So here I am. I have had my car 12 years. Life has changed, but it stays with me. I have modded it (mostly bolt ons) and need more, just like everyone else on here... It has been dead nuts reliable since I have owned it and I do not want to change that. I would like about 500 RWHP, I could deal with 400. I have 321 RWHP at present (Dynojet) with the following engine mods:
94 Z28 M6
4.10 Rear
LT4 Hotcam Kit / 1.6 RR
K&N FIPK
Edelbrock Shorty Headers
Catco high flow cat
SLP 3" 2OTL
MadZ28 tune
30# Injectors
Ported MAF


The suspension is done in the back, front is stock. It has subframe connectors. The car has run 13.5 with a 1.93 60' at Milan.

I was thinking of buying a CTSV, but want the 09 Model and will not be able to afford it until say 2015. Looking to mod the Camaro to bridge the gap and maybe replace the whole idea of the CTSV.

Was thinking LE2 package H/C, and Longtubes or nitrous route. Either way, I am heading towards big cash outlay once all things are considered.

Thoughts? Any parts I have choking me that I could get a few more HP to tide me over? Should I look at a crate engine instead of an LT1 build?

 

Normally, this post would get moved to "LT1 Based Engine Tech". But things are sort of slow on this forum, we're debating whether it should even exist, and I'd like to use this thread as an experiment in what kind of topics we post here. Definitely not "Advanced Tech"..... but humor me and let this one (and only this one) ride.

My first questions would be:

-How many miles on the engine, and is it in good shape?

-Is the purpose of the car track, daily driver, or a little of both?

-What, if any emissions requirements do you have to meet?

-What is your budget, reflecting the fact that you are going to require major upgrades like a stronger rear axle assembly, beefier clutch, etc?

-How did you decide on "about 500 RWHP, I could deal with 400"?

Hopefully that will get the discussions started.

 

Thanks for cutting me a little slack...

I did not know where this fit best....
The car has 75K on it. The rear main is leaking a little and I have had an oil pan leak since I did my hotcam and did not replace the pan gasket at the same time. About 15K since the hotcam install. weekend driver, track use several times a season. NO emissions requirements here in MI although all equipment is on there now. Prolly 2K for a budget... I can sell some of my existing mods to supplement (hotcam, shorties...)

Thanks Fred.

 

With 321hp already at the rear wheels, one possibility would be a 150hp nitrous kit with all the safety items and a progressive controller for the N2O. For an investment of about $1200, you would be real close to your goal of 500rwhp and it would be reasonably safe to presume you wouldn't have to do much to the motor at all. The car would stay as reliable as it is now and you would have the added power at the flip of a switch. The downside to this is you will need to obviously refill your bottle(s) on a regular basis. Dollar for dollar, you can hardly compare any other mod to a good nitrous kit.But as you know, the 500hp threshold will start to test the stock drivetrain components...namely the clutch and rearend. If you choose to go this route, you would at least have some extra cash to spend toward the drivetrain AND a set of rear tires.

I'm sure there will be some other good suggestions here as well, but I thought I'd get the ball rolling.

 

Thanks for getting it going. I have newer drag radials on it now, but they don't last long

Seems to be two schools of thought, N2O setup or Heads / Cam / Longtubes.

I have no problem going with used parts, I have done that almost all along with good results.

The clutch will prolly have to come along sooner or later. It only has 20K on it. If I pull the motor, I will probably do it as well while I am in there. The rear is a DTS assembled 4.10 with a girdle. Has been great for over 30K now with no issues.

Are my shorty headers choking me?

 

The shorty style headers are not optimal for the kind of power you are wanting to make, so a set of quality long tube headers with a y-pipe and a clutch upgrade and you probably won't be much over your $2k budget. If the DTS rearend stays together, a 500rwhp, 3400lb car might even net you a high 10 sec. ET.

 

i have a hotcam, heads, all the bolt-ons, & 150 nx kit. i was hoping for a 7.10 in the 1/8th, but smoked my clutch instead. sometimes i wished i would have gone backwards in selecting parts as in a 12 bolt, a good driveshaft, street twin, & stout bell housing. maybe that's an idea :-)

 

I think your $2K budget is going to limit you. You aren't going to get anywhere near 500rwHP with heads and cam alone. You basically buy the heads and cam and the budget is gone. With stock displacement, you need high RPM. To do anything other than stock displacment, the rebuild with a bore or bore+stroke is going to eat up most of your budget.

Unstable Bob - Why did you delete your post? I can still read it and there wasn't anything in there that wasn't correct.

 

Huh, I didn't realize I deleted it. I made a change in it and guess I hit the wrong button. *shrug*

 

well said, i think this is one of the better overall suggestions. all i was add is the following:

unless your absolutely dead set on 500rwhp maybe lower your goals a little bit. its not that it cant be done, but as mentioned earlier, it will stress your drivetrain to the limit.

think about maybe a smaller shot, like 75 or 100. get a set of longtubes and a y pipe without cats.

this may not get you 500wheel but in the meantime, you can save for a complete engine, hopefully without blowing up your motor in the meantime.

 

I'd grab an STS turbo setup next time you see a used setup posted...Put 6-7psi to your combo and see how it flies..2 step action with the clutch on the floor... Not sure if the hotcam appreciates boost but it can't be horrible. May or may not need bigger injectors and fuel pump..

If you're still crazy..and not breaking driveline parts, then I'd have Lloyd do up a head/cam combo for the application. At which point, you should have enough power to bend stock rods...haha

 

you kind of have the same issue i've had with my car over all these years. It's been in the family 12 years and it did it's DD duty, then did my fun duty, then it was what can I do with it semi reasonably on a budget. So I started buying parts here and there since 2003. My original goal was to be able to run with the 450hp vipers and I'd be happy. I'm still not done, and power is way up with a lot of these cars and my original goal seems pale in comparison. The other thing I didn't want to do was build an all out car and 1000hp that can't be driven on the street anymore or hurts to drive after a while. A friend of mine just ran 125.75mph in the 1/4 with a mercedes e55 that has a pulley, tune, throttlebody and headers and that's it. My point is things are changing very quickly and to keep up it costs a lot of money on a continously aging platform that wasn't built to support 500hp to the wheels. If i was to do it over again, I would have kept on driving the car til i had the money saved and had a shop do the work over the course of one winter, build me about a 460-500whp motor and be done with it. I haven't driven this car since 2006 and miss just having a car around that i can beat on a bit without worrying about what's going to break next. Having driven many different turbo/supercharged setups, i still prefer NA. To try to help the advanced side of this, is there a way to get to 500whp on h/c that is driveable with a decent idle, will the 21 degree TFS head help?

 

Threads like this remind of something I read on here once and never forgot...I'll change two of the words for relevance, but the adjectives are still relevant.

Powerful, inexpensive, or reliable - you can satisfy any two.

Powerful and reliable is expensive
Powerful and inexpensive is not reliable.
Inexpensive and reliable is not powerful.