The title pretty much says it all...How much does performance really prematurely damage your car?

Just curious on how far I really want to go...

Thanks!

M

 

It's not the performance mods that damage your car... it's your right foot thats usually is the culprit

 

It depends. Think how a car works.. The car was built to withstand a certain power. Lets say, for the sake of arguement, 300HP. That means, in theory, the rear end, transmission, suspension, etc, should all be within the survivability limits.

You've now altered those limits by adding exhaust and intake, adding 30HP. Not alot, and probably not alot to do damage.. but thats putting JUST alittle more strain on the rear end, just alittle more strain on the transmission. It could take 30k miles off of it, it could take 30 miles off of it.

The expensive thing with modding isn't replacing things that break. Its replacing things that didn't break. When you get that catback, you want to follow it with the lid.. then comes the headers. Then you have to get the tune. Then thats not enough, hello cam! 400HP? Pssh. I want 500. On, and on.

 

True...But what would really be the point of having a DD with $5,000 bucks into it and not drive it fast?

My point I am getting at, is I have a 93 Z28 Camaro, LT1 110,000 Miles...Mods in sig....I am basically board of the car and I want a newer car...There is a 98 Z28 LS1 by me basically everything I want...T-Tops..LS1 engine, black, 6 speed manual, leather, 18" rims...and a FAST intake and TB...Which makes me pretty much need to mod the car to get anything out of it...My biggest thing is I dont really need some 500HP car...I just want to smoke a good amount of cars and be able to back my talk up...But I still need to keep it a DD

Correct me if I am wrong...


Thanks!

M

 

Yes.. Doing lots of burnouts, peel outs, and power or near powershifts will great increase wear on your drivetrain.. 10x faster if done on a sticky dragstrip. A high certainty of immediate failure on a manual car, 10 bolt, sticky drag tire, and a high rpm clutch drop that hooks.


Running the car through an autox and a roadcourse will significantly wear out suspension parts and brake consumables faster... Not to mention doing odd stuff like say killing your power steering pump.. Or my favorite, the guys that run really fast, melt the center caps and clear coat off their rims from all the heat generated going around a fast racecourse..


add in engine mods, and the extra power can effect the trans and rear end.. and the engine too.. especially if you are operating within the limits of say, fuel injectors, valve springs, pistons, connecting rods, etc etc.

I don't think there's a clear cut answer.

Costs can snowball depending on what you want and demand. Power, reliability/usage, and cost.

 

So if I want to put a lid on, LT headers, Full cat back, and a small cam...Would I really be hurting the car? The car has Goodyear wet/dry G-force KDW-2's

Thanks

 

why not just sell the FAST setup and get a ls6 intake then you wouldn't have to worry about modding the car to the extremes. As is with nothing else done the FAST setup is hurting it's more for internally modded engines n such. you could do just basic bolt on's and still womp on the gas without worrying about hurting the car. just my .02

 

That would be a good idea...Where am I going to sell it? Ebay?

 

How much hp can I get from bolt ons?...I have done tons of searches and I plan on doing a full catback and LT's and a Lid...

 

My LT1 dyno'd at 300RWHP, 330RWTQ with full bolt-ons and a tune. It was a '96, so it already had the 10 extra HP going for it. 300-320HP seems to be the norm for a full bolt on LT1.

 

I was just having a little fun with you, no disrespect intended. I agree , you should have some spirited fun with your car every now and then, after all isn't that what they were built for? But, if every time you get behind the wheel you drive it like you stole it, well you can't expect things not to break or wear out faster than normal driving would do.As far as the FAST intake, if it is a 78mm intake you are good to go with no internal mods or a cam on the smaller side of lets say 228/228-585/585 and bolt ons. Remember bigger is not always better, power under the curve is where it's at for a fast street car in my opinion. If you have never driven a LS1 car ,you will be surprized how fast they are stock ! Good luck with getting the car you want and have fun!

 

Let me add to that..

Even stock an LS1 can spank alot of cars, but another good thing they have going for them is the ability to still remain extremely streetable with high horsepower. They are really great engines, and our cars are pretty damn good as well. The only thing you really want to keep an eye on is the rear end.

 

The FAST intake is a 90mm...How much hp would I be looking at if I sold the intake and put LT's, and a full catback on, and a lid? to the rear wheels?

Thanks!

 

LTs give you ~20 HP. Catback is ~10(?). Lid is ~5-10. Probably since they're supporting eachother, a good number would be 50.

I really wouldn't even worry about the intake though.. if you sold it, you'd have to get something to replace it (LS6, 400$) and I don't think you'll get the costs to replace it coming back to you from the sale.

 

If I kept the FAST intake and TB would it hurt my car? I had heard that it might hurt my car if I keep it on...also I heard that the TB might stick at WOT...