LSWannabe

I plan on buying an LS1 Firehawk. (01-02 preferably) I'm trying to
plan my mods ahead of time like everyone tells me to do.

I have a few questions. The first one being will someone tell me the
difference between CAI and FIPK, I know what a CAI is but not FIPK.
They look like they do the same thing to me. Also has anyone noted
the dyno gains that they have gotten from these or will the power
only be affected during driving? I can imagine with CAI those Hawk
scoops will run air into the filters nicely.

Also what kind of average hp/tq increase will I get going from stock
exhaust to LT's/true duals? And will bullet mufflers have a noticeable
power gain over chambered? Right now I plan on 1 7/8" Jet Hot
coated LT's, collector extensions, high flow cats, X pipe, and 16"
borla xr-1 sportsmans, all 3" pipe taken over the axle and out the
back. Unless I need to step down to 2 1/2" after the X pipe to go
over the axle. I will have at least a lid/filter to go with this, if not
one of the two mentioned above. One last thing before I stop
bothering you. How would you rate this setup on a loudness scale of
1-10? 10 being open headers (open cutout), 1 being entirely stock
exhaust.

I'm going to be smiling non stop for months when I actually get my
car. It will be absolutely fantastic. Plus I'll be a "real" member and
not just some fool asking a bunch of Question's.

LSWannabe

TTT, Anyone have $.02 to throw at me?

txhorns281

iTrader: (12)

OK for the first highlighted question, i personally wouldn't do either, the hawk hood will ram sufficient air for your intake, save the money, i can't remember if the hawks come with SLP lids but if not then just get a lid- that's like 5-10 horses there, it will direct you airflow much better than stock

#2, I don't know what kind of differences you'll have b/w true duals or a y into a catback but any exhaust work done will improve your flow over stock. Again, correct me if I'm wrong but I though the hawks came with the SLP Loudmouth already installed... if not, b/w the two you will get no significant advantage over the other unless you run a cam, your stock car alone won't make the duals shine over a cat back so either do duals for the sound, but definitely not the $$$ If you have the loudmouth already I'd just keep it cuz it's a pretty well flowing exhaust

#3 If you're already planning to do all this make sure that you DO A CAM then since you're going big... the headers you want are probably overkill for a car with stock internals and will release alot of the backpressure you want present to help create vaccum, i guess since you want to do the x-pipe then you can either dump it or go ahead with the duals... no sense running an X-pipe back catback... If you're not gonna crack the motor open then just get the 1-3/4" headers, that will be plenty sufficient, also jet hots are cheaper, but research into other brands too, stainless headers are great material, certain companies make a better design (better for exhaust scavenging anyway)

#4 It'll be loud for a stock car, hard to say 1-10 though since I have a borla cat-back through catted headers and that can be very loud... more than anything it'd be like having a cut-out, with a deeper, juicier note, and maybe a bit louder (than the loudmouth)... stock cat-back on the LS1s are pretty quiet, headers with any sort of open flowing exhaust is going to be loud, not G5X2 loud with dumps, but pretty damn loud...

That's all I guess, It's a good idea to plan mods out but read around here and learn first and try to not jump into stuff right off the bat, specially if you're not sure if it'll be worth the $$$ since LS1 parts aren't cheap. Just start with something simple like your intake. Learn about what works and what is just hyped up and then make a choice. Once you have that knocked out then hit the exhaust up, and then some other bolt-ons. Generally people will tell you yes it will work, yes it will give you power, but if you want to benefit from your car's maximum efficiency, understand more about it to help it get there!

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

i dunno why, but im always defending this!
i have seen the FIPK kit throw down better numbers than some of the lids out there. comparing it to the CAI is kinda weird, you should be comparing it to the lids out there. either way, get an afmarket lid or the FIPK.

as far as exhaust, i agree with txhorns, if you already have the SLP loudmouth or dual/dual i would just keep that. maybe when you get your headers you can get the off road Y-pipe, if you are in a place that doesnt do emissions testing. unless you are going all out, i think true duals might be more than they are worth.

with that said, i would get all the little stuff done first, then full exhaust, then a nice lopy cam if you have your heart set on those big *** headers/true duals. and if you get an M6 do gears, if an A4 do a stall converter.

jrp

iTrader: (16)

sig

af_187

Headers to tru duals dumped before axle..like TSP setup maybe..

get a cam, port your TB, get all the freemods, upgrade filter

then if its auto i'd get stall covnert/trans cooler and some suspension upgrades

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

i think everyone who has been on here a while should be required to have a link to your sig in theirs!



hey af_187, i havent come across you in a while, how have you been?

LSWannabe

Thanks guys. I think the Hawks only had an SLP lid if they had the 345
horse pkg in 02. I definitely want true duals but I definitely dont want
to dump them b4 the axle, just my personal pref. The reason I'm looking
to go so big is that further down the road I had planned heads and cam.
Is there a cam I could get first that would work well with stock heads
and also the new ones later that wont DESTROY my mileage.I'm thinking
of ported/polished LS6 heads?
Then even further down the road (lol) I had planned a turbo. T88
(in my dreams). Yeah right it'd be cool, but I'd have to be rolling around
in cash to do it right. Realistically I'd like to see 12 psi max boost.(I know
that may be pushing it) I imagine the first cam swapped in would have
to go, And I'd have to go to forged internals.Do you think those heads
would still work well under FI?

Like I said I'm trying to get a plan going for an 01-02 M6 Hawk. I know
all this will take time and $$$$$. But if I get my ideas laid out then I can
try to avoid having to upgrade parts more than once. Like with the
exhaust, that setup should handle H/C and the FI. I'm not planning on
any N2O ever. So how about this STAGE 1:!CAGS,Lid/filter,bellows,ported
TB,SFC's,True Duals(listed above),3.90's,shifter,Cam(specs to be
determined) I'd try to do exhaust/cam/gears all around the same time and
then get a tune right after. Anything crucial I'm missing in stage 1???

Preliminary plan for Stage 2:suspension,heads,rearend. Stage 3:FI!!
Thanks again for your opinions. All you guys are great sports about
helping to guide me on "the path of righteousness". LS1's RULE!

Jim

99-LS1-SS

May I make a request? Please don't type in bright yellow font anymore. It is VERY hard to read.

txhorns281

iTrader: (12)

If you wanto to eventually do turbo then don't bother playing with exhaust till later... Turbo setups are a totally different thing, you're exhaust manifolds will need to be fabbed (or pre-made with a kit) to support a turbo setup, so that throws headers out of the picture, forged internals is a good idea if you want to boost with lotsa pressure, although one of our clubs guys is on a stock short block, stock cam running up to 7 psi and making ~600 horses.

As far as cams, your conventional grinds from all the vendors are more for NA cars, you'd have to get a custom grind specifically for what sort of turbo setup you do. springs and other valvetrain components will be a must as well... Stock heads flow pretty well, but if you really wanted to you could get ported heads,

As a matter of fact, if you want to do turbo there's only a few roads to walk, don't worry about bolt ons and all that, just do the turbo and get it over with... The primary thing is to make sure your short block will be able to withstand the pressure, and anything else is just details. Then there's traction drivetrain which you will definietly want to beef up on a turbo setup...

if you want to do Turbo then go that path, save up, and do it all at once, if you want nitrous, then build an NA car and slap some silyl sauce on it and adjust accordingly. If you want a daily driver NA car, then search around on here and like i said before start with the little stuff....