Greetings LS Masters,

I'm trying to put together a plan of attack for boosting the power in my '01 Camaro (M6). The one odd duck about it, is that the body is an '01, but the engine in it is from a '99, so it only has the standard LS1 heads. The car will be 99% of the time street use, with maybe a bit of drag strip time. Daily driver friendly is a big bonus, as I'll be using it for back and forth to work when the weather is nice. My goal so far is around 425-450 Horsepower to the wheel, and I'd basically just like to be able to keep up (or put to shame) some of the current gen mustangs/challengers.

This is what I have in there so far in terms of engine/exhaust mods:

Headers: I believe they are pacesetters, but I bought the car with them so I'm not 100% sure. If someone can tell me how to identify them without ripping them out that would be fantastic.
Exhaust: ORY going to a single magnaflow muffler, I imagine there's room to grow here.
Lid: SLP Lid
Differential: Moser 12 bolt with (I believe) 4.10 gears.


This is my current planned improvements list (with tweaks from thatoneguybriz, and 99 Black Bird T/A implemented)
FAST 92mm Intake
92mm Cable Driven Throttle Body
Fast Toys 90mm Lid
ATI 25% Under drive Pulley
243 or 799 Heads (where can I buy these damn things?)
Tick Performance SNS TorqueMAX Stage 2 - with following options:

• Tick/PAC #TP660DVSK Titanium Retainers
• #HME-G68V-2 Katech C5-R Chain
• #32486665 Ported & Blueprinted

If someone has a completely rough ballpark guess as to the horsepower gains from what I'm figuring on so far, that would be great. I know it's at the mercy of the tune and all that good stuff but it would at least give me an idea.

I'd like to try and make the build fairly growth friendly, just in case I wind up developing a horsepower addiction and needing more!

Thanks in advance.

I'd LOVE to be able to get my car sounding like this as well:

 

Bump to get this back on the first page. Any input is appreciated, from vendor or experienced gearhead it's all good!

 

Do you have a specific horse power goal? E.T. goal? Is your car an auto or m6? Are you planning on swapping rear end gears?

I would personally recommend against the FAST 102 intake and 102 throttle body for your build. It's overkill and expensive. Keep your SLP lid, factory throttle body, and pickup a factory LS6 manifold. This will be well under half the cost of a FAST intake and will build great power (and allow you to delete the EGR from your 99' engine). Also your factory throttle body isn't a big restriction even with a head/cam/intake build.

For the Head/Cam swap your options are literally endless in the aftermarket. Check with any of the vendors here on tech (Texas Speed, Total Engine Airflow, Tick Performance, Engine Power Systems, etc...). The heads, camshaft,valve-train, ect. will have to be matched to your specific goals and the current set up of your car (rear gears, fuel system limitations, driveability requirements, etc.). You will also need to upgrade injectors and your fuel pump depending on your specific build requirements.

As for room to grow, that's totally up to you, your future plans, and your wallet. From my experience, over 400 Horsepower to the tire is plenty to get into all the trouble you want even in a full weight F-Bodyat first. Once you get the bug for even more, power adders become the most cost effective options as opposed to building a massive N/A stroker.

As for horsepower gains, its hard to say exactly what you'll gain from a H/C/I build. It varies a great deal depending on your car, the dyno, the day, and your components. I think its reasonable to expect between 400-450 wheel HP, plus or minus some, for a mild top-end build.

I'm sure you'll get lots of people jumping in with more specific advice. Good luck with the build.

 

Always start with the Best Heads you can afford/justify, especially if
You want room to grow. The best Heads allow you to make the most
Horsepower & Torque in your driving RPM range with a smaller camshaft
Making for a more enjoyable daily driver. Best Aftermarket Heads for
346" IMO MMS 220s, best budget Aftermarket MMS223 Sportsmen,
TFS 220s as cast also, then the CNC OEM Heads by AI,TEA, and others.

 

I guess I missed a few important details, whoops!

I've got an M6, and the car already has a Moser 12 bolt with (I believe) 4.10 gears, so I believe I'm pretty well set up as far as the differential goes.

My goal so far is around 425-450 Horsepower to the wheel, and I'd basically just like to be able to keep up (or put to shame) some of the current gen mustangs/challengers. I'll edit my original post to include this information as well, as it's probably fairly important.

Where would you recommend I go to find a stock LS6 intake? Should I just get a hold of my local NAPA?

The FAST 92mm is another option I'm looking at. I don't mind paying more for a worthwhile difference. Nothing but the best for my baby, I just don't need 1000rwhp

 

Since we are THE Ws6store, we can get you everything you need start to finish including tech support, install helps, and of course the parts.

Shoot me an email and we can get you a good combo together

Rpmspeedtech@gmail.com

Thanks!!

 

Since you said "Nothing but the Best" LOL
Contact Tony Mamo @ MMS he has many
Quality build results on this forum, check
Out DarthV8r build threads just to name one.

 

I probably shouldn't have said "nothing but the best" as I don't want to drop $20,000 under the hood quite yet!

 

Email sent! Thanks!

 

Your list looks nice on paper but I don't think it's ideal for a car that's 99% street driven.

​​​​​​The 12 bolt will live for a while with an M6, but a clutch that holds, sticky tires and traction has broke many 12 bolts. Ideally, eventually a 9 inch or 8.8 both can be built much stronger than a 12 bolt. Hopefully, the 12 bolt will live for a long time.

