Turbo setup for a 5.3

[ivorton74]

I came upon this video from justchevytrucks on youtube. I want to try this setup on my 5.3 when I swap it in except i'll have an intercooler on mine. Does anyone have a turbo setup similar to this one or is there a better way to go about it? Post pics if u guys can.

heres the video...

LSx4U.com 4.8 LS Chevy Engine Running a GT35...

[BR3W CITY]

Maybe its just the way it seems laid out but it seems weird to me to have the exhaust feed INTO the other manifold. I haven't seen that before. Usually the seperate manifolds merge, I'm not sure what a dual-purpose manifold like that what really do.

Never seen that before.

[wgeyer88]

I hadn't seen that setup before either until I started digging around for a turbo kit for my Silverado. It appears that it's the standard layout for most of the newer chevy truck single turbo kits out there. KB Racing and Trick Performance, the two largest producers of silverado turbo kits, both utilize that setup. You can actually purchase that manifold separately from Trick performance if you're building your own kit (for a mere $600!).

Check out these sites, they show more on these kits:

http://www.shop.trickperformanceprod...1.htm?page=all

http://www.kbracing.net/about.html

I've thought about using one of these kits on my C10. The only real downside I see is that you have to use the stock truck manifold on the drivers side which doesn't fit real well.

[BR3W CITY]

No disrespect to KB racing, but I've seen a mix of things come out of that place.
The manifolds are schedule 40 pipe, which is fine for strength but lacks the elegance of stainless for a turbo manifold. They came a long way from where the used to be, but I still get a "diy" vibe on some of the parts quality.

That being said; if it works, it works. I'd be interested to hear if any high-hp guys are running this. Is there a negative side effect from having 4 cylinders push air 3ft to the turbo, wherease the other 4 push the air 4 inches to the turbo.

[85burb]

Trick has a new cast stainless manifold. People have made lots of power with that type set up.
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[BR3W CITY]

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Is there a negative side effect from having 4 cylinders push air 3ft to the turbo, wherease the other 4 push the air 4 inches to the turbo.

I found out the answer to my own question lol so I figured I'd put it here.

Equal length runners from head to turbo will almost always make a little more power, and do so a little more efficiently....but this effect has somewhat of a diminished return on a big v8....why?

Exhaust leaves the head in a pulse, not a single stream of air. These pulses have a certain amount of force inside a pipe, and thusly take a certain amount of time to travel the distance to the turbo. On a small engine like a 4 cyl turbo, there are only 4 pulses being generated, so if one runner has a significantly longer path, it has a greater effect on the amount of air being delivered to the turbo. From what I can find its similar to the idea of scavenging exhaust in terms of squeezing the maximum effort from the air. The more cylinders and larger engine, the more frequent and larger the pulses, making the issue of equal runners less imperative.



I still think its weird to force air towards the outlet of a head, but at least the runner length thing has an answer.

[85burb]

The highest I found in my quick look is 919 hp to the ground threw a 4.8 with stock internals.
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[69trk]

Ive been researching for a while... I'm going custom so i know it fits and works and looks good.. Plus i want to show it and race it... but very expensive my route that's why its taking so long...

[ivorton74]

found this video...pretty much the same setup except with an intercooler

turbo silverado new under hood 87 gmc - YouTube

[Wasted Income]

Originally Posted by ivorton74

Does anyone have a turbo setup similar to this one or is there a better way to go about it? Post pics if u guys can.

The first turbo LS setup I built for my C-10 was setup just like this.

It was pretty janky, but it worked well enough to push my 5.3 powered longbed into the high 11s on a junkyard semi-truck turbo.

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Maybe its just the way it seems laid out but it seems weird to me to have the exhaust feed INTO the other manifold. I haven't seen that before.

Never seen that before.

Originally Posted by wgeyer88

I hadn't seen that setup before either

I got my inspiration from a little known 80's car called the Buick Grand National. Maybe you've heard of it, lol. See any resemblance?

Here's a stock pass side GN manifold


And here's a set of GN1 aftermarket stainless headers.