Forced Induction or Car Upgrade?

[emx620]

I've done some reading around on FI on here, and understand you can't cheap out on a FI build if you want it fast and reliable. I bought my lightly used Z a couple months ago, and I basically want something with more "uumph". Don't get me wrong, the Z is fast, but I want something faster with more torque. I was considering buying a C6 vette when I purchased my Z, but they were a little more expensive for me. I half regret not saving up a little more and purchasing one.

So at this point I'm trying to decide if I should look into selling my Z and go with something like a 'vette, or if I should stick with the Z, save up for a forced induction build, and go that route? If I went with FI, I'd probably go with a supercharger since A.) they're cheaper, and B.) more reliable. I'd be looking to get around 375 - 450WHP. I do daily drive my Z, so that's why reliability is big for me as well. If I looked into selling my car, I'd probably still lose some money due to the trade in, refinancing, etc. I know it wouldn't be the same as FI, but I could always look into adding a CBE, intake, and a tune as well.

Any opinions would be appreciated. Thanks!

- Edit ----------------
If anyone would like to recommend a car besides a C6, please feel free to as well.

[wstar]

I've pondered these sorts of questions over time as well. But keep in mind that while (for example) a C6 vette is a quicker car, it's also just inherent less stable. If you're the world's best driver, you're going to make better lap times in that C6 all other things being equal. But the Z just has a little better feel. It gets loose a little more gradually, allowing you to explore the limits of the car without quite as much risk of sudden catastrophe.

In my current thoughts, I really like the Z as a platform, but it could use a little more power. Probably the sweet spot is to put a quality SC system in the Z and go for a very mild PSI and tuning on it, say shooting for the ballpark of 375-400 RWHP peak, with a relatively flat curve. I think this is more or less the direction Travis is shooting for with his track car's new SC setup as well. I think a Z + mild SC is going to be more fun and more forgiving than a beast of a C6.

[phunk]

Will a c6 be fast enough anyway? Cause a FI 370z is not stock c6 fast... It kills them. While a stock c6 is quicker than a stock 370z, I would be miserable with it... The vette would end up turbo. So you might be putting yourself in the same situation you are already in, unless you really think a base corvette is going to satisfy you.

[emx620]

Originally Posted by phunk

Will a c6 be fast enough anyway? Cause a FI 370z is not stock c6 fast... It kills them. While a stock c6 is quicker than a stock 370z, I would be miserable with it... The vette would end up turbo. So you might be putting yourself in the same situation you are already in, unless you really think a base corvette is going to satisfy you.

I was going to test drive one first to make sure the torque was satisfying enough for my long term purposes. I figured an LS3 based C6 would be plenty of engine for me. But you have a point there..maybe a FI 370Z will be faster in the long run. I just need to factor in the cost of $8-$10k, install time, reliability factor, as well as losing my warranty on my car. A 'vette would cost less than that setup, would still carry the warranty, and hopefully would be very reliable.

[VQStryker]

Originally Posted by emx620

I was going to test drive one first to make sure the torque was satisfying enough for my long term purposes. I figured an LS3 based C6 would be plenty of engine for me. But you have a point there..maybe a FI 370Z will be faster in the long run. I just need to factor in the cost of $8-$10k, install time, reliability factor, as well as losing my warranty on my car. A 'vette would cost less than that setup, would still carry the warranty, and hopefully would be very reliable.

For about $10k you'll have a reliable tt 370z if you did the install. if you don't mind the limited expansion of a supercharged car, go with that. It would be easier and greatly cheaper all around but expansion is limited. with that said, your wanting 400whp and on a dd car. the sc is what you need my friend, its much simpler and you can reach 500whp+ with gtm stage 2. Hell, with the canned tune your at about 400whp, south bend clutch and a happy medium tune (11.2-11.5 afr) retard the timing a bit....hfc and a nice cbe ppl would never know

I say FI

[superchargedg]

Originally Posted by phunk

Will a c6 be fast enough anyway? Cause a FI 370z is not stock c6 fast... It kills them. While a stock c6 is quicker than a stock 370z, I would be miserable with it... The vette would end up turbo. So you might be putting yourself in the same situation you are already in, unless you really think a base corvette is going to satisfy you.

