LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Planned LT1 mods. Suggestions?

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Old 09-18-2007, 01:28 PM
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Default Planned LT1 mods. Suggestions?

Hi guys:
I have a 1995 LT1 Camaro Z28 with 116k miles, automatic. The car right now is basically stock except for a Flowmaster muffler, Mosoro Air intake and shift kit in the tranny. Here are the mods that Im planning on it, in the course of the next two months. Some of the stuff I have already, some other Im acquiring with time.

Brand New LT4 heads
Brand New GM Hot Cam
Brand New GM Roller Rockers
Edelbrock Performer Intake Manifold LT4
Edelbrock Performer 58mm TB
Pacesetter LTs
Nitto Drag Radials for the back, Hankook Ventus front. 275/40/17
Dry 100 hp Shot from NOS
Walbro 255 Gas Pump
NOS Intake Plate
MSD ignition coils
NGK Spark plugs
4.10 Gears

Any suggestions? Is there something Im missing or that you would do differently? Please let me know!!! Thanks, Rogez
Old 09-18-2007, 01:34 PM
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Don't buy a TB. Have your stocker ported.
The LT4 heads and Hotcam are overrated.

Don't get them unless you get a great, I mean GREAT deal on them.
Port Pros and Lloyd Elliot are better options for headwork.

The Edlebrock Performer intake is junk. Total crap.
If you like the 58MM TB option, you will need your intake ported to match.

And gears are a good mod, but a Stall is a much better mod and the stock gears can take more punishment then aftermarket ones.
Old 09-18-2007, 02:04 PM
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How much would you pay for a set of new LT4 heads, LT4 hotcam and GM roller rockers? What intake manifold and TB would u buy?
Old 09-18-2007, 02:31 PM
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I'd pay 800.00 for stock Lt4's. Would not buy a hot cam at all over new custom grinds. I suggest you work stock heads buy either LE, AI, TEA or some other person on here that has a good rep. I've got LE2's and i couldnt ask for more bang from the buck. I was running a GM 847 and it worked well, now using a Bret B Cam around a 230/236
Old 09-18-2007, 02:49 PM
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I have a set of LT1 TPiS heads for sale if your interested... Out flows out of the box LT4's any day. The heads are fully assembled and ready to run. I *believe* the springs are good up to .650 lift.. but I can double check that for you.

They are $1250 from TPiS, but I would be willing to get rid of them for 900 shipped, if your interested.
Old 09-18-2007, 04:18 PM
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How many miles on them?Rogez
Old 09-18-2007, 05:45 PM
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Yeah the LT4 stuff and Edelbrock intake would be a mistake. The HOT cam is a mediocre choice.

58mm TB is not a bad thing but they do need some work to make work as well as a rebored stocker.

A dry shot requires new injectors, the stockers lock closed if overpressurized which would be instant death for the motor.
Skip the MSD coil and instead get something like the Mallory 685 box which will give you a spark based rev limiter, window switch and nitrous retard all in one box.
A stall is an important thing you are missing there, I would recommend an Edge but Yank and Vig are both very good too.

I wiould suggest sending your stock heads too Advanced induction or one of the other places listed above, it will outperform the LT4 heads and HOT cam.

The LT4 heads and HOT cam in a perfect world can make about 425FLYWHEEL hp, any of the above mantioned shops will port your LT1 heads and sell you a custom cam that will easily top 450flywheel hp with potential for much more.

