I just bought a 02 TA that has Pacesetter headers, TSP catted Y, GMMG catback, UD pulley, and a SLP Lid on the engine. Supposedly the car had a dyno tune and is around 350/350 right now although I don't have a dyno sheet and I think that might be a little generous.

The car will be mainly a street warrior and rarely at the track so I want it to be fairly fast and reliable. I'm hoping for mid 11's, around 450HP with a flat torque curve so it's streetable. It's going to be a complete car with A/C, etc.

Obviously I cannot break the bank on this and I don't have near as much time to work on my car as I would like so I only want to dive into the engine once. I want to replace the rusty Pacesetter with some stainless TSP's and I know that's a good bit of work so at the same I figured I would do a heads and cam swap as well. The budget won't allow for a FAST intake and TB swap at the same time but since all the hard work will be done, I can do that in the future.

My questions are:
What is a good H/C setup for what I want? I really like what Jimmy got in this thread but want to keep the H/C combo under $2k, and even $1750 if possible.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/dynamomet...inc-tuned.html

Also, can I do a heads and cam swap without getting it tuned? I'd like to wait until I put the FAST intake and TB on to get it tuned.

 

350rwhp is about right, if you are M6 then your more accurate i think i was at 340'ish with the same mods.

Why not just put a 100-150 nitrous shot on. that way it drives like stock, with great mpg until you want to blast it and have an instant 450 hp car?

 

I was never a fan of nitrous.

Bump!

 

id say get those new headers if you feel it necessary, but id say a TSP 228r cam. theyre great street cam. and get ur 241 heads ported and polished. your probably looking at more then 1750 to be honest.

 

I guess I can get TSP 5.3 Stage 2.5 heads and a cam or LS6 TSP heads and a cam for that price. Would AI heads hold much of an advantage over these?

 

$1750 for heads/cam but what about injectors, gaskets and tuning. Is this an M6 or A4 car? If M6 will the clutch hold the power? If A4 is the cam going to need a converter? There is a lot more in a H/C swap than most people think about.

 

That's all obvious stuff to me and I realize that will be needed.

I really expected a better response to this thread.......

 

Honestly your budget seems a bit skimpy to me. Of course used parts can be had for deals in the classifieds... I don't know your situation but you NEED to have extra money lying around for when things go astray. Since your M6 you have to think about clutch and rear end issues. You also need to factor in the fuel system, injectors and fuel pump as well. With your $2000 budget I would say you'd be better off going heads only or cam only since you don't want to spray. Remember that gaskets, tools, fluids, etc add up FAST. Not only this but dyno tunes are usually around $500 give or take some.

 

A better response??? You mean like this?

OMG your car is gonna be SICK if you go with the TSP 2.5 5.3 heads and a TQv2 cam. You'll be like the fastest thing on the street and pwn everyone.

Is that what you wanted to hear? Too many people come in hear thinking all they need is a big fat cam to go fast and forget all the other parts. You want a better response with a legit suggestion? Answer a few questions...is this an M6 or A4 car. Do you want it to be reliable? How much are you willing to spend on parts that ARE NOT heads/cam?

 

look at a vengeance racing head/cam pkg or a TSP PRC head/cam pkg.rebuild your rockers also.

 

Actually this is what I was looking for. Thanks, I never heard of vengeance racing.

I'm actually thinking of just doing a cam for now since I started reading the "Cam Only" Dyno thread.

 

Chill out man.... If I wanted advice on supporting mods I would have posted in a different section. The car has a LS7 clutch which I know isn't the best but I'm not building an all out racecar here. Also, I'm looking into a strange S60 or a 9" but not in a huge hurry since I won't be beating the car much. If I can't find one in the classifieds I'll get the S60. But that's not what this thread is supposed to be about

 

Call Texas Speed and go with the 228R and get the trunion upgrade. That's an excellent cam that will still work great with a set of heads down the road. The AFR 205s really work well with that cam and will daily drive like a champ and still hurt a lot of feelings at the track. I would actually suggest a 228/232 XER lobed cam from TSP but they don't make it off the shelf.

 

I'm thinking about going with stock 243 heads for now. That seems to be in line with my budget and short term plans. What kind of horsepower can I expect with those heads, my stock LS6 intake, and a 228R cam?

 

Well the HP could vary since there are a million variables to consider but I would say 385-400 and it should 1/4 mile in the high 11s-really low 12s depending on how hard you launch.

 

skimpy i agree with on the budget. with a budget H/C swap, i dont seem him making north of 440rwhp... he could probably get by without swapping fuel pumps. injectors.....ya, find a set of 42lbers in the classifieds, they are there all day long.

dont worry about the rear end. I have 4,10s in a stock 10-bolt pushin 571 at the wheels and shes doing ok on the street. i had 104,000 miles on my stock clutch when i did a cam swap and ran it pretty hard on the street and did her in after about 7,000 miles... when i went FI i went ahead and bought a diamond stage 2 cuz i ended up toasting the stocker pretty bad. how many miles r on the car? if its fairly lower mileage, i wouldnt worry about the clutch right now either.

another thing you want to consider if you havent already is timing chain replacement, and a high volume oil pump like a ported LS6. Its def worth the money. ur cam kit should come with springs, retainers, pushrods ect...

Pick up an ARP crank bolt

Gotta have a gasket kit.

And i paid $400 for my tune if i remember correctly.

heres my parts list from TSP



so i think i had about just a hair shy of $1500 for just my cam swap...

also, i didnt buy injectors...

so in theory, u prolly wont get H/C with only $2000...

hope this helps

another thing, this didnt include assembly lube, RTV, antifreeze, oil... the LSx Valve spring tool i had to buy (which you probably wont need if u plan on having the heads off) and just misc **** i had to buy. i ended up breaking off the oil sensor on the back of the block when i took my intake off and that cost me another $50, just little things to think about.

And if you doing a head swap too, your going to need head gaskets, and might as well buy ls7 lifters and ls2 lifter trays while ur in there.,.

 

Why do I need a new Timing chain and oil pump at 75k miles?

 

It's just always a good idea to change it while ur in there. 90% of ppl who do cam swaps do this. The ported oil pump gave me an extra 15-20psi of oil pressure. the ls2 timing chain is only $40... It'd suk to get it together and ur enjoying ur new power and ur old timing change let's go. Prolly won't happen but ya never know.

 

IMO its a very foolish thing to change came without a new timing set. The cam should be degreed in and even a slightly worn chain can throw it off.

 

I agree with changing the timing set but I thought the 01-02 had a good oil pump from the factory. I'm all for more oil flow but more than you need is wasted horsepower.