[TMac2254]

Let me start this out with I’ve been out of the fast car game for sometime(2010 was the last days). Last vehicle was a 02 WS6 with a Procharger so I’m not completely ignorant haha. Now that I’m back and with my new purchase, I’ve been researching and trying to decide on going with a different/bigger blower (Whipple or Procharger) for my ZL1 or a twin turbo system. Been looking over the last few weeks at Turbo systems and the only one I can find is Hellion.

I think I want to go twin turbo but I’m not seeing too many ZL1’s with that system except one guy. After watching several of his videos it makes good power but he had to move a ton of stuff around and he has a built block. Looking for anyone who has this system or maybe knows someone that can give me some real world advice on this twin turbo system. I’m not looking to build the bottom end of this car. Everything I’ve read the LT4 should have not problem handling 1000rwhp. Really wondering why not too many people go this route? Thx in advance for your advice/opinions.

[Zigg L1]

Hell yeah dude turbo that sh!@!! If I had indispensable money I would try that out.

[Homeless Junkie]

Ha! A buddy of mine constantly talks about guitarmedaggon’s ZL1. That’s a bad ass car but you gotta remember big expensive builds bump up his YouTube income

[SienarSystems]

I believe Jannetty did at least 1 of the hellion kits on an LT4...and there’s been a new procharger kit for sale in the classified section for a while. You’d just need to buy the manifold.

[BlaqWhole]

A turbo is going to cost lots of money, lots of downtime, and lots of tuning. That is, as compared to a blower upgrade. And quite frankly I'm not really sure a TT setup is that much more beneficial considering some of the numbers people are getting with blowers. Plus it is much more complex. I personally would steer clear of it. But it ultimately depends on your goals.

[TMac2254]

I know that its for you tube, but that's my point. Does anyone know anyone else that actually has this system on their ZL1 that can give me the pros and cons.....I'm looking at the system hard, mostly because it appears to be the only system out there for a ZL1, but cant find anyone but guitarmdaggon that has it on their car. Makes me hesitate and wonder why no one else has went this route or this particular system.

[SienarSystems]

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showt...hlight=Hellion

[DOHCVTEC]

I run a small - mid sized dealership and get to drive lots of different cars... BMWs, Audis, GM, Ford, and many others... V8s, V6s, I6s, Diesels, supercharged, turbocharged, procharged, na, whatever... I get a good feel for everything

I can tell you without a doubt that turbo cars have a better overall feel of power to them... same size engine, same size car, same boost level, turbo cars will run and feel a lot faster

therefore I sure would love to see more people try it.. I personally am not ready to loose my warranty on my almost brand new ZL1 just yet but if I was, turbo may just be the way to go... why? more power!! lots more power.. you can keep your fuel system and probably make a few hundred more hp without fuel or engine upgrades...
how? no parasitic loss! you gotta remember, the supercharger takes huge power to spin... your engine is still seeing the stress , fuel, cylinder pressure of 1000 hp but you only get 800 of it, or less... with turbo you will get all 1000
plus the mid range on turbo cars is better... you can probably make real close to 1000 even with the smallest of turbos with little to no lag

now it seems to me is that there are some negatives.. mostly reliability of these kits and what they do to your systems, wiring, and other components.. they just create so much heat, and start to melt everything near them so if you have a system like the hellion with the turbos in the so close to everything you will probably run into some issues eventually...

cant wait to see more options but I also follow this fella who is running low mount turbos from AGP on his built SS which seems like a great idea except his turbo (or some part of the system) came in contact with a brake line and caused him to loose his brakes while driving and almost cause an accident.. not good

otherwise the overall idea seems better to me.. out of the engine bay, away from wires and so on.. just gotta make sure you aren't hurting anything else

I have a single turbo 4.6 Mustang for sale right now and let me tell you, this thing is fast... but like I said, it creates a lot of heat and was a constant pain in the a$$ with the oil lines especially.. its pretty much dialed in now and luckily the turbo isn't really close to anything but still, the heat it creates under the hood is insane...

When you drive a factory turbo car like a our 2011 BMW 550i 4.4L turbo we just sold, its a lot more pleasant.. small turbos in the right place with lots of heat shielding... plenty fast, very pleasant, quite turbo operation you cant hardly tell its there until you roll into the throttle and get that huge burst of toque.. its awesome

so I really really hope someone comes up with a stock like kit that can actually be reliable, clean, quite, and effective... hellion is nice but I just cant get over the placement of those turbos and what they can do to the reliability of your car plus you are moving even more weight ahead of your front wheels.. cant be good for a track weapon like the ZL1

[BlaqWhole]

Originally Posted by TMac2254

I know that its for you tube, but that's my point. Does anyone know anyone else that actually has this system on their ZL1 that can give me the pros and cons.....I'm looking at the system hard, mostly because it appears to be the only system out there for a ZL1, but cant find anyone but guitarmdaggon that has it on their car. Makes me hesitate and wonder why no one else has went this route or this particular system.

The pros and cons will always be similar when it comes to turbo action.

Pros: No parasitic power loss. More power to the ground boost for boost. The power delivery is more linear and doesn't drop off. Coolness factor. Sound. All pros.

Cons: Cost. Complexity. Install and tuning time. Maintenance...when something goes wrong it can be timely and costly. Reliability.

I'd say it is up to the individual owner as to whether the pros outweigh the cons. But I'd imagine that the simplicity, cost effectiveness, reliability, and such of blowers just make them the more desirable path to take. Plus I wouldn't trust just any ole tuner out there with turbos. I'm not sure who I'd go to for the tuning.

One thing I notice is that a lot of systems require fabrication of some sort. Some times a little and other times a lot. And I've seen cases where people have had their car out at a shop for months getting the system installed and tuned. It is a lot to got thru and deal with but a lot of people feel like it is worthwhile. My caution to you would be to do a lot of research on it before you even attempt to go this route. This is an expensive car. And despite whatever is advertised, I can see a turbo system costing $15K - $20K when all is said and done. That might just be my pessimistic side talking tho...

[JB'sZL1]

And in a nutshell, that's it: $20k for a tt (vs 10k in a Gen 5). Plus the reliability and introduced heat issues.

[RDBill]

I would just like to add that the turbo ZL1 is also having transmission problems. Because the trans is so new the aftermarket hasn't beefed up the trans yet to handle the big power these cars can make

[Sakudog]

I went Twin Turbo on my 2013 ZL1 M6, it was a massive upgrade over the blower. I did all the work myself and spent a lot of time perfecting the platform. The end results were really really good, 1077 rwhp / 1029 rwtq. (lots of videos here: )

The sounds, the experience, the THRILL of having 4 digit power was incredible!

Pros:
Insane Power
Beautiful V8 Twin Turbo Sounds
Very unique car

Cons:
Lots of upkeep, tinkering, even with 20 years of experience, it will always need a clamp tightened here, a hose moved or adjusted there.
ZERO return on investment, ZERO, don't do this if you want any money back on your TT system, most people are scared to buy a car that has gone through this transformation. Returning it to stock is really not an option because so much is changed/modified to install the systems


Hope this helps!

[Markoz28]

As awesome as turbos are I would stay with an supercharger. Maggie or whipple, cam with fuel lobe and low side fuel system. Pretty sure all can be had for about 10k and make pretty good power. Maybe 850whp. I think that’s plenty. Plus it’s under what the tranny can handle.

[mdmoore23]

Turbo'ing this platform seems like a huge hassle. Guitarmageddon makes good power with his but you must remember he has a good relationship with a shop close by doing all the work, and probably for little to no money. This makes a huge difference in a case like this. Going with the more common and proven setups may be the best bet.