Turbo Saleen S281

[Saleen S281]

I have had my car for a bit over a year now and absolutely love it, but I'm getting used to the power so I need more. The major problem I'm having is deciding in what route to go, my car is not s/c, it has bolt ons and quick enough to beat my wifes SRT8 Charger,my brother's new Camaro SS 6spd, stock teminator cobras,Roush S3,etc... I went and test drive a 10 GT500 to see how that engine/6spd felt, and honestly,i was disappointed, my car feels alot more responsive and quicker, I can feel the power when the blower builds boost, and dont get me wrong, I know im not faster than a gt500, I was just expecting more. Maybe its bcs it was bone stock but I was heartbeoken bcs I wanted the 32v with the Hellion Twins and 6spd. I could also go the built 3v route, which would be ligther and an almost direct replacement for mine. I figured, the built 3v and a stock 5.4 would cost about the same,and if I go with the ligther kmember,it would offset some of the weight difference. And of course, the wow factor, lol. For you guys that have this setup, what can you tell me about it? Its mainly going to be a street car, see some time at the strip and Texas mile,etc
Thanks in advance
06 S281 5spd
"Nemesis"

 

[95ragtop]

So you don't have a power adder, but you want a built motor and are trying to decide between a built 3v and doing a 5.4 4V swap?

 

[Bobby]

boss 323 stroker and turbo

 

[one eyed willy]

if you go all out:

turbo 3v, built engine and a real nice turbo/kit your looking at $10k easy (not including if you do a 6 speed )! will get you in the 550-700hp range just depending on how high you turn up the boost. its a real bitch to maintain and will keep you always tweaking and working on things......



a 5.4 swap will cost you about the same as a real nice turbo swap. with the 5.4 swap all you need is $1500 or so to bump it up to 550hp with just a tune,intake and pulley. pretty much install it and forget about it, have fun driving it and dont have to worry about breaking anything.......and you get a 6 speed WITH that swap.


so it really depends on how much you want to spend and what hp you think will make you happy.......

i can tell you that even at 550hp you will end up wanting more, eventually you get pretty used to any amount of hp.....

i had a built 3v, (before the oil pump broke) and was 551 to the rear wheels, im currently rebuilding for my second time now......IF i could re-do things i would have gone 5.4 and T/I/P and been done.......just cause you build up a 3v to be tough.....dont mean it wont break!

just speaking from personal experiance and my opinion only.....ive got a TON of cash wrapped up into my 3v turbo.......

 

[stkjock]

not tech, moved to chat. please review our posting rules.

 

[Kidd]

How reliable would a stock displacement 3v with forged internals and a good turbo kit be?

 

[b00stedgt]

reliable and forced induction do not go well together lol

 

[JoshK]

Reliable, Cheap, Fast

Pick two and only two.

 

[2006torquefreak]

if you go all out:

turbo 3v, built engine and a real nice turbo/kit your looking at $10k easy (not including if you do a 6 speed )! will get you in the 550-700hp range just depending on how high you turn up the boost. its a real bitch to maintain and will keep you always tweaking and working on things......



a 5.4 swap will cost you about the same as a real nice turbo swap. with the 5.4 swap all you need is $1500 or so to bump it up to 550hp with just a tune,intake and pulley. pretty much install it and forget about it, have fun driving it and dont have to worry about breaking anything.......and you get a 6 speed WITH that swap.


so it really depends on how much you want to spend and what hp you think will make you happy.......

i can tell you that even at 550hp you will end up wanting more, eventually you get pretty used to any amount of hp.....

i had a built 3v, (before the oil pump broke) and was 551 to the rear wheels, im currently rebuilding for my second time now......IF i could re-do things i would have gone 5.4 and T/I/P and been done.......just cause you build up a 3v to be tough.....dont mean it wont break!

just speaking from personal experiance and my opinion only.....ive got a TON of cash wrapped up into my 3v turbo.......

+1. I felt your pain to an extent. I just got out of it before it went from bad and expensive to worse and a fortune!

 

[one eyed willy]

How reliable would a stock displacement 3v with forged internals and a good turbo kit be?

very reliable if you can withstand turning up the boost......thats the hard part! also will depend if you race it or just drive it on the street. i had 2 years and 14-15k miles on mine before the stock oil pump broke......and to be honest i "should" have put a billit pump in it when i built it.......not something to go cheap on i can tell you that! i was running 10psi on the street and 15 at the track.

 

[Kidd]

very reliable if you can withstand turning up the boost......thats the hard part! also will depend if you race it or just drive it on the street. i had 2 years and 14-15k miles on mine before the stock oil pump broke......and to be honest i "should" have put a billit pump in it when i built it.......not something to go cheap on i can tell you that! i was running 10psi on the street and 15 at the track.

Do you DD your? My car will probably never see the track and I'm not really concerned with ever having more then 500-550 at the wheels. I just want something that can be driven daily and has the nuts to run with a stock vette or equivalent.

 

[one eyed willy]

Do you DD your? My car will probably never see the track and I'm not really concerned with ever having more then 500-550 at the wheels. I just want something that can be driven daily and has the nuts to run with a stock vette or equivalent.

DD , no, but i would drive it around on the weekends with no issues.

 

[Pike2244]

I am definitely looking into a billet pump, I am running the stocker and have read some horror stories...

 

[Saleen S281]

Wow, I didnt get any notifications of any of your replies, just searched my old post and it came up. Thanks for all the advise. I just bought a used GMS kit, 76mm bbturbo, tial wg, spearco fmic, hks bov. So now its a matter of all the rest of the stuff I have to get with it. Gauges, bap, etc. Any advise?

 

[95ragtop]

Don't skimp on fuel, 39s and gt500 pump or lightblades fuel upgrades. And a good tune.

 

[Saleen S281]

You're the second person who recomended lightblades fuel upgrades, how does it work? Whats involved and how does it compare to bap and gt500 pumps? Thanks!

 

[Saleen S281]

Ok, 8 months later, I'm just about ready to do the install. My wife had back surgery and took a while to recover, life and responsabilities happened, lol. Here's my current list.
GMS Turbo kit
S&H Performance Walbro 400lph fuel pump/wire upgrade
Ba5k mafs
Brisk 1 step colder plugs
Steeda CMDP
McLeod RST/Spec Steel fw
Hurst shifter
3.73 Stock gears
Saleen UDP/Suspension/exhaust
39# injectors

So the last thing is gauges, and I like Prosport Halo gauges and the SOS triple gauge pod. My problem is deciding which gauges to get, I know I'll need boost and a wideband. What other gauge should I get? Ive been looking at EGT gauges, seems like a good idea to keep tabs of that, but oil and fuel psi are important too. Last thing is the cats, Ive been told to either replace them with straight pipes or gut them bcs they are known to clog and widow the motor.
What do you guys recommend? Anything else I need to think about? Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike K]

I would do fuel psi and ditch the cats entirely.

 

[Saleen S281]

That was my original choice, I started looking into the egt and started to take that into consideration. Thanks!

 

[Saleen S281]

On the cats, if I were to go with a straight pipe, and get tuned that way, and I needed to put the catted pipes in it to pass inspection, would the car run ok or will it need a re-tune? Id like to just replace them, but will it sound like dog shit w/o the cats?