just curious if anyone here has gotten serious power from their Z here. i like the drivability of the Z but am getting power hungry with it. the car would be very impressive with 6-700 hp.
i am no stanger to building the hell out of motors but it has been small block chevs to this point. i have one 450hp vette convert and a 600hp n/a with a 150 shot vette coupe that are both street driven and have very good manners (untill you hit the throttle haha).
i am thinking of building a turbo set up or maybe a blower set up but trying to find out the limits of the stock internals. no one i have talked to seems to know. i am definately going to put new lower comp pistons in it (which i still can't see why some people are complaining about detonation when they throw boost at a 10.3 -1 comp motor and expect it not to detonate). i have seen some manufactures making forged pistons and rods for the Z motor but just curious what the crank is. cast, or forged? will the head bolts hold up to 150-175hp per liter. all this stuff is easy to research on sbc's but not much on this motor yet.
also, what are the weak spots in the drivetrain. will the trans explode if the car hooks up, or start snapping u-joints. i'm just curious to see what some others have found to be the weak spots in the engine and drive train so i can put together some sort of parts list to make this happen.
thanks for any input.

 

yes you could get 6-700 hp from a Z but you would nead a built engine wich would involve new forged 8:1 compression pistons, forged rods and you will nead to sleve the block. then you can slap on a tt kit turn up the boost to i dont know 17 psi then you would be making that kind of power. you will have to redo the whole fuel system but its posible.

from what i have herd the crank and tranny are pritty strong but know body knows how much thay will take. i wouldent want to be the one to find out.

the whole thing is probly going to cost you 20k to 25k parts and labor.

 

About 15 people on this site are currently in the process of rebuilding their engines for roughly ~550whp.

For that type of power, you are definitely going to want a turbo kit. The GReddy TT kit (~$5800) is great for big boosters; its turbos are at optimal efficiency around ~20 psi and its intercooler is awesome too. I would also recommend the APS TT kit coming out at the end of this month (~$7900); though it is more expensive, it is extremely well engineered. Installation, which tends to be a hassle with the GReddy kit, will most probably be trouble free. All the components are superb; the turbos and the manifolds are superior to those on the GReddy kit. It comes with a fuel system, but for ~650hp you would need to upgrade certain components.

The irritatingly weak OEM rods are only good for ~420whp. The pistons are marginally better. You will need to get forged versions of both, and you may want to get sleeves just to be extra safe.

8.5 / 1 and 9.0 / 1 seem to be popular choices.

The crank is forged, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

My car has made serious power........honestly

Check out the sig.

 

would be curious to see the motor build up on yours. how many miles do you have on it?
i'm not really into buying a kit, as i can do the math and engineering myself, and fab too.
are you still running a stock bottom end? hope you aren't with those numbers. what psi are you running to get that at the rear tires?
whaty comp ratio are you running, and what fuel management system? are you running larger fuel injectors or running extras off the fuel management system
do you have a pyrometer on the exhaust? how many cylinders are you gauging it off of, and which ones? what cylinder temp are you running?
if you can answer some of those questions i will take your advise serious.

 

For 20k you could do an RB26 swap and make way more power. Plus there are way more parts available for the RB

 

Sleeving the block is not necessary at the power levels he is looking at.

 

True , but if you close the deck either AEBs or DArton you probably could throw that 150shot in on top of the boost

 

Your estimate might be bit too high

Realistically, here is what you'll need to run 600-800whp.

1) Greddy TT kit ($5500)...add about (add $1000 for guages, BOV..etc.)
2) Upgraded fuel system: New rails, return lines, 750cc injectors, new pump. $1700
3) TS Reflash $500..use eManage to fine tune and scale injectors
4) Forged Rods and Pistons.....22 people on the boards went with Pauter forged rods and Arias forged pistons. Price was about $1700...but normal price is probably $2000-$2300
5) Engine rebuilding, assembly, porting, cams, etc..etc..misc engine labor costs. $5000
6) Sleeving the block $1000

So rough guess is about $17000 start to finish.

Of course, then you could add a clutch, and bunch of other stuff if you felt like it.

 

Arguably..not..but anything above 600whp....we are talking nearly 800 crank HP...on a car designed for 287 crank HP!! I think it's too risky, especially given our open deck design.

I would recommend it. I just don't want anyone getting lulled into a sense of complacency becuase people are running Z's in the 550-650 range without sleeving. Metal will fatigue over time, and its entirely possible that these engines will last a long time without sleeveing...but maybe not. A dyno number is one thing...but building an engine that last for 75-100Kmiles is something else. Just trying to help....I havent decided to sleeve or not..but I am leaning towards sleeving...for an added layer of safety.

And no..I wont do a GB on sleeves.

 

sorry OT but... that rwhp stat is amazing... have you done any 1/4 mile runs?

 

You should also talk or IM phunk he just ran 487 on stock internals and bottom end with the greddy TT kit. He is also building a fully built motor with a RWHP goal in the 700s

 

Pardon for my ignorace but, in what consists sleevin the block??
And what is doing a GB on sleeves??
Hehehehe, I'm a newbie!
THANKS

 

I got quoted 20,000 for a RB26DETT swap w/ a freshly rebuilt engine, full accessories, and 600 rwhp.

 

When you sleeve a block, you eseentially insert a metal cylinder of cast iron that will surround the cylinder. If you look at the stock VQ block, you'd see a sleeve or iron that makes up the cylinder, but there is a space between the sleeve and the rest of the block for coolant to flow through. This is called an open deck design, and with enough pressure, those cylinder walls can start to vacillatate or walk..and that is bad. A re-sleeved block, with a closed deck design is incredibly strong, and capable of withstanding enormous cylinder pressure.

And GB is a Group-Buy. Group Buys means we all get together and place one big order for stuff...and can get really good prices. I did this on Pistons, Rods, and studs, and soon...injectors. I was just saying that a GB on sleeves is probably not feasible, due to the logistics of getting blocks over to Darton.

 

I'm not a big fan of the RB swap on the Z, particularly becuase of the extra weight involved. Also, you'll give up most of the creature comforts of your car...power windows, AC, guages, ABS, Traction Control, and the Z'ness of it...for lack of a better term. Also, the one swap I saw looked like a total Frankenstein hack job...not pretty.

If you already have a TT kit, then taking it to the next level is much less than $10,000. Pistons, Rods, and Fuel will get you close to 600whp for around $6000 including labor charges.

 

overZealous1,
Kudos car was built at SGPracing.com in Texas. I believe the website is sgpracing.com If you click on the link for customers cars, it should tell you everything that they did to his engine. But for the lack of better words, its built.