this is a great thread, and one of the reason's i ended up ls1less and now with the sn95.

im going to add this thread to the FAQ

 

Not sure if this ws directed me or not, but I figured since I started the thread, I'd respond.

I've actually had a hard time deciding what I want to do. My car is not a daily driver. I have a nice quiet 2006 Taurus company car that I can use as much as necessary, so I can drive the Camaro as little as needed. For that reason alone, I've been considering a G5X3 or similar cam. Part of my concern has been this: when I'm tired of piloting a 160hp wrong wheel drive car, its very relaxing to take my stock mannered 325+ hp car for a drive. I'm sure I'll enjoy whatever mods I perform in the beginning, but I'm looking to bypass all the hassles and learn from others to make it enjoyable for the long haul.

Before my camaro, I'd had cars with dual exhaust dumped at the rear axle. It sounds great when you're 18, but I don't think I'd ever want that headache from this car. I'm ok with trading a little low end off for a set of 4.10's & a cam that screams to 7000rpms, but not if it means I never want to be in it again after 10 minutes of stop and go traffic.

For all the research I've done, I think I'll be real happy with a 224/228 cam, an excellent set of heads, and a pretty thorough street tune. I thought this thread might help reinforce that, while helping a few others in the process.

Thanks to all who have posted - let's keep 'em coming!

 

This is a great thread, but it's kind of making me scared to start messing with my engine. It's basically stock now, but I've already been acquiring parts for it to start ripping into the internals. The good thing though is that I have a nice car that I can DD.

 

Guys,

This is a good thread and all should take heed that are reading it....

But don't throw away all your "mod parts" just yet.

IMO, the biggest two mistakes that get old and tiresome are too big a cam (un-necessary in a well optimized package) and too loud an exhaust (there are solutions there also).

It's the main reason all of my combinations are semi mild-mannered (my first 346 combo especially). And while the 383 has a slight lope/shake at an idle, it drives down the road perfectly as low as 1200 RPM's (literally) but can still lay down the smack at WOT....the key is not to over cam the combo for the last 20 HP. Honestly, if my car was a daily driver I would have stepped the cam down even one more notch but its not and I am very pleased with the compromise of power and having to live with it the days I decide to take it for a blast. What’s nice to know is I could take it on a long road trip and not want to set a blowtorch to it by the time I return.

Regarding the exhaust, this day and age allows you to have your cake and eat it to....go with a quieter muffler and run a QTP cut-out or something similar that’s electronically activated while you’re sitting in the driver’s seat. I fabricated a complete custom exhaust for my car that utilizes the stock titanium (lightweight) Z06 mufflers that are great for killing internal resonance and "drone" and while they sound good they also don’t wake up the neighborhood when I return from one of my bonzai quartermile runs which usually happens in the middle of the night. When I know I am going to do a run or am simply in the mood for more exhaust volume I cruise around with the cut-outs open which in my case just allow the exhaust gases to bypass the muffler and while not much louder cruising around at light throttle, gives the car a completely different personality when getting more aggressive with the throttle and sounds incredible at WOT. I enjoy being able to switch from one mode to another with the flip of a switch....definitely a have your cake and eat it to scenario.

In summary....don’t go for the biggest cam, the loudest exhaust, the highest cam lift (noisy), the biggest blower (also noisy), the most aggressive clutch or largest converter without thinking everything thru. While the initial allure is certainly there and at first you will be so enamored with the power you wont mind all the compromises....down the road you will get used to the power (no matter how much unfortunately) and be left with all the annoying rattles, drone, surging and bucking, and other aspects of over-modding a street car to the point its not enjoyable to drive any more....the real trick is to find that fine line and fall on the side of conservatism if your in doubt.

Take it from another "old" guy....LOL

Happy Holidays all....this thread was kind of a refreshing change of pace

Regards,
Tony M.

 

^ Tony stop w/ all this "good advice" and "common sense" I have a G5-X2 cam on the way and want to enjoy my anticipation

 

If you read John Lingenfelter's book on Modifying Small Block Chevy Engines http://www.amazon.com/John-Lingenfel.../dp/155788238X, he addresses these issues at length. Although the book was written on Gen I and II small blocks, all of the principles apply (they could easily apply to any vehicle). The synopsis of his first few chapters is to be brutally honest with yourself as to how you will really use your car. If it is going to be a daily driver 95% of the time, forget stretching for the exhotic stuff. He flatly states that the fun factor is in broadband torque and not peak horsepower.

One of the themes that run through this thread is that most of the folks can say "been there, done that". They've gotten beyond the "mine is bigger and better" mentality.

Steve

 

Well said Tony and others.. .. another old guy here and I use mine as a DD ...some of my friends kid me about my car being too quiet....it makes some noise at WOT but it doesn't **** anyone off or attract the long arm of the law...I have a switch if I want it race car loud...too much cam is the biggest mistake most people make...some just have to try it before they believe it..pier group pressure is what drives most to make the wrong decision on cam selection .. the guys with the big cams dont tell their buddies about all the compromises that they have to live with...this is a good thread with some good info in here..happy holidays to all..

 

well at one point i just wanted as much power as possiable with little money, then I decided to go completly CA smog legal, so the cam I choose is still in that range and then I am going back to my stock legal exhuast and getting a nice set of milled AFR heads. In the future a basic rebuild with a few forged parts so I can juice her safely and that's that. I have never messed with the outside of my car I have always wanted to appear stock and kinda sound stock but preform like a bat out of hell, of course all of this is just in my opinion though

 

This is a great read here guys. Lots of awesome stories and advice. I feel compelled to share mine.

