XPiRX

iTrader: (1)

I bought a 94 Z28 a couple of months ago, It's been fun and I love the power. But It's time to start the upgrades, stock performance isn't cutting it anymore, I need more of an adrenaline rush. I bought the car and it has an exhaust(SLP) already and a K&N air filter. My car is an automatic, but I plan on converting it to a T56 in March/April when I do my other upgrades which I'm currently saving for. I wanted to upgrade the cam,headers and exhaust first. Then upgrade the rearend and suspension. After that I'm not sure. I want to do some mild modding/upgrades now so I can get a sexy sounding engine/exhaust and have a decent runtime and ofc whoop on honda's (which I already do, haha).

I've been trying to research info on upgrades but I have not been very successful. I don't know where to look, so I was hoping you guys(and gals) could point me in the right direction.
-What I'm curious about is at what hp should I be worried and need to upgrade the rearend?
-What are some good places to look for and research cam's, headers, exhaust, etc. If you could give me some pointers and/or links to some good articles/comparisons(Here and other sites).
-If you have any advice on a path I could/should take on upgrading.
-Is there a list anywhere of Bad and good brands for parts?

Any info, advice, links, even constructive criticism is appreciated. Now its back to Google and intensive search page research!

97Lt1TA

iTrader: (54)

rear ends on 4th gen f bodies suck. get a rear end girdle for now it will help a little. i ran slicks on my t/a and it lasted me. get headers dont be cheap and get non ceramic get cermanic and go longtube. pacesetter is what i used and alot of people do its the best bang for the buck. there is more to a cam then just putting it in. you will need supporting mods depending on how big the cam you are putting in. lt4 hot cam dont waste your time with that. with stock heads with an upgraded valvetrain get a comp cam 503 cam. try to stay away from ebay generic parts. for a nice exhaust sounding system i say hooker is badass buddy has it its sounds really nice. magnaflow is good and a camming lt1 with true duals is just heaven. go to ls1sounds.com and listen to all different exahusts.

97Lt1TA

iTrader: (54)

use search buttom on top its a good way to find posts from before on things you got questions about

Bad_tx_Z28

iTrader: (3)

^^^
For some cam info check this link out. Its a really good start to a stock headed engine guide.

https://ls1tech.com/forums/lt1-lt4-modifications/826333-input-making-stock-headed-cam-guide.html

jasonp31

Personally I would do gears, then suspension (at least LCA's), then exhaust. Then do a cam and a tune.

Boodyrider

iTrader: (2)

I agree, but would hold off on gears if a T56 swap is going to happen. A4 wants 3.73, M6 wants 4.10. More gear ok if pure track, but much steeper than those would be foolish on a street car.

I guess my order would be:
Long tube headers
LCA
Evaluate the short block; if it's in outstanding shape, maybe keep it, but if not or serious power is desired down the road, now's the place for a forged short block, and you might as well go 383 or 396 here.
Heads and cam, gears at the same time, dyno tune absolutely required at this point.

And no offense, I got both, but I wouldn't again do heavy power mods to an LT1, it's just too easy to make big power on an LSx.

For LTx, I'd do:
Long tube headers, LCAs and subframe connectors, then 3.73 (leave the trans alone, but build it to handle power and shift harder.... and stop there. Maybe go to Koni single adjust shocks all around for the slight lowering and immensely better ride and handling.

XPiRX

iTrader: (1)

I tried looking for some info on this stuff, But I guess I didn't know what I was looking for apparently.


Thanks for the CAM Info post. And the other info, I really appreciate it.

I do plan on keeping the LT1 because It was completely rebuilt about 12,000 miles ago and its in great shape.

Why keep the automatic? 6sp is way much more fun to drive.

I think I'll upgrade the headers and exhaust when I swap the tranny. Then the suspension. After that Ill do cam(and the other upgrades to handle the cam obviously), tune it, and any other bolt ons that I don't have at that time. And after all that, Throw in the supercharger.
Somewhere in there Ill upgrade the rearend, ill do the rear end girdle for now like you suggested 97Lt1TA.

How much power do I need before becoming a danger to a rearend?

I'm not looking to have serious power in the end, but enough. Down the road, I might get a new project and throw a 383 or bigger into it after I finish college.

