For what it's worth, I demodding my 99 A4 C5 408 coupe last year to sell it. Went back to a plain jain 346 with the only addition being a LS6 cam, 3.42's and tune. The car was great fun to drive, quiet, quick and great fuel economy.

 

I recently did a h/c swap and went with a 228/232 .588/.595 111+1 and PRC new stage 2.5 5.3L heads and American Racing Headers in my C5 Vette. Yesterday, I took that cam out and put in a 224/228 .581/.588 114+2. The reason I did it was that the 228 cam shook my car at idle and I didn't want that, so I took it out.

I read for about 6 months on this forum trying to decide on a cam and alot of people said to pick the one you think you want and then go one bigger. That is what I did and I just got a little to aggressive on the LSA. I listened to sound clips on cams on 110 and 111 LSA and liked the way they sounded but I just wasn't prepared for the shaking. I guess I wanted the car to run like a race car but not shake like one. The 224 on the 114 is much better for me in what I wanted and I am alot happier now.

My dyno graph is in the dyno section titled: PRC Stage 2.5 5.3L Heads results with 228 and it was posted by Jason from TSP. The car made 431rwhp and 400 rwtq.

CAM FOR SALE: The 228/232 .588/.595 111+1 is for sale and only has 600 miles on it. $275 plus $15 shipping for a total of $290.

 

That's why I think Patrick G's "torque cam" is the best of both worlds. At only 223 on the intake it should idle quite nice and have decent vacuum. At WOT it has enough duration and lift to really get the job done. If I did not already have my XFI cam I would have gone with Patrick's.

 

Nice thread, I guess a lot of us feel the pain of modding amongst its pleasures.
That is why I had to get a second car to DD. And that is why the Vette is Stealth and I refuse to input bigger cams requiring stall etc...
400rwhp in Stealth form is plenty for the street, there is always that shot of juice if needed (not to lose face).

 

I have a brand new in the box unused "Patrick G torque cam" for sale..I am going to a stroker motor and did not use it..sorry for the hijack of the thread..but..if anyones is interesed please PM..happy holidays everyone..

 

Back to the issue of de-modding. I'm thinking about installing a 25% underdrive pully and would really appreciate any comments anyone could share regarding a down side of doing this.

I use the car pretty much for open road driving. Not a lot of stop and go and I don't have a killer stereo system to power.

 

I have a 25% Powerbond pulley on my Vette and have a 500 watt JL Audio amp and have not had any problems so far.

 

If it worth anything... I finished de-modding my car and decided to leave on my ASP underdrive pulley for a couple reasons. First the engine revs much faster with the smaller pulley, secondly they result in less wear for the accessories which boosts reliability IMO, and finally they don't really bring in much money when selling them used.

 

A lot of honesty in this thread... I myself am going back to a catted Y-pipe in the near future. I've come to the conclusion that the smell isn't worth the 5-10HP...

 

+6 for a great thread.

A lot lof very good points made. I think the vast majority of us gearheads tend to be all out.... in your face.... type "A" personalities to begin with. The aftermarket allows us to continue in that capacity, and sometimes before you know it a monster has been created-

I remember when I bought my WS6, all I wanted was a lid and a nice lil' catback. Before I knew it, it wasn't good enough. Next, the little itty bitty T1 cam(221/558/112.... GOD I MISS THIS COMBO)and Cartek heads happened. Made good power eventually(416/404)with tuning and was happy.... for a minute.

Fast forward seven years.... multiple H/C swaps, all bolt on's at least three times, three intakes, three motors, multiple clutch swaps, two transmissions(swapped from M6 to A3 twice), three complete exhaust systems, 12 bolt, multiple gear swaps, hard ***'d loud adjust. suspension components.... three wheel swaps.... seats.... cage.... the list goes on..... all in the name of the almighty dyno/track number.

...... and what I've ended up with is a perfectly badass(although immaculate)non daily driver "street car" that just sits in the garage unless it's going to the track or a fair weather putt around town. Something only sometimes(realistically)driveable, that widens the eye and drops the jaw of the young enthusiests, absolutely pisses off EVERYBODY else w/in a one block radius...... and has every badge w/a hard on paying attention to every rpm/gear change.

While I do still enjoy the ragged edge personality it subscribes to, I've often toyed w/the idea of a complete de-mod.... or even outright sale, but considering all the stock parts went buh-bye long ago.... it would be more expensive to return it to factory stock than it would to continue the insanity.
Sometimes I wish I'd just done a simple little TNT kit and DR's and called it a day-

I guess it's too late for the pewter pig, so she will continue in her role as one of life's simple part time pleasures w/wreckless abbandon. Maybe the '09 Camaro is in order..... worth a shot yes? Best of both worlds? Yes.... I believe so-

Looking back on the journey, it turns out that GM actually did invest some thought into the factory build. It was a powerfull, well rounded offering that could put a smile on your face whether on the straights or twisty's and could do it w/style and comfort.

