I just got my stock 2000 Trans Am this past sunday and I'm looking to put some heads/cams in the beast. I've been researching this mod for a few weeks now and I just can't seem to wrap my head around all the numbers. I'm looking for a compression ratio of around 11.0-11.5 or higher if possible. How do I obtain this, in lamens terms, haha.

I guess my main issue is the stall converter. Do I need one with a cam install and if I don't, should I get one? If so, what is a good street/strip stall converter rpm?

 

Need a bunch more info. What kind of cam are you wanting to go with? What other mods do you have, if any? A converter is a must with any large cam. Figure out what you want (cam choice) and post that. If you do that, you may have better luck getting answers to your questions.

 

Yeah it's hard to give advice without a little more info. A converter is a must if your going with a decent size cam (say 224 or larger), and is a good idea either way. I would pick heads first, then a cam to match your goals - daily driver or weekend warrior for example. Then you need compression, a converter, and gears to match. You should look at more than static compression; a larger cam needs more static compression than a smaller cam.

 

Is it possible to use the same cam before and after milled/bored heads/cylinders and before and after supercharger? My car is not a daily driver, but I don't want it to drive like a brick either. I have zero experience with modding cars so this is all overwhelming for me, excuse me if I'm slow on the uptake. I'm planning on machining the heads, but if I can help it, I don't want to do it at the same time as the cams. Not that I don't have the funds, just that I don't want to drop that kind of money all at once.

I'm kind of hesitant on the stall converter because I hear a lot of people say it's a rough ride with a converter and like I said I don't want it to drive like a brick, aka, i'd like to be able to accelerate smoothly if I want.

 

A converter does not equal a rough ride, at all. Start off slow with your mods. Do all the basic bolt on's, exhaust, converter and save the big stuff for later. Do more research on it. You just purchased the car, so don't get in any hurry. Do it right, bit by bit.

 

I'm all for doing it right, I guess I'm just an over planner. It will be a bit before I get my cams and heads done, but I like to go ahead and sort out what I'm going to be doing. That way I can plan ahead more precisely. I already decided on kooks LT headers w/ cats and electric cut out flowing into the gmmg cat back. After that I wanted to jump to the cams and heads or maybe the FAST 102 mm intake manifold and 102 mm throttle body.

 

yeah, think of what you want to see for power and how you want it to drive. There is alot to gather before just throwing in a heads and cam. Heads and Cam can make great power but they work in line with the intake and exhaust. Then take into account suspension mods you want to do and depending on power you have you should always have it in the back of your mind that you might need a rear end. Some people get lucky and they take a hefty beating and some have to keep rebuilding it (like me). Usually though a stall, basic bolt ons, and a tune can wake those automatic cars up pretty well.