Does it make sense to change the cam only? I have a 99 SS with a lid, underdrive pully, smooth bellow and skip shift. I am fairly new to the LS1 as I have been a Mustang guy for a loooong time. I want a cam to give my car a "lopey" idle. (Not to mention the power gains)

Anyway, am I starting to mod my car in the wrong areas? I figure it will cost about $750 or so installed? Does that sound right?

Thanks in advance!

 

You want to do all the boltons first(full exhaust and intake at least) and I would recommend that you do heads and cam at the same time so you can match them together so that you can optimize the entire powerband. Typically if you switch just the cam you will lose a bit of low end power which sucks for normal driving on the street. there are quite a few remidies for this and thats why you design the heads and cam, and if possible the block, together.

 

exactly what he said

 

and above.

A combination is the way to go these days as you can get some really good flowing heads for cheap compared to a few years ago.

A big lumpy cam will loose some of the torque down low which will hurt you driving around town, but with a carefully selected package (including good flowing heads) you can increase your SCR and maximize your DCR to gain back the lost torque and gain even more. Do some reading on DCR (and valve events) to get a grasp of how important it can be and look at some threads like "Torque Comming out of my Ears!" where Patrick posts dyno results of different setups to see how effective a properly selected combo can be.

Good Luck!!

 

totally agree with the above posts. Do your bolton stuff first before, so you can support the power gains of your internal work. cam only does make sense...just depends on what your looking for. Are you lookin for something to make 400 and down (in most cases) or 400+ with heads and cam? And just wonderin how does your ls1 feel compared to your long history of mustangs??

 

Cam only is not very practical if you want good peak gains but yet want to retain low end Daily driving power as well.

 

Night and Day difference. Nothing like an LS1 Six-Speed!

I appreciate all of the feedback. So where is a good place to start? Headers and y-pipe? Cat-back? How much would headers and installation cost?

 

1 3/4 LT and a good flowing 3' catback .Which brand depends on your budget.You prob have a local speed shop in your area and /or friends that have had work done that can steer you in the right direction.

 

Depending on your budget you can easlily make over 400 RWHP with bolt ons and a cam swap..Idealy it would be good to do them all at once but do not feel like you cant do the mods step by step if it doesn't fall into your budget to do them all at once.

 

If you've got the tools and the place, do it all yourself. LS1 headers are a dream to install believe it or not. I bet i could do mine again in maybe 3.5 hours. www.LS1howto.com has a lot of good step by step info on H/C swaps. Do it youself and it might pay for something like heads, or full exhaust. Check the For sale section for a used LS6 intake, right now the going rate is $300 shipped. Its only a few hours worth of install and very worth it. You're going to need a good tune too. Some of the handhelds can disable things like AIR and EGR and rear O2s, like the vinci tuner. Most everyone goes with a laptop tune or custom dyno or mail order tune.

 

1-Long tube headers, and TRUE duals with X pipe.
That will net you more than any cam swap at this stage.
2- Ported TB with LS6 intake
3- Tune
4- Clutch
5- Cam and retune
6- rear differential (FORD 9 or 12 bolt)

Welcome to the Darkside

 

Welcome to the Darkside [/QUOTE]

TRUE DAT!!!!!!!