Fast, cheap, reliable
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Pro
Joined: May 2006
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From: Fayetteville North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '17-'18
Fast, cheap, reliable
Ok. Looking for 2 out of 3. Not worried about cheap. If I go down this road, I want to do it right within my goals. Car is a 99 6 speed coupe which I bought new. Currently it has 31k miles. Mods include a K and N CAI, LS6 intake, coated Billy Boat shorties, Borla catback and an ECS mail order tune. Not a track car, just a weekend cruiser. I don't dump the clutch but punch it going through the gears and want a little more. I want to be able to drive to the beach or mountains and not worry about reliability.
Goals-More power and torque.
-Want to keep it within the limits of the drive train. I don't want to replace the tranny or rear. Not worried about the clutch.
So what is the max power and torque my stock tranny and rear will support and what mods would get me there?
Goals-More power and torque.
-Want to keep it within the limits of the drive train. I don't want to replace the tranny or rear. Not worried about the clutch.
So what is the max power and torque my stock tranny and rear will support and what mods would get me there?
1/4 mile/AutoX
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,439
Likes: 2,183
From: Buffalo Texas
It's mostly up to you how much the drivetrain will support !!! Power shifting and dumping the clutch will break a lot of cars !!! How much traction you have is also a consideration !!!
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2012
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From: OK
Somewhere around 450 hp is what I would consider the breaking point, where you would need to upgrade other components. I know guys build cars with MUCH more HP than that and don't upgrade the OEM parts, but, I have seen LOTS of problems in the tech section with the cars that are over 450... JMHO
Of course you could have a 800 RWHP car and if you baby it around all the time it might last a long time, but most of the time if someone is building a 6,7,8 hundred HP car they plan on using it...so it depends some on how much you thrash on it...hell, you can tear up a stock car pretty easy if you try...
Heads, Cam, LG sports Headers, and the Vararam CAI... and a new tune...
Of course you could have a 800 RWHP car and if you baby it around all the time it might last a long time, but most of the time if someone is building a 6,7,8 hundred HP car they plan on using it...so it depends some on how much you thrash on it...hell, you can tear up a stock car pretty easy if you try...
Heads, Cam, LG sports Headers, and the Vararam CAI... and a new tune...
Last edited by 73Corvette; Jul 5, 2016 at 11:45 AM.
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keep the drivetrain from shaking or wheelhopping and it will handle more than you think... it is possible to drive the car hard without abusing it and that will help prolong the life of the drivetrain as well... I would suggest a good set of motor and diff mounts and maybe a trans brace as well... pfadt makes some really nice motor and diff mounts and that's what I have personally used but I don't like the way they do business nowadays so I'm not quick to recommend them... fortunately there are other companies out there that have essentially copied the pfadt design... also make sure to use a high quality fluid in the trans/diff, I like amsoil... your clutch though, I would be willing to bet money it will give you problems if you get to 400+hp so do yourself a favor and just go ahead and change it... don't go back with oem, get a good aftermarket clutch and be done with it
1/4 mile/AutoX
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 11,439
Likes: 2,183
From: Buffalo Texas
keep the drivetrain from shaking or wheelhopping and it will handle more than you think... it is possible to drive the car hard without abusing it and that will help prolong the life of the drivetrain as well... I would suggest a good set of motor and diff mounts and maybe a trans brace as well... pfadt makes some really nice motor and diff mounts and that's what I have personally used but I don't like the way they do business nowadays so I'm not quick to recommend them... fortunately there are other companies out there that have essentially copied the pfadt design... also make sure to use a high quality fluid in the trans/diff, I like amsoil... your clutch though, I would be willing to bet money it will give you problems if you get to 400+hp so do yourself a favor and just go ahead and change it... don't go back with oem, get a good aftermarket clutch and be done with it
: cheers:
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Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 583
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From: Fayetteville North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '17-'18
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 583
Likes: 66
From: Fayetteville North Carolina
St. Jude Donor '17-'18
I am thinking-
PRC Stage 2.5 LS6 CNC Ported Heads
224R or 228r cam 114lsa
LG Pros
As well as all the supporting parts:
Ls7 lifters
Lifter buckets
Push rods
High Pressure Melling Oil Pump
Head Gaskets
LS2 Timing chain
Straub Trunions
ARP head studs
ATI or POWERBOND DAMPER
And last a tune. Thoughts?
PRC Stage 2.5 LS6 CNC Ported Heads
224R or 228r cam 114lsa
LG Pros
As well as all the supporting parts:
Ls7 lifters
Lifter buckets
Push rods
High Pressure Melling Oil Pump
Head Gaskets
LS2 Timing chain
Straub Trunions
ARP head studs
ATI or POWERBOND DAMPER
And last a tune. Thoughts?
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 1,256
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From: Pennsylvania
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
ls6 heads plus the stuff in the post above could put you in the ~420 range and they are fairly cheap compared to an aftermarket head
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 1,719
Likes: 37
From: Colorado
i have to laugh at one thing.. you said you want "a little more" and want reliability.. but then ask where the limits to the drive train are 
i have 440rwhp and thats nowhear near the limits of drive train, but its definitely near the limits of sanity considering its not using forced induction, which lets you get away with way less cam and therefore have a much more sane vehicle with a lot of power.
have to ask how much you want and how much you want to spend.
to me, and nobody else has said it: just add gears. you still have 6th for your beaches and mountains, but 1-3 and a 3.73 gearing for making a lot of smoke.
i have 440rwhp and thats nowhear near the limits of drive train, but its definitely near the limits of sanity considering its not using forced induction, which lets you get away with way less cam and therefore have a much more sane vehicle with a lot of power.
have to ask how much you want and how much you want to spend.
to me, and nobody else has said it: just add gears. you still have 6th for your beaches and mountains, but 1-3 and a 3.73 gearing for making a lot of smoke.