First, just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jeff and my first car was a 1998 3.8L Camaro. I loved that car until it got totalled by some retard rear ending me. Since then I've gotten into the "sport compact" scene, but still kept my Chevy roots. Me and my mom had an 86 Vette and now have an '05. I also recently picked up a 2006 Cobalt SS S/C. In any case, I've been doing a lot of work with forced induction ('95 Talon TSi AWD (turbo) and now my '06 SS S/C (supercharged)). I'm looking to get a project car, and I was thinking of getting a used 98-02 3.8L Camaro and turbocharging it. I just had a couple of questions that I was hoping you guys could help me answer. I searched the forums for a little bit and found some answers, but not all.

1) What is the stock compression ration on the 3.8L?
2) How strong are the stock internals? How capable are they of handling forced induction?
3) Would the factory rear handle upwards of 300whp? What about the suspension?
4) If anyone has had experience with turbocharging a 3.8L, please share your story so I can get some more insight.

Thanks for any advice/input you guys can give! [sm=icon_cheers.gif]

 

well first off while this forum is great, but it does not have near the knowledge (of 3800 series motors) of the guys on www.fullthrottlev6.com

to answer your questions:
1) What is the stock compression ration on the 3.8L? 9.4:1
2) How strong are the stock internals? How capable are they of handling forced induction? well i'm up to 425 RWHP on a stock engine. Noone has broken a camaro/firebird due to FI yet....
3) Would the factory rear handle upwards of 300whp? What about the suspension? You need to get an LSD in the rearend should be good for 300-400 HP depending on how hard you areon it.
4) If anyone has had experience with turbocharging a 3.8L, please share your story so I can get some more insight. You can see many stories about turbocharging 3800's on full throttle v6.

Another FYI there is only one kit out for our cars and http://www.force-fed-fabrications.com/ they are the only ones who have a kit out.

 

thanks for the info. i'm surprised at the 9.4:1 compression ratio....looks absolutely perfect for a forced induction setup! i'll check out those sites.

 

Well, fullthrottle v6 is a spefic forums for those very deep into that engine, as well as 3800pro.com, both of them focus more on the engine, where here we try to focus on the car.

 

I was not trying to be rude about this site. While I know what I am doing, there are people on fullthrottle v6 who could help him out more than I can.

 

No, i also visit other sites as well, 3800pro being one of them if i cant answer or have my own questions