Just got the car yesterday with just 40 miles and now has around 80. I have been a mustang guy and while the car is certainly faster than my old 89 5.0 it doesn't feel a whole lot. I heard these car start pulling the hardest in third gear. Haven't gone on the freeway yet.

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2002, M-6 Blk with grey
leather,hurst
shifter,3.42 gears with
with ASR and power
everything,500 watt
stereo with cd stacker

 

Yes, it will pick up some power after a few thousand miles.

 

I have had my 02 for about 1 year and maybe 2 months now and have 19,000 miles. Seems like alot but i have to work and go to school and i drive it everywhere. After about 500 true brake in will set in and 1000-3000 is where the full potential is. Compared to my 99 GT my z is a load faster.

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'02 Red Z28, ebony leather, M6, T-tops, Trac. cont., hurst shifter
Borla (the expensive cut-out), Wisperlid W/K&N, FRA, Cags eliminator, Strange 4.10's, G2 Rear Girdle, Valv. Synthetic 10W-30, Redline gear oil, Fat hurst shift ****, Lead foot

Soon to be:
Alpine Screen, Orion xtr 800.4, xtrpro 1000, Kicker 12L7 in a milhouse, Focal polykev K2's, Focal utopia 6" audiom midrange.

 

I know exactly what you mean. When I first got my LS1 I was dissapointed with the apparent power level. below 4000rpms my LT1 felt MUCH faster. the key is to rev it above 4000rpms.

You will also notice a BIG difference as the miles start piling on. I noticed it most after 6000 miles.

You can also help the process along by freeing up the intake path, a lid and the freemods described in www.installuniversity.com will make all the difference in the world and your car will WAKE UP and be a beast even before the miles start racking up!

Don't be afraid to mod it, and DONT be afraid to rev it hard once its broken in and you change the oil either. LS1s HAVE to be revved to make power, you will be dissapointed in the 1000-3000rpm range power levels compared to an LT1 until you start making some serious mods. When stock, they are slugs compared to others below 3500-4000.

REV REV REV

 

Yes I have noticed that I have to give the car a lot more gas to get moving than even my slow stock engine 5.0. I only once gunned it in second but I will baby it until it has at least 500 miles. I don't know what mods will void any warranty. The salesman said it's ok to add a Borla or Magnaflow exhaust but that's to much $ for now. I like the quiet exhaust. My stang had Flowmasters on it the the past 2 years and gave me a headache. I got a extended warranty of 72 months. I ordered a custom cover for it today and and a dash mate. The glare is horrible off the dash. I will take it on the freeway tomorrow. When I go back to the dealer I will ask if a Airlide will void any warranty. He said I could add a chip.

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2002, M-6 Blk with grey
leather,hurst
shifter,3.42 gears with
with ASR and power
everything,500 watt
stereo with cd stacker

 

the stock exaust system isnt that bad on LS1s, alot of folks blow $600 or more on a catback and expect a big performance gain and it just doesn't happen. If you want performance there are much better and cheaper routes to start with. The big reason people swap exausts is to improve the sound of their LS1, not the horsepower. As long as you realize this is what you are primarily paying for then go ahead with your purchase if you want the sound. But in any kind of a horsepower-per-dollar comparison the cat back is a huge looser compared to the other stuff out there. I put a Corsa on mine early in my mod process, and DID notice a difference, but it was a small difference, and only noticable at high rpms. A $20 cutout is a much better and cheaper route to free up your exaust and gain a couple horses if you are on a budget.

Your first mod should be an aftermarket lid and filter. I bought MTI's clear lid and its very nice, but others are cheaper and maybe even better. Buy the Holley powershot filter too, that way you wont have to use the K&N's gasket. A lid is $120-$200, filter about $50. Like I mentioned earlier, do the intake free mods, they will make a huge difference in the "feel" of the engine at high rpms when combined with a lid. Throttle response above 3500 becomes *instant* and it will throw you back in your seat. :-) very nice!

Second, I'd add an ASP crank pulley and belt. It is a big improvement to an LS1, lotsa horses and revving ability hiding in that. They are about $200, the belt might be $20 more.

Those two basic changes should net you 10% more horsepower pretty easily, sometimes more, for a measily $400-$500 or so and some time in the garage.

