Bad346

Hey guys,
Bit of a longtime lurker here, thought I may as well create an account on here to get some advice regarding further mods.
Some details on the car;
2004 Holden VZ Series 1 SV8 LS1
Last of the LS1s in the Holden range so it initially came with 4l60e auto, 3.08 LSD differential , 241 casting heads, LS6 intake manifold and DBW 3 bolt throttle body.
Engine:
-Custom grind Comp camshaft (230/234 @.050 108 lsa)
-BTR dual valve springs with tool steel retainers
-LS2 Timing Chain
-NGK TR6s
Intake:
-LS6 Intake manifold
-HPC coated alloy OTR intake with K&N filter
Exhaust:
-HM Headers stainless 4-2-1s (1 3/4" primaries, 2 1/8" secondaries, 2 3/4" collectors)
-2 x 3" 100 cell Outlaw high flow catalytic converters
-Dual 3" mild steel catback with X-pipe and Hurricane mufflers
Transmission:
-Built 4l65e
-Dominator 3500 non lockup torque converter
Differential:
-Rebuilt Dana M80 LSD with genuine GM 3.91 diff gears
Suspension:
-Eibach Pro Springs
-FE2 Shocks
Wheels/Tyres:
-19x8.5" Speedy Cheetah all round
-235/40/19 front, 245/35/19 rear
Exterior:
-SS body kit & spoiler
-Debadged/blacked out badges
Brakes:
-RDA Slotted and cross drilled standard size rotors with RDA pads
Other:
-Tint
-Pioneer single DIN head unit & 6x9s
-2 x Aeroforce Interceptors
-Leather SS steering wheel




At the moment I have a few areas I want to address on the car and I'm still in the researching stage of others.
I'm looking at sending an LS6 intake manifold to TPIS for the 90mm snout modification and I have a 90mm LS3 throttle body which I'll possibly port and use with a Torque Rush X-Link adaptor I'm yet to purchase.
When money permits I would like to do a top end rebuild - Still looking at lifter options. CHE bronzed bushing trunion upgrade or Yella Terra 1.7 ratio rockers. Strongly considering notching the pistons with some thinner gaskets and decent heads (this is where budget will really come into it).
Possibly retarding the cam with an adjustable timing set.
Ideally I want ~11.3:1 SCR, enough CFMs of air to support ~570 crank horsepower and a relatively light/stable valve train.

Other little bits that are on my to do list;
-10% underdriven pulley.
-DeatschWerks DW65A 265LPH in-tank fuel pump & 36lb injectors.
-Decent sized trans cooler.
-Decent shocks, bushes, poly urethane engine and gearbox mounts.
-Relocate battery to boot, relocate PCM to the passenger side foot well.
-Either throttle body coolant bypass or 4 corner coolant crossover.
-Ceramic coating the headers.
-If I get more serious with it I'll probably take the Eibach Pro springs out, try to cut some weight and restall the converter to ~5000-5500 but right now it just sees daily street duties so 3500 is fine.
-When the differential needs rebuilding down the line I'll consider a WaveTrac or Eaton True Trac.

Let me know what you think about the car, would love to hear some feedback or advice regarding future mods.

Che70velle

iTrader: (6)

cookseyb

Wow!!, my son had a GTO that his his wife tore the front fascia off (long story don't ask) and we ordered the Holden Manaro front for it. Same color etc as your car. Had lotsa fun talking to the folks down there and we were surprised the cost, even with shipping, was about the same as the GM stuff. Great car but it had the SORRIEST 6 speed shifter I have ever tried to use. Replaced it with a Hurst and was much improved. Great Build you have going, Keep us updated and Welcome to the site..

bortous

Hi mate.
I am aussie
I read your post.
What is the purpose of your car?
Is it a street car?

Bad346

Thanks Mate

Yeah you're not wrong about the stock shifter in the early 6 speeds, still though I'd happily have one over my 4l65e lol. Thanks mate, good to be on a forum with a bit of more traffic than the Aussie ones.

Hey mate,
It sees mostly street duties - but not a lot of km's per week. I want something I can enter into Powercruise, Wednesday night drags, possibly Race Wars and have a bit of fun without making it too uncomfortable to drive down the beach or to the shops with my girlfriend (she doesn't complain too much about it though ).

I'm not after the absolute fastest bang for buck car or I would just put on a 200hp wet shot of nitrous, I just want something that makes 4xx rwhp n/a with as much under the curve as possible and good quality components for some degree of reliability hopefully. Its more of a 'jack of all trades' type car, I want to do a few custom touches to the bodywork, neat looking engine bay, interior etc just basically make it a little different to every other cammed commodore with a set of wheels out there

Launch

Nice car bro. I have a VY SS myself in phantom black. Pic of it below. They are great cars the ls1 VY and VZ's, much better than what some stuck up idiots who never owned one think they are. And they're not too heavy at 1640kg kerb full weight. Compared to new stuff anyway.

Don't let my sig throw you off, the Camaro is my money pit. ( thanks to our current exchange rate and recent gst on all items under 1k )

Bad346

You have a nice example there mate.
I definitely have no gripes after owning this car now about 9 years and taking it from totally stock standard to where it sits now, its been my first venture into pushrod v8s after coming from a turbo Nissan so its been a lot of fun playing around with something new and I still enjoy driving it - although the 376rwhp doesn't feel as crisp as it once did lol. I hear you on the exchange rate and GST too, made me rethink going with TEA for a head rebuild.

bortous

If you want it cammed my recommendation is to CNC port your heads and fit a 226/232 112 LSA +2 camshaft from crow cams.
This will give you the driveability you are looking for as well as good power under the curve.
It should also make the power you are after.
It will drive decently too with 5 degrees of overlap.

