TGWS6

I own a 1997 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 M6(6-speed)with nothing done to it besides the American Thunder Exhaust by Flowmaster. I was wondering about where my 1/4 mile would be at approximately 2500 feet if I bought Lloyd Elliot's LE1 Heads alongside his 218/224 cam. Thanks for the help.

hrcslam

That depends on traction, Trans, stall, tune, and location.

bowtienut

iTrader: (1)

A heads/cam package would be almost entirely a waste of time and money until you've done some supporting mods, ESPECIALLY HEADERS.
Right now there'e more bang for the buck available to you with gears, torque converter, and headers/exhaust work. and tune.

BIGsmokey10

iTrader: (3)

As bowtie stated you will need a converter, gears, exhaust ...

My car has le1 heads and a small .550 valve lift 230 ' s duration cam and has been mid 6.70s to the eighth na... that was letting out 80 feet early, short shifting and getting the tune squared away... that's on a 383 with a bone stock intake. Hoping for high 6.50s when I get it dialed in... Lloyd has some great stuff as so does Ai. .. you need everything to work in conjunction with one another to run a number though. ..

TGWS6

The car is a 6 speed so I don't understand when you say I need a torque converter. What gears would you guys suggest, the WS6 came with the 3.42s and I'd need the car to still be able to be a daily driver.

NewOrleansLT1

Get headers and tune at minimum.. Gears wouldn't hurt either.. For the track get all the above plus some drag radials and suspension mods and go out and run low 12's or high 11's

PA94Z

iTrader: (1)

That is moving with that setup! Nice... what's your race weight?

4.10s are a great all around gear for the 6 speed. No reason a 380+ rwhp 6 speed Fbody can't go mid 11's or better.

hrcslam

6200+ DA and no traction is a good reason not to hit 12's...... especially on a 6 speed.

93M6Formula

Go with 4.10s with that 6-speed. They are more than daily driveable, in fact they should have been an option because of the double overdrive. No you won't lose any MPG especially in town. The only problem is they make that 10 bolt even weaker.

BIGsmokey10

iTrader: (3)

Oops didn't see you are a six speed. Some 4.10 gears , 28x10.5 et street bias plys, or slicks..

A well sorted out tune and if everything is working with one another, good clutch, good shifting, good air, free flowing exhaust, at a decent 3500 weight I'd say mid 11s.... .

You didn't mention your weight which is an important factor. ..

That cam is pretty tiny. .. something in the mid to upper 220 on the intake and mid 230 on the exhaust might suit you better and won't be any harder on parts.


He pa 94 z .. car is around 3350 to 3400 with me in it. .. that is with a tight nitrous converter set up for a good sized 200 to 250 hit threw a fogger with a nitrous gear and a 275 pro on e85. I let out around the 590 ft area and short shifted the car at 5800 and I'm self tuning it myself. .. I think it'll go mid to high 6.50s na once it's sorted out. . Car is geared for the quarter but it's a fresh combo front to back so I'm just running it to the eighth till I get it sorted out.

PA94Z

iTrader: (1)

The OP stated he was racing in 2500 ft DA. Definitely need traction.

Very impressive man.. I look forward to seeing 6.5's happen for you. Getting it done with a pretty mild combination!

hrcslam

Ahh thanks, I must've missed that.

Wheel Stander

I agree with Bowtie. I'm in the process of having my base LT-1 motor rebuilt as a 383 stroker and am using Lloyd to port the heads and intake. When I initially contacted him, his immediate suggestions were gears, torque converter (mine is an A4) and tune. It wasn't until he was satisfied that I was committed to doing top-to-bottom modifications, that he was even willing to discuss heads, cam, added displacement, etc. My point is this ... the experts will tell you before worrying about any internal modifications, upgrade all the external bolt-ons THEN reassess where things stand. Improving performance of any motor requires a logical and sequential approach. It's far too easy to waste good money by getting into the exotic stuff before taking care of the basics. In some cases, upgrading the easy stuff will turn a car into a completely different animal. Take a step back, think about what you learned in "Fast Cars 101", THEN decide how much more you need. Money is too hard to come by, so spend it wisely.

guppymech

iTrader: (7)

^^^ That is some good advice Mr. Wheel Stander.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

Should be noted that once you have all the supporting mods, then heads and cam that going to a 383 offers rather small gains, all that stuff that can be done first can add a couple hundred hp easily, and the substantial cost of a 383 if staying hydraulic and within the pcm rpm limits might only gain you 25hp if that so long as you use a larger cam to compliment. Same heads same cam the hp number will be even closer and yes area under the curve will be a little better but most guys have traction issues at over,400rwhp anyway. A 350/355 with a 7000rpm max should make plenty of low end for normal driving and racing.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, but if the car is street driven the torque advantage with a stroker makes for a more pleasurable driving experience.

My car with stroker and 3.73 gears while in 5th gear.

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

Strokers are bada$$ for the street. More low end torque, better sound.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

I am not disagreeing about the area under the curve etc, but any of those saying stroker is the way to go have any experience with a truly good 350/355? Properly stalled an A4 350 drives great, get into M6 and I can see,the low speed feel of a stroker being more noticeable. But even so a truly well done 350 with a M6 should feel nice at low speeds.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

Maybe nice, but just not AS nice.

350 groundpounder

iTrader: (5)

It is true that a 350/355 can make plenty of torque to fry your tires off on the street, but they say there is no replacement for displacement! I want a 383 when my little LT1 bites the big one!