I bought Spanky's car (from page one) after he de-modded it. The car was absolutely amazing in near stock form....for about a week. That's when the mod bug bit, and it bit hard. Before long it was loud, smelled bad, and the clutch shook the car when it disengaged. I drove it every day, to and from work, putting 16,000 miles on it in 8 months (sorry Shawn!) Nearly 8 months later, the car has a cam, new clutch, loud exhaust, and a list of parts to go on including a 12 bolt and nitrous. Granted, it's a very mild cam and a smooth clutch, but nonetheless.

I guess my point is, we all go through phases in life. At this point, I love the fact my car offends many people on the road. I'm an accountant, and when I see the look on my coworkers faces when I start my car as they are getting into their Focuses and Camrys, I get real happy. Now with that being said, my car is no longer my daily driver. It probably will be in the warm weather, but I am really liking not putting miles on it now. I'm sure there will be a day when the car is too much for a DD for me, and that's when I'll buy a Trailblazer SS

 

sniff.... this place is smelling like analgesic balm from all of the "old" man posts.

I like Tony M's recommendation to not over cam to get the last 20 hp.

slt200mph is right about group pressure leading to wrong cam choices. To add to that thought, many will always wonder "what if I went a little bigger or wilder" after doing a mod. The fear of having this "what if" also drives alot of people, especially first timers, to over do it. I'm a firm believer in having to experience things firsthand to make better decisions down the line. That is why I won't put down guys who set up their street cars with track-type mods. And if asked, I just won't encourage them to do so.

 

i made all those mistakes on my last car,an 88 transam,whining rear end,to loud of an exhaust,harsh clutch etc...This car i knew i would not sompromise driveability and engine life in any way.My cam 228/230 is on lazy xe lobes,runs quite and i can honestly say i enjoyed spending all that time tuning it myself as it does drive like nothing was done to it,zero bucking and great gas mileage.I went with the dynatech supermaxx with the cats so i didnt get that smell either.I am keeping my stock ls6 clutch and stock rear for a while hopefully.Great thread and people should really read it if they are considering to lots of mods..

 

I am keeping all my mods unless I sell it for a 2009 Camaro. I like the sound, noise, and buring rubber....IMO.

Everyone has a choice, that what makes this a great place to live.

Bill

 

I did the AFR recipe with the 224/228 cam. I love the performance results but the sewing machine sound valve train noise is a bit annoying. Also the car shakes at idle which is also annoying. As my heads have to come off to go back to AFR for the soft valve problem, I'm going to swap the 224/228 for a baby 214/220/116 and go back with a smooth idle. I just wish I could quiet the valves down. I have Morel lifters and the pre-load is correct. I'm told that headers tend to amplify the sound of the valve closing event which leads to the "sewing machine" sound. If I could just lick that problem I'd be happy but no way I'm going back to stock manifolds.

 

I think this is exactly what I was getting at. Eventually, you'll probably get tired of all the compromises that you went through if you drive it on a daily basis.

We all need to put our rides and goals into perspective here. I think we can all agree that 400rwhp is not difficult to obtain with the LSx engine and can be obtained while still maintaining a good amount of good street manners. That's about 220rwhp more than 95% of the cars on the road right now. I think if I can accomplish that through cats and full exhaust with a smaller cam and maintain near-stock driveability then I'll be good to go. This is a great thread to regain your perspective on what it is you really want out of your car.

 

Keep it simple...USE DRY NITROUS KIT ONLY!!!

A stock 427 ZO6 Corvette with a dry nitrous kit would be verycool

 

http://www.derty.org/photogallery/da..._streetcar.wmv

 

Many of the issues brought up in this thread are a great reason to consider some type of forced induction. Nothing too crazy - a stock cubed ls1, with a d1sc and baby cam would be a great car. Could hit high 400s with a decent torque curve and nice driveability.

 

when everbody starts taking stuff off let me know i got stock stuff ill trade ya. that way u wont have too spend so much.

 

As an update... I got the 427 out of the car and have begun tearing it apart. I am VERY excited to get all of the stock parts back into the car. I even got the stock flywheel resurfaced today for the stock clutch that will also be going back in. Tomorrow, I will be taking my PCM to the local tuner to get a 100% stock tune flashed into it. The engine will be bone stock except I might do a custom PCV set-up with a catch can, and the K&N air filter. I am also leaving all of the suspension stuff on as I am missing most of the stock stuff and it's a pain in the *** to do. I will also be replacing the Flowmaster muffler with a Magnaflow to mix things up a bit. I'm debating putting the ASP pulley on the stock engine. I really like how it revved quicker with it, and it won't be as harsh on the accessories. Haven't completely decided on that yet.

I can't wait to finish this thing!!!

 

I gotta say this is a dam good thread. It beats all those others on, wanting the meanest sounding cam or a 1000 hp car. The thread really puts everything into a real point of view. Don't get me wrong those mean *** cams and rubber burning cars are cool as hell, but at thier expense, not mine! We all want to go fast and still be stock, not sure if you can. But hey thats why we MOD.

I've been in a big battle as to what path to take for my car. My dads always says I'm ruining my car by doing the things I do. In my eyes I am having the time of my life. I'm pretty much over having a LOUD *** car. Honestly where in the hell can you really use 700+ horse power, not to many places. Not to mention the money you just throw away in gas and tires

I just might rebuild the car, but STRONGER, and a nice smooth exhaust and a simple ol' D1 and call it a day.