I Need Advice.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
I Need Advice. Well I have a 2002 Trans am ws6.
of corse with the Ls1. Ive been doing about 5 to 6 months of reading up how to juice up my ls1. But i honestly need some advice. I'm only 17. And im hoping i can get some advice from your guys...
I want 425 rwhp. 500+ with Spray
As of right now im come to 2 Conclusions
1.Bolt ons + Heads cam + spray
2. Ls1 to Ls3 Swap.(480 hp. hot cam ls3)
Which one would be better?
Money is some what a issue
but not the biggest.
Wouldn't mind saving a couple of bucks...
If you say option 1 is better
Which heads and cam would be good for 425 rwhp. 500+ with spray?
5.3L heads 2.5? with ms3/4 cam?
full bolt ons?
Or a Ls3. swap with 450+ rwhp
I would like to go for the whole "sleeper" theme
but i also wouldn't mind a head turning cam that sounds sick on idle.
I also like going to the track
i Love to hit low 11's
And of corse i want to kick all the new camaro and corvettes ***.
What better than a fbody killing some new school ls3's
Well thanks for reading and thanks in advance.
I dont know if im posting on he right place. i hope i am.
of corse with the Ls1. Ive been doing about 5 to 6 months of reading up how to juice up my ls1. But i honestly need some advice. I'm only 17. And im hoping i can get some advice from your guys...
I want 425 rwhp. 500+ with Spray
As of right now im come to 2 Conclusions
1.Bolt ons + Heads cam + spray
2. Ls1 to Ls3 Swap.(480 hp. hot cam ls3)
Which one would be better?
Money is some what a issue
but not the biggest.
Wouldn't mind saving a couple of bucks...
If you say option 1 is better
Which heads and cam would be good for 425 rwhp. 500+ with spray?
5.3L heads 2.5? with ms3/4 cam?
full bolt ons?
Or a Ls3. swap with 450+ rwhp
I would like to go for the whole "sleeper" theme
but i also wouldn't mind a head turning cam that sounds sick on idle.
I also like going to the track
i Love to hit low 11's
And of corse i want to kick all the new camaro and corvettes ***.
What better than a fbody killing some new school ls3's
Well thanks for reading and thanks in advance.
I dont know if im posting on he right place. i hope i am.
is the car a m6 or a4? whats your budget? is this your dd?
for that power level in no way should you spend all the money for a ls3. a mild heads and cam set up will get you there. but bolt ons would be needed too. is anything done to the car?
for that power level in no way should you spend all the money for a ls3. a mild heads and cam set up will get you there. but bolt ons would be needed too. is anything done to the car?
Just keep in mind that no matter what your goals are for the motor, you will need to beef up the trans and rear if you plan on doing some serious strip time. That being said, for an automatic car- STALL ( for racing. It wont get you any rwhp but it will cut times down dramatically), trans cooler, bolt ons, exhaust, heads, cam, tune. no need to go crazy on the heads and cam here. A good set of 5.3 PRC heads and a nice 224/224 112lsa cam will work fine. Manual car-everything above minus the heads. M6 cars dyno higher. But if it is an M6 I'd put the money to be spent on heads toward a rearend swap. It will only get you half way there price wise but a built rearend with 4.11 gears will make a big difference and will be a good measure against broken parts.
I agree with Hamrdown. I went in reverse order on my car. I bought the drivetrain first, that way when it came time to build on the motor, I wasn't limited to the amount of fun that could be had with having 400+ horses on the track.
if it aint broke why fix it? my car and 2 buddies have been hitting it with spray for 2 years and out rear ends are still intact. with these you never no. i would do your go fast mods and when it breaks then upgrade
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
and yes dd
and the engine is stock
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
Just keep in mind that no matter what your goals are for the motor, you will need to beef up the trans and rear if you plan on doing some serious strip time. That being said, for an automatic car- STALL ( for racing. It wont get you any rwhp but it will cut times down dramatically), trans cooler, bolt ons, exhaust, heads, cam, tune. no need to go crazy on the heads and cam here. A good set of 5.3 PRC heads and a nice 224/224 112lsa cam will work fine. Manual car-everything above minus the heads. M6 cars dyno higher. But if it is an M6 I'd put the money to be spent on heads toward a rearend swap. It will only get you half way there price wise but a built rearend with 4.11 gears will make a big difference and will be a good measure against broken parts.
