Does it make more sense

[BOP4ever]

To do a LS v8 turbo swap for. 10 second daily driver for mpg and reliability ?
Before a Person spends the money to lean on a 109 based v6 to get to the 650-700 HP range?
Long term thinking easier to buy parts and turbo kits are everywhere now so I was just thinking theoretically about it today.
I fear the world of hot rods is evolving and after reading and watching you tube videos of GN's being wasted left me a bit down.



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[87chrisss]

No it doesn't make more sense IMO.. I still think the V6 Turbo is a hard bargain to beat. 10's in a Buick Isn't that hard.

Probably 2x easier than doing a v8 swap. The guys you see x-over are usually looking to run sub 8s more reliably, or they have had bad experiences with v6 engine builder's so they trash the shit outa the v6 now.

 

[Heisenberg]

To do a LS v8 turbo swap for. 10 second daily driver for mpg and reliability ?
Before a Person spends the money to lean on a 109 based v6 to get to the 650-700 HP range?
Long term thinking easier to buy parts and turbo kits are everywhere now so I was just thinking theoretically about it today.
I fear the world of hot rods is evolving and after reading and watching you tube videos of GN's being wasted left me a bit down.



Posted from the TurboBuick.Com mobile app

I do a fair bit of YouTube watching - and I don't see very often GNs "getting wasted".
Not that it can't happen - but my viewing experience has been to the contrary.
Wasted is a pretty strong word to use when applied to a GN vs an LS.
That must be one helluva built LS.

 

[earlbrown]

If you're in a GN and get 'wasted' you're either drunk or your car is in a VERY bad state of tune.

There's always the chance of rolling up on a faster car but the street is traction limited and there's only so much HP a public road is going to hold. There's just no room to lay waste to a fast car.

It's not like passing a ricer sideways. Different set of rules when both cars are fast.

 

[psycho6cyl]

i get wanting greater range of parts cheaper but have you really looked what goes into a turbo ls swap. need a harness of some sort right off the bat. are you a fabricator? bc you will need to fab up hot and cold sides of turbo. if you wanted to runs 8s like stated before thats the safest way but you can have a 10sec gn w a twist of a rod and set it back to an 11 sec car. yes theres a little more to it than that but once you have the hard parts do a lil tuning… high tens. you're partially there w your parts list. if your tune is in order change turbo and convert w high psi or get heads turbo convert do it on less boost. for well under 4000 $ w your parts now high 10s should be attainable. i doubt you can get any motor in 10s for 4gs. you are halfway there. even if you were starting from scratch it would still be easiest w turbo v6.

 

[Eticket]

I would say that's how i ended back up into a GN sooner than I had planned. I bought an LS1 Camaro 6 spd car. Had fun driving it for about 3 months; then decided I need to be back into a GN to go as fast I wanted to go on a budget. Done right, you really can't beat a GN $ for $ in mods for less than $10k or so.

 

[TT/Ameasap]

I would say that's how i ended back up into a GN sooner than I had planned. I bought an LS1 Camaro 6 spd car. Had fun driving it for about 3 months; then decided I need to be back into a GN to go as fast I wanted to go on a budget. Done right, you really can't beat a GN $ for $ in mods for less than $10k or so.

This is why I got back in.
To add..... Its different.

 

[we4Mateo]

This is why I got back in.
To add..... Its different.

LS's, Mustangs, belly buttons.

 

[TLIMITED]

There have been many f bodies converted to v6 turbo and most I've seen ran 10's or better!!

 

[BOP4ever]

Well maybe I just got on the wrong channel it was vs a supra, and some other jap car then a corvette x3 seemed the GN was the mark so it made me started wondering if it was more feasible to just bite the bullet and put the stock power train on the stand and start over. I read a lot on here about the fragility of the 109 after low 11s need for girdles etc...
For now if this combo can run a mid 11 next year which I hope to try for ill feel better.



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[Eticket]

To your original thoughts,

There really shouldn't be much if any expectation that our turbo cars at continue to being some of the fastest cars at the track or on the street - the fact really is properly built turbo buicks really still hold their own, sometimes outright and also on a dollar for dollar of cost basis.

If your goal really is somewhere reasonably in the 10's on the street reliably - you have to be willing to spend the time and $ to do so - whether it's a v6 or an LS powerplant. I believe in "no free lunch" economics. If it were that easy - really - for an LS motor, why wouldn't everyone not already have done it? The truth is, the labor involved DOES cost, the tuning it takes to get an LS into the 10s is no different than the tuning involved to get a GN in the 10's - and so on with all of the other drivetrain parts.

By the way, it's the same reason why not all GN owners have 10 sec street cars. it's not "that" easy to learn what you need to know, and not everyone can pay a vendor to do everything it takes to get them there.

 

[longball]

[quote="BOP4 "To do a LS v8 turbo swap for. 10 second daily driver for mpg and reliability ? Before a Person spends the money to lean on a 109 based v6 to get to the 650-700 HP range?/quote]

I have a 109 based V6 GN running 10.70 at the track. Reliably. As a driver it is also very reliable. Has never left me stranded by the side of the road in 25 years. It is nowhere near 650-700HP.
Hope that helps My mpg is not that great tho.

 

[BOP4ever]

full weight car ?
I figured 650 hp would be min needed on radials anyway.
I've read several mags where they are taking junkyard 5.3 Ls engines putting a 1500 dollar turbo kit on them and bust 600 hp wide open on a shoe string budget.... to it made me start thinking... I cant rebuild one of my spare 109 shortblocks with a forged bottle end, girdle then put ported heads and a roller cam together for probably under 5000.00
I know someone is goign to say its not needed that a stock assebly can run 10's and I bet it can but I also read just as many saying its a time bomb to push the stock parts that hard. I don't like bombs !! My NA 2nd Gen Trans am has ran bottom 11's for 10 years without a wimper, so I have some frame of reference.

Thanks for the input I kinda want to stay V6 in the car and be original, but I also don't want to wish Id listened to my inner voice later after I am sinking 5k in a V6 thats unreliable and stressed to a inch of its life.

 

[longball]

yep, full weight car. maybe heavier now with 6pt. roll bar, braces, etc. T-Tops which I believe are heavier than a metal roof. @515 rwhp. 10.70 at 22lbs. boost. The car has been very reliable. I will admit that the only parts left from '87 is the outside sheet metal and headlights/taillights, glove box, most of the dash. Instrument panel has been changed to GNX style. But like you said - money is often the deciding factor - if an LS engine fits your budget better - go for it!

2 things the LS motor has in common with the '109' - 1) ya can blow it up just like a '109'. 2)If you don't have a spot on tune on a 700hp LS motor you
can blow it up just like a '109'. And for less money too!