STS turbo kit...worth it?
 

im considering doing a mild turbo addition to my SS. I'm not looking for maximum boost keep in mind, just a little more "umpf".

Of course the STS is the first consideration. pros? cons?

...also i see "kits" for front mount setups all on ebay, and i assume those are worthless.

Is fabbing up your own kit with truck manifolds possible? i kinda like my Stainless steel LT headers though. lol.

The STS kit is 3995... which i think is reasonable. Only upgrade i think id still need would be a racetronix fuel pump kit and tuning...

The rear mounted turbo is just a bad design in my opinion..
Any little exhaust leak affects the turbo
Ground clearance is horrible and one of the main thigs that hits is the turbo itself
There are too many places in the cold side to leak as well
There is about 60-75 pounds of weight that gets put on one back axhaust hanger
The air filter is in a position that it picks up road dust and debris.
Its ugly

If your budget does not allow for a front mounted turbo then I would suggest going with Nitrous Oxide if you want some major gains..

Sounds like good input from Josh on this one. I've been wanting to hear some real world experience on these setups......have a plan in the recesses of my brain for a 6 cyl Caddy CTS with a turbo.

STS are nice but you want to use stock manifolds without cats with an STS, not long tubes. Holding heat in is the best way to spool a turbo, but long tubes loose heat in the length of tubing. Also by having the turbo as close to the engine as possible it improves spool time dramatically.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/forced...47-newbie.html
just some good info in that post.

ah ok, JS thanks, that does all make very good sense.

it was one of my ADD moment ideas. id love a procharger setup but the 6k price is still holding me off...for now.

And you would def wanna swap you cam for a more boost/N20 friendly one.

exactly, i went with a 03-04 LS6 cam which is great. if i keep car i want to go with a larger boost cam. If the future i'd love to build custom turbo kits affordable but with basics what you would need.

Magnussen? (sp?)

Mtg6486 loves his and he's had it for a while if you want to talk to him. And firebirdcrazy just got his setup.

new jersey doesnt seem like a good place to live if you wanna hang a turbo out back....id be way too paranoid that its gonna get ripped off....ive also heard bad things about the leaks on both sides of the turbos too...js seems to be pretty dead on

well i def have clearance issues already, so that puts it out of the questions already, plus i know i have exhaust leaks around my y pipe still and that was anothe rone of my concerns. so based on JS's stated facts, i will not be getting a rear mount turbo setup.

and like i said before, id like to go supercharged, and id like to stay away from vortech and powerdyne. I would really LOVE to do a whipple style/roots supercharger that replaces the intake but apparently nothing will clear the cowl of the f-bodies. If there is a kit that does such, PLEASE point me in the right direction.

Since your not looking for big power gains you should be able to find a used P1 fairly cheap.

if i can find an LSx based whipple style for a good price, ill look into cowl modifications....

Here you go Paul. Scroll down after the page loads. I think it uses spacers and minor cutting to the cowl which really isn't too big of a deal.

MTI Racing magnacharger F-body

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there's a used sts kit for sale on tech(in delaware) for $2k, just throwin it out there

whats wrong with Vortech? Powerdyne is junk, i know that...but Vortech is one of the better centrifugal blowers out there imo

that kentucky site is good, but the kit after the options id choose comes to at least 5500... thats procharger price range, lol.

Matt, i dunno, just a personal preference against vortech and some of their earlier designs, plus like every fox body has one. lol


Jeff, i REALLY like that MTI setup, but not for a price of 6,000

I know, the price is a bit too much. There is a Corvette setup on Ebay right now and it's basically that with a different TB adapter. You can get a better angled TB adapter from Lingenfelter I think. The brand new Corvette kit costs $5500-6500 so the $6000 for the F-body falls in range. But it's too high priced IMO.

For the price tag on the rear mount... why don't you just pay for a shop to weld you up a kit?

I mean the big part is the turbo, and if you can score one for cheap you are ahead of the game. Ebay cold side kit, figure out an oil return system, a nicer IC, and then have the shop weld up your exhaust and make a good hanger for the turbo.

Believe theres some guy on tech selling a sts w/ not many miles at all in the eastern section...believe hes from Dover DE.

http://www.supermotors.net/articles/sts-a1-1.php

I mean, just looking at that... I can't see that being very hard at all to recreate.

read up^^^





in the research ive done on them i saw that a lot of people were using catch cans, electric fuel pumps and the like to make their own self contained oiling system that they mount in the trunk of the car for the rear mount.

That is what I would do, separate cooler, lines, pump and tank. I'd rather lose the turbo than the turbo and engine.

Yea im at work dont have time to read through everybodys posts.