xGSx3ntr0py

Hi everyone, my name is Kevin Reed and I’m new to Ls1tech. Over the last few months I made a series of upgrades to my 2000 3.8L W68 (ground effects option) v6 Firebird. I’ve always loved the car but found the stock 200 crank horsepower (approx. 165 whp) to be a little underwhelming. Having recently graduated college, I finally had enough time and money to invest in the project. While some might argue that it still isn’t as cool or as powerful as an lsx car, it was a fun project for me and I learned a lot along the way.
I recently had the car tuned by S&M motorsports in Cleves,OH. They did a fantastic job and I’m very pleased with the results. The car made 268 WHP, which is a solid 100hp gain over than the stock 165. Without further adu, here is a list of modifications and some pics of the car (vids coming soon):

Appearance:
• VFN Fiberglass WS9 Outlaw Hood W/ Aerocatch hoodpins
• 18” RPM 505 rims and 235/45R18 Goodyear Eagle Sport tires
• WS6store F-Body C5 Brake Conversion Kit w/ drilled and slotted rotors
• Glowshift 2 gauge pod(air/fuel &boost)

Exhaust:
• Pacesetter Ceramic coated headers
• Custom 2.5” Stainless Dual Exhaust
• Vibrant Race Catylitic Converters
• Borla XR-1 Multicore Mufflers
• 4” Corsa Clone Tips

Engine:
• XP Hot Cam from ZZP/ Comp cams
• LS7 lifters
• 140# Crow Cam valve springs
• 42# Bosch "Green Giant" injectors
• zzp pushrods
• Vortech V-5 F Trim supercharger w/ 2.87" pulley making 7psi of boost
• Custom 6-rib water pump pulley
• Double sided serpentine belt
• Walbro 255 fuel pump

WarShrike

iTrader: (5)

Hi Kevin, welcome to the page. Looks like a solid performer there with a clean and straight body on that. Even still have the front chin spoiler pieces which is a bit uncommon nowadays lol! Ever have plans on running an air to air intercooler or meth injection or just happy with the current boost levels?

xGSx3ntr0py

I actually considered both options but I was afraid to make the car too radical because it's still my daily driver lol. The V-5 with pretty much the smallest pulley I can run seems to be maxing out around 7, so I'd probably have to get a new charger. I've seen your thread, you have a 3.8 too right? any idea what the HP limitations on the Transmission/ Driveshaft/ rear end might be? I was also thinking about getting a locking differential soon to replace the stock open differential. any Advice there?

ramairetransam

iTrader: (18)

crank that boost up . I was going to say the power seems low but your boost isnt much . I know when i have my vs cam 04 monte carlo i was running a 2.7 pulley . but thats eaton to vortech . I think i was in the 12-13 lbs range .

But crank up that boost maybe some water meth .

WarShrike

iTrader: (5)

Yeah, I'm another one of the V6 modders that scavenges for parts on here (Chassis/drivetrain/suspension).

It's more an interest in keeping the air charge happy. Of course, you'd want to run an IC or meth or both if you upped it. Supposedly the V-5 is good to 15psi or whatever like 700cfm or something. Noticed you're in Ohio, so air temps probably aren't going to be too big an issue during the summer. It gets up to 110-ish during the summer here at times so, yeah the car would totally run like a dog down here like that with massive timing retardation or even knock.

An intercooler might see less "PSI" but you're still flowing the same amount of air as before, just at a lower charge and lower air intake temp which means more timing available and more power on the table.

HP limits on the trans, ~300-400 on the stock auto and T-5 if you don't hammer on it a lot, some people get them to last longer than others, it just really depends on how you drive it. You can get an aluminum driveshaft off an LS1 car and replace the steel one, easy cheap upgrade. Rear end depends on how you drive it as well.

I've seen built 10-bolts destroyed on low power while others live for a long time with high power. A 3.42 or 3.73 will really do well with that supercharger, and I'm about to find out how my road race differential from Auburn holds up. Never have used a locker, some people don't like it for street use, others are fine.

Who did the bracket for the Vortech?

F-Body International

Cool looking ride and congrats on graduating. I just graduated in December myself. The nice paint, supercharger, and other goodies make the V6 a cool factor on this one.

For those differentials, I know the Detroit Truetrac seems to be a popular upgrade for the carrier. My opinion is that I would stay away from installing higher numbered gear ratios with that combination of tires and added power.