So I’m piecing together some parts for my 99 rcsb 5.3. I ordered a tsp stage 3 high lift cam, 50# injectors for now, aeromotive 340lph fuel pump. I’m getting a truetrac with 3.73 gears, electric fan conversion and a performabuilt 4l60e. I have gone back and forth about root style superchargers, centrifugal sc and turbos. I’m looking for somewhere in the ball park of 5-600 rwhp. I haven’t decided on the exhaust yet because can’t decide which route to take with FI. Reading about turbos I need to match the turbo to the other mods and I don’t know enough about turbos to do that so here I am. With the research I have done I can tell I’ll need to go to 60# injectors more than likely and I would like to hear from some of you guys that know more about FI as to what works for you with similar setups and what you would recommend to better complement the parts I have chosen. I just don’t want to spend 5-6k on a supercharger and wish I had gone turbo or vise versa.

 

Also looking at a circle d 3000-3200 converter just depends on how it runs when I intsall the cam

 

Plan now, save later.

 

Which 5.3? They aren't all capable of handling boost without mods.

 

Each method of Forced Induction has it's own demons and pleasures.

Roots = Typically when spun hard becomes a heat sink and requires additional capacity and components to try and keep that intercooler brick inside the charger cool. Keep that in check and makes for a real fun time. Torque is pretty much off idle and will make for a tire fryer especially in the 5-600whp range that you are looking for. TVS1900 or LSA charger will get you there and would match the displacement better than a 2300 (TVS) or 2.9L (Whipple).

Centri - Linear horsepower/tq curve. So are you running around at 4,5,6000rpm on the streets where those things really shine? You can match something like a D1-SC or D1X that would probably bring the power curve in sooner. Running a wastegate or a restrictor plate (pre-charger and not Nascar related lol) will allow you to spin the charger faster while either venting or restricting PSI that allows the curve to be a bit stronger.

Turbo - Pick the right turbo for the displacement it can act similar to a roots down low and pull like a centri up top and more. For simplicity reasons pick Trick Turbo or KB racing and be done with it as they are tried and true kits and there is pages of information here on both.

Be careful on converter, what is good for a Roots style would not be for a Centri setup.

60# injectors on 93 with meth injection should get you in the 5-600whp area.

The 4L60 may not be happy with the Roots style as opposed to Centri or turbo, some/few have had success, others just go the 80E route and don't look back.

You can get opinions, good advice, and bad advice all day long, but at the end of the day you need to figure out what you want this truck to be for you.

 

damn good explanation! Thank you. On the turbos, what about converters and gearing? I read where guys are running 4.xx with no complaints but others go back to 3.xx. It’s not going to be a strip truck, more of a weekend ride and occasion long drive (2-3hrs). That’s why I chose to go with 3.73. I only run 93 in the truck so I’ll look into meth. I guess you could say my goal for now is 500rwhp but I would like for the system I choose to allow growth.

 

I'm not saying my experience is typical in any respect; but I have thousands of miles on a P1: 4.10: 33s and 4L60 combo

My truck weighs 5920 "empty", and just recently lost 4th gear (albeit without the blower). The 4L60 is getting replaced with a worked 6L80

My new build is an 8rib drive, LSA lower, machines impeller and a waste gate to make it snappier with a stock converter (I still tow a lot)

I have explored and even bought/sold several different power adders and I keep sticking with the Procharger's because of cost of admission. My entire setup has me in the hole ~2800. That's pretty good for a a bolt on 250hp+ (stock dyno was 204, boosted was 477)

 

Right now I’m leaning towards a 3:73 gear myself and wanting at minimum 28 or 29.5” tire with my twin turbo setup. Converter wise I have a triple Circle D that I think will need to be stalled down (34-3600). Pretty sure that will be a weeee bit too hot in the 60’ area with my setup.

Arthursc2, I definitely agree the centri route can be a less expensive getting into for sure and still very much stout/enjoyable and dare I say reliable. My TBSS with the Novi was quite strong even down low and ran mid 10’s on a SBE. I was right around 13-14psi and had room to go before I built the LSNext/388/YSI-B. Which was the point it was polar opposite of cost effective lol.

 

arthur how are you going to do the 6l80 in place of the 4l60? What's the power trade off in terms of loss/gain to the rw? Gen 3 or Gen 4?


Edit: for some reason was thinking this was gen 3 to gen 4 i am dumb

 

I am using the Zero Gravity controller and swap kit. I will make a thread about it when the time comes, finishing my C5 first so I can have my garage stall back

Its in an 02 Tahoe. I have a bad *** tuner and Im a bad *** fab guy, I expect nothing but success