TypeS

After reading thread after thread on supercharging, turbo, cams and other power adders and seeing so many people speculate about how cost effective one mod is over another I'd like to compile a list of what members are actually spending at the end of the day. I know seeing the total cost will help some members make a decision which route to go if any. So, if you could please include:

1. Year
2. Model (v6/GT, auto/manual)
3. Daily driver/weekend car/track car?
3. List of all parts added along with price of the parts themselves (especially the supporting ones, I hate when people give me the price for a kit but then say I'll have to go add other things which makes the task more daunting)
4. If not self installed: price of labor and the shop name/location
If self installed: estimation of time spent in addition to any special tools that were needed that the average person may not own.
5. Hp/tq after all was said and done in addition to baseline numbers(dyno charts would be great)
6. Any major issues that may have occured during install or as a result of the new parts (ex:blown motor)

I realize that the list of parts for some may be long but that is the point, helping everyone figure out what amount of money is actually necessary to achieve the power they would like can help others get started with their own builds or projects. If anyone has suggestions for other information that may be needed please let me know.

justin_burke05

black magnetic back panel- 40 bucks! hundred horse power+!

candymanjl

all my stuff is listed in my sig but here goes...

1. Year - 2009

2. Model (v6/GT, auto/manual). - GT/Manual

3. Daily driver/weekend car/track car? - Daily driver

3. List of all parts added along with price of the parts themselves (especially the supporting ones, I hate when people give me the price for a kit but then say I'll have to go add other things which makes the task more daunting).

I'll just list the power adders, not gauges and shifter and such.
Kenne Bell Stage 2 kit with 130mm TB - $6,300 plus $160 in shipping to Florida.
Meziere water pump - $360 with relay kit.
Brisk one heat range colder plugs - $136
Boom Tube axle back exhaust - $330

4. If not self installed: price of labor and the shop name/location
If self installed: estimation of time spent in addition to any special tools that were needed that the average person may not own.

I'd never pay a shop to install a Kenne Bell, it's too easy and the directions are great Tool wise there's not very much that you need surprisingly and nothing is specialty. Basically you could get everything Pep Boys. There's one long 5mm allen key that's kinda specialty and a special hose disconnect for the fuel line, but they provide those in the kit. For the wiring you really want a nicer soldering gun. I do lots of wiring at work so I have a nice Hakko one, but a normal cheap one from Radio Shack would be fine, just a little more work since some of the wires are small.

The only things that you need that don't come with the Kenne Bell standard kits are coolant, distilled water, and water wetter (if you want water wetter, I did). The plugs, water pump, and exhaust listed above aren't necessary for installing the kit, it just frees up a little more power. They recommend the plugs once you get around 15psi but I decided to hedge my bet since I'm in a hot climate. The Kenne bell kits can truly be installed with only the parts in the boxes and the coolant, no other parts are needed, they're optional. Their kits also move the intake temp sensor into the manifold from the factory versus moving it yourself later like with the Whipple kits. Not that it's really hard or anything but it's one less thing you have to do and you don't need a new tune. I know most guys don't run Whipple's tune since it's uber conservative and doesn't make the power the kit should. That's one more thing to get that's not part of the kit.

5. Hp/tq after all was said and done in addition to baseline numbers(dyno charts would be great)

Before and after dynos in my sig, I gained 186whp from the charger over my baseline with the exhaust and water pump already installed. all the parts combined put me right around 200whp over stock. on the supercharged dyno I'm getting wheel spin down low so my torque numbers are off, I'll go back after I get my new tires. This is also on Kenne Bell's tune, no extra money for a custom tune.

6. Any major issues that may have occured during install or as a result of the new parts (ex:blown motor)

No blown motor here Honestly everything has been great with the kit, nothing to complain about. It took me 20 hours to install the kit by myself, I spread the install over three days but installing it in two wouldn't be hard. I just got a late start on the first day so that's why I spread it out. I'd recommend Kenne Bell kits to anyone, their completeness being one of their best features. Like I mentioned you just need fluids to fill the car back up, otherwise it all comes in those two lovely huge boxes Their customer service is great too. Between asking questions before buying the kit, buying the kit, then having a couple questions afterwards all the guys I talked to there are really helpful. I've got about 50 total emails with the guy I worked with when buying the kit and he was always helpful.

And even though I didn't list gauges I personally think everyone that's boosted should at least have a boost gauge to know what's really going into the motor. Aeroforce gauges are awesome and show everything the ECU sees, those are great too for checking fuel pressure, timing, whatever. I'm also adding their wideband kit to the Aeroforce gauge to see the AF ratios.

otbiker

In the past 6 weeks after purchase, I've added appearance "widgets" and maintenance items to the total of $2600. Pretty shocking...