You say get non-ceramic, then say get ceramic. Which is it? Did you mean to say "and don't get non-ceramic, get ceramic"?

TXFORMULA

i say suspension stuff. out of the stuff i have done nothing seemed to change the car more.

chavez885

iTrader: (12)

twin turbos first....


seriously though,you can break the rearend on stock power but with an auto it'll take more punishment...will you be running radials or slicks? If not it'll last a little while,its not THAT weak. Upgrades have been stated already,intake,longtubes,exhaust first. Not sure while swapping to an m6,auto's are great for the track. I guess if thats what u have your heart set on, go for it!

Razor_Blade

iTrader: (8)

I take it you've never launched a stalled auto.

XPiRX

iTrader: (1)

Hmm... Thats really making me reconsider. Manual is fun and all though. And twin turbo's better than a supercharger I take it?

No? Enlighten me :-p

97Lt1TA

iTrader: (54)

i meant get ceramic my bad

if you building a fast car everyone knows auto is the best. there is no mess ups, fast shifts and constant. stick is fun and awesome from a roll but every fast car out there is running auto for the fact no mess ups you cant miss a gear. auto with a converter launches like a stick just more smoother and no bogg (depends on the driver)

it depends on what you want some want stick in a fast car other auto. i know im going auto when i start building my new setup this winter.

aajj1987

i wouldnt know this driving a stock vette. but save up and buy an lt5. you will be happy.

Boodyrider

iTrader: (2)

Werd. Stall and gears will do more to make the car fun to drive than anything else. I'd say my stall/3.73 auto LT1 is more fun to drive 95% or the time than my convertible 3.42 M6 LS1. Only time that changes is when driving through twisties and pushing it REALLY hard... which is less than 5% of the time I drive it. At anything less than all out, and on the track, I like the auto with gears and stall better. It's well-enough behaved in traffic, but punch it and on comes the fun.

And FWIW... the rear is far more likely to survive with an auto than an M6, a really good clutch with a M6 has been known on occasion to break the rear on a hard shift from 1-2.

97Lt1TA

iTrader: (54)

i never seen a place selling lt5's is there a site that sells them

Razor_Blade

iTrader: (8)

Pretty much what 97LT1TA said, if all you want is a fun driver then a six speed is good way to go. Once you start trying to go fast the six speed can be very destructive on parts. Not to mention that less than one out of ten six speed cars I see go down the track are driven well. They can be fast though, if you have the bucks and the skill to get it down the track in one piece. From a stop the torque multiplication of a good converter makes a stalled auto very hard to beat.

Basicly they are both fun in different ways. Don't listen to anyone that tells you that you should only go one way or the other. It all depends on what you want out of YOUR car.

Critt3r

iTrader: (1)

stage 1:
Cold air induction $140-220
Tb bypass $3
Tranny cooler $20
exhaust cut out $50 for it with installation
remove cats $10
short throw shifter (m6) $85?
disable cag's (m6) $2

Stage 2:
longtubes (coated) $410
catback or true duals w/ x pipe $210- recommended because cheaper better sounding and better gains
Electric water pump $180 (cant remember)
Gears 4:10's for m6 3:73's for a4 $220 if you do it
ta Cover $170
sticky tires $220
Madz28 tune $160
Roller tip Rockers ie: 1.6 crane golds $250

Stage 3:
Stall converter $420
cam $225
Upgrade valvtrain $350
heads: ported, polished, milled, bigger valves? $sky's the limit
Madz28 retune $75

97Lt1TA

iTrader: (54)

i remember the_merv had an exahust setup that was cheap and good. it was pretty much longtube headers to y pipe to dynomax bullit muffler dumped. headers = 400 (pacesetter ceramic coated longtube), y pipe (pacesetter off road 3 inch ) =120, dynomax bullit muffler (or any other muffler like flowtech purple hornies, moroso spiral etc. depends on which one you like the sound of ) = 50 extra clamp and turndown 10

burnzilla

iTrader: (3)

A stalled 3.73 is fun but if you are working with a stock rear sporting aftermarket gears I wouldn't be launching it at the track too many times.

Razor_Blade

iTrader: (8)

I have that exact set up with a Dynomax bullet muffler. It sounds killer at idle and WOT. Every where in between it sounds like ***. It kinda reminds me of an old log truck that just drug off a muffler in the woods.