just joined, this is the first corvette forum i have joined since i drove off the showroom floor. i have a 2003 50th edition with 8,000 miles. corsa indy exhaust. k&n air intake and chromed out the engine. ill be searching for alot of info on the vortec super charger. i would be very interested in the feedback, this might be the year.

 

Welcome. You have a nice car. The Vortech is a centrifugal supercharger similar to the Procharger and Paxtom units. Any of them are fairly straightforward to install and produce a good amount of additional power in the top end but not a lot of low end torque addition (by contrast, a screw-type supercharger like a Magnusen produces more low end torque but a little less top end HP). Each manufacturer makes their SC in various sizes (capacities to feed various size engines, etc.) and offers options (intercoolers, etc.). They also offer complete kits with everything you need made for a specific model, such as your car, that include: the SC, all the gaskets and belts and new pulleys, etc., new fuel injectors if you need to upgrade those, and usually, a re-programming kit: will need to have a very serious "tune" - testing and re-programming of the engine control computer, after having the SC installed, or the car will not be particularly driveable, and perhaps burn the piston tops or something else really bad.

 

Welcome to the forum. If you get a chance to stop by your local bookstore you need to pick-up the new issue of Vette Magazine (May 2006, Volume 30 No. 5) it will be displayed on newsstands until 4/4/06. They did an article of the Vortech bolt-on kit by A&A Corvette Performance located in Oxnard, CA. Here are a few pieces from the article:

"The biggest change involved the mounting point for the centrifugal supercharger. Vortech's original design put it on the left (driver) side of the engine, which meant the alternator and ABS box had to be relocated to make room for the case. By switching the blower position to the right side of the engine, A&A eliminated any accessory relocation, which streamlined the installation process considerably."

"Using the streetable S-Trim V-1 supercharger pushing about 7 psi, the A&A Vortech system added 188.5 hp and more than 110 lb-ft of torque to this otherwise bone-stock Z06......the biggest change to the horsepower delivery takes place after the LS6 spins through 3,000 rpm. That means the car is docile when you're puttering around town, but it'll pin you to your seat when you mash the gas pedal."

"The complete A&A Vortech kit, including a new intake system, the intercooler, 42-pound fuel injectors, and a bigger fuel pump, retails for $5,500. If you want A&A to undertake the installation, bump up the price to $8,500, and that includes every last nut and bolt, new spark plugs, and fresh oil."

I'll let you pick-up the magazine to read the rest, but I was pretty impressed with the results. Also keep in mind that they tested the system on an engine dyno so those hp and torque number are not at the rear wheels.

 

yes i did read that article, from what i remember thier kit had and oil line to the pan and a discharge vent for back pressure, the stock vortech system did not it was water cooled, do you think the a&a upgraded system is more benificial than the stock vortech system, i would go with a supercharger on top but do not want to switch out the hood. i would like to keep it as stock looking as possible.

 

A water-cooled system will give you more boost and power, but a point to consider is just how much stress you want to put on the stock engine. I would recommend just a standard Vortech kit, if you want the self oiling with the tube, or Procharger if you want a self oiling one. Wither one will give you 6 lbs which is all I recommend.

You have to consider the durability of the engine. The LS1, 6, and 2 will take a good deal of additional power with no problems, particularly if you do not abuse them, but I have seen owners literally blow the motor apart with too much boost. I have never seen problems with up to 6 lbs or boost on stock LS blocks, which will provide about 150 HP and 100 ft lbs more but not give you reason to worry. That Vette magazine article is pushing right at the limit, 7 lbs and about 535 RW HP, of what you can expect the stock bottom end to take for any length of time -- and frankly I've seen less (7 lbs and 515 HP from a SC) blow apart an engine that was pushed hard by a rather inexperience driver. 8 lbs, and you guarrantee yourself a very short engine life unless you rebuild the bottom end.

 

How much can the block itself handle? Even if you install all forged pistons and crank do you need to switch to a iron block or can the stock aluminum block handle a lot of power?

 

That is a bit debatable and you will get different opinions. I think the stock aluminum block is good for 600+HP (RW) if you use really premium components: I have Crower crank and rods and custom ultra lite CP pistons in my C5R and they were among the most expensive available because they were super lite, and I had them further machined and precision balanced. All that keeps stress low and the alum engine can take a lot. (By the way, the C5R and the LS7 based on it are derivatives of the LS block but have strengthed webs and main bearing caps, but then, I was going for 800-900 capable).

Many people use Eagle or other very strong, but heavy rotating assemblies: good and inexpensive, but heavy. For that, or if you want to really good bit with boost or nitrous, you need the iron block, as we did in the Camaro.

the real power limit is the heads, which do not have enough head bolts to take really heft HP (1000+)

 

As of right now my plan is somewhere between 500-550 RWHP. As of right now I can't imagine wanting to go above that, but like most people I may get there and after a while crave even more power (but I guess at that point its time to buy a C6 Z06). Speaking of that I was looking at the LS7 and its priced a little under $15K, might be better off just dropping that in my car (although I know its now 500 RWHP, it does have a lot of possibilties).

 

Based on my experience, I think the limit for how much power is reasonable in a C5 or C6 is about 500-600. I have a bit more than that now, and could get a lot more with higher boost (the engine was built so I could dial it up further), but I am actually thinking of backing down to about 600 HP. You can use more on the track but not on the street, and 550 or so is about the limit that you can really control well with only 2-wheel drive. Any more, and I think you have to have full time four wheel drive, both to get that much power to the ground, and to distributie in to both ends of the car so the dynamics don't shift so much as you get on and off the power.