Happy modding-

 

I once road in a 1966 Corvette. Black with full cage ,tubbed Aluminum paneled interior, fuel pump had a low and high switch . It was the baddest ''street car '' Ive ever been in. The owner bought it just like that , he then ordered a GM Performance parts 650 flywheel horse power ,also the dyno sheet read 650ftlbs 502 BBC . It came with 10.5:1, hyd roller cam , dual plane intake with a 850cfm Barry Grant carb. Complete ready to run on pump gas. He then bought a Trans King th-400 brake/4,000+ stall tranny combo with all the sfi goodies .. sheild etc.
This guy had 1 hell of a ''street car'' it sat right dropped to the pavement with the black paint, polished 15x15 prostars ,3.5's in front .All the exhaust was tucked high.
The linelock wouldnt hold the car stopped during an practice burnout on a feeda road off the highway . Back tires hooked to well . I was about 18 at the time and when he came off the trans brake the front end rose all I saw was sky for a few seconds , I started to experiance some blackout what sounded like top of second gear he clicked her into 3rd and I thought I saw Jesus The pull was UNREAL . Fast forward a few months the car was weighed at Houston Raceway Park , came in at 2,600lbs without a driver .
Car went low 10's letting off because of not having an NHRA competition license. Streetcar on pump 93 octane , 3.70 gears .. Naturaly Aspirated.
Thats what got me hooked on dragracing , every one should experience the torque of a Bigblock . After my ride I had a grin from ear to ear .
Oh almost forgot did I mention the car was a convertible

 

I had considered demodding before I sold my firebird. The supsension was just too jouncy, it wasn't comfortable any more to just get in and go for a ride. Also an aluminum flywheel didn't help a lot. I thought it would be cool to be able to double clutch and rev match like a race car, lol, but it got old quick, as did 4.10 gears. Just too aggressive for what it should have been which is fun to drive. Sure it handled like a go-kart, and reved like a superbike, but in the end it wasn't the same as getting into a stock suspension and stock 6 speed firebird and just going for a cruise.

 

To each is their own I guess. I'm going to push to the extreme side of the street. But hell, I grew up in the sticks where all the trucks had open exhausts and smelled bad and most shook hard because they had pulled a motor from their racecar and put it in their truck. I remember this really fat redneck who got a new Mustang GT 5.0 and had the motor tore down within the first week. After that, that car sounded like Happy Hour at Daytona. It was amazing. At 17 I'll never forget rolling up to school in my '86 Monte Carlo with a Holley 600cfm, Edelbrock intake, and longtube open headers. I could see the windows pulse from the vibration of the exhaust. I swore I rattled a few teeth loose those couple days before I got my exhaust put on.

Like it's been stated over and over, it's all in the tune with our newer LSX's. Luckily, up in Tempe there are a few shops that do some amazing tuning (Extreme Motorsports and Arizona Speed and Sound). Match the parts correctly, get the tuning, and tighten up the car. Go ahead and don't be afraid to run mufflers, if you want more sound put in some cutouts. Invest in some coilovers, and adjust your ride accordingly.

In the end I think it can be done correctly. I just believe the LS1 market has become a place with some badass race parts, and people just start going for them rather than what they need for the street. Too many raceparts=racecar; I'll shoot for 3/4 racecar, lol.

 

just finished my heads/cam upgrade etc.

443 rwhp, 396 rwtq. car feels about the same down low, and wayyyyyyy faster up top.

no issues with driveability to speak of, but i dont daily drive it, I have a cheap DD so I dont waste money on expensive parts wearing out (clutch, drag radials etc.).

I could daily drive it if I chose, but it would get dirty and that would **** me off

 

Ihate my car ,spend 2000 bucks runs great for about 6 hours and poop, why do we all blow are money on this again,

 

In the past I've had a few cars including F bodys that were my daily driver and heavily modded. After about a week of driving back and forth to work, plus everywhere else in between it got old real quick. The noise, the smell, the vibrations, driving in poor weather, etc.

The trick is to always have another car for your daily driver, beater, whatever you want to call it. Now I can happily mod away knowing I won't take a beating day in and day out as long as I have a second car to DD. Now the times I do take it for a spin makes it that much more fun to where I can appreciate it without ever getting tired of it.

 

^^^this is it right here^^^

 

The key to it is to have a nice DD. I have my 04 2500 HD. It's fully loaded and almost completely stock. The thing with building a fast street car is being able to drive it to the track and putting the race cars back on their trailers. The best part is then driving by them on the ride home or the look on their faces as you leave out the gate.
Seriously my car is to the point that it really needs a trailer. The trailer makes it easier. With a trailer you can carry more stuff for an enjoyable day at the track. I'll get one for events that require long driving distances.
Oh my son and I have been talking about an LSX 454 crate motor for our truck. Is there a Hotrod AA. LOL

 

Oh man a trailor now thats living lol. I drive my car 2.5 hours one way with my hoosier drs in the back. Switch them at the track. When my car brakes im screwed

 

I don't know about the rest of ya but I can't drive a dull car. I have been through three sets of heads and three cams on this daily driver. I hit the right combination on the third try. It makes 452/418 gets 27 MPG on the highway and 20 MPG around town. It is easy on valve springs and makes plenty of muscle under the curve. Which was the goal of the build. At one time I thought I would hang on to all the stock parts and put it back stock one day. But a few years ago I was doing a garage clean up and I realized that going back to stock would never happen. Sold and threw away all the stock stuff and never looked back. The car now has 219,000 + miles on it ans still runs great. If this engine ever dies I'll go to a stroker and have fun with it as a daily driver...

PS I can't beleive that this thread is back from the dead again.