What to do with $5K????
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 410
Likes: 1
From: Amherst NH
What to do with $5K????
Im trying to get ideas on what to do with some money that Ive been putting aside for my '97. The car has ~95K miles on it but has always been driven moderately, never raced. The car has Borla X-pipe, stingers, Vararam. Im thinking about a heads/cam package. But Im also thinking about going with larger rims. With this many miles, can I really start getting under the hood, or am I looking at trouble down the road with the increase in HP? Anyway, if anyone has done the $5K shopping spree lately let me know how you stretched it and what you think. Thanks guys! 
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 18,308
Likes: 21
From: Marlton. Increasing performance one speeding ticket at a time! NJ
I may be a little leary going with F/I on a stock engine with 95K, although its clearly the best HP bang for the buck, but it will also run closer to 7-8K.
Doing H/C gets you half of a new engine, which is a good thing. When the heads are off, the pistons can be inspected and replaced if necessary. The LS1 block should last way past 200K with proper maintenence.
Ask yourself what you ultimately want in the car, do you want an aggressive idle/cam, high HP - or do you want more show, like upgraded brakes/tire/rims?
Choice is yours, but shop wisely, because 5K can go quick!
Doing H/C gets you half of a new engine, which is a good thing. When the heads are off, the pistons can be inspected and replaced if necessary. The LS1 block should last way past 200K with proper maintenence.
Ask yourself what you ultimately want in the car, do you want an aggressive idle/cam, high HP - or do you want more show, like upgraded brakes/tire/rims?
Choice is yours, but shop wisely, because 5K can go quick!
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 4,275
Likes: 4
From: Vancouver WA
With that many miles, If your car is an A4, I would say a RPM tranny, about a 3200 stall convertor, and some 3.73:1 gears with hardened axles would be a good start in building a solid dependable driveline for more power later on. And the stall convertor and gears would give you a good deal of perfromance.
Also, I would keep the max rpm about 6000-6200 rpm with the stock rods in the 97', So what ever you do, don't build a motor that needs to rev higher to make HP, or you may find a hole in the side of your motor.
Just some different options, you could sell your 97 and buy a 02' Z06.
Or, buy a 02' or later C5 that someone has already done a lot of mods and is taking a loss. You can usually find a F/I C5 on here every now and then for around $30k. Which is a good deal...............if it's been built right.
Also, I would keep the max rpm about 6000-6200 rpm with the stock rods in the 97', So what ever you do, don't build a motor that needs to rev higher to make HP, or you may find a hole in the side of your motor.
Just some different options, you could sell your 97 and buy a 02' Z06.
Or, buy a 02' or later C5 that someone has already done a lot of mods and is taking a loss. You can usually find a F/I C5 on here every now and then for around $30k. Which is a good deal...............if it's been built right.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 410
Likes: 1
From: Amherst NH
thanks for the replies guys, the car is a 6-speed and Id like to make good power to the wheels, but am also leary about putting too much stress on an otherwise stock car. How much horsepower, and what kind of setup would give me the most reliable HP, and how much could I expect to be able to make reliably? Also, what about the clutch? How much HP can a car of this age see before I start losing that?
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