VF,SSV . Wot value is it having Walkingshaw 407 put on my car and is it worth the money.

[Ginger Beer]

Except blower does nothing for character or sound, is more expensive outright, adds more moving parts, more mechanical complexity and hence more risk of long term issues. Down the track when (not if) you have issues, fewer shops understand and can diagnose or fix it- especially the way things are headed. It adds weight, and in the wrong place (high up). Heat soak sucks if you are tracking it, stock bottom end isn’t built for the power, and finally while there is more power everywhere even low down, you still won’t beat out any decent turbo car off the line (let alone EVs) and at the top end, well realistically it’s unecessary for the street. You will hit any speed limit way before you get to anything like the peak power output.

How much money does it cost to get a NA LS up to 500hpatw?

Sound?, yeah, no one likes the sound of my unopened 21 year old blown LS1 when it is running down the strip getting a 1.4 sec 60ft or through the traps at 124mph, oh, hang on, yes they do.

I've had a blower on my old LS1 for a few years, lots of runs down the strip on drag radials, about 50k km of road trips, and lots of skids, my trans is built though, but, you would need to build it for a NA car with more than stock power anyway.

A blower isn't rocket science, tune to suit like any build.

Tracking is problematic yes, but, for street and drags your fine as long as you don't do hack to back runs, 20 minutes between runs with the bonnet up keeps the WTA coolant temps in check, no issues with overly high IAT on the street.

As for a turbo vs PD, it is horses for courses, both require supporting mods for power goals if you want any form of reliability.

My little LS1 with a HTV2300 on 7 psi hasn't missed a beat, I use it at the drags, driving up and down the coast, or sitting in peak hour traffic when called for.

I've owned fully built and grumpy NA cars that had no real street drivabilty, same same for some of my lower powered turbo cars, my higher powered turbo cars, that would run 10's would get smoked by Nana in her Hyundai Excel at the lights of idle

As for getting beaten by a turbo LS car of the line, unless they stage, and stall it up, then nope, a responsive turbo to get it off the line will run out off puff at the big end, a turbo built for top end power will not be efficient of the line unless you can build boost

I post up when I go to the drags at WSID, I'm more than happy to line up against anyone with typical power (500hpatw) in there turbo LS1, I'll even give them the hit if they leave off idle

Buy in is a bag of donuts

 

[RevNev]

There is no way in hell I would ever do a NA build on a V8 again for a street car,

Neither would I. My last was a VR GTS 20 years ago with a 522hp 355ci roller cam engine and locked diff. I had a lot of fun with the car and won a lot of motorsport events with it and winning the HSV Nationals at Sandown in 1998 was the most iconic win! 11.3 was its best 1/4-mile time on slicks but ultimately, the modifications turned a nice car into a bucket of crap to drive on the street. Since then, I've left my road car engine's stock and done exhausts, intakes and tunes only.

and finally while there is more power everywhere even low down, you still won’t beat out any decent turbo car off the line

I had a play with a mate's Gen F GTS in my wife's BMW X3 M40i SUV (3 litre turbo 6 all-wheel drive) and absolutely smoked the GTS by 3 car lengths from 0 to 100kmph! These SUV's are serious rockets off the line with great launch and traction control via 245/275 tyres.

 

[losh1971]

Except blower does nothing for character or sound, is more expensive outright, adds more moving parts, more mechanical complexity and hence more risk of long term issues. Down the track when (not if) you have issues, fewer shops understand and can diagnose or fix it- especially the way things are headed. It adds weight, and in the wrong place (high up). Heat soak sucks if you are tracking it, stock bottom end isn’t built for the power.

The LS bottom end holds up well to PD boost which can be pretty hard on the bottom end until up in the revs. As long as you don't go stupid you can have a PD on an LS and it still be reliable.

Boost is cheaper HP and torque than NA too. You'd be in over $30k building a decent stroker, boost you're in for around $16k for a PD, less if you look at side mount from CAPA.

Twin turbo was the rage on the LS1 but you don't hear about it as much anymore.

 

[Ginger Beer]

The LS bottom end holds up well to PD boost which can be pretty hard on the bottom end until up in the revs. As long as you don't go stupid you can have a PD on an LS and it still be reliable.

Boost is cheaper HP and torque than NA too. You'd be in over $30k building a decent stroker, boost you're in for around $16k for a PD, less if you look at side mount from CAPA.

Twin turbo was the rage on the LS1 but you don't hear about it as much anymore.

