Lets see i want to start making a list on that basic bolt ons to a LS1 car. Its a 2002 SS. Im thinking of going with full exhaust, meaning cat back, y pipe, and headders. 1st thing 1st is to get a lid for it, lids are pretty cheap. ASP pullies should help out too right, underdrive ones. Its a auto car so the Converter has to go for a nice yank or PI W/a shift kit and trans cooler. I want to keep this car a sleeper somewhat and dont want to put a SC or N02 on it. Maybe some head work and cam should help it out a lot. Any info on some killer all motor set ups would be great. LS6???? aftermarket companies??????

Craig

 

here's what i suggest for a low-key, under the radar approach...

-Lid
-Longtubes
-ORY or catted y-pipe (personal preference.)
-Hooker Catback (fairly quiet)
-ASP crank pulley
-TR220 cam or "TR Old Man Cam" (these will be stealthy, the idle is VERY close to stock)
-Ported LS6 or 5.3 L heads
-3.42 or 3.73 gears
-3600-4000 stall converter w/ cooler (you could go bigger obviously but it will be easier to hear the converter slipping. as it is this range stall won't sound quite stock, but you'll need it to make use of the power)
-Mickey thompson drag radials (if they released the 17s) or 17 inch ET streets (so you can use your stock, matching wheels)
-Spohn tubular lower control arms/panhard bar
-Spohn torque arm
-Hal's fully adjustable shocks


there are always more expensive ways to make more power and go faster but this will be a good all-around setup that will make decent power, go fast and probably not look and sound as fast as it will be (you could even get sneaky and paint the writing on the ET streets black and stuff... ) your car will look like your average bolt-on 12.70 SS....with a litte secret.

just a suggestion...good luck and happy modding!

 

Yeah i was thinking about a small cam too. ive seen a set up from don lee's auto with no headders, just ported exhaust manifolds that was going pretty damn quick. want to get the car in the low 12's like your car is. Thanks for all the help. That was pretty much the set up i was considering i just didnt know what cam to use. maybe some ls6 heads with that cam so i can even change it out later for more power. hehe.

 

profile says "socal"....as in california? do you need to worry about emissions?

 

yes yes i do thats the only thing that sucks.

 

Would LT's with EGR, AIR and catted Y pipe still be legal in Cali? If so, get LT's, otherwise stick with your stock manifolds cause the newer manifolds like yours flow about as well as shorties do.

Jason

 

well you could do it with the stock heads and cam as you can see form my sig, but you'd have to run with no cats and you'd have to have nice cool dense air (i ran that ET in november in 45-50 degree weather.)

if you need to worry about emissions, go small, like an LS6 cam for a little pick-up that's still emissions friendly. also, you might pass the sniffer test with LTs and a catted y but im pretty sure they're still illegal as far as visual goes. i know you guys have it strict over there!

 

if you want aleeper effect I have one suggestion. instead of getting a cat back exhaust jsut add a cutout with an electric plate. then you can close it and be quiet as stock and no one would know different then when your ready to rip it up then you open it up and surprise!!! have one on my 96 and love it....have to be real easy on the 99 sometimes when i want it to be quiet....it has !cats and a flowmaster....not rediculously loud but not quiet either!!

 

yeah smog is a Bit*h out here. Just have to know what shops to goto to pass the visual inspection. Other than that still have some thinking on what set up i could run. The ported exhaust manifold thind sounds good right now, with ported and polished stock heads with a ls6 cam.

 

Nobody mentioned Subframe Connectors yet, start with that..... i'm sure others will agree and i actually gotta do that still. And go for the weld on's, not bolted.

 

LTs in cali are NOT smog legal. You won't pass inspection with them. Also I'd say a 4000 stall converter on a lightly modded car is WAAY too big. It all depends on what cam you're going to run and where you need to be in the powerband. The real trick is matching components to work together, e.g. cam to heads... verter to cam..., intake to heads..