New Dyno!!
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 22,267
Likes: 3
From: Dallas TX
Originally Posted by Nathan Plemons
Yeah I wouldn't run 1.7's with stock springs, very bad things would happen as a result. You could change the springs, but changing the springs while on the car is almost as easy as just swappipng the heads 
It's honestly not that bad, but it's a lot of work.
It's honestly not that bad, but it's a lot of work.
.
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 22,267
Likes: 3
From: Dallas TX
or ruin the head all together, haha.
Originally Posted by Nathan Plemons
Or free lost horsepower. A set of heads "ported" by somebody who doesn't know what they are doing will perform worse than stock.
Race Director
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 14,165
Likes: 9
An aquantence of mine called me one day and asked for my advice on how to make a powerful streetable car. I told him to get a good set of heads, concentrate on total flow numbers, not just peak, etc. I suggested the LT4 Hot Cam, long tube headers, 1.7 rockers, etc, etc.
He sorta listened to me. He bought the hot cam, he bought 1.7 rockers and he got long tubes. What he didn't get was a good set of heads. Instead he bought junk that somebody had hand butchered, er, ported from e-bay.
The car made a whole whopping 330 horsepower, which is about what mine made with 1.6 rockers and STOCK cylinder heads. This means that his heads were actually costing him power rather than giving him anything. He was at least 10 hp down from what he should have had with stock heads and 50 down from what should have had with good heads.
So what's he gonna do now? Now he's supposedly got a new set of heads on the way and a new cam, some radical nasty thing. Now he's gonna end up with something that might make an impressive number on the dyno but end up being slower than crap because it's all peak and no area under the curve. It's also not gonna drive worth a crap and get about 3 miles per gallon. Oh well, it's just one more "I told you so" opportunity waiting to happen. I love how so many people give up on the Hot Cam without ever even having seen it's full potential.
He sorta listened to me. He bought the hot cam, he bought 1.7 rockers and he got long tubes. What he didn't get was a good set of heads. Instead he bought junk that somebody had hand butchered, er, ported from e-bay.
The car made a whole whopping 330 horsepower, which is about what mine made with 1.6 rockers and STOCK cylinder heads. This means that his heads were actually costing him power rather than giving him anything. He was at least 10 hp down from what he should have had with stock heads and 50 down from what should have had with good heads.
So what's he gonna do now? Now he's supposedly got a new set of heads on the way and a new cam, some radical nasty thing. Now he's gonna end up with something that might make an impressive number on the dyno but end up being slower than crap because it's all peak and no area under the curve. It's also not gonna drive worth a crap and get about 3 miles per gallon. Oh well, it's just one more "I told you so" opportunity waiting to happen. I love how so many people give up on the Hot Cam without ever even having seen it's full potential.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 897
Likes: 0
From: My Own Private Idaho
Very good numbers. I was the LT4 owner with the broken valve spring and no car that day.
I found out from Chevy that they were NOT LT4 springs that were put in (at an un-named shop for now) with the new heads last year. I NOW have LT4 springs with the hotcam. Hope I'm OK with that.
I wonder if those inferior springs were floating, explaining my low ~315hp.
Anyway, good to see you got the numbers you hoped for and more.
I found out from Chevy that they were NOT LT4 springs that were put in (at an un-named shop for now) with the new heads last year. I NOW have LT4 springs with the hotcam. Hope I'm OK with that.I wonder if those inferior springs were floating, explaining my low ~315hp.
Anyway, good to see you got the numbers you hoped for and more.
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
From: Portland TN
Originally Posted by Nathan Plemons
An aquantence of mine called me one day and asked for my advice on how to make a powerful streetable car. I told him to get a good set of heads, concentrate on total flow numbers, not just peak, etc. I suggested the LT4 Hot Cam, long tube headers, 1.7 rockers, etc, etc.
He sorta listened to me. He bought the hot cam, he bought 1.7 rockers and he got long tubes. What he didn't get was a good set of heads. Instead he bought junk that somebody had hand butchered, er, ported from e-bay.
The car made a whole whopping 330 horsepower, which is about what mine made with 1.6 rockers and STOCK cylinder heads. This means that his heads were actually costing him power rather than giving him anything. He was at least 10 hp down from what he should have had with stock heads and 50 down from what should have had with good heads.
So what's he gonna do now? Now he's supposedly got a new set of heads on the way and a new cam, some radical nasty thing. Now he's gonna end up with something that might make an impressive number on the dyno but end up being slower than crap because it's all peak and no area under the curve. It's also not gonna drive worth a crap and get about 3 miles per gallon. Oh well, it's just one more "I told you so" opportunity waiting to happen. I love how so many people give up on the Hot Cam without ever even having seen it's full potential.
He sorta listened to me. He bought the hot cam, he bought 1.7 rockers and he got long tubes. What he didn't get was a good set of heads. Instead he bought junk that somebody had hand butchered, er, ported from e-bay.
The car made a whole whopping 330 horsepower, which is about what mine made with 1.6 rockers and STOCK cylinder heads. This means that his heads were actually costing him power rather than giving him anything. He was at least 10 hp down from what he should have had with stock heads and 50 down from what should have had with good heads.
So what's he gonna do now? Now he's supposedly got a new set of heads on the way and a new cam, some radical nasty thing. Now he's gonna end up with something that might make an impressive number on the dyno but end up being slower than crap because it's all peak and no area under the curve. It's also not gonna drive worth a crap and get about 3 miles per gallon. Oh well, it's just one more "I told you so" opportunity waiting to happen. I love how so many people give up on the Hot Cam without ever even having seen it's full potential.
Tim