I agree with Charles as im stock motor DE with the Greddy twins and id kill a stock C6.I have run 12.15 @ 117.55 on stock tires and you would still beat that number with a s/c or a turbo kit.

[Mkai0]

Thats a hard one, I agree with kuriz32 about some of the cons in using the vette as a daily. The GTM SC will make your Z a lot faster and keep it reliable for the power levels you are looking for. Plus the Z is more unique and looks better!

[kuriz32]

C6s are nice cars, but a TT 370z is most likely going to be much more satisfying than the Corvette. The 370's interior isn't the best in the industry, but it's light years above the Corvette. In addition, the visibility and usability of the Corvette is compromised versus the Z. Since you use your Z as a DD and you intend on doing the same for the Corvette, I think you might be overall dissatisfied.

[Mecinoid]

Originally Posted by kuriz32

C6s are nice cars, but a TT 370z is most likely going to be much more satisfying than the Corvette. The 370's interior isn't the best in the industry, but it's light years above the Corvette. In addition, the visibility and usability of the Corvette is compromised versus the Z. Since you use your Z as a DD and you intend on doing the same for the Corvette, I think you might be overall dissatisfied.

I find the C5 and C6 Vette interior to be pretty nice actually. People forget these are sports cars. not luxo cruisers. The interior in a C5 or C6 is better than the 350Z but not as good as the 370Z. I mean whats not to like about:



I actually changed the shifter to a C6 shifter and it dresses it up a bit more too. Can't wait for a touch screen in there though. Maybe for Christmas?

This isn't bad though either:



In some ways I like the Vette interior better.

If you change the head unit it upgrades the vette quite a bit as well. Same goes for the Z. I hate the looks of C6 steering wheels. Well, it's OK....



Heck I actually don't like the looks of a C6 as much as a C5.

I did buy my Z S7 to use as my daily driver because I can drive it a long long time (over 200K mi) without issue and I know a Vette starts needing a lot of care about $150K. Plus a stick in traffic sucks on a daily basis. Plus the width and the large doors on a Vette make it a pain to get in and out of when your in tight parking. Doesn't help when SUV's park the compact spots either.

[m4a1mustang]

I would never want to DD a non-factory FI car, but that's just me.

[emx620]

Originally Posted by m4a1mustang

I would never want to DD a non-factory FI car, but that's just me.

Yeah, thats kind of my concern -- FI with a daily driver. I do have a 2nd car my girlfriend drives most of the time, its a 2006 Accord, so worst comes to worst, that can always be a backup car for me.

[Red__Zed]

Originally Posted by emx620

Yeah, thats kind of my concern -- FI with a daily driver. I do have a 2nd car my girlfriend drives most of the time, its a 2006 Accord, so worst comes to worst, that can always be a backup car for me.

The answer really comes down to your response there. FI Z's are uniquely impressive, and probably a really awesome car to have. I think the majority of the guys running FI'd Z's have had really good luck with them as well--I trust the car is generally reliable under boost.

On the other hand, any car modified like that poses a unique set of risks...there is always the risk of a horror story, whether due to the car, the kit, the tune, or just bad luck.

Figure out your tolerance for risk, and you should have a pretty good idea of your answer.

[Mecinoid]

Originally Posted by emx620

Yeah, thats kind of my concern -- FI with a daily driver. I do have a 2nd car my girlfriend drives most of the time, its a 2006 Accord, so worst comes to worst, that can always be a backup car for me.

Yeah, that was the decision I've made.... You can't get any speed up on your daily drive anyways. So, I'd keep the Z stock and by a Vette and SC that. I don't dare to do that to my 50th Aniversary Car though. But, I'd like to get a 2004 Le Mans Corvette Z06 and throw a SC on that. Can you see I'm into C5's? It would kill stock ZR1 and GTR for pennies on the dollar. Beyond that.... Lingenfelter TT for the Vette. Can you say 750RWHP? That would lay waste to anything shy of $500K

[Kirkster]

Been DDing my Z for 10,000 miles since I put in the SC. only problem that I have had is a slight boost leak that I just addressed this weekend.

I love DDing my Z... Was looking at a ZO6 before I got the Z loved it performance wise but could not get over the crap interior, a two year old car should not have bits falling off of the interior already.

[phunk]

Is the c6 interior really that bad? I don't have a ton of seat time in them but I didn't notice them being all that terrible