks for that. Sounds like a sold 40,000kms without any problems. Mate I'm super impressed with running 10.91, what a beast, all without many internal mods.

Do you have intercooling of some description?

[blnls1]

Very interesting info, thanks for that. Sounds like a sold 40,000kms without any problems. Mate I'm super impressed with running 10.91, what a beast, all without many internal mods.

Do you have intercooling of some description?

Just the standard water/air intercooler that is part of the Harrop kit. Due to the supercharger being overdriven a fair bit (probably out of it's efficiency range) intake temps do get pretty high. I have scene around 80 degree's C at the drags on a 28 degree day at heathcote. Doesn't probably help with 2 trans coolers in front of the radiator for the intercooler system.

[blnls1]

It's so easy to get carried away with dyno figures. My car has made 241rwkw, 235rwkw and 271rwkw on 3 different dynos. All with exactly the same mods...

Back on topic, there a lot of guys throwing in a big cam on older engined cars. So i don't see how supercharging will be any different. You might want to get things checked while you're at it though - pressure test etc. Changing valve springs and lifters will never hurt so definitely look into that. Being in melbourne you have 300 reputable workshops to choose from, call one that you like up and ask them when you can go in and have a chat. Be honest and tell them you're looking for a reliable, powerful car that is going to be a daily and i'm sure they'll tell you everything you need to know and how much it will all cost.

I agree, good advice here. Especially about dyno figure's. Who care's! As long as your happy. If you want to know how your car stacks up...... take it to the track and see.

You will need valve spring's.