Hey all,
Ok, I just got off the phone with Lingenfelter and asked them about maxxing my car out. Currently I have the following:
Magnuson Intercooled Supercharger (kit)
3.1 pulley
LS6 CAM
Morley Hardened Push Rods
(i think they also did the springs too)
Dual Chain
FLP Long Tube Headers w/High Flow Cats
Corsa Indy (Pro Tips) Exhaust
BPP Vortex Cold Air Intake
and Injectors

I want to max out the cars potential with a STOCK BOTTOM END. Please understand I dont wanna crack the engine open. There is only 44k on this car and I wanna make her do everything she can on everything she has.

Ok, so Lingenfelter told me that dropping to a 2.9 pulley would be the max that the stock bottom end could take, and then he asked if I wanted a stock like idle or if I wanted it more aggressive. I said I dont mind coming off the street setup just a little bit and being more aggressive. His suggestion was to put an LS9 cam (ZR1 cam) in the LS1 setup (stock heads with some upgrades as stated above).

Just wondering what you all though.
Will this max out my performance the best while keeping the car's stock bottom end together? I dont want to risk grenading the engine. Do you think the LS9 cam will do the trick for me, or should I have done a custom grind. According to Lingenfelter, I would be happy without going with a custom grind (and understand I NEVER said anything about price).

All constructive inputs are welcome (please note: if you input, please have something to back it up. please dont just say i love my cam without saying why and what it does over the rest)

 

ttt

 

What #s are you putting down now?

Why do you want more power? (honestly)

How do you intend to use the car?


Then I can give an educated answer.

 

I am not sure of the numbers I am putting down. The car has a very bad tune. I raced a civic turbo and he was making 300+ rwhp and it was a tight race, so figure I am definitely not making what I should.

As for the power I always have been a believer that if the car can make this much hp, then let it make it. As long as you dont risk grenading the engine. (ie. I had a rice buggy and it was turbo'd, I push that puppy to the limits and it amazed everyone - in fact even now I have a 500hp '04 M3... why did I want I want more power? Why not? I mean thats what makes these shops rich hehehe). Plus the thing is I am about to have her tuned, and this was on my list of things to do, so I figured why have her tuned only to go back and have the pulley and cam placed and then re-tune her.

The driving issue is basically I drive her normal, but I wanna be able to smoke that civic or a rustang if the chance comes. I wanna be able to hammer down on the interstate if the thrill hits me. So it is a cruiser with the ability to have the power on tap once in a while.
Also, she is a weekender (if that... I mean come on a 1999 with 44k miles is barely even a weekender)

 

You need to get a good tune and current #s before you do anything.

Maybe with a good tune you'll be happy with the power?

If you really want the Maggie to crank hit it with Nitrous. Maggies love it.

IMHO if you're looking to smoke Civics and Stangs on the street you're just looking for big trouble.

 

Yes I understand the good tune, BUT like I said I know I wanna milk it all out. When I spoke to Lingenfelter, they sounded like they approved of the setup (and this was well before a sale, just telling them what I have and what I want to do). As for Nitrous, ummm this is a gas an go car. I told Lingenfelter that when they suggested Meth Injection. Sure I can get more from it, but I want to be able to just fuel her up and go, not worry about my meth running out or the nitrous. Plus I am on a stock bottom end, so boost and juice wouldnt work well. Like I said before. I am looking to milk out the stock engine.

As for your Civics and Stangs comment...... What do you mean? It isnt like I prowl the streets looking for them like my buddy does. I just am saying I wanna have the power on tap to run with them or run them down.

 

Street Racing...

See Sig. I did heads and cam and only 6 psi boost. I could easily milk another 50 rwhp with higher boost and more aggressive tuning but why?

500+ on the street is more then enough. If a Stang rolls up on me I just smile. I know I can smoke them but I don't need to prove it.

 

Umm yeah I dont street race.

As for the power, like I said I know I have what I want but it will bug me to not finish her, so I figured before she gets tuned..... drop in the rest of the parts and then away she goes to get the tune.

 

Be careful... The more you have the more you'll want

 

nope, this is me finishing up my car so I can call it quits on this and make my way onto finishing up my 04 VFE s/c'ed WB M3

btw, my mom and sis live in henderson/ vegas

 

Try posting in the forced induction portion of the C5 section, if what you really want to know is what's the best cam I can use with a maggie. I would imagine that comp and others out there make a boost specific cam. The real trick is in the tune to keep in running safe.

 

Did you get any of the specs on the LS9 cam. you will need this to be able to compare with other cams from other tuners/vendors.

 

Well, first, I would really focus on the tune, I mean who knows how much power is left on the table with your current set-up...could be 10hp, could be 45hp who knows until that issue is solved. I
t sounds like you have the money, so if I were in your shoes, I would get the better tune (have lingenfelter do it, maybe they'll cut you a deal if you go back for a cam and re-tune) and see where you are now.

I would trust Lingenfelter's advice, I mean they have been around for quite some time and specialize in this..if they recommend the LS9 cam, then chances are it is a good idea. I always say trust the experts.

Also, I would post this question in the FI section here, lots of guys with lots of maggie experience, I am sure you'll get some good feedback there.

Good luck

 

Do not take this the wrong way, but I think you are approaching this from the wrong direction. Maxing out the HP does not always mean your car will be faster in a given situation. Evaluate your needs and go from there. Based on what I interpret from your post, you want to keep up with your buddies in quick off the line situations. I would think you are looking for good low end torque with a broad torque curve so you can get off the line more quickly and get up to speed. Max HP at high RPM is not always the answer. I have heard the bottom end on the LS1 is pretty safe running about 500HP to the rear wheels. Much more than that and you are taxing the stock bottom end. You could go far above 500 on a stock bottom end but you will likely grenade the engine at some point.

You might think about getting your car dialed in with a good tune and see what you put down at the rear wheels HP and TQ wise. You may also want to think about going with a different gear set in the rear like some 4.10s to get you off the line faster. Another thing you need to consider is once you have more power and torque, you need to be able to put that power down to the street. You could have all the power in the world and your tires just go up in smoke every time you get on it. You may already know this but you are likely going to have to do some drive train and tire/wheel upgrades if you want to put all that power to the street. Good luck with it.

 

Thanks SuperCruz
Yeah I am already making the adjustments for that too.
I am getting a new clutch and then I am probably working on getting wider wheels

I had thought about 4.10 but I heard alot of people tell me with a S/C it is almost a waste of 1st gear.

I just figured that the best way to get this done with it being most economical was to have it all done the first time. This way I am not tuning then retuning then installing and retuning again....

Given maybe I will try to get my clutch going before all this
Guess I got the fever and bought out of order.

As for the specs of the cam, I dont know I mean it is a stock LS9 cam