How does this setup sound to you?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City
Yeah my dad is watching out for me a little too much. I start school next week so I won't make it for a while. I still don't have my headers on! I don't know if we are putting the trans cover on while we do the headers or if we are waiting on it. It's a **** storm and I'm ready to get things knocked out. We have a vortec engine coming out of a suburban tomorrow so that will help me learn plus I can sell it once I fix it.
interested to know what these guys say about suspension.
If you lower your car it can change the angle the driveshaft has to the rearend which can affect your launch.
adjustable control arms can help put that back into spec.
One thing that frustrated me when I was 1st getting into all of this was how things snowballed.
The hard part for me is knowing where to draw the line.. the "lsx" community is sort of like being a hungry kid in a very expensive candy store to me. You can have ANYTHING YOU WANT..... if you can afford it.
Ya know one thing to keep in mind for your own perspective if not for your dad.. you got a few guys at a tranny shop there that own LS1s, you have an entire massive nation/world wide community here that own race build "lsx" motors.. anything from trucks, GTOs, g8s cts-vs corvettes camaros t/as and not to mention the guys who put ls motors in anything they can find.
the collective knowledge herein may differ and contradict itself.. a lot.. (as I said in another thread, you know what they say about opinions..) but if you read between the lines you start to find the consensus.
If you lower your car it can change the angle the driveshaft has to the rearend which can affect your launch.
adjustable control arms can help put that back into spec.
One thing that frustrated me when I was 1st getting into all of this was how things snowballed.
The hard part for me is knowing where to draw the line.. the "lsx" community is sort of like being a hungry kid in a very expensive candy store to me. You can have ANYTHING YOU WANT..... if you can afford it. Ya know one thing to keep in mind for your own perspective if not for your dad.. you got a few guys at a tranny shop there that own LS1s, you have an entire massive nation/world wide community here that own race build "lsx" motors.. anything from trucks, GTOs, g8s cts-vs corvettes camaros t/as and not to mention the guys who put ls motors in anything they can find.
the collective knowledge herein may differ and contradict itself.. a lot.. (as I said in another thread, you know what they say about opinions..) but if you read between the lines you start to find the consensus.
Th "standard" gears in that car should be 2.73. Put your VIN in here and you'll see what your rear gears are: http://www.compnine.com/vid.php
Hmmm...stock motor with XXX miles on it. Stock suspension, auto....
These cars generally make about 300 HP at the wheels. Headers good, Flowmaster, not so good. Perhaps you've added up to about 325-335 RWHP.
I'll estimate you'll turn 13.3 at about 104 MPH.
The rear end bar that goes from one side to the other is the pan hard rod. It keeps the rear end centered in the car.
Hmmm...stock motor with XXX miles on it. Stock suspension, auto....
These cars generally make about 300 HP at the wheels. Headers good, Flowmaster, not so good. Perhaps you've added up to about 325-335 RWHP.
I'll estimate you'll turn 13.3 at about 104 MPH.
The rear end bar that goes from one side to the other is the pan hard rod. It keeps the rear end centered in the car.
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You might possibly be in the 12s in some good air with traction, it will be extremely high 12s but still 12s.
Stock converter autos are dogs, period... No other way to dice it. If you want to run good times you need a nice converter. You can do all the bolt ons there are and spend 2,500$ in the process, add a converter for 500$ and knock off more ET than all the bolt ons gave you put together.
Stock converter autos are dogs, period... No other way to dice it. If you want to run good times you need a nice converter. You can do all the bolt ons there are and spend 2,500$ in the process, add a converter for 500$ and knock off more ET than all the bolt ons gave you put together.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 211
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From: Kansas City
Im not saying you guys are wrong but I dont see why good friends of mine who have had LS1s and LT1s, and who are installing the parts, would lie and say I would run mid-to-low 12's with headers, lid, tires, and tune. I will find out eventually but I know for a fact my car with run 13.00 to 13.2 WORST CASE. I think (and hope to god almighty) that my car will run 12.5 to 12.8 with all the things we are doing to it.
Im not saying you guys are wrong but I dont see why good friends of mine who have had LS1s and LT1s, and who are installing the parts, would lie and say I would run mid-to-low 12's with headers, lid, tires, and tune. I will find out eventually but I know for a fact my car with run 13.00 to 13.2 WORST CASE. I think (and hope to god almighty) that my car will run 12.5 to 12.8 with all the things we are doing to it.
Nobody said they were lying, we are saying they are wrong.
You will not touch low 12s, period.
Depending on your DA you might possibly get a mid 12, doubtful but with good air it could happen... If you have average DA you will probably be around a 12.7-13.1@107-109 depending on the tune/traction/exact DA.