Air Dam 63
Battery 70
Blackout 40
Cabin Filter 25
CAI 230
Emblems 21
Grill 120
Int Trim 149
Key Fob 60
Mufflers 90
Oil Change 25
Plenum 160
Rad Ext 75
Seat Repair 55
Shifter Chrome 45
Spark Plugs 27
Spoiler 127
Strut Covers 102
Tires 437
Wheels 400
Windshield 240
Wipers 18

$2579

usc49erfan

1.2006
2.GT, auto
3.Daily
4.Jba lts $612, jba o/r h $176 , SLP reso $150, bbk o2 ext $35, header gaskets $50, turndowns welded by shop $40, tune $250(wasted $200 at local shop before bama email tune), tuner $375, bbk cai $300, bbk udp$250, bbk tb$320, rims$600(thanks ebay), tires $1200, 3.73 gears$600(including install price and kit), eleanor hood$400(ebay), side scoops $120, agent 47 mirrors $150(ebay), 1/4 louvers $180, eleanor spoiler $200(ebay)Paint cost for previous w/ stripe install $1050, black front and lower "bar" griles $220leather interior $350(newtakeoff), roush pedals $9(thanks ebay), rear seat delete $150, roush spoiler $200 (ebay), new starter after lts fried the stock $180, heat shield for starter $50(after 3 more fried starters thanks lifetime warranty), new ipod radio $150, gauge pod in stock radio slot $75, 3 gauges $70, GRAND TOTAL:8,512
5. all self installed and with way to many hours spent playing with her to even begin to know
6. 4 fried starters from lts(fixed with heat sheild), blown fuse from tuner(what a headache)
after all that my only advise to someone is just starting JUST BUY A SUPERCHARGER!!!

Mudflap

I sold mine a few weeks ago, but I'll add the totals of the power/drivetrain related parts for reference.

1. Year
2009

2. Model (v6/GT, auto/manual)
GT manual

3. Daily driver/weekend car/track car?
Weekend car

3. List of all parts added along with price of the parts themselves (especially the supporting ones, I hate when people give me the price for a kit but then say I'll have to go add other things which makes the task more daunting)

Brenspeed Vortech V3 kit - $3800
FRPP 3.73 gears - $200
Shaftmasters driveshaft - $425
Gauge setup (Aeroforce, boost, AEM air/fuel, SOS pillar) - $700

4. If not self installed: price of labor and the shop name/location
If self installed: estimation of time spent in addition to any special tools that were needed that the average person may not own.

Supercharger professional install, Lone Star Performance, Dallas, TX - $1200
Gear/driveshaft install, Lone Star Performance, Dallas, TX $300

5. Hp/tq after all was said and done in addition to baseline numbers(dyno charts would be great)

397rwhp 362rwtq @ 5500rpm (dyno'd with 3.31 stock gears, fwiw)

6. Any major issues that may have occured during install or as a result of the new parts (ex:blown motor)

None

Grand total on performance related parts and gauges is $6625

I had money invested in mufflers, appearance and wheels and tires above and beyond this... HTH

jerjan

I have way too many mods to list here. I will tell you this. I spent over 10k in upgrades and did all the work myself in my garage. So with the price of the car and the mods I have about 37k invested. It will outrun a GT500, A new Camaro, Z06 Vette, Challenger, Charger and most of muscle cars on the road. All for a lot lower cost than all the above. Is it worth it? you bet!

howarmat

im over 15k probably lol, 4 sets of wheels and 2 nav systems adds up real quick~!

BruceH

2008 GT/CS

Built motor (new block, crank, rods, pistons, gaskets, seals, etc. and macine work) $3200

FRPP/Whipple $4,800. Upgrade to HO $2300. Total $7100.

Upgraded to GT500 injectors and HPX maf $425.

Used SCT X3 $225. Tuning ? $150 per hour, for the current configuration 2 hours $300.

McLeod RST clutch $700. Fidanza flywheel $250. Dynatech ds $700. Control arms $300
That's $13,200 invested in my current configuration and I'm not counting mods I did and removed like cai, hurst shifter, gear swaps (currently have stock 3.55's in), methanol injection, numerous tuning session for the different configurations along the way, etc.
I'm also not counting my shifter, ds loop, motor mounts, gauges, tires, rims, dr's, and other mods not required for the motor.

I paid $25,800 for the car new in 2008. Add $13,200 and it's a number I hope my wife never sees.

Current hp is 523/500 rwhp/tq. It's fast.

OP: I never saw your breakdown.

forensicsteve

Only guestimation since modding began in 2006 and never stopped

forced induction
started with Procharger, then 67mm turbo, then 76mm turbo
about $10K

transmission
switched to 4r70w, then reinforced 4r70w, then switched to GM powerglide (had to fashion custom brackets and driveshaft with GM yolk)
about $10K

fuel
gt500 dual pumps, then added KB baps, then went triple pumps + megadriver, then fuel cell with return style system, upgraded rails, lines, upgraded fuel injectors twice
about $7k

motor
302 stroker...then went boom, rebuilt and reinforced
about $8k

heads/cams
upgraded twice
maybe $6-7K

rearend
currie 9 inch
about $4K

lots of other stuff like
JPC intake manifold
15 inch Bogarts
loads of tires
10 point NHRA cage
methanol system
racing seats
gauges
trunk battery
transmission coolers
suspension mods
guessing at least $10K

body work and paint work
about $8K

numerous and continued dynotuning, servicing etc
$000?????


trailer
got have it
about $3K