Hey guys,
I'm not an expert, really just someone with enough understanding to get into trouble. I've let my imagination run wild about cams and other mods the past few days and before I go dropping the cash for parts, just want some reassurance that my setup will be a pretty good performer.

Purpose of the car:
Will never be a dedicated track car. Right now, it'll be my cammed street car while I'm going through my senior year of HS, take it to the track every now and then. Will eventually be a true street car that will be a weekend track warrior. Right now, just looking for a car with *****. Torque everywhere, decent numbers. 400RWHP would be awesome but I'm not getting my hopes up.

Parts I already have:
LS6 243 heads, refreshed, valve job
.660" lift Comp Cams spring kit installed
Refreshed stock rockers with trunnion kit installed

Mods planned include:
BTR Stage 2 cam (227/234 .614"/.576" 113+2)
ARP Head bolts
LS9 Head Gaskets
Morel 5315 drop in lifters
Melling high volume, high pressure oil pump
GM Performance timing chain (LS2 style)
BMR tubular k-member (my stock one is crushed)

Down the road, I plan to add rear axle gears and in a few years, built motor with nitrous.

Any parts I'm missing? Any ideas? I really wanna do connecting rod bolts but I'm not sure that's in the budget right now.

 

Need to know what you are working with. Perhaps it is in your sig but that doesn't display to me on the mobile site. Sounds like a F-body with LS1. For 400RWHP I think you could save a little with LS7 lifters. Morels are good but LS7s are best bang for buck at reasonable power/RPM levels. If the savings isn't an issue, by all means, get the Morels.

For NA power, compression is your friend. You will bump a bit with the 243s but you could mill them a little more..say get to 11:1 and pick up a few % extra power across the board. In the same vein, LS9 head gasket is a big bore for a LS1. This will at least lower your compression a bit. Consider something of a standard LS1 MLS gasket with a more appropriately dozed bore to prevent that.

And if not LS1, I'll delete my message.

 

Working with a 2001 Z/28. Power related mods include Pacesetter 1 3/4" LTs, TSP 3" duals, and a K&N coldish air intake. Pretty basic right now.

As far as the heads are concerned, I already had them trued and that took .006" off. From the research and math I've done, a 243 head on a stock cube LS1 should yield around 10.5:1. I don't want to get my DCR up too high that I will have problems with detonation right now. Highest octane I have available around here is pump gas 91. Next step up is $7.1x/gal. 110 octane race fuel. I'd like to keep my compression down to where I don't have to mix 110 with 91 to avoid pinging. My dad had a 70 camaro back when he was in high school and he had to mix 110 and 91, but he was also running a 12.5:1 327 small block...

As far as the head gaskets go, I hadn't really thought of that. I just initially went with LS9 due to them being a highly rated, decently inexpensive head gasket that has proven itself as a strong gasket.

When it comes to the lifters, I posted a few days ago asking which LS7 lifter to get, the Delphi (~$100) or the performance (~$180). Both gents that replied told me to use a better lifter, and one recommend the 5315s, being that they are only $20 more than the performance ones.

I'm not very "educated" when it comes to lifters, so I'm not sure what will and will not hold up. If the $100 LS7s are quality, I'd get those and put the extra money towards ARP rod bolts. If I need to get the performance lifters, I'll just go ahead and spend the extra $20 for the Morels.

Basically, I have about $2000 left for parts right now, with a little bit of wiggle room. Any savings I can find will help cover other costs such as a tune and fresh fluids. Without pushrods, I'm right on the $2k mark, between $1300 worth of parts from BTR and an almost $600 Kmember.

 

You've thought it through pretty well. Lots of guys in here(including me) run 8.5-8.7 DCR on 91 octane. Get a 180 thermostat. I'm at 11.58:1 SCR. You could easily run 11.1-11.3:1 and still be very safe.

Regarding lifters, here's a wrinkle for you. If you take a 1998 LS1 to a GM dealer for a rebuild it will get ls7 lifters. I would personally step up to morels or even Johnson lifters.

If you haven't bought the cam yet, for the same cam and lifter price you could get low lash solid lifters and gain even more performance. Talk with Kip at cam motion if you're interested. There's a few of us on here running them with non adjustable rockers just fine.