Lets say you run 13.5@105 bone stock... Pretty average time for a stock A4 ls1. Add a lid, you MIGHT gain .1 and 1 mph but that is doubtful. Add full exhaust, .2 and 2 mph roughly. Ls6 intake is good for about the same as exhaust, little less. Throw a tune on it pick up another .1 and 1 mph. Tires might help a lot or might not help at all, depends on your track and time of year.
Nobody said anybody was lying about anything. However, no matter how much of a friend someone is and how much you don't know me... I'm telling you unless you get flat out amazing DA that setup won't touch low 12s, mid 12s are highly unlikely.
I will keep saying it, you aren't grasping it... A4s DO NOT run quick ETs without a larger converter. A stock converter destroys it. It takes it way to long to get in the power band and once it gets there drops out after every shift. You want to run quick, get a converter... It is that simple.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City
I understand. I was told by people I know that Its going to be mid 12's for me. I talked to my dad just now and he says "it doesn't matter how fast you go. You take the car down there and run it to have fun. You arent here to make it faster, its just to have fun with." That is true to a certain extent. But Its hard to have fun when your running 13's. I mean thats why we bought the car. To make it a STREET/STRIP car. So in a nutshell, we arent doing anything else to this car ever. Once we have our wheels, tires, headers, and trans mount, we are done. Its BULLSHIT. If I want to be a mechanic and learn how to install parts he better loosen up. Its killing me how they say "oh yeah you will run 12's no problem" and then you guys say "nah, 13's for you". I know this isn't therapy time but jesus christ! 13's isnt cutting it for me. I need at least 12.6.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2010
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One can make a case for getting the TC last, dialed in to whatever torque and HP increases you make after H/C/I, headers, exhaust, etc. But in general, I agree with Lemons, TC and cam are the biggest mods for return on investment. Everything else is more or less just a supporting mod or a little trim around the edges, "mental HP" we used to call it.
Do you realize that the difference between 12.6 and 13.0 is less than 1 car length? As far as "fun factor" goes you will *never* notice a difference.
Have you ever let a mid 12 car eat it at 10mph on 255 street tires?
A mid 12 car will murder 90% of the cars you run into on the street... 5% of the 10% left will be a drivers race and the other 5% will beat you.
If I took you for a ride in a 12.6 and a 13.0 car (all else equal) you would have just as much fun in both and not be able to tell which was faster, unless you raced them.
You are getting hung up on this 12.5 number too much.
Also, I didn't say 12s for you... Chances are you will run a high 12, I would assume around a 12.8 or so.... AKA .2 off of what you want and that is literally less than a fender difference from a 12.6 car.
Whose car is this, yours or your fathers?
Have you ever let a mid 12 car eat it at 10mph on 255 street tires?
A mid 12 car will murder 90% of the cars you run into on the street... 5% of the 10% left will be a drivers race and the other 5% will beat you.
If I took you for a ride in a 12.6 and a 13.0 car (all else equal) you would have just as much fun in both and not be able to tell which was faster, unless you raced them.
You are getting hung up on this 12.5 number too much.
Also, I didn't say 12s for you... Chances are you will run a high 12, I would assume around a 12.8 or so.... AKA .2 off of what you want and that is literally less than a fender difference from a 12.6 car.
Whose car is this, yours or your fathers?
If this car isn't a DD pull the 4l60E and sell it. Put that money into a turbo 350 trans and put a nice converter in it. You won't have a ton in and you will NOT break that trans anywhere near your Rwhp levels, period.
You get a converter and your father gets a trans that won't break, win win.
You get a converter and your father gets a trans that won't break, win win.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City
Ok. Im glad you put things in perspective for me. I think I will be able to sleep at night knowing I will run high 12's. And even low 13's is pretty fast. Even though it seems like my dads car, its mine. I live under his roof and since im the youngest I get babied a lot. Even though his 'baby' wants to go 100mph down a quarter mile strip and drive home at the end of the day.
Ok. Im glad you put things in perspective for me. I think I will be able to sleep at night knowing I will run high 12's. And even low 13's is pretty fast. Even though it seems like my dads car, its mine. I live under his roof and since im the youngest I get babied a lot. Even though his 'baby' wants to go 100mph down a quarter mile strip and drive home at the end of the day.
You know the next mod is a converter.. Start saving for that, either buy it and put it in the closet or put the money in the bank and don't touch it.
You will be doing nearly 110mph down a quarter mile strip.
Just remember, on the street anything can happen. I have seen cars that run mid 11s@115mph get walked by cars that run mid 12s@108 on the street (Remember, there is only about 2 car lengths difference in those two times). There are so many variables on the street it is unreal. With your car having drag radials you will have a **HUGE** advantage over any car on street tires. From a dig-100 you can go toe to toe with H/C cars that are on street tires.