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Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
Just keep in mind that no matter what your goals are for the motor, you will need to beef up the trans and rear if you plan on doing some serious strip time. That being said, for an automatic car- STALL ( for racing. It wont get you any rwhp but it will cut times down dramatically), trans cooler, bolt ons, exhaust, heads, cam, tune. no need to go crazy on the heads and cam here. A good set of 5.3 PRC heads and a nice 224/224 112lsa cam will work fine. Manual car-everything above minus the heads. M6 cars dyno higher. But if it is an M6 I'd put the money to be spent on heads toward a rearend swap. It will only get you half way there price wise but a built rearend with 4.11 gears will make a big difference and will be a good measure against broken parts.
how much would it cost?
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Verdad Gallardo Pretty much what you have set aside. About 5k. That'll cover everything if you do most of the labor yourself. That'll cover bolt on's, full exhaust, heads, cam, stall, trans cooler, tune, and some suspension mods. Just do some research on installs and study up before hand. It'll save you a bunch of green on the labor. Transamfreak01 is correct about the rearends on automatic equipped cars. For an automatic you really don't need to worry much about the rearend as long as you don't mess with it. Automatic cars are a lot easier on the rearends than m6's. But for your power level goals your trans will need to be built up to handle that kind of power. On average expect to spend 2k-2.5k on a quality built transmission that'll take that kind of abuse and still retain your overdrive.
Last edited by Hamrdown; Sep 21, 2009 at 10:22 AM.
Teching In
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The big problem with that is that a new rear end runs 2500-3500 dollars for a good one. I don't know about you but I don't have 3 grand to drop on a whim.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
Pretty much what you have set aside. About 5k. That'll cover everything if you do most of the labor yourself. That'll cover bolt on's, full exhaust, heads, cam, stall, trans cooler, tune, and some suspension mods. Just do some research on installs and study up before hand. It'll save you a bunch of green on the labor. Transamfreak01 is correct about the rearends on automatic equipped cars. For an automatic you really don't need to worry much about the rearend as long as you don't mess with it. Automatic cars are a lot easier on the rearends than m6's.
5.3l 2.5 heads
with a ms3 or ms4 cam?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
Don't even think about trying to beef up the stock rearend. It's not worth it. If you do get a different rearend go with a 12 bolt or 9". They're about 2-2.5k. I've also seen used ones go for about $1,800. But like I said on an automatic it's not that big of a deal as long as you keep fluid in it and keep the stock gears.
I would get the 2.5 5.3 prc heads. Then I would call TSP. Don't just get the popular cam of the day. Talk with them about your goals and what combo you have. Just be honest with them and they'll help you get the best cam for your combination and that'll work the best on spray.
I would get the 2.5 5.3 prc heads. Then I would call TSP. Don't just get the popular cam of the day. Talk with them about your goals and what combo you have. Just be honest with them and they'll help you get the best cam for your combination and that'll work the best on spray.
If you really want to get into drag racing serious then I would get a built rearend with at least 3.73 gears, a built trans with at least a 3600 nitrous stall, then start with exhaust and bolt ons. Then as time and money permits you can add the heads, cam, and spray. That way you won't have to worry about too much breakage. That being said I did run every weekend at the track on slicks yankin' the front tires for several years and never once had any problems with the rearend and I never touched it. Stock gears and Lucas oil gear additive. Now the transmission on the other hand lasted about a full season. I finally broke down and bought a built one instead of just a rebuild and now it's great with no problems.
Adrian Garcia: Great choice on an the LS1, great engine to mod.
