nitroheadz28

iTrader: (3)

I sold my M6 95 LT1 T/A last year. It had: Shorties, 3" exhaust, 3:73 gears/ Strange S60, PCM Tune, BBK Underdrive, K&N CAI, and I think that was about it with drivetrain mods.

That thing had awesome torque, pulled pretty good to 4500, and got great mileage initially before I started having engine issues (28 highway not being gentle).


Fast forward to now, I picked up my friend's 98 Auto. Bone stock apart from a Borla catback, ported TB, some kind of upgraded rockers. I know its auto with whatever **** stock gears, but around town I expected it to be quicker. Mileage is kind of bad (Could just need a tune up), got 24 babying it from a 330 mile road trip. Now that the radiator let go, its time to have some fun

-I'd like to throw a cam/ valvetrain setup in with some lope hopefully, keeping stock heads and I want streetable. I want the sound most (Never had a cammed setup) but some more meat under the most of the curve would be nice. Still researching, also need to find out what rocker setup is in the car. Suggestions?
-LT headers
-M6 swap, hopefully picking that up this weekend
-LT1 rad upgrade and all hoses/ heater core for preventative maintenance (Haven't found a write up with which hoses fit yet if anyone can help?)
-General tune up stuff (O2 sensors, various filters, plugs, etc to see if I can get that mileage up)

Any recommendations or suggestions for my list? I just want a really fun street car, at most I plan a couple trips to the strip and the sporadic track day. After all the above I'll get started on brakes/ chassis/ gears/ suspension.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

It probably has 3.23s or even worse 2.73s....and no trans tuning. LS1s are a little softer on the low end compared to a LT1 as well. I think the M6 swap (along with a gear swap) will solve you issue along with long tube headers (or a converter if you stay auto). You are comparing apples to oranges comparing a M6 to a 4 speed auto gas mileage....auto does not have .50 overdrive and are less efficient than manual transmissions.

nitroheadz28

iTrader: (3)

One thing that sticks out to me. My LT1 seemed VERY peppy. When you blipped the throttle with the clutch in or in neutral, it spun up fast. The LS1 in comparison feels lethargic, is this simply because its an A4?

I decided to wait on the cam and LTs for now because my buddy wont have his lift available for a good few weeks. Going to go with:

Headers- Pacesetter LTs
Cam- I kept reading great reviews on the Spartan spec'd 228/232 .588/.581 113+3 from these threads:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/dynamomet...referrerid=183

https://ls1tech.com/forums/dynamomet...409-394-a.html

Nice power through the whole curve, would be nice not to have to change much out internally to run it. Throw some springs in and go.

Bought an LT1 rad to get me going again for now. Gathering M6 swap parts, picking up a TDP Stage one rebuilt trans with crossmember, pedals, console, and shifter. Just need to figure out what clutch setup to run, along with the little odds and ends like U-bolts/ hardware/ M6 specific connectors.

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

Part of it is your year LS1. The 806 heads on the 98 are the worst. The 98 cam has a high LSA and very poor dynamic compression, neither of which helps low end throttle response.

Mine is a 99, and stock I used to feel like the power sort of snuck up on me, if that makes any sense. Another way to look at it is GM made better heads in the 243 castings and slightly larger cam, and gained well over 50 horsepower. Still on the 5.7.

For that really nice snappy throttle response, you want compression. Cheapest bet is a set of 243 heads milled down to 61-62cc. 60 if you're willing to run 11.3:1 compression.

Spade

iTrader: (26)

I am using a LT1 radiator and did not switch any of the hoses around that I can remember. I also made the switch to an M6, very much enjoy it. Just make sure you put a good clutch in it now as it will make life much easier for you down the road.

MuhThugga

For a clutch, if you don't plan on doing much more than what you already stated, a LS7 clutch kit will more than suffice.

Bill00Formula

iTrader: (4)

I went from a moded 95 Camaro z28 6 spd to a 00 Pontiac Formula 6 spd because of dyno numbers and track results. I bought mine new and thought something was wrong. The LS1s are deceptively quick. They have a different feel. They don't feel as fast but believe me they are much faster. For some reason they don't have that instant torque feel like the LT1s.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

Get the right gears in there or a stall if you keep it auto, some mods and you'll never regret unloading the LT1. Where the LT1 falls off the LS is just getting started.

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

The LS1 has more potential but is not the revolution most owners would have you believe. Give it some mods.

MonmouthCtyLS7

iTrader: (6)

They have more torque at every rpm it just comes on much smoother. I thought the same thing when I first drove a Ls1 back in 1998.

ahritchie

iTrader: (1)

Incorrect....the LT1 was rated 325 TQ at just 2400 RPM......the LS1 was rated at 320 @4000k RPM; a very significant 1600 RPM difference in TQ peaks.....that is why LT1s feel so much more "torquey" at low/mid RPM especially M6 ones. LT1's do indeed make more torque below 3500RPM....beyond that the LS1s superior breathing catches up and makes more power. The LS1 like to rev that is for sure!

