p1astik

I'm currently in a bit of a predicament. My wife and I will be coming into some money here in the near future and we've decided to turn our T/A into something more. She shares my excitement in making more "vroom vroom" and we pretty much ride everywhere together. Unfortunately, we have two different opinions of how we should spend this money to make our T/A "better".

Our A4 currently has about 134k miles and I take care of her as best as i can and in turn, she's been treating me well. She still pulls hard, revs quickly, and can still light up my rear tires with ease, and not to mention the 4L60E doesn't skip a beat either.


My predicament.


My wife wants to buy a crate LS2 with associated supporting mods (ie headers, exhaust) to make the most of it because she feels the "aging" LS1 in the car now needs to be replaced. She really doesn't care about numbers or what not just that buying a crate engine is the only way.

I, on the other hand, feel that the LS1 we have now can be put back into perfect shape and more so by spending money to accurately upgrade it to make it into a "beast" of a daily driver. Realistically speaking, I would really like to keep it rather smog friendly since I live in Ca, but I've been directed to a "performance-friendly" smogger for a price. From what i've uncovered and wanting to keep my engine N/A, I believe 350+ rwhp with a 1600 stall seems to be reasonable. This will mainly be a street vehicle with less than occasional track apperances. It would be nice to have a choppier idle but it seems a 114 LSA is the lowest I would want to go, given the more aggressive cam and higher stall I would need. I have to keep in mind that although I'll be driving it mostly, she'll be driving it occasionally.

Of course, my current focus is the engine. When all is said and done and I know what goals to set, I will also be improving the driveline and suspension to accomodate what the engine can put out. I would appreciate any and all feedback to help come to a conclusion and perhaps consider something that I have overlooked.

itsslow98

iTrader: (18)

Wouldnt waste money on a crate motor, put a forged bottom end in the LS1 just in case you want more later, mid sized cam like a 228R from texas speed and supporting mods, long tubes and make over 350rwhp easy. Throw an LS6 intake on it as well and youll have a very mild car that can be driven whenever you want. I would urge you into at least a 3200 stall because youd be amazed how different a stalled auto feels. I had a 3600 in mine and daily drove it with no problems at all, that was with 4.10s which kille dmy gas mileage though.

udienow

iTrader: (18)

I would re-build the trans with at least a 3200 stall... otherwise do not bother with anything there. If you want 350hp, the ls1 can do this with just bolt-ons. A cam will put you above 350hp with ease.

Midnight02

iTrader: (8)

I'd definitely go the route of freshening up the LS1 and then add a mild cam (224 - 228 range should do the trick) + stall (3200 range) + headers (if there's a way to use LTs and get around the CA smog test). Depending on the amount of driving you do, a 3.73 - 4.10 gear would really wake things up after those mods.

You shouldn't have any trouble getting 360 - 370 rwhp out of those mods and you'll be amazed at nice that additional "vroom, vroom" feels!

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

1600rpm is the stock stall speed.

You would be leaving A LOT on the table by keeping the stock TC.

On a stock LS1 engine, you'll drop at least 1/2 second off your ET with a 3500-ish stall and good tires. With a modified engine (headers, even a small cam, etc.) the gains are even bigger.

3500 might sound like a lot if you've never driven one of these cars with a big stall, but honestly it's not. Within a week or so, the 3500 will feel like stock to you while cruising around. Only time you'll even notice it is at low speeds before lock-up. Once locked, it drives exactly like stock.

ws6fitz

First question is how much money are you willing to spend?

p1astik

First of all, thank you for the responses, I definitely have a better picture of how it will turn out.

Aside from going bigger down the road, are forged parts more reliable in the long run? Rather, is the cost of going forged internals justify that I will more than likely never use them to their full potential?

Unfortunately, I've yet to drive an F-body with a big stall. I've only driven a friend's 3rd gen with a shift kit and a 2k stall. I assumed that performance between the generations in stalls would be similar, but I could be wrong. Although with your encouraging words, I feel more motivated and confident that it'll just be what I want. Just gotta take that leap of faith. =D

To outline the price tag issue, I had wanted to comparably show that we could get more "bang for the buck" by working with within what a crate LS2 would cost. As far as a specific budget constraint, I'd probably say not over 6k. Of course, my main goal is to prove my wife wrong within that budget. =D

zracer323

iTrader: (12)

I doubt the cost of forged internals would be worth it down the road. I would do a good heads/mild cam combo with supporting bolt-ons. 400+rwhp will be easy. Having 130k miles, i would spend some money updating other things that might be wearing out (shocks, suspension, motor mounts, etc.)

ws6fitz

see below post.

ws6fitz

As long as your motor seems to run fine. Look at doing heads/cam and full exhaust. This will for sure put you over 400rwhp. Then look into maybe freshining up the trans and anything else that could go bad like suspension, brakes, rear end. hope that helps.

LSX92Stepside

No doubt just do a nice heads/cam package. I would do a 224 cam, best overall for street/strip with perfect driveability. The TEA LS6 Stage II's look like a winner. When the motor goes, then get a new one and put the heads/cam in that. If it's not broke, don't fix it. Believe me, heads/cam will make you think it's a different car/different motor.

Here is the compromise. Put a LS2 sticker on it.

LSX92Stepside

3500 stall is near stock-like in these cars, assuming you're not way under geared. I would definately do that and 4.10 gears as well. The car will then scare you.