This isn't the advice you want, but I'll give it to you anyway:
I remember being 17, but I didn't have a 425 horse LS1. It won't take long to get in big trouble. Drive carefully.
This isn't the advice you want, but I'll give it to you anyway:
I remember being 17, but I didn't have a 425 horse LS1. It won't take long to get in big trouble. Drive carefully.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
If you really want to get into drag racing serious then I would get a built rearend with at least 3.73 gears, a built trans with at least a 3600 nitrous stall, then start with exhaust and bolt ons. Then as time and money permits you can add the heads, cam, and spray. That way you won't have to worry about too much breakage. That being said I did run every weekend at the track on slicks yankin' the front tires for several years and never once had any problems with the rearend and I never touched it. Stock gears and Lucas oil gear additive. Now the transmission on the other hand lasted about a full season. I finally broke down and bought a built one instead of just a rebuild and now it's great with no problems.
Wouldnt you feel the 3600 stall on the street tho?
im a DD.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
i do all my racing on the track
no street racing
and currently ive been focusing all my power to school.
so i hardly go out.
alot of homework.
He's 17. He probably has no idea who Eddie Haskell is. LOL! But I laughed pretty good at that one.
A good tight nitrous lockup stall won't be that noticable until you floor it. I had mine set to lock up at 36mph under normal driving conditions. So it feels like your driving in 3rd gear until it locks up. After lock up you won't tell any difference. A converter acts like a turbo spooling up. When you take off normally it's not like an m6 where you dump the clutch at 3600 rpm's. It'll take off nice and easy. But if you floor the go pedal it'll jump on out there and stay at 3600rpms then start climbing. Under normal conditions it just climbs like before. I daily drove a 4200 stall for several years. It affected gas in town a little but just be sure you have a good trans cooler (like $60) and you'll be fine.
A good tight nitrous lockup stall won't be that noticable until you floor it. I had mine set to lock up at 36mph under normal driving conditions. So it feels like your driving in 3rd gear until it locks up. After lock up you won't tell any difference. A converter acts like a turbo spooling up. When you take off normally it's not like an m6 where you dump the clutch at 3600 rpm's. It'll take off nice and easy. But if you floor the go pedal it'll jump on out there and stay at 3600rpms then start climbing. Under normal conditions it just climbs like before. I daily drove a 4200 stall for several years. It affected gas in town a little but just be sure you have a good trans cooler (like $60) and you'll be fine.
Last edited by Hamrdown; Sep 21, 2009 at 04:58 PM.
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 99
Likes: 0
From: Brownsville, texas
He's 17. He probably has no idea who Eddie Haskell is. LOL! But I laughed pretty good at that one.
A good tight nitrous lockup stall won't be that noticable until you floor it. I had mine set to lock up at 36mph under normal driving conditions. So it feels like your driving in 3rd gear until it locks up. After lock up you won't tell any difference. A converter acts like a turbo spooling up. When you take off normally it's not like an m6 where you dump the clutch at 3600 rpm's. It'll take off nice and easy. But if you floor the go pedal it'll jump on out there and stay at 3600rpms then start climbing. Under normal conditions it just climbs like before. I daily drove a 4200 stall for several years. It affected gas in town a little but just be sure you have a good trans cooler (like $60) and you'll be fine.
A good tight nitrous lockup stall won't be that noticable until you floor it. I had mine set to lock up at 36mph under normal driving conditions. So it feels like your driving in 3rd gear until it locks up. After lock up you won't tell any difference. A converter acts like a turbo spooling up. When you take off normally it's not like an m6 where you dump the clutch at 3600 rpm's. It'll take off nice and easy. But if you floor the go pedal it'll jump on out there and stay at 3600rpms then start climbing. Under normal conditions it just climbs like before. I daily drove a 4200 stall for several years. It affected gas in town a little but just be sure you have a good trans cooler (like $60) and you'll be fine.
i bet that was a funny joke to bad i dont know who that is lol