madness410

iTrader: (1)

i have a 99 ws6 six speed with 146k miles. i am interested in upgrading the motor. what i want from the car is to be a streetable 400-450 horsepower weekend ride. i dont drag race it but im not counting that out as a possibility for the future. i also dont plan on forced induction for the future.

what id like to upgrade are the heads, cam, and intake, and possibly new parts while everything is apart, possibly an under drive pulley, timing chain, etc. my concerns are putting new performance parts on the top end of the motor and running more horsepower through a stock bottom end that has already clocked 146k miles.

my budget is around $1500-$2000 for parts. i just want to hear comments, concerns, recommendations, what to look into, what to stay away from, cam sizes, anything you guys could recommend to achieve what im looking to get out of my car. thanks in advance.

Jon

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

I'd make sure the motor is in good working order first. With that said, your budget is around 2k for eveything?

madness410

iTrader: (1)

yeah as of now 2k for parts alone. not counting labor, i havent decided yet if im going to bring it to a speed shop or do the work myself with help.

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

For 2 grand it's going to be damn near impossible to get a HCI along with other bolt ons, timing chain, gaskets, miscellaneous, etc...

madness410

iTrader: (1)

what would you say a decent budget would be

HCI2000SS

iTrader: (2)

Well that depends....are you looking to buy used or new? Do you want heads already ported? What other bolt ons do you want? Did you factor in tuning into the budget? You say 400-450 hp...to the wheel or motor?

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I don't think you have a very long "future" with this engine. The LS1 will last you a long time, but as you weigh finances, I would recommend you plan that you'll need a full rebuid in 50K miles. At that time, some of these upgrades will be lost.

How long are you going to keep the car? How long until you think you will be able to rebuild the engine?


I'd recommend doing one of the following:
- Add a used blower to add cheap horsepower until you burn the whole thing out and then build the engine back the way you really want it.
- Pull the engine and rebuild parts of it as you add new parts. (Maybe replace the pistons and hone the block while you replace the camshaft, etc. and then you can come back and do the heads later.)
- Focus now on exhaust, headers, and other things that bolt on to the engine that you can re-use once you get to a rebuild.


I'm in your same situation and will probably just save up until I can afford the full rebuild and I have a good opportunity to convince my other half that this is a worthy investment...

BREWS02WS6

iTrader: (6)

With that low of a budget, I would be holding onto the money for replacement parts as needed or some other life circumstance that'll require it. Sure you can do a couple things with $2k, but to get all the supporting mods with them (including a tune)...you'll blow past $2k in no time.

If you just HAVE to spend the money on the car, maybe get some new exhaust and gears for a "seat of the pants" difference. Or maybe it's almost time for a new clutch? Do you have anything done to the car at all?

But honestly, I would save the money.

Tuskyz28

Is the car completely stock or what mods have been done so far?

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

For 2K I'd skip anything to do with heads or cam.

Long tube headers and Y pipe
Rear gears
Used FAST intake
Tune.

The best part about that list? You'll need that anyway for a head/cam engine so you're losing nothing and get the benefit right now of moving more air through your motor.

If you're a M/T, do 3.90 or 4.11 gears. If you're an auto do 3.73 gears. Going from 3.42 to 4.11 is about a 20% increase in actual torque to the tires. The car will be faster. Bigger cams like more rear gear anyway.