I took the day off Tuesday and bought an 01 Trans Am 6 speed. I spent wednesday ordering air intake, lt headers, ypipe, catback, and an fstb (to at least start on the suspension). Today, I am in the process of getting everything onto my car now (basically, a pretty quick time frame here...).

My question was what route I should go next, or at least if I'm doing it right. I've tried searching some but can't seem to find the satisfaction to order a cam. So I'll hopefully get a response. Without dumping too much more money into the motor and making it unstreetable, I wanted to add a camshaft as my last power mod (and probably a tune, I would assume, to get full advantage of the mods). I was planning on just ordering the edelbrock 2215 camshaft that is for sale through summit or autozone.

Any suggestions on what I'll actually need for the swap? Again, I don't plan on dragging the car much or really going further with power. I just wanted to try and get one more good power mod before you start having to pay serious bucks for forced induction or full head job, etc.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

a good cam will probably give you 50ish HP gain but it can be a costly job as you really need to redo the heads to get the most our of it… napa would probably be better if you wanted local advise but there is tons of info for stuff for sale online or if you search through here you’ll find tons of stories

Personally, I just throw on the stuff you have already bought and see how that goes and then if it’s not enough worry about the cam

 

I agree with "get what you got on the car first" before you go cam hunting. When it comes time for the cam, you should probably anticipate spending roughly $1200. The cam needs supporting parts like valve springs, pushrods, gaskets, and a tune at the minimum.

Keep in mind - picking a cam is kind of like picking out your own weiner. You want to go big, but not too big, and most of all, not too small. So, take your time and do some research.

 

dude thats crazy funny, but so true

 

Maybe you can get some lca and brackets to help plant the rear better

 

how bout a nice clutch and shifter? and dont forget eurothane tranny mount and torque arm mount. or how bout some nice shocks and lowering springs?

 

How much you getting charged for this?



On the serious side, your STB will just be engine bay jewelry.

Next mods depending on what you want out of the car:
shifter
lca
suspension mods to either hook or handle

Build your car to harness the power it has before you go off adding a cam and heads.

When you are ready for a cam, skip the Edelbrock/Summit scene. You have an LS1 not a SBC. Check out some of the sponsors that specialize in LSX's.

 

Agreed, especially if there are a good amount of miles on the odometer. If you want to keep it streetable I would work on the suspension, then find some twisty roads and take a fun test drive. I recomend at least 4-5 hours.

 

Just some suggestions, not really needed at this time but would be a good investment for the future.

If you have another $5-700 maybe look at getting a wideband and some tuning software. You really should tune to get the headers right anyways and you shouldn't have to change too much so it would be a good starting point.

Fuel system, again not needed but if you keep going at this pace you will need it soon. Keep your eye on the for sale section of this and other boards and you can start to pick up some bigger injectors and a high output fuel pump.

85mm maf.

short throw shifter.

do you still have the stock shocks, unless they are the bilsteen upgrade get rid of them.

Once you get up to the 430 plus level you are going to need a good and I mean a good clutch.

Change the stock rear gears to a 410 but expect some noise.

Or you can stop now, put together everything you have bought and sell it on ls1 tech and make half of what you've paid and try and get off this slippery slope now before it takes you over. JUST KIDDING

 

thanks for all the input guys. while the exhaust is being put on, i was planning on ordering o2 sims. however, i thought i remember reading somewhere that at least one of the power programmers you can buy can program the ecu to change, ignore, or do whatever about the same issue. is this true? i planned on ordering one eventually anyways, but didn't know if i could save money and not order the sims and just get a programmer instead...

 

You can get the rear O2's and other emissions equipment "tuned out." I don't know of any handheld programmer that'll do this. A local shop that can tune can turn the codes off.

 

My opinion is to get some SFC's, Shocks, Short throw shifter and maybe some more suspension stuff before you go throwing a cam in. Take your time on the cam and get what you want just as SSpdDmon said. But the first thing you should have done was the Sub Frames don't go to far with out them!

 

what the hell would anyone who works at napa....or any local auto parts store for that matter....know about anything on a car that's not stock. I stopped going to locals years ago when it comes to advice or parts for the aftermarket.

 

after doing some more research, i'm not adding a cam (at least not now). I'm going to be sending my ecu into pcmforless and have it returned for my mods, o2 sensors, etc. after i've got the ecu, that'll be it for power for awhile. i figure sfc and panhard bar for the suspension and we'll see how much money i've spent at that point.

any other suggestions?

 

Check out UMI performance I love their stuff