I would like to get 500+ rwhp for around $4000. I was thinking about an LQ4 with L92 heads aftermarket valve springs a FAST intake manifold and a stage 2 camshaft a aftermarket torque converter a 3.73 gearing a performance chip a high flow air filterand eventually a Modular twin turbo kit and bore it out to a 408. Is this a good setup up for atreet strip car. If not any engine tips and tuning info.

 

A handful of stickers has about the same chance of getting you 500rwhp as does your plan.
You budget does not cover the cost of your plan either.
Settle down, start doing a lot of readings and don't buy anything for awhile.

 

^ What he said. I have 7,500 + into my setup and I still have the stock rear, intake and T56(better clutch though). I should be around 450 rwhp. I bought all of my stuff used or for a bargain price. Fast, cheap, or reliable. Pick 2

Good luck my friend!

 

So many things need to be upgraded that you will go way over your budget before you know it. My superchager unit and hardware was $4000 and I ended up spending thousands to make it all work correctly. That was only a 125 hp increase over stock and I never touched anything below the heads and that is a risky choice!

 

LQ block + machine work $1500
stroker crank $850
rods $350
pistons/rings $800
Balance $300
LS3 heads $650
Valve job $250
Cam $350
lifters $200
bearings $200
gaskets/seals $150
spring kit $300
damper $220
timing set $150
oil pump $100
LS3 loaded intake $300
head studs $250
fitting & assembly $1600
pushrods $140
rockers $500


as you can see, it's going to be a little higher than $4k

Secondly, you build a motor for boost, or for NA - you don't do it to handle either task unless you want to sacrifice power potential or longevity in either application.

 

Do a 9", 4L80 swap, and a big hit of nitrous. And you still have money left!

I assembled my 403 myself and it still ended up costing about $5000. And I got some breaks including a rotating assembly on sale at SDPC for $1500 because it has some non-standard pistons in it. Plus I used stock stuff wherever it was available.

-Geoff

 

Displacement doesn't add much if any extra power unless the topend grows to support it. So the first part of the idea that should be scrapped would be the 408 part because dollar for dollar it is not money well spent compared to spending it on the topend.

Had this argument on another forum recently where a guy claimed a 10% gain in displacement would be a 10% gain in HP too. So I dissected two A4 cars with the same CNC ported heads, same level of intake porting from the same company, one a 350 one a 383 the 350 made 425rwhp the 383 455rwhp a 7% difference BUT the 383 had half a point+ more compression and 6 degrees more intake duration, cams came from the head shop so it is not a matter of who choose a better cam.

The displacement did help some mostly by allowing a little more duration cam to be used with the stock pcm's 7000rpm limit(remember this is LT1) but the additional cost for a good stroker rotating assembly and additional machinework was nowhere near "budget". People are too quick to jump on the displacement bandwagon, I can help, but not as much as people think and it cost a lot for the modest gains when compared to what extra coin spent on heads/cam can do..

 

That is a great argument for SBC bulds. The great thing about building a big cube LS motor is that you can bolt on $700 stock factory heads that flow 320 cfm out of the box. It makes rebuilding motors with the stock cubes pretty pointless.

-Geoff

 

So you're saying unless the heads can flow enough air to support the extra cubic inches, there's not much HP difference? Wow, thanks for that enlightening bit of information.

Displacement does in fact work pretty damn well at making power and torque with these motors...and this is LSx, not LT1 like you mention in your post. Remember, it's not a peak HP number that gets you down the track the fastest.

 

Exactly.

 

From what I have seen the cathedral port stuff makes a car faster though exactly because of what you said about "it is not a peak HP number that gets you down the track".

 

No argument that you can have a fast car from them. But you are spending almost $4000 for the top end ($2500 - $3000 heads and a $1000 port matched intake). It just doesn't make sense from a cost standpoint.

Most of the head/cam LS1's I have seen at my local shop come in under me on the dyno unless they were manuals with HUGE cams (bigger than mine which is 236-248).

-Geoff

 

I am not one to advocate aftermarket castings. 243/799s work wonderfully, too bad my truck cam with 706.

Did anyone else see the GMHTP article with the Mast 11degree 245cc catherdal vs. their 11 degree256cc rectangle both CNC'd. Even when you get into aftermarket CNC stuff from the same company the cathedral comes out on top.

I have seen ported 243s outperform aftermarket CNC cathedral 11 degree stuff.

 

Yep! Stock trans if in good shape should hold for alittle while, i'd try that first or do a mild rebuild on that. Should easily get 500whp with some n2o and supporting bolt ons/tune for 4g's

Else buy a stock truck motor, 4.8-6.0, doesnt matter. Build a cheap budget log setup, run a GT45 ebay turbo or find a 70-76mm master power type turbo for a good price, cheap ebay intercooler, and slap it together and get tuned. 500whp is a walk in the park and it will live practically forever if the tune is good. Could do it for 4g but doesnt include trans/rear/etc upgrades.

 

Smartest way to build a motor thats gonna be n/a is to build as many cubes as you can afford. They make power as long as the top end is there to support it. With cubes, ofcourse you need more cam and head to achieve the same rpm range. With that you get your power gains. Same heads/cam package may make similar peak hp numbers for a stroker vs stock cubes but the big difference is area under the curve and torque! Powerband will come in sooner and along with that, more hp/tq through the low and mid range.

With that said, a stroker/more displacement motor is most always a better choice when considering a street/strip n/a type motor. Its well worth the extra cost, especially doing a high hp sbc, where you are on the fence about going 355 vs 383. Both may make the 400whp you want but be damn sure that 383 will wipe the floor clean in the torque department. You can use less stall/gear which is always nice on the street

Your example doesnt state if these were dyno'd in the same dyno on the same day. Else the numbers are a wash and cant be used. For all we know, one was dyno'd at altitude on a hot day vs sealevel and cold day. Dont know the correct numbers and dont know if one was a mustang dyno vs chassis dyno. they can read 5-25% different depending. I've seen same car dyno almost 80whp different from one local mustang dyno vs local chassis dyno on the same day