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Recently picked up an 04z completely stock (finally). Now im wondering what best bang for buck vs horsepower approach to take. Should i just build up my ls6, heads, cam, intake, exhaust ? Or swap with another motor combo, ls3, ls3 stroker. Only boost option I like is a root style, whipple, maggie, KB. Otherwise a fun NA setup. Looking for an engine setup 15k or less. Looking for most horsepower within reason for total street car to enjoy.
Just ordered Kooks 1 7/8, w/ cats and magnaflow (i dont want it too loud).
Curious what you guys think, especially ones that have already chased more power. Since you have dropped the cash already and may wish you would have just gone a different route.
If you can get an LS3, that’s not a bad way to go. You could sell the LS6 and recoup a good bit of the cost.
LS3 with a few ‘while it’s out’ mods (billet barbell in the back of the block, trunnion upgrade, cam and springs) would easily provide the power of a built N/A LS6 with the benefit of better drivability. And you’d be starting fresh. You could also address the clutch, throw out bearing and a remote bleeder while you are there.
Curious what you guys think, especially ones that have already chased more power. Since you have dropped the cash already and may wish you would have just gone a different route.
I used to never be this guy...but as I meander through my 40's I'm slowing getting there. Dude...you JUST got the car and you want to blow it apart already? Enjoy it for bit. The only way I'd stamp an LS3 drop-in would be if you blew the LS1 up first. Sounds like the motor isnt hurt or giving you any problems..so if speed is your quest...build that up. I'm not pocket watching but if you into the Z for 15-17k and you drop another 15k, you into the car for 30 to 32. If its your forever car...Go for it. But the swapped or heavily modified cars in the classifieds or auction sites always sit for the longest. I am by no means a purist...but a lot of folks are and that can shrink your buyer pool immensely.
Now to that LS1...
You already got the 243 heads...so send them off to get ported and polished - $1,000
TSP or BTR Cam. Stage level of your choice...but you sound like a Stage 2 - 3 guy. - $800-900 [cam, lifters, pushrods, springs]
Headers - $600 on cheap...2k on the expensive
FAST intake - 92mm to 102mm. Since you wanna end forced induction...mind as well - $1,100
Dyno tune to make it all work and sing in harmony - $500 to 700 [ball parking it]
If after that...the car doesn't pucker the old bootey hole...then look at an A&A supercharger. About 6,500 with the accompanying fuel system upgrades required. That's about a $12,000 recipe presuming you are supplying your own labor. 500+ WHP in a 3,200 lbs car aint no slouch. But be forewarned...The faster you wanna go...the more you will break. Dosn't matter if its a C5 or a 71 Nova. Some folks love wrenching weekly to fix their fire breathing dragons. Others...do not. Red or blue pill
500whp on the street is pretty rowdy. Smokes the tires at will. Power beyond that is just for the hobbyist. An LS6 with ported heads is a great platform.
I used to never be this guy...but as I meander through my 40's I'm slowing getting there. Dude...you JUST got the car and you want to blow it apart already? Enjoy it for bit. The only way I'd stamp an LS3 drop-in would be if you blew the LS1 up first. Sounds like the motor isnt hurt or giving you any problems..so if speed is your quest...build that up. I'm not pocket watching but if you into the Z for 15-17k and you drop another 15k, you into the car for 30 to 32. If its your forever car...Go for it. But the swapped or heavily modified cars in the classifieds or auction sites always sit for the longest. I am by no means a purist...but a lot of folks are and that can shrink your buyer pool immensely.
Now to that LS1...
You already got the 243 heads...so send them off to get ported and polished - $1,000
TSP or BTR Cam. Stage level of your choice...but you sound like a Stage 2 - 3 guy. - $800-900 [cam, lifters, pushrods, springs]
Headers - $600 on cheap...2k on the expensive
FAST intake - 92mm to 102mm. Since you wanna end forced induction...mind as well - $1,100
Dyno tune to make it all work and sing in harmony - $500 to 700 [ball parking it]
If after that...the car doesn't pucker the old bootey hole...then look at an A&A supercharger. About 6,500 with the accompanying fuel system upgrades required. That's about a $12,000 recipe presuming you are supplying your own labor. 500+ WHP in a 3,200 lbs car aint no slouch. But be forewarned...The faster you wanna go...the more you will break. Dosn't matter if its a C5 or a 71 Nova. Some folks love wrenching weekly to fix their fire breathing dragons. Others...do not. Red or blue pill
Cheers,
Joe
Although I don't disagree with some of the above...especially going through the trouble and spend to land at NA LS3 power. New to him or not stock LS6 power is a snooze fest. If staying NA is the end goal than the LS3 is a better option for power 100%.
