JakeRobb

Okay, so I'm working on making up my plan. My number one priority is to keep the car looking stock, and to have a minimal affect on its road manners. I want to be able to cruise on the highway and still get 25+ mpg. I have a Corsa cat-back exhaust, and I want to keep it (I love the Corsa sound). I want a smooth idle that doesn't draw any more attention than it already does. I want to be able to drive my grandma around without scaring the hell out of her (If I so choose ). I want a smooth powerband without any surprises. I want to run on 92 octane. I want to keep the car street legal in most states. If I can keep it California legal, I'd like to try.

I'll probably take the car to the strip once in a while. I might buy an extra set of wheels with drag radials, but I'm more likely to just run some high-end street rubber. I don't have a target ET or trap speed or anything, but I'd like to be quite a bit faster than a stock LS1. I don't want to install a roll cage, so I should probably make a concious effort to stay out of the 11's.

I'll probably also take it to the local annual SCCA autocross. This happens on a two-mile road course (but they only use half of it). I'm not going to constrain myself to a class, and winning is not my first priority. Again, I might get dedicated tires for this, but I'm more likely to just run upgraded street rubber.

I'm a careful modder. I do my research, install supporting mods first, and take extra precautions that things aren't going to bend, break, or fly apart on me. None of the major mods are going to happen soon, but I like to know my plan well in advance.

So, with all of that in mind, here's my wish list, roughly in order of installation:

High-performance clutch
Braided brake lines
12-bolt 3.73 rear end
Front strut tower brace
Welded rectangular SFCs
Rectangular LCAs w/ relocation brackets
Panhard rod w/ rod ends
Torque arm w/ rod ends
A sticky set of street tires, 275's in the back, maybe wider
Forged pistons (maybe rods too)
Chrome-moly pushrods
Fuel pump & injectors
Plugs & wires (are the stock coils okay?)
Springs, rockers, seats, retainers
Supercharger, aftercooler, blower cam & dyno tune

I also want to give the brakes some attention, but I haven't decided what I want to do yet. Suggestions welcome. I've heard that slotted and cross-drilled rotors are prone to cracking -- anyone have any experience on that?

I don't think I want to make any changes to shocks/springs. I'm quite happy with the current ride and handling, and it's my understanding that the reinforcements already on my list will tighten things up a bit. Please tell me if this is a bad idea.

I considered doing long-tube headers, high-flow cats & y-pipe, but I don't think I'll need them to reach my performance goal, and I think they would hinder my sound goals.

Do you guys think I can achieve my goals with that list? Am I missing anything? Did I leave any weak links? What would be the first thing to break?

I'll want opinions on clutches, rear ends, tire sizes, and superchargers, too.

Thanks!

-Jake

teke184

looks like a well thought out list.

couple areas i'd like to address:

i don't think you'd gain enough from the rectangular LCAs and the rod end suspension pieces to warrent price and road noise. the rod ends are going to transfer ALOT more noise than poly. and i just don't think you'll be pushing the extreme enough to need the square LCAs.

considering the car is 3yrs old, it wouldn't be a bad idea to upgrade the shocks. stock shocks are less than ideal, espeically if you plan to autoX. you say you don't want to lower it, but the added stiffness of the STB and SFC will make good suspension parts that much more necessary. after all the springs/shocks are what allow the suspension to move. i'd look into some bilstien HDs.

i think you'll really be choking your cammed and SCed engine with stock manifolds. are you looking to just maintain emissions for the sniffer or the entire visual inspection too? i would at least look into some mid lenght headers with cats. you'll lose very little compared to LTs with catted Ypipe, but you'll maintain clearance, and help pass the sniff test.

as for the SC with a blower cam...have no idea how they mix with emissions. call up TSP or Thunder and see what they say. you may be better just sticking with stock. maybe some 1.8 roller rockers or ported heads to increase flow, but maintain the stock cam.

Z06Z28

Check out my sig for my 96 Z. The car feels awesome and you may want to start off like I did even for your 02. I know your car is only a couple years old but I'd look into aftermarket parts that will make your suspension handle good and tight. I'd start off with good tires, bigger sway bars, excellent shocks, lowering springs if needed and headers but keeping it smog legal. Throw in some SFC's, rear location brackets and ditch the rubbers and do poly bushings all the way around.
After that for your manual I'd throw a clutch, gears and finds ways to strengthen the rear-end like stud girdle kit and solid pinion spacers. Then I would get a performance mail order tune to sync everything up and I would think you would be happy with that. After all that then see what you think you need.

JakeRobb

Good info here. Thanks. I chose rod ends because I was told that poly can cause binding problems. Is there a better way to avoid that?

I might consider stiffer shocks, but I think that's something that I would do afterwards if I thought things felt too soft.

I live in Michigan, which doesn't have any emissions laws. I want to pass emissions because I actually care about the environment, and to a lesser extent because you never know where life will take you, and I want to be able to bring the Z28 with me. I do want the car to pass the smell test, so I'm definitely keeping the cats.

Maintain clearance? Please fill me in on clearance issues with LT headers.

-Jake

teke184

clearance isn't a major issue with LTs.

but most do have collectors that are lower than anything stock, not to mention the Ypipes are typically bigger which can reduce clearance. but we are talking 1/2-3/4" lose...

usually is only a big deal on lowered cars

JakeRobb

So we're talking about ground clearance, then.

I was thinking that LT's had issues clearing other components in the engine compartment, or something like that.

I can afford to lose 3/4" ground clearance. I'd be wary of doing something that would change clearance ahead of the front wheels or behind the rears, but in the middle like that, I'm not worried at all.

Okay, so my understanding of short, mid, and long tube headers is that they all have equal-length runners, but the actual length of those runners varies. Long tubes give you a wider power band, but the hp peak will usually be higher with short tubes. I assume that mids fall somewhere in between. Is that all correct?

FNDRB58

Quiet and fast? No such animal unless you get a new engine. Your grandma won't like your cam and headers, sorry. I got a hotcam kit with midlength headers and my 83 year old father says he can hear me coming to visit him from down the street. And he doesn't hear too well. I even got a cat, billet muffler, Hooker Aerochamber muffler (which is supposed to be quieter than most) and it is still loud.

JakeRobb

Does a cam set up to work with boost necessarily have to be a loping, agressive cam?

Like I said, I have a lot of time before any of this happens. Maybe my priorities will change enough that I won't care what Grandma thinks.

-Jake