What can I say, you heard wrong! If your trans is healthy, the stall won't hurt it. A nice cooler will more than make up for any additional heat. In fact, since your trans has a lock up converter by the time you reach 40 mph or so, with normal driving the converter clutch will lock exactly like the stocker. So the only time you would even see a heat increase would be in extreme stop and go city driving. I know it goes against common wisdom, but years ago I drove around for over two years with a very sloppy 3500 stall and only the radiator for cooling. This was on a non lock up trans that was driven a mix of city and highway miles in some very hot temps.

Like you have already been told, ported heads on a stock engine is not a good idea. Any gains in the upper rpm's will be minimal because of the stock cam. You will also lose some low end power and response due to lower port velocity. The stock LT1 heads are actually pretty damn good. Some people have gone into the 11 second range with them. Anyone who thinks the LT1 heads are a weak point should go spend some time talking with someone who grew up stuck with the smog heads of the mid seventies and eighties. Those were some poor heads.

A 2200 stall is an equally bad idea. More than likely, you won't even be able to tell the difference from the stock stall. It would be a total waste of money.

You have been given some good advice in this thread, but seem to have a hard time accepting it. You need to do your research before making any decisions. There is a data base of track times and dyno numbers with listed mods, on this site. Go there and find some cars that attained performance similar to your goals and study their mod list. Gather as much info as possible and make an informed decision instead of going off of preconceived notions.

 

I know it seems like I'm not listening to you guys, but I am. Everytime I make my decision, someone else tells me otherwise. (not from this site, more the mechanic and other LT1 owners) So, I keep asking the question they put in my head. Basically, all the things they say will be bad, which gets me paranoid...

A buddy of mine works at a cylinder heads shop and told me today that porting my heads and getting 1.6rr's would be a good idea and i may pick up 20Rwhp...He said the rr's almost work as a cam, giving me more lift. Now, you guys said I would lose power. That's where the confusion is coming from. But, it seems like you guys know what your talking about. I think I'll just get a stall, 1.6rr's and a nice tranny cooler and call it a day.

 

Thanks for setting things straight. Using the fat girl analogy was hilarious. If it's that pointless, I better just get the ******* stall.

 

You need to look at people's sigs and see who actually has a fast car and who just thinks they have a fast car or pretends to not have run it down the track.
Lot of people here with mediocre cars trying to get everyone else to follow them down the same path of too much money for too little results.

On the tranny cooler look into TruCool or B&M with the viscosity based "thermostatic" feature, transmissions most definetely can run too cool and these coolers will help avoid that.

 

3,200 or bust


Anything smaller to me isnt worth it at all.....

 

Race of the wallets that is so true! LOL

But I wonder at what point the gas mileage of each becomes the same. With an LT4 cam in an LT1 I want to say it will get about 22mpg. The Ls1 with a cam (and a pretty big one at that) and headers with true duels and no tuning gets about 22-23mpg. I drove the car too and I want to say it is scary how fast it really is!! Makes anything I have ever driven seem really slow! And even with it untuned the car is dumping raw fuel right through the motor too! I have smelled it! I am willing to bet it will be over 400HP once its tuned. But back to the point I was trying to make is I think the LS1 will always beat the LT1 on MPG per HP, I think It helps a lot when you have a 6-speed too!

A 3200 stall would probably be plenty sufficient at getting what you are looking for. I will probably get rid of my 2400 and get a 3200. check out:

http://www.fuddleracing.com/default.asp --> I hear they are just as good as VIG. but easier on the wallet.

 

No. Read our posts again. We didn't say going to the 1.6RR would lose power, we said porting the heads while keeping everything else in the engine stock 'probably' would make you lose power. The 1.6RR, yes, they will have the same affect as a stock cam with a higher lift. The issue with the 1.6rr and the stock springs is that the spaces between the coils on the springs can be too tight and potential go solid. When the cam lobe goes to full lift and the coils are 'stacked/fully compressed', *something* has to give. If you're lucky, it'll be a bent pushrod. Sometimes, it will drive the lifter into the cam lobe and it will chew away the cam lobe, distributing metal thru out the motor.

 

1.6rr are a better mod than porting heads at your stage of modification, but read carefully the post above! very very important info that mightyquick gave you. also look in his sig...his mods on the 94....that would be a great setup to follow.

this mechanic...same one who told you you had a 900 stall???? i would stay as far away from him as possible. where are you located, maybe we can refer you to a reputable f-body shop near you, so that you can get correct info and put your money in the right places.

but for right now, i would go with a 2800 to 3200 stall....very tight, at least 2.5 STR, tranny cooler, and a REAL shift kit....trans-go preferrably!

bets of luck bud!

see what a few drinks can do to ya....its true, alcohol makes you speak the truth. all of what I said, even tho mis-spelled for the most part, was complete and brutal honesty.

Like I said earlier, I think you should steer clear of this mechanic you have right now, unless you really trust his knowledge and ability with the LT1 motors.

 

I have run the Vigi 3200 in mine for years, has the stock 3.23 gears, car drives fine. With a 100% stock suspension on Kuhmo 712s I cut a 1.86 60ft, now with some suspension on a old set of Nittos I got a 1.72 out of the car. Thing drives great, I had no problems daily driving it through Houston traffic and all sorts of horrible weather.

 

Why do so many people not know anything about stalls? Get a vig 3200, it's tight and barely noticeable IMO. If my car was to stay NA the minimum would be 3600.

 

Yep, unless you knew what a stall drove like, you couldn't tell it was there.

 

So, your saying when I change to 1.6RR's make sure I get springs, correct? Anything else I should think about replacing since I'm going with 1.6RR's and a stall? I don't want anything to give. (I'm also getting a tranny cooler and I will talk to him about a shift kit)