mdchaser

Hi folks, this is what I have right now:

2011 Grand Sport manual dry sump
intake
cat-delete (replaced with dummy pipe)
cat-back
tune
It makes 417/416 to the wheels via a dynapak dyno

I am probably going to be in the market for a power adder here soon (possibly very soon) but I don't know to much about the whole subject, just what I've gleaned from this forum. I'm in CA so my only two options appear to be the Edelbrock 600HP kit and the A&A kit. I will probably have it installed by TPS since I'm in CA and don't know of any reputable shops in the Sac area.

My (possibly pipe dream) goal is to have somewhere in the mid 500s for both torque/hp as that would be a nice jump over what the car makes now and I think it would be reliable (still under warranty, about 6k on the odo).

My understanding is that both kits will make a bit over 500 HP to the wheels and a bit under 500Lbs which is less than I was hoping for but not too bad. Am I in the ball park?

I would like to have the opportunity to upgrade a bit in the future though I won't be going overboard, possibly just a cam/valvetrain upgrade to give it a bit of a lope and a few more ponies. My understanding is the Edelbrock is pretty limited in that regard whereas the A&A kit can be pushed harder?

This car is just for tooling around town and going to the drag strip on occasion and maybe an autocross outing once or twice a year.

Any thoughts on which kit would work best? I like the looks of both of them so that's not much of an issue. Cost is however and the A&A kit is about 9k installed vs 10.5k for the Edelbrock though it's not such a great gap I couldn't get either if I just waited a bit longer.

Thanks for any advice you can give!

1MEANGS

I have the same car... Dry sump GS... This is a no brainer if I were you, since your in Cali get the smog legal A&A kit! With blower only you'll make the power you want and if you need more in the future just add meth and long tubes... I started with blower only @ first and made 575 rwhp 555 rwtq ish and it wasn't enough so I added long tubes and meth injection... If I were you if I had to do it all over again I would do the cam and also a better belt system while you have the car apart for the blower kit because you'll save a lot of $ because the steering rack and everything will be off (pullies etc) so your better off throwing a cam in there and doing at least an 8 rib set up to compliment the A&A kit... P/M me if you have any questions - Eric

0Presence Dist.

GO for the A&A kit for sure!!! you would love it and put a smile on your face every time you get in your car!!

mdchaser

Thanks guys! My understanding is that the Edelbrock would give me more responsiveness but less overall power, is that about right? I've not had the opportunity to try either type of blower so I don't know which I'd prefer.

1MEANGS, those numbers are exactly what I am looking for! I spoke with TPS and they said about 520/480 to the wheels with just the blower, how did you get so much more out of the kit? You recommend the 8 rib setup, what does that get me? I know there is less chance of slip but is that something I need to worry about with the power I will be making? I'll ask about the upgrade costs of course if it's cheap I guess it would be a no brainer. I am also looking for a nice and noticeable but not overly loud hiss from the blow off valve. How does the A&A kit sound? It would be nice to be able to hear the pressure release when letting off the gas .

croatbob

a&a ysi n cam overkill but atleast u can build further with it

mdchaser

Any more info on the cam? Unfortunately it has to be smog legal and I don't want the massive ratcheting sound of a big cam, just a little lope that makes you wonder .

mdchaser

I forgot to ask, what else do I need besides the kit? Different plugs, wire, or anything else like that? Are there little things I should upgrade at the same time? Or parts I should replace with stronger parts while it's being worked on?

Thanks!

croatbob

sorry i had a noisey ratchet cam lol. way i like em

Unreal

Kit comes with plugs. No need for 8 rib on the carb legal kit or boost levels you would run. I would call Ryne@CMS. He is the best LS tuner in California and I'm sure has done both of those kits.

mdchaser

Don't get me wrong, I love the sound of a ratchety ls motor, just don't want mine to be that crazy. A little crazy fits better and pisses the neighbors off less .

mdchaser

Thanks for the heads up! To bad he is in so Cal, that's a bit of a drive for me... Most of the good tuners are of course, we've got a few in the bay area but just not as many vettes around to support more.

mdchaser

I forgot to ask, is it easy to swap pulleys on this system and would I want to? Could I go with a smaller pulley to increase the boost?

EvanZR1

I'd go with the A&A. I just did the base A&A kit, on my 13 GS dry sump, and as you can see from the dyno chart, the results are great. While the the PD blowers like the Edelbrock make more torque down low, the centri units still make a noticeable torque gain from lower rpm and makes more HP on the top end. The car drives like stock if you're not into the throttle, but if you do get on it, it turns into a beast. Plus the A&A kit for the dry sump includes the Dewitts radiator with integrated oil cooler. With this setup I've seen the coolant and oil temps staying right in line with where they were before the blower install, and in Texas that was a big concern for me.

mdchaser

Evan70, thanks for posting! Was your car stock before the blower? I like those power numbers, not quite what I'm looking for but within spitting distance. Did you end up with new tires to compensate, I can't keep mine on the ground with 417/416...

Thesisinbold

Hello,

A&A kit here. I was at 575 before meth and 617 after. Anyway, I have no problem getting friction with regular ol' tires.

EvanZR1

Bone stock other than LS7 exhaust manifolds. That was actually the 5th pull on a hot/humid day, and you can see that it was pulling timing, so I think it's actually making more. As to tires, I had already upgraded to ZR1 size Cup wheels with Michelins. They are definitely better than the stock GYs, but are nowhere close to being able to handle all the power. I've spun in 1st, 2nd and 3rd several times, and have had them break loose several times when downshifting to 3rd and hammering on it on the highway.

Streetk14

I'd really recommend getting a little first hand experience with an otherwise stock (or very lightly modded) centri and PD blower car so you can see the characteristics for yourself. They are quite different.

I've had both an A&A system and a Magnuson system (which is a great option) on my personal C6s, and that includes installing both myself.

I've been meaning to scan a copy of my Magnuson Heartbeat dyno pulls, but still haven't done so. The added torque at any rpm is huge. If torque is what you want, a PD might be a better choice.

Corvettinator

On my A&A Si, I was 595 on a 3.6" pulley (the kit comes with 3.8") before meth, 666 after. Andy of A&A installed and tuned it, and he is pretty conservative.

Anyway, Streetk14 is right, if there is anyway you could find local tune shops and drive a PD and a centri before deciding, it would be very helpful. Obviously, I am a centri guy, and I think they are superior in a lot of ways on the strip and even the track due to heat and powerband issues, but some disagree.

However, for a street car, one benefit of a PD is you don't need the higher RPM to get going, whereas my car HOWLS and draws a lot of attention when hitting its 5000+ powerband, if you get my drift.

Good luck, and start a thread when you pull the trigger.

BTW, Inferno Orange GS, man, that must get some looks. I've never seen one in person.

Unreal

Depends on your definition of easy. ECS kit I can swap a pulley in ~10 minutes. At the same time you need to be tuned for the smaller pulley, so you can't just swap and go unless you have been tuned for that pulley. The carb legal A&A kit has a set tune, and set pulley. If you want to stray away from that, then you can do things like the cam, pulley, etc but it may impact your ability to get through emissions if the carb legal is really important. The good thing is things like the pulley, tune, tiny cam/etc would be very hard for a inspector to notice.

JetstreamGS

Solid advice here. I've got an A&A setup with a Vengeance cam and full exhaust on my GS. Car makes 651rw and is a blast to drive.