Top end work or stroke it?
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 31,950
Likes: 27
From: Columbus OH
Elite Member
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Top end work or stroke it?
1996 LT4, 74k miles. Runs real strong and I'll own it outright in the next year. I'd like to do some engine work to it but am on the fence about what to do.
What would the realistic gains be with head work, ported intake, bigger TB and headers/exhaust? Should I do the hotcam at the same time?
Or should I just stroke the beast?
Opinions/experiences?
Thanks in advance!
What would the realistic gains be with head work, ported intake, bigger TB and headers/exhaust? Should I do the hotcam at the same time?
Or should I just stroke the beast?
Opinions/experiences?
Thanks in advance!
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 31,950
Likes: 27
From: Columbus OH
Elite Member
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: Top end work or stroke it? (STL94LT1)
I went the heads/cam route on my LT1, and I'm very satisfied.
You may also want to consider 4.10 gears, they really wake the LT4's up.
You may also want to consider 4.10 gears, they really wake the LT4's up.
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 15,344
Likes: 4,009
From: Texas
Re: Top end work or stroke it? (NotSlo)
For comparisons sake. I dyno'd 342hp/322tq on the same day Mike turned his 355. The key difference between our setup is that I have NOT done my heads yet. Mods are in my sig.
Obviously more cubes will give you more potential. I would consider how you intend to use the car before deciding one way or the other. Either way will be fun :)
Obviously more cubes will give you more potential. I would consider how you intend to use the car before deciding one way or the other. Either way will be fun :)
Thread Starter
Team Owner
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 31,950
Likes: 27
From: Columbus OH
Elite Member
Cruise-In III Veteran
St. Jude Donor '09
Re: Top end work or stroke it? (96GS#007)
I have sigs turned off so I didn't see the numbers. I'm looking for streetability and the occasional mid 12's run down the dragstrip (maybe 3-4 times a year).
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 8,683
Likes: 6
From: Phoenix AZ
Re: Top end work or stroke it? (NotSlo)
Well, why not do both, just in stages. For starters, do a nice heads/cam/headers package from someone like More Performance. This should get you into the 360-370 RWHP area...I would also recommend 4.10 gears as well as stated above, they really make the 6-speed come alive, and they are still very drivable (I drive mine cross-country at least twice a year). Then, maybe a year or so later do the bottom end, you'll already have the heads, intake and headers you need...you MAY want to replace the cam, but that depends on what you decide to originally go with. With both done you'll have a real beast!
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