I recently picked up a 55K mile 2001 C5 with A4/3:15 gears. I am looking to build a reliable car I can drive daily in the summer. Something that gets decent fuel economy and has good street manners. I will not be going to the track and will be running Toyo Proxy T1 tires.So I have been debating going with a ECS or A&A kit or doing a mild heads and cam car. With a s/c car i am afraid that i will be breaking things all the time if i actually use all the power that the car can produce seeing that the car is stock. If i go the s/c route i would leave the stock heads/cam and exhaust manifolds but possibly change torque converter because the stock is so tight. With the h/c i would have the stock heads ported do a 3000 ish stall 3:42 gears and a small cam something like a lunati 221/221 114 LSA and possible long tube headers. With either route i would do all the work myself except for tuning.My question to you guys is what is a fun reliable power level for our c5's where things are reasonably reliable and you can use the power you have and what do you think would be better for a DD h/c or s/c?
Marc

 

both can be reliable and safe depending on how much power you want... if you would be happy with mid 400s to the wheels then a basic heads/cam setup would be easier but if you're like me that won't be enough so supercharging is the way to go... I've had both of the kits you mentioned and I would highly suggest a&a over the other one, the quality is a lot better and so is their customer service

 

Its not so much the engine that will suffer.. Its the OTHER STUFF that will need to be addressed and BEEFED UP. I have an 02 ZO6 that I did 450 RWHP using the heads cam fast90 header route. Engine is very reliable. I had to immediately address the clutch at that level!

Let me start the LIST:

- Traction! I upgraded to Toyo Proxis T1R with CCW 505a rims. Much wider lower profile tire.
- Wheel hop: YOU WILL need better shocks! C6 ZO6 will fill the need nicely. Approx $300 for all four.
- TRANSMISSION.. Your stock A4 will not like the added power for very long. The OEM A4 has WELL KNOWN weak parts. You can easily UP-GRADE the weak parts, add a trans cooler and make that reliable. There are TONS of You Tube videos on A4 repair/up-grades. Up-grader the clutches, sun shell and bands and make the thing grunt!!! Remember,, NO auto trans will live very long if its running at a high temp! Especially if you add a higher stall converter. GET A GOOD TRANS COOLER.
- Differential: The output shafts, limited slip clutch Belleview springs and possibly the clutches will need up-grading. I went with C6 ZO6 output shafts, clutches and Belleview Springs. Direct fit and a great up-grade for the bucks.
- A&A Kit, usually requires better cooling system. (bigger / better radiator) I would look into that!
- Torque Tube rubber couplers. At a MINIMUM, disassemble and inspect the bearings and rubber couplers. If the couplers show ANY signs of cracking or deformation, REPLACE them with new OEM and or better couplers.
- Engine and differential mounts: Inspect the engine mounts. Most are in poor condition and can/will part under severe stress.
- TUNE.. Once you have ALL the up-grades all sorted out and installed, the TUNER that you select will need to be ONE with the PCM. Also the shift points and shift pressures will need to be addressed. Before the tune, make sure that you have a GOOD base line for the tuning, New plugs, wires, NEW O2 sensors, correct injectors, clean MAF ( if you use the MAF), and ALL of the other engine sensors are properly operating.

I'm sure people that have the A&A or any FI set up will chime in and either add more stuff or make comments..
Bill.

 

Wow I'm saving up my money about $4,000 so far for a sc for my 99 automatic with 51,000 miles, I don't know if I'll ever have enough saved up after Bill Curlee and Neatron 82 chimed in. I thought $7,000 would cover it, sc plus install. What is a good price for everything?

 

Wow I'm saving up my money about $4,000 so far for a sc for my 99 automatic with 51,000 miles, I don't know if I'll ever have enough saved up after Bill Curlee and Neatron 82 chimed in. I thought $7,000 would cover it, sc plus install. What is a good price for everything?

 

I would do a cam for a streetcar. The drive line can survive for a long time if you keep it on street tires. If you track it or run sticky tires it will cause OEM parts to fail faster. My old heads and cam FRC did not have an engine or trans mount problem with over 100k miles over 40k after heads and cam. A friend had over 140k with over half of those miles cammed and a half dozen HPDE days before he had to replace motor mounts. It was a FRC as well (6speed which will shock the drive line more). He is running my 85k mile OEM engine mounts now. The cars saw very limited drag strip use on regular C5Z size street tires.

I'd like a cam in the 224 range for your application. The torque converter and cooler is a very good idea. I'd discuss the converter with whoever you get the cam from. The output shaft on the diff is a very good idea. In my opinion a supercharger is a larger can of worms. You could do a 224/230 cam which would work well with a blower but also make good power NA, if you want to leave yourself open for further mods without having to dive that deep in the motor again. 4L60s can be a bit of a coin toss, some run for a long time without a problem, others have gone as soon as you throw power or in the case of trucks a load on them.

If you things apart for a torque converter go ahead as Bill mentioned disassemble and look at the torque tube. A tune is needed for a cam or S/C.