Hi All....i Have A 98 Z With About 40k On It. It Has All The Ss Options On It Such As The Ss Hood, Cai, Lid Etc.. As Well As A Flowmaster 80 Series Muffler. But My Question Is This....my Magic Horsepower Number Is 400 Or Above.....i've Been Doing Alot Of Research On The Sts Turbo System And Have Found That For The Most Part, The Average Hp Rating On My Car Would Probably Be Between 400-430 Hp After Install -depending On The Boost- At The Wheels...now...would There Be Any Way Of Achieving The The 400hp Without A Turbo Or Supercharger System While Keeping My Z Smog Legal??(i Live In Cali..)...if So, What Would The Mods Be And How Much More Cost Efficient Would These Be As Opposed To The Sts Alone....headed To Synergy Motorsports Tomorrow But Any Advice You Guys Can Give Me B4 I Go Is Much Appreciated... Thanks! -fran

 

Yes. Thunder Racing CheaTR cam and some good heads (GTP, AFR, Dart, you name it. . .). 400 rwhp, stock idle, will pass smog.

Mike

 

id go heads/cam way before i thought about going STS...its going to end up being safer for your bottom end.

 

I been running the STS system on my stock lt1 engine for a while now. I had no problems with it. It's actaully not that bad for a stock bottom end. Cause the boost is not always on only when you have it at WOT. Just make sure you keep the boost down and have the car dyno tuned.

 

Yea i have been running a supercharger on the stock bottom end and its held up fine, but the tender loving care that i've had to give the car isnt allways worth it IMO. If hes looking for only 400 hp, h/c will get him there without a problem and will end up not costing as much as F/I

 

thanks for all the input!!...i think i'll go h/c!!...that being said, lets see if my rear end holds up, heh??...

 

thanks for the input guys! looks like i'll be going with afr heads instead...i know i'd like to go the economical way and start with some lt's, but it's a guaranteed 'fail' for the smog test here in cali. so i figure the safest way to go is h/c to keep it street friendlyand gain some major hp. not taking it to the track anytime soon. kinda just wanted a street sleeper. i'm probably gonna get 3:42 gears and some subframe connectors in the near future....afr heads + cam + tune = $4800?

 

I would get your stock heads ported or getting ported lt4 heads instead of getting the AFR's... It will save you some money...Contact Lloyd Elliot and he will sit down with you and help you select the best camshaft for your emissions requirements. He is a board sponsor on here and is one of the most reputable head porters around. Give him a call. Here is his website.
http://eportworks.com/

Check out the LE2 package.

 

His is an LS1.

 

ahh thats right didnt even notice...I would call Bob at Exotic Performance Plus http://exoticperformanceplus.com/
Bob is well known on this forum, along with a lot of other f-body forums, and will be able to give you select the best h/c package.


260-244-4808

 

wont a cam only get him there? Theres a guy around here making 420 with one...

 

heads and a not too aggressive cam along with a tune should get me to a little over 400 while being smog legal ...might throw in an ls6 or fast intake as well...

 

Maybe with the TREX cam?...im assuming 400 rwhp might be a stretch for his limited cam selection due to California emmissions...

 

400 horsepower is still a substancial increase over stock. Just remember with a heads and cam combo all of the "other" add on's that are neccesary to optimize the set up:

CAI, MAF, throttle body, ported intake, rockers, lifters, push rods, timing chain, gaskets/fluids/head bolts, injectors, fuel pump, headers, and respective exhaust components, tuning, appropriately sized rear gears, and if your not a competant mechanic, money for installation by someone who is.

I am just informing you of the real world cost.

While an STS system would work, they're the one F/I option that would arguably offer the least performance.

You may want to look at ProCharger as another F/I possibility.

 

Oh believe me im familiar with both the cost of FI and a cam install. Im putting in a 224/236 114 lsa cam now, and im upgrading the timing chain, lifters, springs, locks, retainers, distributor, WP, hardened push rods. and all the gaskets too...its really not cheap.

He's allready got a lid and muffller on the car now, and would want to put a better exhaust on to optimize the setup...either way its going to cost you $...i would go H/C in cali to pass emissions. In the end, F/I will still be more expensive

If 400 rhwp is what you want and cost is somewhat of an issue, get a set of longtubes and a good cat back or true dual setup, cam (with all the parts discussed earlier), and dyno tuning, and that should get you close.