Sorry, but I couldn't resist the title!

Seriously, though, I do have a legit question.

Which is the best route to go, dollar for dollar, for low end torque and engine reliability, and dare I even mention, the better of the two for fuel economy...

For a lifted, daily driven 2nd gen Ram that's never at a drag strip nor does any serious off-roading, but would have plenty enough power to do so if required of it, with all of the torque to be made made from Idle to as much as 5,500rpm but not higher than that to keep engine rpm down when calling upon all that power, and NO nitrous to be used in either option...

Using a blower on a rebuilt "stock" 360,

...or...

assembling the correct parts for a naturally aspirated 408 stroker from the same stock 360?

Both options of course having a properly programmed PCM.

Alright guys, let's hear which option is better, and why.

 

This looks just like the one one pavement sucks??? HMMMM?

 

Well..with both options there are of course risks. Stroking the motor weakens the block, and throwing on a blower has a chance of blowing the block. As long as you keep it at 7psi or less on a stock motor youll be good.

As far as power and fuel econo go.... stroking the motor will ad great power across the band. So will a blower though, one advantage id say stroking vs a blower is that with a supercharger you actually lose power at the higher rpms. (fact proven when tested which are better turbos or blowers...turns out turbos are..you can easily compensate for the lag). Then you also have the pull from the supercharger against the engine, as in the loss of hp from the need to drive the charger(this is all made up for of course). But youll have that power all the time across your band. (untill as ive stated already in the much higher rpms) For you though keeping it around 5kish you dont even have to concider that. The stroker will ultimately be limited to how much power you wanna make, cuz its all engine. Youd have to get it down to a real science if you wanna make as much as you can with a good motor and a blower. Cuz, with a good engine all you have to do (kinda) is increase the PSI and adjust the tune and..more power.

My opinion from reading, watchin a **** load of speed( haha), and from friends and a lil experience working with blowers (stang). The charger will give you more bang for buck with a properly rebuilt stocker. The stroker is close behind though, would def give better mpg and still great power. If you really wanna get serious though....first you stroke it, then blow it and if all else fails...get a cummins..cuz then you will be .

 

And how exactly would you know that??? Hmmmmm? LOL!

Well, it is basically the same question, but with a little more info, and it isn't buried in someone else's thread that started out on a different question and I "hi-jacked". I've always respected the opinions of the fellow members on this site (as do I also on PS), so I thought I'd start a separate thread on this forum to get some input from these members as well.

I have a not-too-distant dream to build my own engine, and this is what I would need to know before going too much further. I'll look at what everybody has to say on this subject, and then let the dreaming begin... I would hope to be able to start my project within the next year or so, so I want to get started now on researching so when I get to the actual decision making, I'll already know what I'm going to do. I also have located the two books that were mentioned elsewhere on building these engines and expect to receive them soon.

 

Thanks Mowhawk. IF money were no option, then I would just remove everything and get as much engine and tranny I could stuff into the truck, remove the hood for the double blower setup, then turn my truck bed into a massive fuel tank, 'cause that's what I'd need to go anywhere farther than a few blocks.

But, keeping it realistic, I want to rebuild an engine for the satisfaction, and the fun it'll be driving around in my creation. I don't want to cut corners just to cut cost, but I also don't want to spend more money than necessary to get great power out of it for what I'll be asking of it. I want the best bang for the buck without getting crazy about it. I've been reading what others have posted on their builds, but some of the directions they went aren't necessarily the route I will take. I will keep their experiences in mind though. I'm in the "researching phase" of my future project so I'll be absorbing as much input as I can find before deciding.

 

Id say use that thick 5.2L block, and throw on an STS Turbo system, higher injectors, and your SCT tune to accomadate. Bad thing though, is that on the gearing and the tranny....
http://ststurbo.com/

 

VERY interesting!!! Definitely food for thought! I'll have to read up on that idea as well...

 

If I were in your situation I would not do a supercharger. Those are easy and popular.
Since you want the satisfaction of rebuilding the engine - I would build a 408 with a wild cam. It is possible and creates a sound that will turn heads more than a supercharger.
What is that sound? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id593...eature=related
Blower/supercharger whine is nothing to me but a wild cam in a fuel injected, computer controlled truck WOW!

 

hes talking about power though not sound. Yeah a stroker will create good power, but youd wanna upgrade your cam anyway if your gonna put on a blower. I believe he did say he was gonn rebuild the engine if he was goin the way of a blower. Gotta get a good cam in there.

I do agree with you though, you cant beat that cam loop.

 

sorry, I got overly excited about the 408 with cam.
If low end torque, reliability, and gas mileage are needed - just buy a diesel.