Did you buy the headers already? Which size did you go with? Which ORY/merge?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2010
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Seriously though, you don't know how lucky you are. I grew up with a dad who never bought a cool car, let alone let any of his kids own one or go to a drag strip. I loved my dad and always will, but you are lucky to have a dad even willing to let a teenager have a high performance car and race at a drag strip. I was 25 when got a fast snowmobile and started learning to add mods with guys I hung out with on sledding trips. I didn't get a semi-fast car until I bought a used caprice with an LT1, I was 27.
You're like 16 with a 300+ rwhp sports car and a dad willing to let you race it and learn from ownership and maintenance of it... Please, count yourself lucky, I'm having a hard time shedding a tear watching you suffer the injustice of not hitting low 12s before you're 20 and even have a full time job (I assume you're still in HS).
Not trying to sound like a "eat that cause kids are starving in china" or whatever speech, but I'm 40 now dumping thousands into a car to get into low 12s. It's a JOURNEY, son. A long PROCESS. A learning EXPERIENCE. A labor of LOVE and interest. If you got handed a car that ran 11s on day one, what would be the challenge? Where is the fun or pride in ownership? Just be PATIENT, not the patience of next week, but YEARS. You'll get there if you're committed.
You're like 16 with a 300+ rwhp sports car and a dad willing to let you race it and learn from ownership and maintenance of it... Please, count yourself lucky, I'm having a hard time shedding a tear watching you suffer the injustice of not hitting low 12s before you're 20 and even have a full time job (I assume you're still in HS).
Not trying to sound like a "eat that cause kids are starving in china" or whatever speech, but I'm 40 now dumping thousands into a car to get into low 12s. It's a JOURNEY, son. A long PROCESS. A learning EXPERIENCE. A labor of LOVE and interest. If you got handed a car that ran 11s on day one, what would be the challenge? Where is the fun or pride in ownership? Just be PATIENT, not the patience of next week, but YEARS. You'll get there if you're committed.
OP is 16?
I'm not going to go into a huge discussion over it, I'm sure you have heard it. Even a stock mid 13@105mph ls1 is way too much IMO.
Respect the car or it WILL hurt you. I have seen it so many times its unreal. It only takes once. I have held someones head in a field after they were ejected 60+ feet from the car on the edge of dying, I have no words to describe it. He died in the helicopter on the way to the hospital... They brought him back thankfully. He was in the hospital for almost 4 months and is only at about 75% to this day, this has been almost 4 years ago and was a Lincoln LS V6 and a 4 Cyl BMW racing.
FWIW, after I put my converter/cam in my old white car (I was 18 at the time) I never once went WOT below 25 on the street again because I knew it would be too much to handle.
The exception... "showing off" when I was around 20 (H/C/I/weight reduction/etc) I kicked it at about 15 mph on the Blvd around 3/4 throttle...
I nor my buddy to this day have any clue how I didn't total the car along with 3-4 more... I literally looked at both sides of the road 3 times, I have ZERO control and just got lucky I didn't wreck.
That was enough to let me know I hadn't even respected the car enough (at that point I had been driving it for almost 2 years so I "knew" the car VERY well (countless WOT/burn outs/track passes) but still respected it better than 95% of people that have a 300Rwhp car and are sub 20yrs.
My little story.
I'm not going to go into a huge discussion over it, I'm sure you have heard it. Even a stock mid 13@105mph ls1 is way too much IMO.
Respect the car or it WILL hurt you. I have seen it so many times its unreal. It only takes once. I have held someones head in a field after they were ejected 60+ feet from the car on the edge of dying, I have no words to describe it. He died in the helicopter on the way to the hospital... They brought him back thankfully. He was in the hospital for almost 4 months and is only at about 75% to this day, this has been almost 4 years ago and was a Lincoln LS V6 and a 4 Cyl BMW racing.
FWIW, after I put my converter/cam in my old white car (I was 18 at the time) I never once went WOT below 25 on the street again because I knew it would be too much to handle.
The exception... "showing off" when I was around 20 (H/C/I/weight reduction/etc) I kicked it at about 15 mph on the Blvd around 3/4 throttle...
I nor my buddy to this day have any clue how I didn't total the car along with 3-4 more... I literally looked at both sides of the road 3 times, I have ZERO control and just got lucky I didn't wreck. That was enough to let me know I hadn't even respected the car enough (at that point I had been driving it for almost 2 years so I "knew" the car VERY well (countless WOT/burn outs/track passes) but still respected it better than 95% of people that have a 300Rwhp car and are sub 20yrs.
My little story.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: Kansas City
Oh, trust me guys, I know how fortunate I am. And I honestly have had fun with my chevy (burnouts, smashing gears, smearing subarus all over the road) and even though its more of a cruiser Im well aware of how quickly things can go from good to bad. I haven't had time to get to drive my trans am lately because things were supposed to be done and they would get put off. Monday is the day we are putting the headers on it. I got pace setter 1/3 quarter inch into 3 inch headers. Im not sure what kind of trans mount. I have to take my chevy in tomorrow though and put it on the lift to make sure everything is ship-shape before school starts.