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All this talk about max potential HP and Tq is great, but no one here is running anything at the limits of available tech. So suggesting that one FI setup is inherently better than another is really an exercise in theory. A blower setup can be put on and perform as well as a turbo, and vice versa. If turbos were always better, why do the fastest dragsters all use blowers? If blowers were always better, why do most FI street cars use turbos? Since most of you apparently only drive in a straight line (a Porsche on a drag strip is a waste ) you wouldn't understand what it's like when a turbo spools up before the apex of that thing called a turn. Blowers are linear and more predictable, and generally give more power in the lower RPM range. Then again, why does Porsche use turbos?
Thanks for this info....however please be advised at no time did i ever say one was better than the other...
Thanks for this info....however please be advised at no time did i ever say one was better than the other...;)
I was just commenting in general terms regarding some other posts.
I owned a '91 Spirit R/T which in its own right was a rocket. Some of my car audio clients in the late 80s had T-Types and GNs, and I did some simple bolt-on stuff for them. One A/V client has several Porsches with a variety of setups. One of my buddies has three supercharged Vettes (and a Suburban!) in his family, and I've been in several other blown cars including GTOs from my fellow owners. So while I haven't done a lot of the work on the FI, or raced, I've been in a bunch of cars. My experience is that blown cars are more linear, and therefore more useful for everyday driving. Turbos do give more of the rush when they spool up, but in my opinion based much on my admittedly ancient R/T, it's not fun when you sppol on an on-ramp and suddenly the front end (FWD; ugh) wants to jump out. Same thing with turbo RWD in a turn; gotta know how much to roll in to the gas and time that boost.
I know with my car, I went with vehicle specific intercooler piping kit because clearances between many of the components are pretty tight and I really didn't feel like buying a bunch of mixed piping and getting something that kind of worked (my kit only has four separate pieces and the cold side sits centimeters from an alternator pulley). With the older classics I know there is probably a lot more room to work with so fabbing something up yourself with piping and couplers might be a lot easier.
With regards to tuning carbureted cars for forced induction....I don't know. I understand this is a bit of a lost art lol. I guess that because a turbocharger/supercharger will force more air into the carburetor, it will naturally draw additional fuel through the carb (due to vacuum) although I can't see how you would lean out or richen certain rpm ranges since you don't have direct control over fuel.
I know with my modern engine management, I set specific fuel injector duty cycle values based on a specific RPM and MAF value which is a measure of air flow. It's not too difficult because I effectively look at my MAF value at a specific RPM which equates to a specific boost figure, and then look at my AFR's to see if I'm rich or lean and then either add or remove fuel to reach an ideal AFR.
It was like that on my car. It's newer and all electronic everything so tuning was done through a piggy back ecu. The tuner that did my car was going to do my friends, so I honestly don't know what he would have done, but he said it would have been no problem for him. And yeah, running IC pipes in the nova, would have been a piece of cake. you can practically stand in the engine bay when working on it! (not really, but compared to newer cars there is just an extreme mass amount of open space in older cars engine bays.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Deez Nuttz
Can you please provide me a list of what parts you all used to make this work? And what year Nova?
Unfortunately we never went through with it. He bought a house and spent all of his fun money fixing up the house. I'm pretty sure it was a 70 Nova. I could be mistaken.
All this talk about max potential HP and Tq is great, but no one here is running anything at the limits of available tech. So suggesting that one FI setup is inherently better than another is really an exercise in theory. A blower setup can be put on and perform as well as a turbo, and vice versa. If turbos were always better, why do the fastest dragsters all use blowers? If blowers were always better, why do most FI street cars use turbos? Since most of you apparently only drive in a straight line (a Porsche on a drag strip is a waste ) you wouldn't understand what it's like when a turbo spools up before the apex of that thing called a turn. Blowers are linear and more predictable, and generally give more power in the lower RPM range. Then again, why does Porsche use turbos?
Each application is better at certain things. You almost have to make up a pro and con chart for each one and decide what your uses are going to be and which one will fit you better. I know that turbo's will give you better gas mileage than a super charger because if you stay out of boost, you're running stock basically. for a 69 nova, i'm sure that isn't that big of a deal. Getting 10 MPG is probably a great feat for that car as it is. One good thing I also liked about turbo's over superchargers, is that by the power coming in later rather than instant, spinning your tires isn't as big of a problem. It was still a problem for me.. FWD... sucks. Some people prefer superchargers just because of the whine they make. some people like turbos because of the spool and blowoff valve noises. Some people who don't know anything about cars were always freaked out when they heard the BOV.
One of the best things about turbos, is if you get sick of the power you're at, you can just up the boost, and you're good to go. On a supercharger you have to change out the pulley. (this only works if you're smart and buy something that you can work up to. Don't buy a turbo or supercharger with max HP output of 450, and start at 450HP. you'll have to buy a new one to get anymore out of your car)
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) you wouldn't understand what it's like when a turbo spools up before the apex of that thing called a turn. Blowers are linear and more predictable, and generally give more power in the lower RPM range. Then again, why does Porsche use turbos?