The above recommendations didn't take the following details from his post into account....
He already has Kooks 1 7/8 headers. That box is checked.
He only likes/wants a roots style supercharger. So recommending an A&A kit doesn't work. (Although an A&A kit or ECS Novi is the route I would/did take. Drives like stock all day when out of boost and will smoke a roots car for less money spent).
A FAST intake is even more of a waste of money if he decides to boost with a roots. It's also a waste of money on a centri build as it's not necessary with FI. But of he stays NA the FAST upgrade is a great option.
If you're going to the trouble of building a motor having a cam ground to match the build makes more sense than any off the shelf grind no matter what the stage.
Having heads well ported at $1000 isn't going to happen in 2023. Double that porting price quote for a proper port job worth the investment.
It's a somewhat expensive journey no matter which path he takes and $15k goes real quick if he does it right. The ultimate end goal or the longerm goal needs to be determined first. Otherwise it becomes even more expensive unnecessarily when you buy parts you don't need or out grow the power you thought was "good enough".
500whp on the street is pretty rowdy. Smokes the tires at will. Power beyond that is just for the hobbyist. An LS6 with ported heads is a great platform.
There's a reason so many hellcats and charger scat packs end up at CoPart auctions . The mythical HP/TRQ number in theory are just numbers. If you can FULL SEND a light weight 400 HP car on a street tire and keep it straight and out of a ditch...you are a boss lol On any given Sunday I see guys with cars on paper get torched by lesser cars on paper time and time again. Its what we men do...measure lol These days...as long as the car fast enough for me...send it. There will always be someone with deeper pockets...crazier to stay in the throttle longer...and will live with having a car with no A/C or creature comforts that come along with having a full blown race car with tags
**FULL DISCLOSURE** I also have a full blown race car with tags By an large...when she not feasting on full send...she's a pain in the dick to loaf around town.
Although I don't disagree with some of the above...especially going through the trouble and spend to land at NA LS3 power. New to him or not stock LS6 power is a snooze fest. If staying NA is the end goal than the LS3 is a better option for power 100%.
The above recommendations didn't take the following details from his post into account....
He already has Kooks 1 7/8 headers. That box is checked.
He only likes/wants a roots style supercharger. So recommending an A&A kit doesn't work. (Although an A&A kit or ECS Novi is the route I would/did take. Drives like stock all day when out of boost and will smoke a roots car for less money spent).
A FAST intake is even more of a waste of money if he decides to boost with a roots. It's also a waste of money on a centri build as it's not necessary with FI. But of he stays NA the FAST upgrade is a great option.
If you're going to the trouble of building a motor having a cam ground to match the build makes more sense than any off the shelf grind no matter what the stage.
Having heads well ported at $1000 isn't going to happen in 2023. Double that porting price quote for a proper port job worth the investment.
It's a somewhat expensive journey no matter which path he takes and $15k goes real quick if he does it right. The ultimate end goal or the longerm goal needs to be determined first. Otherwise it becomes even more expensive unnecessarily when you buy parts you don't need or out grow the power you thought was "good enough".
You highlight the most salient point Johnny...you bring a theoretical to the internet...you will get theoretical suggestions It's hard to put bang-for-the buck suggestions and 15 grand in the same sentence lol You are right...what's the GOAL!!! Fastest bloke on the block? SCCA lap'er at all the events? When I had my shop...I was always weary of customers who bought me a project and cash without a VERY SPECIFIC goal in mind. 10/10 times...they were never satisfied with the results outcome wise. One such job comes to mind. Fella with a 71 nova. What he wanted was a street outlaws JJ the boss type of car...a BADDD ****!!! That's what we built him [with the money he had to build]. He picked the car up...hit a few test hits in celebration of completion....8 months later....SOLD THE CAR!!! It turns out...he really DIDNT WANT A RACE CAR!!! The forums, TV, and the internet told him he did. And when he GOT a race car...found out...it comes with race car things...like your lady getting out at the cruise in smelling like race gas Car heating up more then you'd like in traffic or at stop lights...having to roll the car to end of the driveway to start cause you wanna hit the morning car show and starting the car wakes up the adjacent 6 homes
The point is...forums are a free flowing place where ideas [both good and bad] are exchanged to people who post theoretical situations [as we dont even know if these folks have what they say or...plan to do what they suggest]. Some listen word for word [like my 71 Nova guy] and some do not. End of the day...build what makes you happy...but often times...these builds are more for others then they are for the owners.
^ That’s why Roadrunners are so rare, lol. They had a lot of power, skinny street tires, and were bought like bacon because they were affordable. Many ended up as tree ornaments.