Bad346

I've already got a cam fitted mate, its a custom comp grind my engine builder specced for me - 230/234 108 LSA, unsure of advance.
It's got about 16 degrees of overlap but the moderate duration and narrow lobe separation gives it quite good response on the street, I just feel I'm still leaving a bit on the table with stock heads and compression. I might be able to get some cheap ls2 heads tomorrow, I'll see how that one pans out

Launch

It sucks what we're paying for parts right now. Check out the PRC heads from Texas Speed, well priced and perform very well from what I've seen. Only problem is they only ship UPS which is a rip off in itself. Heads and compression will definitely gain. I've done it. I had a VT2 R8 years ago and gained 4mph and 3 tenths in the 1/4 after fitting good CNC cathedral heads. I had run 11.9's cam only and went 11.6@119.xx mph with the CNC heads, no other changes. Wasn't hooking up, I still had stock suspension. Back then we had no fast intakes etc. I still had stock ls6 intake, ported ls1 TB and stock descreened MAF (although i raced it straight in with the MAF joined to the TB and a short 4" pipe over the radiator, no air filter. I had a custom shorter radiator).

bortous

No worries.
That spec camshaft though you are leaving power on the table.
It's more of a low and mid range specification.
16 degrees of overlap is a lot for an LS1 though mate.
It's at the limit of power gains and you would be bleeding off compression with that much overlap.
If you put ls2 heads on an ls1 it will make it feel lazy in the low and mid range.
Your best bet is to cnc port and mill your current heads and it will make a good difference.



You are better off cnc porting your ls1 heads and your torque will improve everywhere.

cam

iTrader: (9)

Welcome aboard!

Sweet car, well selected combination. My only input is considering the costs your already in for, adding cubes would be relatively cheap and bring HUGE returns on power while still maintaining daily driver status. The 406 6.0L block base or 416 6.2L block base are very popular nowadays. 500+ whp available using mostly stock parts. For some exotic factor and under hood style the Holly Sniper intake makes good power and is cost effective. Your LS6 intake in stock trim will be in demand for resale as well. Plus you can put together a fresh engine on the stand while you drive around in this one.

I always try and leave good running combos alone now. I learned that the hard way chasing power with the same motor and its cost me years of jackstand prison as a result ha. Anyways good deal all round, look forward to your future results

Bad346

Cheers mate, I had a look at the PRCs - definitely some good bank for buck there.
4mph and 3 tenths is no joke, who did the CNC job on them out of curiosity?
Also who made the shorter radiator? Was that to clearance the 4" intake pipe? I'd thought about trying to create a ram air intake that gets air from behind the grille but put it in the 'too hard' basket. I like the newer vcm and x-air OTR designs but they all seem to be limited still by the space available over the radiator.


I was thinking retarding the cam a few degrees may give me a bit more top end without having to change cam but I'll wait until its got heads/intake that will support the engine at that RPM. I've also noticed playing around with some dynamic compression and cylinder cranking pressure calculators that anything more than about 11.3:1 SCR gives me ~9:1 DCR and 215 psi which I believe is about the very limit of pump 98 fuel with optimised quench, spot on tune etc. Does this sound about right guys? To be honest I thought with this cam I may be able to get away with a bit more compression than that.

Launch

The heads were "Absolute Speed" stage 2.5's. No longer available. I think the PRC are very similar which is why I mentioned them. They were also 5.3 truck heads, not 5.7 LS1's. I think they had a bit smaller chambers for more compression and slightly better exhaust flow than 5.7 ls1 heads, but don't quote me on that, going from memory here. It was over a decade ago now.

The shorter radiator was to clearance the 4" pipe. I bought it second hand at the time from another Holden LS1 owner. Not sure who made it, and I can't remember why he even sold it now. It was all aluminium. Basically was an exact copy of the stock radiator but several inches shorter, and more cores. Any decent radiator place could make one probably. You can also tilt the radiator backwards slightly for more room for the air intake , there's enough room for it. Just pull the rubber donuts out at the top, pull it towards the back of the car with cable ties.

I have the ramjet (china copy) OTR intake on my VY. Definitely gained. But I worked out the surface area of the factory 98-02 ls1 Camaro/Pontiac air filter and it's 1/3rd bigger than the ramjet filter. So I'd say the VCM one is the better option as I think the filter in that is the exact 98-02 ls1 Camaro size.

If you want to run the best ET at the drag strip, it'll be quickest with a short 4" pipe straight into the TB over the top of the radiator, which needs a shorter radiator like I had done. Although I guess any of the OTR intakes with the air filter removed, wouldn't be far off.

bortous

I think your best bet is to change the camshaft and fit something with less overlap that makes better power everywhere.
16 degrees of overlap is overkill unless you are going to the drag strip only.
Something with about 6 degrees will drive decent and won't need as much compression.
You will also gain low end torque.
Something like a 226/232 112 LSA +2 or for something with 8 degrees of overlap a 229/235 112 LSA+1
These will drive far better than what you have and will have a much better power band.
I still recommend to mill and port your stock heads.
Also change over the intake to a FAST. This flows a lot better than the ls1/ls2/ls6 intakes
You will be amazed how good this combo is if you take this advice.

Bad346

Hey man, thanks for the input and appreciate the welcome
I understand where you're coming from and no doubt there is a lot of merit to having some type of long term plan so you don't over capitalise on a 346 and go into 416 budget territory lol.
Some of this stuff like the LS6 intake manifold I paid $50 for and the LS3 throttle body maybe $90 so its not a huge $$$ build by any means, I just try to be sensible with part selection and keep costs down whilst not sacrificing on the important bits.

Good info!
I had heard of people tilting the radiator back, may have to give this a go. Cheers