Neither would I. My last was a VR GTS 20 years ago with a 522hp 355ci roller cam engine and locked diff. I had a lot of fun with the car and won a lot of motorsport events with it and winning the HSV Nationals at Sandown in 1998 was the most iconic win! 11.3 was its best 1/4-mile time on slicks but ultimately, the modifications turned a nice car into a bucket of crap to drive on the street. Since then, I've left my road car engine's stock and done exhausts, intakes and tunes only.

I had a play with a mate's Gen F GTS in my wife's BMW X3 M40i SUV (3 litre turbo 6 all-wheel drive) and absolutely smoked the GTS by 3 car lengths from 0 to 100kmph! These SUV's are serious rockets off the line with great launch and traction control via 245/275 tyres.

@losh1971 I wouldn't push a stock bottomed LS1 much past 650hp crank , over that and you risk losing the bottom end if you lean on them hard

@RevNev modern Euros are evil, even their boosted 4 pots, some basic parts and a good tune can see them being giant killers, plenty of well tuned cars with smart bolt ons running 10's at well over 120 mph

 

[PeteSS]

Except blower does nothing for character or sound, is more expensive outright, adds more moving parts, more mechanical complexity and hence more risk of long term issues. Down the track when (not if) you have issues, fewer shops understand and can diagnose or fix it- especially the way things are headed. It adds weight, and in the wrong place (high up). Heat soak sucks if you are tracking it, stock bottom end isn’t built for the power, and finally while there is more power everywhere even low down, you still won’t beat out any decent turbo car off the line (let alone EVs) and at the top end, well realistically it’s unnecessary for the street. You will hit any speed limit way before you get to anything like the peak power output.

Not sure I'd agree. mine is an LS3 with a magnuson supercharger and vcm5SC cam. Stock bottom end, stock tranny, stock stall converter, and stock diff. Daily driver, and has been for nearly 7 years.
Has oodles of power down low, even to the point of putting semi slicks on it and still having traction issues. I've been in a turbo L77 where the lag was hideous, as was drivability.
Apart from having the cam and issues that come with it, this thing behaves like a stock SS until you put the boot in. I'll boot the boot in whilst doing 80-90kph in 3rd, and it'll break traction with ease

The added weight is negligible on a near 2 ton car

As far as sound, anyone that knows cars can tell from the blower whine that it aint stock.

 

[PeteSS]

I honestly thought the Walkinshaw naming & connection for the VL Group A was solely because of his stake/ownership of the HSV operation (and their desire to appear to have a racing driver involved since Brock had done so well for them ‘til he went all cuckoo-bananas), I didn’t realise he’d had any input for the car at all!

Walkinshaw apparently took a car with HDT bodykit to England and threw it in a wind tunnel. it showed that no thought was put into the bodykit (apart from looking good) as the spoilers created lift, rather than downforce. The bodykit of the HSV VL looked hideous (still does) though it created heaps of downforce

 

[lmoengnr]

Walkinshaw apparently took a car with HDT bodykit to England and threw it in a wind tunnel. it showed that no thought was put into the bodykit (apart from looking good) as the spoilers created lift, rather than downforce. The bodykit of the HSV VL looked hideous (still does) though it created heaps of downforce and heaps of drag.

Fixed it for you.

 

[RevNev]

Fixed it for you.

Yes, the VL Walkinshaw body kit did have drag and reduced terminal speed on a long straight. The HDT VL didn't have much of a body kit other than a lower front bumper air dam that was pretty high off the ground and quite a low boot lid spoiler. I think the VK Group 3/ Group A with the 5-speed gearbox was the most substantial of the HDT body kits by memory.

Joe Argiro who owned the Brock Shop in QLD for many years working under Larry Perkins, was the primary road car engine builder at HDT in the VH/VK era. He told me some of the Plus Pack engines in VK were quite substantial with hand ported cylinder heads, higher compression with a Crane 284 camshaft. Some of the HDT VK's stock had a pretty lumpy idle I recall back in the day!

HDT also had a play around with 331ci offset grind strokers, but I don't know if they were ever offered on a retail basis.

 

[Forg]

HDT also had a play around with 331ci offset grind strokers, but I don't know if they were ever offered on a retail basis.

I recall one of the car mags having the performance figures for an HDT VK “White Knight” which I think had a 5.6L engine.
But HDT being HDT, they might have just made the whole thing up. I have a really vague collection of them claiming there only were single-digit numbers of them made, quite possibly due to being ridiculously overpriced if they weren’t a figment of Brock’s imagination.

 

[07GTS]

how about that (think it was) HDT Aero VL i dont mind the lower body kit bit smoother then the walky