Oh and I wasn't sure if this was the correct place for this thread cause it involves both a turbo and a V8 swap? So if it needs to be moved to make it easier to find for the subject thanks in advance

 

I would turbo the 4.8 personally. V8 swap info can be found in the stickies of that section.
Fellows over on http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/ have been getting fair numbers with the 4.8.

 

Turbo the 2.2L and send me the 4.8, kthx.

 

Nothing compares to a turbo'd V8
the money spent on a 2.2 will make you wish you had done a V8 swap all the long.

4.8 v8s can handle a rediculous amount of boost! Along with being reliable....

 

you have a donor truck,it's a nobrainer.do the swap.but it'll take some modding so it's not all free.you'll swap ecm and harness plus rewire guages and misc,driveline swap with rearend,custom exhaust with headers made for s10may have to knotch a little of frame and possibly front coils.also radiator needed like one from corvette.

 

Its not really a no brainer. It all boils down to how much money and time you want to invest.

Sounds like time really isnt an issue since you have a donor:

V8- If you can get those items for free, I would def lean towards it. When I was deciding on my route, the ls6 engine was about 5G alone. I would still have to buy all kinds of stuff. I could have easily spent 10G just on parts and not even have the thing running, not to mention all the time it would take me. If you can get good hook ups, then go for the V8. And as far as MPG, a fuel injected ride (like the LS6) should produce 25+ mpg believe it or not. Ive seen many see that kinda MPG, and thats about what Im getting with my Turboed 2.2

Turbo 2.2- It all came down to the fact that the kit was like 3500 and was pretty much bolt on for double the HP. I might have 5-7G in my engine (minus shop costs) and I can drive it anyday. I have bought top of the line things so If I want to, just rebuild the engine with forged internals and crank the boost, possibly getting 300 rwhp. I am pushing app. 230 rwhp on stock internals (last dyno was 210 but things have been done since).

A turboed 2.2 is nothing to sneeze about, alot of people joke on me, but the jokes on them when I leave there ass in the dust. Its actually happend alot. And to all the V8 people, yea, a V8 is a monster and theres room to grow, I get that and I respect that, so dont think Im hating or thinking a turboed 2.2 is faster etc, because Im not even comparing the two in that mannor.

 

edit: double post, some retarded database error

 

I don't think anyone would get that you are hating on the V8 option. Actually your post on the 2.2 option was probably needed to help the OP make a decision.

It all depends on what their budget is, how much work they are willing to do. Either way, it's whatever they decide to do.

I mentioned a V8 route due to the fact they have one, yet as you say, the kit from DTS are pretty decent and offer good results.

 

I was just covering my bases, didnt want someone to come in here and start firing off a bunch of BS lol.

Both options are good, I honestly cannot say one is better than the other since there are alot of variables to be taken into consideration. OP just needs to do his research and find out what the best option is for him The turbo route was the best route for me, and I dont regret it.


Edit: Another thing to op, what kinda HP numbers are you wanting to get and what are your future plans for the truck? If you want to eventually make a drag truck, the V8 option would have the most potential. Once you deck out the V8, you can easily supercharge, or TT it and gain insane amounts of Hp that a 2.2 couldnt touch.

 

thanks for all the opinions! But as my bad luck streak continues, my dad decided to get rid of the truck instead of in keeping it around which was our first intention. So the free engine is gone now. But yea a V8 sounds like it would really be nice inside my truck but the turbo 2.2 is just something that looks sweet every time you see you see it.

I'll have to keep my mind open and eventually just do what is cheaper in the end, if i find a good engine for cheap then thats probably what i'll do, or if building a turbo is cheaper then thats the route.

 

That sucks, but at least you still have the 2.2 option left to work with. There are some really decent turbo builds to look at around here. One of which posted above you.
Not as much potential as the V8, but still fun.

 

yea i actually read through his thread about the build he did a while back and really liked the outcome, and if I was to turbo it was probably be along the same line as that DTS2.net kits looks like (just more used junkyard parts since i cant shell out the $3000 for that kit)

 

I hear you about money, my boosted 4.3 still costs me money.
Good luck with your project and post it up when you get started.

 

a turbo can be done for very cheap depending on what you want out of it. if you want a light, fun truck to drive, look into a home built turbo setup. theres a site just for those guys. home made turbo .com i believe. dont mean to plug em, but i mentioned this site over there a couple times too, so i call it even i have a 99 s10 2.2 auto that i put a T3 on with all fabricated pieces and some ingenuity. paying 400 bucks for the truck, i wanted to just keep it cheap and fun. i dont have 1100 bucks in it total including the purchase price. it runs very well with water injection and about 8psi, and having owned a few real hotrod s10's, i can honestly say this one is the most fun of all them, and gets better mileage than it did factory

 

all depends on what you want. for me boost is like crack. so after I got a taste of the 2.2 on 5psi it wasn't long before I was getting parts to do internals, larger turbo etc. the 2.2 is lighter than the lsx engine family, mpg can vary widely depending on how you drive with boost. same can hold true for the v8. i'm sure a newer displacement one demand 5.3 in this light of a truck could get over 20 in town and 30 plus highway easily.
but with a v8 everyone expects you to be fast so its no surprise when you are.
my turbo 2.2 leaves people asking wtf was that. its also really funny to get the old school v8 guys coming over to look at my 4 cylinder after it does 100+ in the quarter. I really cant wait now that my brakes can actually hold the truck into boost. now i just need 15" wheels that will clear the rear disks to mount my slicks. it will be nice to finally get a decent launch on boost. with that said if you are addicted to power and your truck is a daily go with the v8.

 

all depends on what you want. for me boost is like crack.

Amen. I have the 4.3 but after it was supercharged with nitrous, then turbocharged, I'm not happy driving a non boosted vehicle. Regardless if it's a 2.2, 4.3, or a newer V8, if boost is involved it's going to be a lot of fun.

Granted the more cubes that is involved with the appropriate turbo is going to yield the highest gains, I still feel boost of any sort, be it a supercharger, turbocharger, or nitrous, regardless of engine size, there is going to be some fun to be had.

 

With your driving record stick with 2.5 and put a governor on it. Seriously though since you have the 4.8 and trans. that would be the way to go,it would make a sweet driver and still get some decent mileage.I will admitt I did the conventional sbc / carb years ago and don't know all the in / out's of the newer engines.I think JTR has a manual to cover them.

 

he said in an above post the donor vehicle is no longer available. Please read the whole thing before posting

 

I responded to the first post which was where he stated he had the 4.8,I don't read the replies because frankly they are repetitious.Are you the post police ?

 

my stock 5.3 was gettin 26 on the highway than i cammed it out lol, but question comes down to budget and time. Are you going to wire the LS yourself or pay for one, you will need headers and mounts, rework some of the fuel system, and various other aspects which are all covered in the LSX forum right here on s10forum. My advice to you is research the LS swap for while before taking on the task as lots of people start and some fail and some take way to long to complete it, where as u have a running tutu which with an easy weekend you can put some boost behind it to get you going. Choice is yours but just do the research first.

 

no, just sayin before thread gets 50 posts about using the v8 when it is no longer available.

 

Hey,just pulling your chain because I noticed you're in Inverness Fl. Moved here about three years ago from WPB FL. Surprised I haven't seen your truck around town,I usually notice S-10 / S-15 .Looks like you've done some mods to your truck,good to see that the younger generation don't mind getting their hands dirty.

 

haha its good, I'm sure you'll see it, its hard to miss, blue truck full of dents, pewter fender and a whip antenna on the roof.