102 TB's tend to require more skill to tune for good driveability. I've never seen one with stock manners but it may be possible. The 92 TB & intake can drive well and make lots of power. Does your 2001 with the 99 engine have an LS1 or LS6 intake? If it has the LS6 intake TPiS or LPE can do the 90mm snout conversion for about $350

The Fast Toy's 90mm lid is fine for 346 cubic inches

I would add an ATI 25% under drive pulley to your list.

TEA can do a very nice set of 243/799 heads for you - I suggest calling and discussing all the details including cam.

Unless you have experience with big cams on the street this seems like too much to me for a 346.
I think the lift is very high for stock rockers. People do run that lift but longevity is probably going to be compromised less you set up to a quality roller rockers like Yella Terra, T&D, or Jesel.
The SNS 2 is more to my liking for your application.
I suggest calling Tick and discussing your application.

I'm sure this cam makes power but what 5-10 hp more than the SNS2? Bet the SNS2 is easier to live with and drive.

Tick Performance "SNS" torqueMAX Stage 3 Camshaft for LS1 & LS6 Engines
Standard Lobes: 235/243 .630"/.610" LSA111+2

Designed for: LS1, LS6, LQ4 and LQ9 Engines (325-364ci) with Cathedral Port Heads (as they're equipped with stock)
Basic Operating RPM Range: 2500-7000
Expected Horsepower Gains: 50-60RWHP over the stock camshaft in a well-optimized setup
Stall Converter Required: Yes, 3600+RPM
Rear Gear Upgrade Required: Suggested for maximum performance (3.73+ for manual transmissions and automatic)
Works Well with Nitrous: Yes (shot size less than 200)
Will Pass Most Smog Emissions: No


"SNS" stands for Saturday Night Special, because this camshaft is going to turn every head at the weekend cruise-ins! The torque curve produced by the SNS torqueMAX Stage 3 is down-right insane and you’ll be blown away by the shape of the curve from this larger sized cam. It will pull cleanly to 6800-7000rpm if need be, but shifting at 6600-6700rpm is recommended. We strongly suggest the use of our Tick/PAC Dual Valvesprings and hardened pushrods with this camshaft (sold separately.) Hundreds of hours were spent developing this camshaft to perform precisely the way we advertise, so as a result, changes to the LSA or any other specification of this camshaft are not available.

 

The more I look into the 92mm vs 102mm, the more I've been leaning towards the 92mm. I'll likely swap that around in my build plans.

I believe my engine only has the LS1 intake manifold, so that will need to be upgraded for sure.

I'll add the 25% underdrive pulley to my list, thanks! With an underdrive, do I need to worry about accessory power at all? or running an odd sized belt?

I was originally looking at the SNS Stage 2, I think I'll revert my plan back to the Stage 2 from the Stage 3, 10 horse isn't going to be worth it if it makes the car obnoxious to drive.

Thank you for your input!

 

^ This. I still think for under 450 wheel you are better served by using the stock LS6 intake and spending the rest of your money elsewhere. Though a FAST 92 isn't a bad choice. Just expensive.

 

An underdrive is a cheap easy way to make like 7 to 10hp but sometimes can be taxing on the (old) charging system.
I like em, but we are sure to let customers know to address any normal issues (like the stock horrible pigtail) before install.

 

I'm a little hesitant to use an underdrive, as I'm going to keep my AC hooked up as well as maybe upgrading the stereo a bit.

I only have the LS1 intake on the car, so I'm going to have to upgrade the intake anyway.

 

On the under drive pulley, I will add this:

My 99TA has an ATI 10 % underdrive, no charges issues, still have the original alternator with 160,000 miles on it. I just as for a belt that is 1 inch shorter than stock for my car at Napa. I plan to upgrade the ATI to 25% under drive soon.

My 91 RS has a 25% underdrive and the alternator overdrive pulley. It charges fine. It's a six speed. The alternator overdrive was pulley was suggested for automatic cars but I want to play it safe and make sure the alternator charged.
​​​​This car doesn't have AC anymore.

 

​​​​​Yes, it might be better to spend the $$$ else where, that's true.

$350 for LS6 90mm snout + $135 WARR 92mm TB for less than $500 a good 90mm intake set up. It's not cheap but isn't a budget breaker if you an LS6 intake. If you have to buy one then the Fast 92 is probably the best $$$ choice for most folks.

BTW - when we dyno tested my small cam 383LS1 the mod'd TPiS LS6 intake wiped the floor with the FAST 92 and the FAST LSXRT in area under the curve any even had slightly better peak numbers. Same day test under controlled conditions. With big cams and 6800 rpm I'm sure the FAST intakes would have proved better.

It's really all about get Parts what work well together.

 

^ This. Glad to hear about another dyno showing that GM knew what they were doing for building torque down low with the LS6 intake and still ripping hard up high. Most of the other aftermarket intakes (in including the FAST stuff) are leaving power on the table under 6000 RPMs and mucho torque.

 

Imo its more about the proper combo. And what fits in the budget.
You want a true reading, check the map signal at WOT and see what happens. If you are emptying the manifold faster than it can fill there is an issue. Also if your power flatlines early but doesnt fall off immediately, then normally its intake related assuming full exhaust.