Hello all.

I'm a owner of a turbo vehicle and have lots of knowledge in that area, but I'm new to N/A power. I am about to buy a LS1 car and am trying to gain some knowledge on this type of engine.

From my research so far here on this forum it looks like the LS1 is pretty stout and can make power real easy with simple bolt-ons. I'm wondering, does anybody have any suggestions on what exhausts manufacturers are best? Same question for headers and cams/heads.

I'm going to be getting this stuff at some point so was just curious if people had opinions. I'm going to be using the car for primarily a street car, but want power for occasional track days of all sorts (road course, drag, autocross). Looking for best "all-around" setup.

 

welcome and all of your questions depend on your budget

 

Check out texas-speed.com. You'll want to start out with the basic mods: Intake and exhaust. Get a lid, ls6 intake (unless you got an 01-02 f-body, they come with the LS6 intake), longtube headers, and a true dual exhaust. That, along with an underdrive pulley and you're looking at 350-360 rwhp with a good tune.

 

Yes, very true. I learned that lesson the hard way with my turbo car.

I'm guessing that I'm gonna have around $2K to play with over the first six months on the engine. Car I'm getting has the T56. It's a 2001 model so I think it has the LS6 intake mani. I need to check to be sure though.

I was thinking of long tube headers and a ypipe. Car I'm getting already has a dual 3" axleback. Should I be looking for a ypipe with a high flow cat? Want the exhaust to flow as good as possible while staying legal since it will be primarily street car.

 

Under drive pulley. Forgot that one. Thanks.

 

Hooker lth and ORY for the win.

 

Welcome, and good luck with your project.

 

Read the last sentence

 

Haha... Yeah, I didn't mention tune. I will definitely get a tune. Car will have LS1-Edit EMS.

 

hi and good luck.

the 2001 model year already has the ls6 intake manifold so your good there. and yes, the catted y pipe is your friend if you want to stay emisions legal. plus it will help eliminate any rasp you may have.

you mods mostly will depend on several things. how often your going to be driving it, goals for the car, amount of money you have, etc. there really is no best part when it comes to cam or heads, more like what you can afford. if you want to stay with N/A power i would say get a decent cam first(only after full boltons) then save for some good heads later.

good luck man.

 

hmmmm where to start....ah yes here are a few links to help you on your way

exhaust:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/140408-exhaust-reviews-sound-clips-ls1sounds-com.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-external-engine/520845-mod-guide-induction-exhaust-please-read-before-posting.html

Cam questions:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/327734-cam-guide.html

Modding information by the best:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/new-ls1-owners-newbie-tech/361959-so-you-wanna-fast.html

all around good install guides specially for free mods

www.installuniversity.com

Those are informative threads right there done by some of the best on here. that will speak volumes for most questions that you have. Furthermore, to develop a good all around car you will want to start with the bolt ons as stated. since you have an ls6 intake manifold dont worry about dealing with that for now it will work fine with where you want have your car. First off get a lid from a sponsor on here. I cant stress enough that a LID IS A LID IS A LID. everyone has their preferences but this is a tried and proven method with no dissapointment. along with a lid you can go 2 ways you can do the "fernco mod" or you can spend the $$ and buy a bellow to replace the stock accordian lookin on the car. after that look into headers, the best for your money is pacesetter Long tube ceramic coated they usually run around 375 coated then onto the y pipe...pacesetter makes a good y pipe as well. keep in mind there are better headers out there such as kooks stainless but you will spend over double...its up to you. after that to save money on exhaust you can buy a manual cut out for dirt cheap which will allow you to circumvent the exhaust. if you dont likethe idea of gettin under the car to undo it yourself QTP makes a electronic cut out, which allows you to open and close the cut out from the comfort of your drivers seat. now that you have got intake and exhaust done you may move onto other various bolt on's such as an under drive pulley. this will allow you to reduce the parasytic drag from the stock pulley while at the same time underdriving your acces. by 25%.....read up and search, if you have a stereo or big amps or what not you might want to invest in and over drive pulley for your alternator to go along with your u/d pulley. after you may consider porting your stock throttle body....New Era a sponsor on here right now is havinga sale through this month and mine should be coming in any day now also there are such others as an electric water pump...although many will argue thats over priced for the gain. once you have a "bolt on" car you can start to think about where you want to go with a cam or heads....from what you said earlier you will want to prolly go with a mild setup. look for a good "match" dont go huge cam or huge heads, but instead talk with some sponsors and try and find a nice cam perhaps something with around .520-.550 lift so as to not be as agressive for your street/strip car. but none the less expect to see SUBSTANTIAL gains with going Heads/Cam. with all the above mentions there is no reason why you wouldnt expect 420 rwhp respectively....as far as being setup for road racing/drag racing ect....check out the suspensions section on the board. ls1 breaks suck after a while lol so you may want to invest in some better pads and rotors....i have some old power slots on mine and they stop on a dime i think with some ceramic pads i could be wrong though....as far as suspension goes for drag racing you will want to get some lower control arms...also if the car is lowered you will want relocation brackets for the lca's as well. along with taht look for subframe connectors so your chassis stays aligned now with all thsi power and hard launching. also look into shocks and springs....i hear great things about Qa1's do a search, there pricey but a great way to go....also maybe a panhard bar to for suspension as far as road racing i dont know much. but maybe a strut tower brace. hope all this helps

lid:100
bellow:3-40
ported throttle body: 65 from new era
u/d pulley:189 from speed inc.
pacesetter LT's: 375
Y pipe: not sure i bought and X pipe maybe 150???
cut out: 50-150
cam: 150-400 depending on what you get
misc cam parts: 300+
heads: 1500+ depending on what you do maybe 2000
subframe connectors: 100-150 for 2 pt.
lower control arms: 150-180
relocations brackets: 50-80
panhard bar: not sure maybe around 150 or more idk
qa1's: no clue 500+ maybe 600+ maybe more


that should get you started

 

Also have a think on the direction you want to take the car, some mods are not compatibale with others.

BTW - with a LS1 you don't have to stick n/a either, they take to boost really well but it'll cost you, however 700rwhp is quite attainable.

Check my sig for some useful links

And post up if you have any questions.

 

I'm coming from an STi. I love turbo cars, but I have to laugh at how cheap it is to modify the LS1. Beautiful.

$375 for ceramic coated long tube headers which are the best type of headers (longtube that is) for this engine. LOL... On the STi it's equal length headers that are the best power makers and you can't get them for less than $700. That's without heat coating.

I like this engine already.

Thanks to all that have posted thus far with useful/friendly/helpful info.

 

I'm going to plan to stay N/A for a long while. I want to enjoy the nice flat torque curve of an N/A engine.

 

By the way, the car I'm going to aquire is an FD (1993 RX7) with a 2001 LS1 swap...

Nice and light.... 2800 lbs soaking wet.

 

welcome!