New Ls1 owner
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Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 6
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From: Indianapolis, Indiana
New Ls1 owner Hello! I am new here. I just got my first LS1, a beautiful navy blue 2002 Z/28 T-Tops with 65K on the clock. I am new to these engines and cars so I would like to ask what should I look out for? Any common problem areas with these cars? Also modification wise, I am all stock, from intake to exhaust, what modifications would help my car stand out from the crowd and plus help power/mpg. I will try to post a picture of the car if I can figure out how.
Thanks everyone.
Thanks everyone.
Hello! I am new here. I just got my first LS1, a beautiful navy blue 2002 Z/28 T-Tops with 65K on the clock. I am new to these engines and cars so I would like to ask what should I look out for? Any common problem areas with these cars? Also modification wise, I am all stock, from intake to exhaust, what modifications would help my car stand out from the crowd and plus help power/mpg. I will try to post a picture of the car if I can figure out how.
Thanks everyone.
Thanks everyone.
If you already bought it, why would you look for issues now?
There's nothing in particular that is a common problem except for the bubbling sail panel because of some acidic GM glue. I think it was only early 98's that didn't have the issue.If you want to modify, that all depends on what you want. Stall converter is popular if you're auto. You could HCI (heads, cam, intake) if you can, or you could do a simple full exhaust (true duals 2.5", true duals 3", y-pipe to 3" with cutout, etc.). Most folks put a lid on the intake and ditch the intake baffles.
To improve gas mileage, you'd be looking at a intake lid (ditching the intake baffles), exhaust (cat-back would suffice), and a tune. As always, make sure you drive easy, coast to a stop, proper tire pressure, and roll through stop signs (lol) for good gas mileage.
I have convinced myself many, many times that exhaust will increase my MPG. But it just sounds so good to hit the pedal once installed. I would be impressed to meet someone with the self control to actually achieve that MPG increase on a regular basis. Good luck!
@idle, are headers not effective until heads or cam on the LS1s? I am curious why you left that out. On 5.0s, it was kinda one of the first things(with full exhaust) but it occurs to me that they are a little less cramped space-wise. Casually learning a little F-body stuff as I've always wanted a car with T-tops. Mustangs with those are so hard to find in one piece I am pretty sure unicorns are hunting them.
@idle, are headers not effective until heads or cam on the LS1s? I am curious why you left that out. On 5.0s, it was kinda one of the first things(with full exhaust) but it occurs to me that they are a little less cramped space-wise. Casually learning a little F-body stuff as I've always wanted a car with T-tops. Mustangs with those are so hard to find in one piece I am pretty sure unicorns are hunting them.
Some problem areas to look out for are leaking rearends, oil consumption, leaking cowls, window motors, and cracked and broken PCV systems. The best thing you can do for these cars is get a lid like SLP if your on the cheap or go with a custom plumbed setup utilizing 4" pipe or an FTP lid. The next best thing would have to be a full exhaust system. TSP stainless steel 1 7/8" are a great budget header that performs well with a custom y pipe with cutout and any catback you want or keep it stock. Kooks 1 7/8" with a velocity spike merge are great and same with the kooks true dual setup. That is what i currently have. On a side note a great place to learn about these cars would be in the general maintenance forum.
@idle, are headers not effective until heads or cam on the LS1s? I am curious why you left that out. On 5.0s, it was kinda one of the first things(with full exhaust) but it occurs to me that they are a little less cramped space-wise. Casually learning a little F-body stuff as I've always wanted a car with T-tops. Mustangs with those are so hard to find in one piece I am pretty sure unicorns are hunting them.
I so miss the LT "tinkle" sound as I haven't found a LT for LS-CJ7 that doesn't stick outside the frame and leave you running glass pack or something similarly silly sounding. I guess some guys might wrap the exhaust or go with thicker tubes to get rid of that but that was my favorite part of Hooker thin-wall tubes on a 5.0 or similar.
Thanks.
Thanks.