The Flowmaster is going to be a BIG choke as they are not a good flowing muffler.
Hope the shiftkit is a Transgo, it is THE right choice for a 4L60E.
Old 09-18-2007, 06:07 PM
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Less than 10k... Heads are in PERFECT condition....





http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0751.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0749.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0748.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0747.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0746.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0745.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0744.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0743.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0742.jpg

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u...s/DSCF0741.jpg


Sorry for the thread hijack... If your interested, I guess just PM me.
Old 09-18-2007, 06:11 PM
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PM sent, interested.Roge
Old 09-18-2007, 06:17 PM
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Ok: Forget about the LT4 heads, Hotcam and Roller Rockers. Suppose I go with the TPiS(basically a ported LT1 head with different valves and springs) heads. Which cam for the LT1, which Intake manifold, what injectors, what muffler. As a guider from the list I only own(but havent installed):

Pacesetter LTs
Nitto Drag Radials for the back, Hankook Ventus front. 275/40/17

and want:

Heads
Cam
Roller Rockers( or better)
Yank 3600 Torque Converter
Intake Manifold
58mm TB
Dry 100 hp Shot from NOS
4.10 Gears
Muffler ?

Help me put choose these, thanks for the help and time, Roger

Last edited by rogez; 09-19-2007 at 11:50 AM.
Old 09-18-2007, 11:15 PM
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In need help with the "stall", I dont even have a clue what is a stall, sorry. Could someone give me a hand? BTW, I looked into the TPiS website and I looked into the Miniram manifold and their 58mm TB? Whats the opinion on those and their head work?
Old 09-18-2007, 11:50 PM
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Well, To start, with the TPiS heads, you can run the LT4 hotcam and make good power... More power than you would with the full LT4 setup anyways. A good cam for these heads would be the GM847 cam or something similar from Comp or one of the other cam companies. The headers are a good start. They will support the other mods you plan on doing to your car and wont hold you back when you install them.

If you want to make good power from a stock internal motor, go the heads and cam route. Get a good 52mm throttle body and some good injectors (Ford SVO 30# or slightly bigger, I ran 30#'ers with my 383 and tuned it in, never had any lean problems)

As far as the LT4 intake goes (or the mini-ram for that matter) the LT1 manifold is pretty damn good. It is not a choke on the motor by any means until you start making stupid power (500+rwhp) Save your money there. If you want to run N2O, do so sparingly... especially if your motor has seen more than 150k miles.

The roller rockers would be a necessity (get 1.5's if your going with anything but the LT4 cam) if you put cam and heads on it. It will just help you get the most from what youve got, and give you some peace of mind with the valvetrain. Also, keep in mind that if you get Roller Rockers, they tend to be on the noisy side, and they tend to trigger your knock sensor, ultimatly making the car pull timing and thus not making optimum power. An easy fix for this would be to get the LT4 knock module and make sure you have fresh knock sensors... AND HAVE IT TUNED!

Get the gears... I had 4.10's with my LT1 and I loved them. If I do it over again though, I will end up with 3.73's this time. I have a six speed and on the streets at the speed limit, I was always at too high an RPM for one gear, and too low for the next. If you have an auto and you drive it on the highway a lot, get 3.73's and a good stall... you will end up happier in the end.. I can almost guarantee it.

As far as the exhaust goes... Go with whatever brand you think sounds the best and dont listen to what any one of these apes on here says about flowmasters being crap. I made a lot of power with a flowmaster, I loved the way it sounded and it made the same power as my Borla XR-1 Race muffler I had on it before the flowmaster. Keep in mind that all "performance" muffler companies are going to make good products... especially the mainstream brands. They will ALL flow around the same and make around the same amount of power, and Im willing to take the pepsi challenge on that statement.

The miniram and the 58mm TB are overkill for just about anything until you go forced induction or make CRAZY power... Stick with your LT1 manifold and a 52mm TB. Trust me... Dont waste your money, unless you just want something to brag about... As far as the stall goes... its basically at what point the converter engages at and starts to really move your car... With a 3200 stall, the car will still idle forward and all that, but when you punch it, it will really kick when it hits 3200 or so RPM... Best bet if your looking to do heads/cam or whatever, is get your stuff together (cam specs, heads, other pertinent mods) and call a converter company like B&M or TCI or whomever your going to buy from and tell them what you plan on doing with the car, what your expecting and tell them the cam specs also... they will help you pick the right stall for your application.

