For the guys who have already put heads and cam in their cars. Any down side to doing this? I am having mine put in next month and want to be fully educated. Any drivability issues? Does it shorten engine life and if so how much? They can't be all good with no negatives. Any help or experiences would be appreciated!!! Thanks

 

My car runs good after H&C. The "Service Vehicle Soon" light comes up every time I start the car. I believe it is because of the Cam. 112 Lobe Seperation. It did run like S*** until I got programing done to the PCM. The message is kind of annoying. I'm not sure other people have this problem. If one of the big performance shop is doing the installs you should have no problems. Good Luck

 

More power, better efficiency, better gas mileage....hmm, I am having trouble figuring out a downside! ;)
A good heads and cam package will give you nothing but positive results.
Good Luck,

 

A lighter wallet....

 

LOL
I can deal with a lighter wallet.

 

Hey shftn6: :cheers:
Had my H/C done about 4 weeks ago at PTC in Elk Grove. The 1st downside is wiping this silly grin off my face every time I go WOT!! :D :D :D
The 2nd downside is that I'm a pretty agressive driver and I visit my local shell station a little more often cause I'm usually "on it". I can still get great mileage when I want to be tame, the car idles great and sounds super. :rolleyes: :rolleyes: Best perf mod I've done and dyno on the spot!
If you're ever in Buffalo Grove area or want further info, e-mail me and we can meet up.
FEVR
Y2K MY Coupe, Loaded A4 (R8C - NCMLT #670): MODS - TRIC/MAG+COBRA, GMS MAF, 3.42'S, S YANK 3500, TTS LONG TUBES & PWRLDRII, CORSA TR'G (GTR) W/X PIPE, PTC Stage II Heads/Cam LS6 Intake, PTC Custom Programming, Fikse FM10 w/Mich P Sprt 295-35-19R, 265-35-18F, DRM SS Brake Lines, Z06 Factory Callipers, Metallic Pads; Protection - V1, E-Code's, Window Cmndr & NVRNUF ZAINO
Best 1/4 w/intake: 13.09@107.6 (pre TTS stuff/SY3500/3.42'S/HDS/CAM/Intake/Programming) new numbers coming!
Latest DynoJet 1200 #'s: 363RWHP/393RWTQ

 

FEVR,
Thanks!!! I emailed you

 

:lol: :lol:
And you'll be buying tires more often! :lol: :seeya

 

Warranty issues is the only down side I can think of....if they find out :blueangel:

 

Is Brian doing the install???????????He never said anything about it to me.


[Modified by Slammed Vette, 4:29 PM 9/26/2001]

 

VETFEVR: Sounds like a real beast you built there. What are the specsof your heads and also your cam? Did you order the heads/cam from PTC or from another tuner and had PTC install. I've heard of ARE, Cartek, and MTI but I'm looking at other sources also. Thanks in advance :cheers:


[Modified by americanbadas, 6:20 PM 9/26/2001]

 

I love the heads and cam route. Elegantly simple route to 430-500 flywheel hp (LS1 motors). There are 2 related downsides. One is that you can't mismatch components and guarantee success unless you go through a lot of trial and error. The cam has to be choosen for the flow characteristics of the heads and driveability requirements. So if you get Guy A's ported heads that flow good numbers but the exhaust flows only 72% of the intake flow number, then you cannot mix it a cam ground by Speed shop B who intended the cam for heads that flowed 80% of intake.

Second downside is that in normally aspirated mods there is a NARROW window between reasonably smooth and clean but unimpressive output and dirty power with driveability that grates on you in stop-and-go driving while you have an attractive (non-car-type) date riding shotgun. To ensure you fall in that sall window, you have to pretty much go with a speed shop/tuner experienced in your motor type.

Overall heads and cam route to significant output increases is probably the optimal first step. Many think this route is less perilous than the power adder route. But in the power adder, most of the headache comes from tuning (for engine safety and performance) which can be done relatively easily, quickly and cost efficiently vs. normally aspirated mods where swapping out cams till you get the right one can be maddening. So the key is to find a place that takes an integrated approach and definately ask and if possible ride in a C5 with top-end mods before making a decision. That way it's done only once. Lingenfelter offers many developed cams to go along with his head package. Each cam give the greatest driveability for performance level sought. MTI, Doug Rippie, Callaway and Mallett are other LS1 gurus.

 

TTT

 

Two downsides I can think of would be loss of warranty and very little recoup of the investment when you sell the car.

 

that is the only thing .... I would also suggest that you have the PCM done the same time, or you will NOT be happy with the way the car runs.....also be sure to drill a 1/8" hole in the TB plate to give it air at idle

the above is a MUST with a grumpy cam like RAT III.5 has :D

thanks

 

Shftn6:
The posts by Staged and Rschiltz are really well expressed practical side aspects of this potential mod. :eek: :eek: They definitely apply and should be thought about. :smash: :smash: Did not mean to make light of what we're doing to the engines of our cars and that ramification to warranty issues and resaleability. Thanks to both for jumping in. :bb :bb

AMERICANBADAS: :cheers:
The CNC combination was custom designed for my A4 car based on mods installed and future considerations. I think all of the tuners I spoke with (PTC, DRM, NMS, ARE) had "custom" combo's they recommended based on my base requirements (not too lopy an idle, good driveability and 50 minimum increase in rwhp/tq). The final hardware coupled with the custom PTC programming really makes this car haul. :D :D :D
FEVR

 

Downsides all depend on the person driving it's expectations from the car.
How agressive of a head/cam package you go with also plays a large role.

Personally I don't mind a nice lumpy idle as long as it dont stall on me at a light. Agressive heads/cam cars take a bit of time to get used to how they come off the line going slow as well. Depending on cam, you may get a bit of a bog if you do not come out with enough throttle when leaving a stoplight, etc.

I drive my car pretty much everyday in stop and go traffic, and on roadtrips. It is basically my daily driver and I have no problems with it. However, some other people might not like some of the characteristics of it if they expect their C5 to run and drive like a Cadillac.

So really, for me, there are no downsides other than increased tire expense




[Modified by MattG, 11:42 AM 9/27/2001]

 

shftn6
I just wanted to tell you the heads and cam can be an addiction. A lighter wallet is only the first symptom. Other symptoms might be LS6 intake, headers, clutch or rear end. In my case it went as far as a supercharger. I don’t even want to tell you what my addiction has brought to me as a winter project this year; I just know I am addicted.

I had mine done by Performance Technical Center in Elk Grove and it was first class work. His dyno is a must for getting it dialed in the way it should be. I have never seen a code on my car from all of the work that has been done to it.

Good luck with your project and I hope you are stonger than I was.

Tom

 

Tom,
I actually saw your car there when I was getting my headers put in. Beautiful car and I love that hood. I already resigned myself that I am weak and will also become a hp addict. :yesnod: I am interested in what your winter project is. I think you are already in the mid 500hp area. What else can you possibly do to that car?

 

I will put up a post when all of the parts come together but it will be a decent jump above the current 566hp. For now all I can say is that I will have a complete supercharged engine for sale soon.

Tom