joe3z1988 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 What is more cost effective? Converting a 240 into a turbo 2.8L or v-8 swap? I am in the planning stage of this future project. Would greatly appreciate any inputs. My engine performance goal is a reliable 300 at the wheels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 what do you like more? any 350 should be able to make 300rwhp pretty easy , L28et takes some work but I love it. Having had both I miss the way a v8 just charges but have grown to love waiting on the mid-top end charge of boost. If I were doin v8 goal would be minimum 400rwhp hooking and moving and killing, there is a lot that has to be done to get the car done right at any hp rate with the v8 swap and if Im going to do it im going hog on it or nothing. Depends on what you want to do with the car, and bottom line is youre gonna get sucked in no matter which engine you choose to use, so you should pick the poison that tastes sweeter to you from the jumpstart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rags Posted May 20, 2004 Share Posted May 20, 2004 I can actually answer this because I have both! Depending on how good you are at finding the right parts in the junk yard, the V8 car is much cheaper to get a reliable 300 hp. There is no secret to making power with a V8, lots o' cubes. Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phyte Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I can actually answer this because I have both! Depending on how good you are at finding the right parts in the junk yard' date=' the V8 car is much cheaper to get a reliable 300 hp. There is no secret to making power with a V8, lots o' cubes. Joe[/quote'] Like you said though its all about finding the right parts. I bought a complete, and I do mean complete, L28et off ebay for $153. The guy thought it had a bad turbo, but it was just a blown head gasket. So far I've got about $450 into my project including a rebuilt head, new intake, new head gasket, new gas tank, and some other small things. I'll be able to bolt this engine in in a couple months(don't ask, I work all the time) and it should put about 220-240 to the rear wheels. Sures its far from 300rwhp, but all I'll need is is some injectors and an intercooler to hit 300rwhp, or about $600-$700 more. I was going to go with an LT1, and the cheapest I could fint one was around $800 just for the engine. Sure I could build an ultracheap truck block, but thats not the point I want quality and good parts. Add atleast $500 for the parts to mount the V8, driveshaft work, etc. Then you gotta add on a transmission. I searched all over the place for parts, and my dad has an engine shop so I was getting parts at his cost. All in all my swap should be about $500-$700 less then an LT1 swap. Oh ya I'll mention that the LT1 was carb'd not F.I. F.I. was another big expense. I'm sure you could build a V8 for about what I'm spending, but this is just my opinion on the matter. Phyte Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I can actually answer this because I have both! Joe Been there, done that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spork Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 I think the big question will be is, when you have 300hp for a few years...how much more will you want? Theres no question that either platform can be brought well past 300hp, but in the long run, the v8 will most likely be cheaper if you wants gobs more power. Me owning a turbo car I'll tell you that I love the rush of hitting 25psi and peeling the tires off in fourth gear. Building the l28et past the 400hp mark starts to get pretty pricey and there aren't near the number of people that have built engines past that point when compared to the small block chevy guys. I suppose you could have the best of both worlds and turbo your v8 when you get tired of only 300hp. Either way you go, we'll do what we can to help you along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Roman Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 aint nothing wrong with turbo'd v8's my friend. Andalot of stock v8's pu tout 300 hp. Slap a turbo on that and youve got a fun streetable motor. And v8's move alot more air than v6 so ive always thought that a v8 with a turbo would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
materchan Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 under 300ish i would go l28 over its probably cheaper to do v8. if i were to do a v8 it would be a ford and you could do a turbo with mabye like 330 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Hmm, to me it depends on application. Mind you i have yet to do any engine swap in a Z... So my opinion isn't very valid. But a V-8 won't handle as well in the car... The inline 6 is much lighter and will alow you to corner much better, but it does cost more if you're looking for HIGH HP (anything above 300 i'd assume is high for that motor, but i could be wrong) Oh yea, if the car needs to be smogged.... Good luck with a V8... Judt my .02 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AgentZ Posted May 21, 2004 Share Posted May 21, 2004 Gollum, If you take a look around here you will see thast if done properly a V8 will end up only about 50-60 pounds heavier if that. Also as it sets the weight back in the car it provides better balance so doenst really affect the conering. There are also quite a few people here who have installed a V8 and had it smogged successfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 Like i said... i have yet to do a Z swap... Dang... those L28et motors are boats.... Has anyone sucessfully smogged a V8 in california? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted May 22, 2004 Share Posted May 22, 2004 Gollum, with all due respect please keep the speculation to a minimum... this site is built around facts from people that had done the swaps themselves. You'll notice that the people responding to the origional question have had both cars, so they are quite qualified to answer such a question. As far as the origional question goes, from what I've priced out the ~300rwhp mark and above is about where the V8 gets cheaper for reliable horsepower than the L6Turbo. Either way your car will be a riot to drive!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted May 23, 2004 Share Posted May 23, 2004 So far I've got about $450 into my project including a rebuilt head' date=' new intake, new head gasket, new gas tank, and some other small things. I'll be able to bolt this engine in in a couple months(don't ask, I work all the time) and it should put about 220-240 to the rear wheels. Sures its far from 300rwhp, but all I'll need is is some injectors and an intercooler to hit 300rwhp, or about $600-$700 more[/quote'] Phyte - I dont mean to rain on your parade dude, but you're aiming a bit too high if you're expecting 220-240rwhp running the stock T3, fuel system and no intercooler. I'm running what is basically a maxed out setup for what I have, which is basically bone stock everything with increased boost... and by maxed out I mean maximum I can safely get away with w/o an I/C and more fuel, and I just barely nipped 200rwhp... you should be expecting about the same (and if my example isn't enough just look around... 200-210 is tops you'll see on stock turbo/injectors/non IC'd I guarantee you, most people average 180-190 for 10psi). Furthermore, I seriously doubt just an I/C and bigger injectors would get you to 300rwhp either... it might come close, but you'll be running a seriously taxed T3 if you do. Joe3z1988 - I think if you're goal is 300rwhp the cost would be very close between either one. A turbo swap will be initially cheap but after you buy all the upgrades you will need to get 300rwhp (T3/04 turbo, bigger injectors, intercooler and piping, 3" mandrel exhaust, better fuel pump, possibly - programmable EFI, and lots of other small stuff) it wont be so cheap anymore. A V8 motor swap is more expensive just to get the motor in, but depending on which motor you go with, and various 'smaller' and cheaper upgrades you can do before installation (better carb if carbed, better intake manifold, cam) you should be at about 300rwhp right off the bat. Turbo swap would be quicker to get running I think... or at least, mine only took a couple weeks from start to finish to get running, followed by months and months of fixing the 'bugs' whereas everyone I know or know of that is doing or has done a V8 swap seems to take forever, months or even years, but most will say this is due to the 'while I'm at it' syndrome... and I do believe after getting all the parts together you could have it running relatively quickly, comparable to a turbo swap. personally, I've had a bad experience since swapping the turbo motor... so I am VERY biased, but I will say, if *I* had the money and time to do it over again, knowing what I know now, and wanted a 'quick' 300hp, I would definately go with a chevy. With the amount of money I've spent up til now, I could have easily had a 300rwhp chevy. However, I say this all the time, I am really the exception, not the rule, most people who do the turbo swap dont have nearly as many problems as I've had. Part of the reason for my change of heart as well is that after 3 ZX's, I'm am 100% convinced that I HATE the ZX EFI, and hopefully will never own another car that is running on it again... I've had nothing but problems every time. So I'd go with a carbed V8 because that is something I know and understand, is easy for me to diagnose and tune and figure out... the less electronics the better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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