I have a 02 m6 ramair TA I'm looking to add heads and a cam and wanted you opinions on what I should go for. I want it to keep its street drivability so I don't want to go to extreme. What kinda of power can I expect from these upgrades. I have a magnaflow exhaust, a whisper air lid, and thats about it so far. I would say I'm around 280 or so on HP.

 

Well you'll NEED LT's first and foremost if you don't have them already. There are WAY too many good/great heads and cam combo's out there (some probably not even tried yet) to recommend just one. Give one of the sponsors on this site a call and tell them what your wanting out of your ride and I feel sure they can suggest some of their proven combinations. If I still lived in the greater Cincy area like you I'd DEFINITELY give Force Fed High Performance (just outside of Louisville, KY on I-71), great prices AND great service! They're an easy two hour drive, WELL worth it! Personally I'd recommend a pair of their 5.3 stage 2 heads and a Futral F11 or F13 cam. I'd be willing to bet you'd break the 400's easily in hp and tq with a tune! BUT get LT's or at the same time.

 

Definitely, agree with you tbojbob! I'm looking at a set of 5.3 Stage 2 heads, and would recommend for streetability the F11 cam or TR224. Long tubes are well worth the money from what I hear, but have yet to put them on mine because my car runs so well even without them and the stock cats! If I were to do it over again, I would use the TR224 in mine, 5.3 stage 2's, and long tubes.

 

If you do a search on here, you can be busy for about 3 hours reading about all of the different combo's, and what the +'s and -"s are on each, and then find something that is good for your power needs, and your wallet. Good luck!

 

So with a cam, heads, headers, tuning, and a few other minor upgrades is it possible to hit 500 rwhp. Also if I pick the right setup could I keep all these parts and add nitrous and/or a turbo if so what do I need to look for. I plan on having the engine blueprinted and balanced and bored if necessary before I do the turbo and/or nitrous. My goal is to have between 450 and 550 wo any power adders and then if I decided I want to get more serious then go ahead and add more.

 

500rwhp???

400rwhp is easy, 450 gets tough, 500 with just heads, cam, bolt ons and tune you can do it, but you've got to put a little more crack in the pipe.

425-430rwp =500fwhp, maybe that sounds better

 

A while back one of the sponsors had a 500 hp h/c kit. It wasnt street friendly in my opinion. I cant remember which sponsor it was though.

 

G5x3 ..... 205cc AFR ........ throw some gears in the end ........u will be fine.

 

Longtubes are a definate. I'd advise you to get stainless ones, from either qtp or kooks, both very good headers and good ground clearance. As for the pipe, to go with cats or not is up to you... depends on your area's rules on that stuff I guess. There's alot of head and cam packages out there, no one that is the best to go with, and alot of options. If you wanna keep the car streetable, I'd advise something that's gonna keep teh compression under 11 to 1 so you don't run into fuel quality issues, and a cam that's in the 224 to 230 duration range. I know that the fad is to go with a stupid big cam, but a good shop will be able to degree in a smaller cam and with good tuning get almost as much power, and keep the setup alot more street friendly.

As for power expectations, I'd say that with a 6 speed, 430 would be a good # to aim for. I'm aming for around 405 with a cam only full bolt on car.

Keep in mind that with this kind of power.. you're stock clutch, driveshaft and rear need to go.. or they will fail. It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when, because they will. I'd buudget accordingly for that, so you don't get stuck. Also a real good time to add gears, it will help get alot of the low end back that you lose when going to a more powerful setup too.

All the other boltons ( ported maf ends, TB, bellow, t-stat, u.d pulley, ) should also be on to get the most out of the new setup. Don't forget about a new timing chain and ported oil pump.. but the shop you choose should tell you that anyway.

Injectors are also a possible needed item... depending on your car. Some guys can get away with the stockers.. but I personally feel that once you are over the 420 RWHP mark.. they are something that should be done. No need to go real huge, unelss you know that you will be adding more down the road. And it's always better to go a lttle bigger than not have enough... 36 lb injectors are good for most N/A applications.. but if you plan on FI or Nos later.. go with 42lb. But if heads/sam is as much as you will ever go.. the stock may be fine, or go to 30 lb just to be safe.

 

I defenitly agree...

 

Yeah, I'm going with ported 5.3s and 2.02" -2.05" intakes. I've got long tubes ORPs LS6 intake DSP tuner etc and will be going with something like an F13 or maybe F14 and I'm shooting for 430+rwhp

 

Thanks lotta good ideas what do you guys think about dyno tech headers I heard pretty good things about them. I gng to the dyno to see what baseline I put down with just my exhaust and lid.

 

I'd reccommend a stainless header. The coated ones ( mild steel ) just dont' last, even in arizona type weather conditions. They rust out, etc. etc.

Headers are something that you can buy once and be good for nearly forever..( unless you outgrow the tube size ) or you can be buying them every few years. I'd rather do it once and be done with it.