SOM98TA

iTrader: (1)

well I got a few questions about these cars before I really start to get going on mine..


how are they after 94k miles? should I have any problems ?


I plan on racing it and driving it hard.. not really hard but a good wot blast 4-5 times a day


saturday nights I'm gona beat the hell out of it.. powershifting at 6k etc..



what I'm wondering is when is this thing gona start giving out if I do this? prior owner seems like he took care of it by the overall shape of the car..


if I keep up with oil changes every (2500miles) BTW what oil do you reccomend? (price doesnt matter)


what is the weak link on these engines and what preventive maintenance do you reccomend? I heard rod bolts..


I dont plan on changin the cams for quite a while .. but I do plan on a full bolt on car raced quite frequently..

felton316

Weak link - prevention
Rod bolts- change them
Push rods- don't miss a shift
Rear end- don't use sticky tires with more than 400hp

SOM98TA

iTrader: (1)

I would upgrade the pushrods but I heard that they just go at will no matter how strong/good they are.. if this is not true I will order them now...


rod bolts.. same thing as the pushrods...


Rear end I got a 12bolt planned but no funds for it yet..


want to make sure the engine is ready to go for abuse and I DONT want to skimp on cost to get her runnin right.

00Z28 Camaro

Newb here but about the pushrods , I think a while back I read here that its better to just lets the pushrods bend then braking somthing more important ( not sure what ) is this correct ?

00Z28 Camaro

ttt???

hondakiller

iTrader: (3)

that used to be a pretty common thought on these forums but a few of the more knowledgeable guys around here have gone through this if you want to dig around for their posts.

basically, the pushrod being weak isnt supposed to be a safety feature to save valves or pistons in case of a misshift. its meant to transmit the cam's motion to the rockers/valves, bendable pushrods mean slop in the valvetrain which is no good. the posts go into more detail but thats the gist of it from what i can remember.

00Z28 Camaro

sounds good, thanks .

GuitsBoy

iTrader: (4)

The real fix is hardened pushrods and stiffer valvesprings, that way if you miss a shift and mildly overrev the motor you wont have to worry about floating a valve and slamming it into a piston. But with teh work required to swap valvesprings, youre half way to doing a full cam swap. Then once you do a cam swap, youll be spinning the motor higher and now if you miss a shift at the higher rpm, youre back to where you started (p to v collision danger)

ddnspider

iTrader: (26)

not true.and use mobil 1 oil....regularly

TheBowtieboy

iTrader: (6)

Speaking from 1st hand experience:

On the pushrods: if you stay stock (excluding minor mods - lid, catback, etc.) and don't bump the limiter, I would be more concerned about the rod bolts. I've bent a few push rods from miss shifts and never once had an issue with the valves or pistons. I look at it like a fuse - you break/bend that.....or something further in and more expensive, and they are easy to check and replace.
If you bump your rev limiter or make more significant mods, then harden rods are a necessary.

On the rod bolts: well that's a tough one with the miles on her and what you plan to do. A good thing to help prevent a spun bearing is to run an extra 1/2 to full quart over when you do your "hard driving".......this will help prevent oil starvation.

With that kind of milage, I would also have a compression test done

Ole1830

The best oil to use is German Castol 0w30 if you can find it at your local autozone.

Matt

DONAIMIAN

iTrader: (18)

Ill answer your questions in order
1)94k miles id swap the oil pump if you have a pre 01 car and upgrade to an LS6 pump, just something more reliable.
2)powershifting is no good on these cars unless you know how to do it, not challenging your driving ability, but most who attempt to powershift dont know what therye doing. A 1-2, and 2-3 poweshift isnt a problem, but once you do a 3-4, your gona bend the 3-4 shift fork. If your hooking while doing this, you can also twist the driveshaft or snap the rear end (watched a friend do this one) and an upgraded clutch and hydraulic system is needed.
3)as for other weak links, the pushrods, the flex even on stock motors, valve springs, stock shifter (it sux) stock shocks, and im pretty sure its a lot of things that suck on these cars performance wise, just cant think of em all.