around the 1st of nxt year im gonna be doin a major upgrade to my N/A 3800 & was wondering what would be best a turbo kit or a L67 top swap with a whipple supercharger??

 

what kind of reliability are you looking to get out of it also what kind of hp / tq number do you want to get out of it?

 

its gotta be reliable its my daily driver & around 350+ hp & tq

 

I would say turbo. It's more expensive (well less expensive than a custom whipple set-up I would imagine) but your gains will be way better, and can constantly get way better.

Just remember to swap for the L26 UIM because you don't want to run a plastic one for turbo.

And then start saving for a transmission.

 

The short answer- if you have to choose between the two, the turbo is the way to go.

The long answer:

I would separate your options into 3 levels- 1.) just a top swap (plus minor bolt ons at most) 2.) turbo or 3.) top swap + whipple

I would do just a top swap if you wanted roughly 300 crank hp, and you want near stock reliability. The top swap is dirt cheap (can we done under $1000 nowadays), and puts you up to an instant 240-250 hp. Add in a bunch of cheap, easy to install bolt ons (ie rockers, pulley, etc)- toss another $500-1000 into it, and you'll have an easy 300 crank horsepower. Plus, none of the components in the powertrain will be overly strained- and you should roughly have stock reliability (especially considering 99.9% of the parts will be OEM).

Next up would be the turbo kit. If you're looking for much more than 300 crank horsepower- the turbo becomes the cheaper and easier route. Plus a turbo kit will take you as far as you can go in 3800 modding. All of the highest horsepower 3800 cars run turbo setups. However, turbo kits are expensive- you're talking usually a minimum of $3k for a new kit, up to $5k if you want a more hardcore setup- plus supporting mods. Also, when you start getting much over 300 crank horsepower, you have to start worrying about your transmission. If you get into the bigger turbo kits, you can easily hit 450-500+ crank horsepower, and you may as well budget a fully built trans for $5k or so as well. Sure you can hit 400+ crank horsepower with a top swap, but it would be far more work, and you quickly hit a point where it is less cost effective.

Lastly, the whipple setup. I can most likely say that you will not run a whipple once you look into what it takes. I'm not trying to say you couldn't do it- but consider there are only maybe 10-15 whipple 3800s, and think how many of them run- maybe 5, 6? No one sells a "whipple" kit, and as far as I know, no one is planning on it. I could give you a list of what you would need to build your own kit- but its pricey, and you will be ordering stuff from multiple vendors. Not to mention, you can't really 'tone down' a whipple setup like you can a turbo. With a turbo, you can adjust the wastegate to slow down the turbo and make even big turbo perform decently on an undermodded engine. With a supercharger, you can only physically go so big or small with pulley sizes. The stock M90 starts running out of steam much below a 2.8" pulley- you're just way overdriving it and cranking out heat. The opposite is true for a whipple, with the stock 4.0" pulley, it pushes a ton of air for an otherwise stock engine (especially if you're planning on doing it on an L36 bottom end). Sure it can be done, but its a waste- IMO you really need heads, a pretty big cam, headers, and an IC before you would even consider a whipple (any less, and you're better off with an M90). And if you did decide to do this anyways- add up that cost in your head first- IC, heads, cam, headers, whipple, top swap parts, built tranny, etc etc- you're talking a setup well over $10k.


Personally, I'd consider another platform (car), especially if you want 350 at the wheels. Its totally doable, but IMO the reliability isn't really going to be there- and if you build it well enough to achieve the reliability, the cost will be pretty high too.

 

h23? where do you even see that at?

 

i think he's got the wrong forum lol.

350 wheel horsepower is a pretty big task non turbo. what i mean by that is its pretty expensive.

i've done quite a few mods to my N/A 3800, including the zzp ss m90 kit, added an IC, rockers, etc....and im hitting 250 to the wheels, i guess that'd be around 300 at the crank. the only plans i have is doing a meth injection kit and dropping 2 or 3 pulley sizes. that should be enough to get me to about 320 to the wheels im HOPING. still, 320 to the wheels is about 370ish at the crank.....thats plenty of power in a 3300 lb car. if you want to start at the HP, go with a GTO lol. personally, i love modding my car. its too much fun not to.

 

Turbo for maximum power and ease of installation.
M90 for good gains, better reliability (less broken drivetrain components), and less cost.

 

Turbo and bullet proof your trans/diff. That's what I'm doing!

 

Turbo Pros:
-Will make tons of power (sky is really the limit).
-Very easy to install.
Turbo Cons:
-You will destroy your transmission and you will need a new one.
-Comparatively expensive.

M90 Pros:
-Cheap to install.
-Car will be reliable as stock with mild combination.
M90 Cons:
-More difficult to install then turbo kit.
-Limited power compared to turbo (think: 250ish for bolt-on combo, 300ish for mild valvetrain/headers/IC combo, 350ish for tiny pulley/big IC/big cam combo).