Good luck man... I hope I answered some of your questions for you.
Old 09-19-2007, 12:19 AM
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I think that you are jumping into this way to fast. As you build you'll notice things are gonna break. Tranny and rearend for example. Especially if you are doing heads and cam with full boltons. What about traction, it takes more than just tires to make traction. What is your goal here? Are you going for a full strip set up or mostly street driven with a little track time? Take your time. If your thinking of heads and cam make sure you have your stall set up for the cam your getting. A well thought out setup with complimenting parts will do wonders. Any ways thats my rant.

As for the parts you have listed, I don't have experience with them but have done research and Ported stock heads with custom cams are what seems to make the most power, so I've read. Go with a ported stock TB also. I would suggest a magnaflow muffler for a tamer, clean sounding exhaust with a cut out in the i-pipe.

Just read the above post, sums it up way better than me.
Old 09-19-2007, 05:19 AM
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Internally the LT4 intake was always the same as the LT1 intake. People ASSume that because on gen 1 ans Gen 3 motors intakes are a solid upgrade that they have to be on the LT1 as well. That is just not the case, a decade ago Edelbrock and Lingenfelter both basically failed to produce a better intake for the LT1. Edelbrock just had a little more integrity then and despiration now hence marketing one today.
Old 09-19-2007, 05:32 AM
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Originally Posted by nomoneyz
I think that you are jumping into this way to fast. As you build you'll notice things are gonna break. Tranny and rearend for example. Especially if you are doing heads and cam with full boltons. What about traction, it takes more than just tires to make traction. What is your goal here? Are you going for a full strip set up or mostly street driven with a little track time? Take your time. If your thinking of heads and cam make sure you have your stall set up for the cam your getting. A well thought out setup with complimenting parts will do wonders. Any ways thats my rant.

As for the parts you have listed, I don't have experience with them but have done research and Ported stock heads with custom cams are what seems to make the most power, so I've read. Go with a ported stock TB also. I would suggest a magnaflow muffler for a tamer, clean sounding exhaust with a cut out in the i-pipe.

Just read the above post, sums it up way better than me.
Agreed. Not trying to knock you or anything rogez but you dont even know what a stall is you should drive the car stock first and learn more things about it and the mods you wanna do before you jump head first becuase you might end up spending more money than you want
Old 09-19-2007, 06:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Ls1GenericGuy
Agreed. Not trying to knock you or anything rogez but you dont even know what a stall is you should drive the car stock first and learn more things about it and the mods you wanna do before you jump head first becuase you might end up spending more money than you want
Of course, thats what Im here. I dont really know, what to do first and what not to do. My power goals are 400 rwhp NA and 500 rwhp with N20. Does the A4 support this amount of power? What about the rear end with 4.10s?
Old 09-19-2007, 07:06 AM
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Of course, thats why Im here. I dont really know, what to do first and what not to do. My power goals are 400 rwhp NA and 500 rwhp with N20. Does the A4 support this amount of power? What about the rear end with 4.10s?
My car is a daily street driver, no highway for this LT-1. I wanted to along the way make the car a little bit more fuel efficient, my LT1 makes severely bad MPG, I know its a V8, but maybe with new heads and cam the car will do better with the city mileage?
Old 09-19-2007, 11:48 AM
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I looked into the torque converters at that section of LS1TECH.com, I seem to like more the Yank 3600, not a bad price and people seem to be using it a lot. Another one to the list. Give me your ideas guys, Thanks, Roger
Old 09-19-2007, 01:52 PM
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The rear-end has trouble supporting stock power, so that's always a liability. You do have an automatic though, so who knows which will break first. At that power level, you can rest assured one or both will sooner or later...Especially with 100k+.

Just take it easy, think it out, and make sure you don't spend all your dough on heads/cam and have the car down for 6 months while you save for a rear after it grenades. And yes, "grenade" is the proper term for what happens under that 10 bolt cover.
Old 09-19-2007, 02:07 PM
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You can do 400 rwhp on a stock bottom end, but it's gonna take some heavy-hitter stock heads and at least an 847 cam to push it all through the auto.


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