Good luck with your build.

 

Regarding head gaskets... you want ~0.35 quench, so use whatever thickness head gasket gets you the proper squish with however far your pistons are above or below deck. Proper quench will help a lot with detonation.

The Morel lifters are a good compromise between the Johnsons and LS7's, they should do you fine. Measure for pushrods and get the stiffest ones you can afford. Manton comes to mind for pushrods.

While I am sure that the BTR2 would do fine for your combination, I would seriously call Martin Smallwood for a custom cam on a Cam Motion core if you can at all afford it. You are off to a good start with the LS6 intake, the long tube headers, and the true dual exhaust. A custom cam will really make all these good parts sing together.

 

180* thermostat is on my list of parts to order as well. Morels just seem like a nice balance between budget and quality.
Custom cam is probably out of the question. I would love a custom grind but from what I've seen, custom grinds cost $600+.
Also, the solid roller idea isn't a suitable option with me. I like to just hop in my car and go and sometimes forget to keep up on things like checking oil and tire pressure. Don't really want to have to keep up on valve lash as well. Might be an option when I go to a built motor in the future though...

 

Custom grinds from some of the vendors aren't much, if any, more than their shelf cams. I've never seen someone ask $600.

 

I've seen more like $400-$450. Barely more expensive than a shelf cam.

On the head gaskets, I was suggesting a closer bore size. A gasket with a 4.065" or so bore vs one for a 3.9" actually adds a lot of volume at the top that should lower compression. Perhaps that void will eventually fill with carbon and junk but why? There are GM LS1-sized MLS gaskets available for about $40/ea.

 

Im surprised no one mentioned to keep the lift minimal and keep the ramps as soft as possible on the camshaft profile. This will help with long term longevity, use the small pressure valve spring you can to minimize wear and tear everywhere in the valvetrain. No need to spin the engine very high. I would even go so far as to reduce the OEM redline somewhat. Just so you can miss a gear here and there fooling around, and not have to worry about it bouncing near a death tone.

 

He is replacing lifters and timing chain. I would say that soft ramps and low lift are no longer a necessity.

 

I've heard a lot of good things about custom cams, just always thought they were pricey. a "Motown custom grind" from Comp is $600 IIRC.
If its only a little more, I'll give Martin a call. Does he have a certain number or just Cam Motion and ask for him?
Valvetrain longevity isn't a huge worry for me. I only drive the car 500 miles per month at the most, and once I'm done with my service, I plan to put a larger built motor in the car (400+ cubes).
Once the cam, lifters, and heads are on, I have a pushrod length checker and will measure for the correct length rod, so hardened pushrods are also on the list.

 

Martin has his own business, and he works closely with cam motion. Smallwood Racing and Cam motion are both vendors on here, so check the vendor area and find their names. Martin has his own proprietary lobes, and pretty much works exclusively with cam motion. I spent some time on the phone with Martin and he is great to talk with and very sharp. Same with Kip from cam motion. Typically there is a $25-$50 premium for a custom grind, that's all.

Valvetrain stability is king. Get that, and you'll generally have better longevity and better performance. There's no reason you can't have good valvetrain longevity and still have a good lift cam and get good power. Duration is more important than lift in general. Stock casting heads sort of peak at .550-.600 lift, BUT higher lifts mean more time spent at moderate lift, so you still get benefit for curtain area. Good parts selection for springs, lifters, retainers, and pushrods can and will make a big difference in how the engine performs. **** I DD'd .620 lift for a year and never had an issue and then swapped to higher lift and solid rollers.

I said it before, and I'll say it again. You did your homework before posting up, and I commend you for that. Your build, while not as wild as some, is very well thought out, and I can tell you put some effort into it. Looking forward to seeing how you decide to go and what kind of numbers you make.

 

I think of it this way.

How many MORE miles would the engine have gone, had it the weaker spring/cam? If you can already get/expect 200k~ with no spun cam bearings and no broken springs or excessive worn guides, and over-revving is a non-issue and nothing will ever get bent up, then fine, use that. But do not get less than 200k from something just because you need a heavier spring to get .050 more lift from a daily driver.