Recently picked up an 04z completely stock (finally). Now im wondering what best bang for buck vs horsepower approach to take. Should i just build up my ls6, heads, cam, intake, exhaust ? Or swap with another motor combo, ls3, ls3 stroker. Only boost option I like is a root style, whipple, maggie, KB. Otherwise a fun NA setup. Looking for an engine setup 15k or less. Looking for most horsepower within reason for total street car to enjoy.
Just ordered Kooks 1 7/8, w/ cats and magnaflow (i dont want it too loud).
Curious what you guys think, especially ones that have already chased more power. Since you have dropped the cash already and may wish you would have just gone a different route.
There are a lot of good things about a centrifugal blower, like A&A. Centrifugal blowers act similar to a turbo, and will help with off the line traction, compared with a positive displacement blower. I know a guy with an A&A Procharger on his '02 Z06. You'd have to kill him to take that blower off!! With a mild cam, he's close to 650whp!! He'd run away from my 427. I won't even race him, mainly because he moved 100 miles away, but also because he'd kick my ***!!@MWWarlord and @Johnny Hardcore are good guys here to talk to about their A&A/Procharger setup. I'll end on this note; a blower isn't the best bang for the buck...UPFRONT. As time goes by, it will become your best bang for the buck. I have a built 427 LS7 in my 2000 C5 vert. As the years have gone by, a blown, stock or mildly cammed LS6, will be as fast, and probably faster, than my built LS7. It would also be far more reliable, too. Your choice.....
Last edited by grinder11; May 14, 2023 at 02:00 PM.
There are a lot of good things about a centrifugal blower, like A&A. Centrifugal blowers act similar to a turbo, and will help with off the line traction, compared with a positive displacement blower. I know a guy with an A&A Procharger on his '02 Z06. You'd have to kill him to take that blower off!! With a mild cam, he's close to 650whp!! He'd run away from my 427. I won't even race him, mainly because he moved 100 miles away, but also because he'd kick my ***!!@MWWarlord and @Johnny Hardcore are good guys here to talk to about their A&A/Procharger setup. I'll end on this note; a blower isn't the best bang for the buck...UPFRONT. As time goes by, it will become your best bang for the buck. I have a built 427 LS7 in my 2000 C5 vert. As the years have gone by, a stock or mildly cammed LS6 will be as fast, and probably faster, than my built LS7. It would also be far more reliable, too. Your choice.....
I opted for the ECS Novi 1500 over an A&A. They are both good systems. The Novi kit was just more suitable to my current and potential future desires and now living back in NJ (formerly in SoCal about 1.5 hours from Andy's) I am 35-40 minutes from ECS.
Roots blowers are cool but not what I wanted on my heads/ cam car. A 427 in a C5 is also very cool but not the direction I wanted to go in knowing I would go F1 at some point. All fun AF none the less and better than a stock C5 or C6 for fun factor in all accounts.
Post script...OP...I'm in for about $20k in parts and tune. And I would 100% do it again. I wanted a car that sounds bad *** with a lopey cam, makes over 600whp reliably on 93 pump. Check, check and check.
Love the roots blower, but the continuous whine of centrifugals would grate on me. It’s a hobby and all about a vision and freedom of choice, so do what feels right. It all unbolts if you change your mind.
Ps. The “but that’s gonna cost $_______” sailed long ago for me. I do what seems like fun now, make whatever changes for what makes fun later.
build ls6 or replace
. The mythical HP/TRQ number in theory are just numbers. If you can FULL SEND a light weight 400 HP car on a street tire and keep it straight and out of a ditch...you are a boss lol On any given Sunday I see guys with cars on paper get torched by lesser cars on paper time and time again. Its what we men do...measure lol These days...as long as the car fast enough for me...send it. There will always be someone with deeper pockets...crazier to stay in the throttle longer...and will live with having a car with no A/C or creature comforts that come along with having a full blown race car with tags 
It's hard to put bang-for-the buck suggestions and 15 grand in the same sentence lol You are right...what's the GOAL!!! Fastest bloke on the block? SCCA lap'er at all the events? When I had my shop...I was always weary of customers who bought me a project and cash without a VERY SPECIFIC goal in mind. 10/10 times...they were never satisfied with the results outcome wise. One such job comes to mind. Fella with a 71 nova. What he wanted was a street outlaws JJ the boss type of car...a BADDD ****!!! That's what we built him [with the money he had to build]. He picked the car up...hit a few test hits in celebration of completion....8 months later....SOLD THE CAR!!! It turns out...he really DIDNT WANT A RACE CAR!!! The forums, TV, and the internet told him he did. And when he GOT a race car...found out...it comes with race car things...like your lady getting out at the cruise in smelling like race gas 
