HELP ! turbo or supercharger ????????????????????

[sid318]

Hi guys, have a 351w built for turbo ie 8-7-1 comp & a turbo cam,roush iron heads, i'm completly new to these induction systems , can i get a complete kit for the 351w, what intake or carb ? none on at moment, whats cheaper or easier to fit ie turbo or blower,?????????????

[Blurry94]

A turbo kit will most likely have to be fabricated. There are a few supercharger options for trucks, but that depends on the year/model that the motor is going in. Paxton and possibly Vortech offer kits for carb'd applications.

As for the build, how much are you looking to spend? What's the main purpose of this vehicle?

[sid318]

Hi Matt, it's going into a 54 f100, a s/strip truck i'm building, cost ? whatevers cheaper to do ! i know nothing about these setups so bare with me, cheers Kev

[mrpositraction]

Either one is going to cost you at least $2000 if you do all the work yourself. Just a good turbo and intercooler will run you close to $1500. Then you have to do all the piping yourself....and this is for a remote, unless you have room to flip the headers around. A big ole roots wouldn't be too bad and would look pretty cool, but I have not idea how much they cost. I am betting upwards of $2500 for the complete setup.

[Blurry94]

I would suggest that you do as much research as possible and ask plenty of questions; there are many seasoned vets here that can help answer questions. Knowing how power adders work (blower, turbos, nitrous systems), and the differences between each, is a huge benefit.

IMO, sometimes going the cheapest way possible may leave you wondering "what if..." in the end. I've been down that road and ended up spending the money I should have in the first place to get my truck where I wanted it from the beginning. No, my truck is no speed demon by any means, but it is completely streetable (it idles and drives well with all the creature comforts it came with from the factory) and runs on pump 93. The parts I have on it fit well form my particular setup, which goes further than just the motor.
Figure out what power level you're after and then build your engine, suspension and driveline around that...i believe you will be much happier in the end.

[rubydist]

After having done a lot of research on this question, here is what I have concluded:

Turbo
Typically a lot less to install, particularly if you are willing to do a lot of fab work yourself. Turbos on ebay for under $500, intercoolers for ~$100, you do all the plumbing of exhaust and intake to/from the turbo.
Turbos respond differently, as there is always some lag before the turbo spools up. You can minimize this w/ a smaller turbo at the expense of some choking at higher rpms.

Superchargers
Typically at least $1000 more to put on than a turbo. For your engine you would need (for example) an Eaton M112 (around $500-800 on ebay) or a Vortech V2 (over $1200 on ebay), intercooler for ~$100, some mounting/intake manifold system for $$$
Positive displacement blowers (like Eaton or Whipple) will have boost at almost all rpms, and more predictable response - like having a larger displacement engine in the vehicle. Even centrifugal blowers will have more predictable response than turbos, and typically build boost at lower rpms than turbos.

Either way, for what you are building, you will need to do some fab work, because no one sells a bolt on kit for a blower to go on a 351 that you are stuffing into a 54 F100.

I have just over $2000 into the system I have on the Ranger (Eaton M90 system), and could have done a turbo for around $1000. I chose to spend more to get the consistent performance of the supercharger. Others choose turbos - some guys like the kick in the pants that you get when the boost kicks in, but I find it very tiring.