Best bang for the buck - ls1 vette
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Teching In
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 13
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Best bang for the buck - ls1 vette Looking at heads / cam to up my power. I know everyone has their own opinion of different camshafts. But what is a cost effective way to make the ls1 heads flow more.
Looking to do it right but not spend over 5k.
Would i be best off with a set of used 243 heads and build them?
Or maybe TSP (or another brand) heads that are already built with valve train components for a little extra money?
I'd skip on an $800 intake mani. But will definitely have c5z timing chain, arp studs, lifters, rocker arm trunions, pushrods etc. which leads to my next question.
Do I want the Mellings Hi-pressure or hi-volume oil pump? My tuner says they use the high volume pump but the customer service from websites says the hi pressure pump because hi- volume would suck the oil pan dry unless using a larger capacity oil sump.
Am I doing too much for just heads/cam? or is all this necessary for the power upgrade. Side note: I'm making 360whp now so my power gain from heads and mild cam would probably only be 40-60whp, hence the budget build to save for more power adders haha.
Looking to do it right but not spend over 5k.
Would i be best off with a set of used 243 heads and build them?
Or maybe TSP (or another brand) heads that are already built with valve train components for a little extra money?
I'd skip on an $800 intake mani. But will definitely have c5z timing chain, arp studs, lifters, rocker arm trunions, pushrods etc. which leads to my next question.
Do I want the Mellings Hi-pressure or hi-volume oil pump? My tuner says they use the high volume pump but the customer service from websites says the hi pressure pump because hi- volume would suck the oil pan dry unless using a larger capacity oil sump.
Am I doing too much for just heads/cam? or is all this necessary for the power upgrade. Side note: I'm making 360whp now so my power gain from heads and mild cam would probably only be 40-60whp, hence the budget build to save for more power adders haha.
A good set of cnc factory heads and decent size cam should net you approx. 100hp increase with a tune. Oil pump on your motor? I would go with a ported ls6 pump from one of the vendors. You should be able to get cnc 243 heads and cam package with oil pump and timing chain for 2500ish. Yeah you can send your ls1 heads off and have someone cnc port them but hell, the amount of money thats gonna cost plus having a valve job done on them while they are off the car and resurfacing the deck, etc to freshen them up you would be close to the price of a good cnc ls6 head with all new hardware ready to bolt on
FormerVendor
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 432
Likes: 7
Your list looks pretty good. The studs aren't a must have unless you plan on going the big power adder route in the future. For the oil pump I would recommend the high pressure unit for the same reasons you mentioned. An appropriately matched camshaft, and cnc cylinder head package will no doubt get you the results you are looking for and more. With the camshaft alone I would expect you to pick up the 40-60rwhp depending on how aggressive the specs are of course.
Leave the rod bolts alone unless you are willing to have the rods checked and resized if necessary.
Leave the rod bolts alone unless you are willing to have the rods checked and resized if necessary.
