Im building an L61 for my cavy and im having some trouble deciding on a setup. I have the money and the skills/connections to do the install and build but me and my dad are fairly new to boosting(my dad was into muscle cars, and still is) and dont know what a good setup would be. We want something that is around the 400 hp mark, that is capable of being driven daily, capable of highway driving and is moderately dependable. Im trying to think of all aspects of the project to ensure that my setup is great. So the plan is to build it with forged internals , with a high flow head and get it blue printed and balanced. What compression should i be aiming for? What turbo setup would work for my goals, and what are some other engine internals that you guys are running? Any help would be great. Big V-8s seem so much less complicated

I was thinking of doing greddy e manage when i install the turbo.

well bud sounds like you have alot of homework to do. boost is nothing to mess around with and absolutely nothing to guess your way into. if your planning to go turboed your only making it more complicated but your also gunna recieve better performance "as long as you do it correctly". for starters, yeah your thinking right. go with forged pistons and rods, a common compression to run with boost is around 8.5:1 as for the head, you dont have too many options with our quads. your best bet would be to go with a 2.3 HO head, for the intake i would definately also go with the 2.3 HO its about the best way to go because of availability of aftermarket parts. you could obviously have a sheet metal intake custom made which would be ideal but not something most guys have the option of. i would also recomend going with some ARP head and main studs. the rods will most likely come equipped with ARP studs already installed "eagle rods do". i would'nt recomend the cometic head gasket, alot of us have had problems with them leaking including myself. for injectors, do it right and size some on RC Engineerings web page and order them brand new from them its the best way. having the engine balanced is a good idea and for the price its kinda stupid not to. if possible, remove the blance shafts its just less weight and more power you can put to the wheels if they arent in there. if your really shooting for 400 hp, im telling you right now your gunna spend some serious cash if you do it right. i am pushing a little over 400 now and have close to 9,000 in my engine setup "thats is engine, internals, and all turbo hardware". i did go with a turbonetics turbo though and basicaly all name brand @!#$ but i believe in building something with genuine good parts if you do it. as far as the turbo goes, if your serious about 400 hp, your prolly gunna end up with the same one i have or very similar to it. i am running a turbonetics T3/T04E 57 trim .63A/R turbine housing, stage 3 wheel. you need to read up on how to size turbo's and how to read compressor maps. Garrett has a link on their website that explains everything i recomend you look at it. your prolly gunna have alot of guys give you crap on here for making the post you did because of how broad it was, read read read man, check out my profile and look at my setup, keep in touch

Yeah, I didnt mean to be that general. I guess what would really help is to find out what setups people are running and what kind of performance they are getting. Thanks for the post though. I definetly wanted to go for the 2.3 HO intake and head, that was pretty much what i was thinking before. I have about $10000 to work with so this looks like it might workout. I already have the 2003 L61 block purchased for $200 from a family friend(broken crank). Im going to get it rebuilt with the parts that i end up choosing

The parts i had in mind are:
ARP head stud kit
.440 intake and .436 exhaust valve lift, 258 intake and 262 exhaust duration - competition cam stage 2
Eagle 4340 forged crank and forged connection rods
and possible a
Darton sleeve kit

Does is seem like im on the right track? Im going to read up choosing the right turbo by learning to read those confusing compressor maps cause i guess it will be the only way. You suggested an 8.5:1 compression but most of the pistons i have come across (eagle and wiesco) both provide higher compression.