Once you've got these two mods you are ready to get serious and spend some money to free up the exaust and move past one horsepower per cubic inch (hopefully)!! Throw some long tube headers and a cat-back exaust on it! Zoundsssssszzzzz you'll love the song it sings to you above 3500rpms for sure now!

Non horsepower mods should probably include a shifter kit for about $200 (short stick add $25-50+), subframe connectors for $200-$300 (SLP bolts ons are nice and prepainted and you can do them yourself $300), and replace the stock shocks, they absolutely suck. Bilsteins are cheap ($300+)and will make a world of difference in the handling of the car.

After that, go for the small gains (they add up!) like SLP smooth bellows, plugs and wires, bigger/ported throttle body, MAF & MAFT, and if you are still feeling the need for speed install a nitrous system (NAaaaahhWwzzzz!), the LS1 *loves* nitrous! They are beasts on the juice.

As the car gets stronger you will need to spend money on traction upgrades, and you'll need to do something about the glass jaw of the fbody, it's rear end! Upgrade it and go with 4.11s too!

Dont forget you can always go for the big expensive stuff that you use to create a rocketship, stuff like cam, heads, superchargers, and LS1edit to get all this stuff to work together, the list goes on and on.

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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS LTs, Corsa, ASP, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Koni & Bilstein, 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? 11"x17" rear wheels???

 

If ya got the money the sky's the limit

 

I haven't had many problems with the warranty with my mods. The service manager pretty much explained that they obviously aren't going to warranty the modification and changes I've made.

No one mod is going to blow your warranty for the car, its just going to negate the parts you've changed. When I changed my lid and home-ported my MAF I said goodbye to the warranty on those pieces, same with my Corsa. I still had warranty work done, just not on the the intake or exaust. My long tube headers are my most recent mod. I get the feeling they will negatively affect the warranty on the short block, rearend and clutch (headers would likely be "proof" I raced and tore it up, they'd probably give me a hard time about that kind of stuff), but it shouldnt and hasn't affected the warranty for anything else, like the AC or the electricals, stereo, suspension, etc.

My only advice is to find a decent dealer that wont give you a hard time and use them for everything. The drivetrain on Camaros is pretty solid, I doubt you'll need to much warranty work on it anyway, if your car is anything like my Camaros have always been, it will probably be the electrics and all the options you paid extra for that will break, not the drivetrain that you are modding.

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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS LTs, Corsa, ASP, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Koni & Bilstein, 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? 11"x17" rear wheels???

 

I just noticed that you are in California. Unfortunately that changes things a bit regarding your upgrade path. Be very certain that any engine mods you purchase and install are 50 state emissions legal/CARB certified. OTherwise you will have a very hard time renewing your plates.

I don't know of a 50 state lid. But I'm not saying there isn't one out there, so do some searching and find one, its probably out there - but verify its CARB certified before buying and installing it. If there isn't one out there, just modify your existing lid. Remove all the baffles and open it up quite a bit internally.

I'd still do every one of the free mods, they are usually "invisible" to the naked eye, and you are still using the already CARB certified part. Long tube headers are NOT legal in CA, they move the catalytic converters which is a NO NO. But you *can* install 50 state legal shorty headers (like JBAs), hiflow cats and Ypipe (SLP, LG mootrsports) and a cat-back exuast (Corsa!!) perfectly legally.

The other obvious option for you is a 50 state legal supercharger, like ATI's. They will add an easy 100+ horsepower and are CARB certified. Unfortunately they cost upward of $3500, but that price isn't that bad especially when you compare the horsepower per dollar ratio compared to other expensive mods like LT headers and exaust (which can run $2000 for the pair!)

You can always hide a NITROUS setup too!! :-)

Suspension and traction mods are not applicable to CARB certifications, so you are free and clear there!

good luck!

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'02 Z28 : MTI lid, TTS LTs, Corsa, ASP, Pro5.0 w/Lou's ShortStick, Koni & Bilstein, 35mm ST swaybar, SS wheels, SLP SFCs, disabled DRLs, *all* the free mods! :NEXT: ported TB?, NAAAAWZ?? 11"x17" rear wheels???

[This message has been edited by SpikeLS1 (edited August 04, 2002).]