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

LT1 is snappy because it has small heads in comparison to the LS1. Put AFR 210s on a 408 and you'd gain the low-end snap of the LT1 as an example.

With my high stall LS1, it has almost no part-throttle snap. But that's good with a ton of power. As soon as I give it gas (50% throttle) all hell breaks loose.

kinglt-1

iTrader: (26)

it's because the LT1 makes peak torque lower in the rpm range.

nitroheadz28

iTrader: (3)

Interesting, I didn't know these had different heads. I may look into a full cam/ head setup in that case.

I was ordering from rockauto and just wanted to find a thread confirming which hoses will work. For now I just got the rad, but most likely when I do the cam setup I'll replace everything from the heater core to all hoses.

I spent a couple hours researching clutches last night, I didn't expect a decent setup to be expensive!! Looks like my trans swap will run me about $2500 easy, and all the A4 stuff is probably worth about $500 on a good day

I was hoping I could get away with a stock type clutch setup, but it doesn't seem likely if I do end up going cam/ heads?

z28_YOU_HO

iTrader: (7)

Put a good size stall in it. (If you keep the auto)

IMO this is the best mod for the auto - makes the car 100% more fun to drive as well

- Would be a good bet if you do Head/Cam to upgrade clutch if you end up switching it out

dirkdiggler350

Converter, sticky tire, tune and hang on for the ride. That will wake the car up big time.

Camaro99SS

iTrader: (4)

This is just a matter of a lighter flywheel and/or the way the throttle is calibrated. I've driven a bolton 93 M6 with 3.23's and it had more of that snappy response than my cam'd SS had. I also had a foxbody with an F cam and Edelbrock heads, only 9.2:1, and it too wrapped up faster in neutral. It's great for rev matching and a more fun feel; that was always one of my biggest complaints with Lsx 4thgens.

But...That first triple digit speeds blast in an Lsx car vs lt1, and you'll be hooked.

Jason

Darth_V8r

iTrader: (4)

That's where Pandora's box gets opened up. If you want to do it on a budget, get the 243 or 799 heads and a drop-in sized cam from cam motion, Tick performance, or Brian Tooley. That would put you well on your way to 400 rwhp. The next step up would be ported 243/799's from say AI, TEA, PRC, Livernois, etc. If you do port, use a reputable porter, not "cousin Vern" and his dremel. Or you could go all out and go trick flow, AFR, Mamo, Frankenstein. But the better heads will allow you to support a larger cam as well - or make good power out of a smaller cam and surprise a lot of people on the street. At a minimium, you'll want the LS6 intake vs the LS1 intake that came on the 98-00 F body. You'll have to do a lot of research, but I tried to list very good, reputable places to start.

The LS7 clutch is the best gripping stock clutch. My friend has one, and I didn't like it driving it, because it is so heavy. If you're already thinking the feels sluggish, the LS7 (20% heavier than LS1) clutch won't help that. I run a monster S3, and I'm happy with it, but it is heavier than the stock LS1 clutch I ripped out. In the manual transmission section, you'll see tons of "which clutch" threads, and monster, McLeod, mantic, spec all get lots of votes. If you want good grip and a light weight clutch, you're looking twin disc - as am I.

I think ^^this^^ is pointing you in the right direction. If you want more power across the entire RPM band, upgraded heads and stalling the automatic will give you a tremendous benefit - more than swapping to a manual for sure. I would add 3.73 rear gears to the early list as well.

Back to my car when it was still stock - I took a buddy for a run, and his first impression was "my old IROC Camaro was faster". But, put it in fourth from 20-mph and it just....keeps....pulling past 120, and he admitted, mine's faster. Just sneaks up on you.

LivernoisMotorsports

iTrader: (1)

A camshaft, Ported Head and header combo is the way to go.
This should get you to the 370-420 RWHP # depending on camshaft profile.
Most of the time if you do not go to crazy on the cam choice the economy picks up on LS's with a head, cam, header combo.
Get some o.e. rockers on it with a set of our braces you will be surprised how much easier and cleaner it revs.(if it does have aftermarket rockers on it)

here are a couple head cam header f-body's to give you an idea of expectations.
Here is a link to our basic head and camshaft package.
http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/...Installed.html

nitroheadz28

iTrader: (3)

I'll be swapping the M6 mostly for the driving experience, I'm just not an auto guy. Especially with the Borla thats in it, gotta let it roar through the entire rpm range

This is the route I'll most likely take. I just want to do what gets me the most bang for the buck. If I can throw on some better breathing heads, add springs along with the cam, then I'd be a happy camper. Avoiding adding bigger injectors and valvetrain parts would be nice if possible.

As far as clutches go, it doesn't seem like the LS7 setup is worth it? With an aluminum flywheel the cost is approaches the Monster with the 18lb flywheel which is apparently more durable (Not to mention having the setup balanced to the flywheel). Its either the stock types will barely be adequate, or I go overkill with something like the Monster.