Looking to get into boost very soon (2-3 months). This will not be my first time with boost, my old 427 Z28 was Procharged (never reached full potential), but it will be my first time with a turbo.

Goals:
500-600rwhp
Daily driver
Reliable
Decent fuel economy when cruising
Ability to remove kit easily for smog
Quick spool-up for usable power at lower RPMs
No plans drag racing
No plans for towing/hauling

Currently:
Truck: 2001 Silverado LS 5.3L 2wd, 100k miles
Engine: LS1 cam 202/210 0.496/0.496 116 LSA, ported oil pump, 7.350 pushrods, LS7 lifters, LS2 timing set, 4" CAI
Other: LS1 e-fans, Powerbond pulley, 0/2 drop, stock wheels, misc appearance things

Future:
Turbo kit: KB (or other) single front-mount intercooled kit
Turbo: ???
Wastegate: ???
BOV: ???
Engine: Different cam? Hoping to not mess with it.
Fuel: Walbro 255 in-tank, stock wiring for now? 42# injectors?
Trans: Stock 4L60E, probably with some improved shifting with tune, stock converter. Prefer going to built 6-speed before putting money into an auto trans.
Other: Fuel pressure, boost, and wideband gauges, 2/4 drop, GM 20" wheels, drop shocks


Questions:
Is my power goal reasonable for a mostly stock engine with that many miles?
What size turbo is required for this power?
Should I look into a different cam? The cam must be small enough to pass smog when the turbo is off.
How long with the stock 4L60E last?
Is the Walbro 255 and 42# injectors enough?
Can this be tuned via mail-order or AutoCal, or is dyno tuning a must?
Is this doable, or am I crazy?

Thanks for putting up with my ignorance!

 

I wouldn't have any faith with a stock 60E at that power level.

 

kb looks like nice stuff but as stated above you might have tranny probs

 

This is pretty much my set up, except mine is a 6.0L. I have a e-boost controller with a 8.5psi spring in the wg, so I can turn it up whenever. I need to get more tuning done, but it makes 627whp/653wtq. 76mm turbo will be plenty, but if you ever have plans to turn it up to much, you will need a bigger one. A mail order tune will never get you as far as a dyno tune.

I'm with these guys on the tranny. There are always freaks, but I don't see a stock 60e lasting more than a month or two. I had a level7 flt 60e, and ended up sending it back to get rebuilt so I could sell it, and get an 80e.

 

Good info, thanks! I forgot I would like some sort of boost controller so it can be adjusted from the cab, haven't looked into such a thing yet.

How would a 70mm turbo fair? Seems like 70mm and 76mm are the two go-to turbos for our trucks.

 

There is actually an instructor at school with a junkyard 5.3 in a maverick...whopping 210 cam, arp, rod bolts, 76mm turbo on 10lbs, and plenty of fueling to keep up with it. Put down 590 with basically no tune...Were betting on around 650ish after he gets it tuned up good. The only problem i see would be the tranny

 

As far as the cam, I believe guys on 'tech have gotten up to a 224/224/114 to pass the sniffer with cats (although you won't need to go that big). I also don't see 42# injectors getting very far (might hit 500RWHP, but probably not much above without meth).

I also agree that the 60E won't last. If you go to a 6 speed, be prepared to put some good money into a clutch that will hold (driveability might suffer).

 

I had a TR224 114 in the Z28 and it passed smog, but that was in a 5.7L motor. The smaller motor would have a harder time "using" all of the cam, thus polluting more, or at least that's how I understand it. I'm looking into an LS9 cam, it's 211/230 0.558/0.552 122.5 LSA. Lots of people seem to be using this for their boost cams now.

 

You should read through this forum and the projects section some, this is a very basic build and most any turbo build thread would answer all your questions.

 

Yeah I wouldn't think he would have a problem with a cam like stock48's triple 12 cam.