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I just got my car back with a Yank ss3200 and 3.42sp gears. Tires spin almost until I hit 2nd. I already have installed an LS6 manifold, AR LT headers, X pipe, CAI, TSP 220/220 cam. Dynoed at 369/364. No complaints at all. Although traction is a problem. I have staggered 17/18 C6 Z06 style rims(for C5 with stock 275s in back), and would like to get matching 17x10.5" rims for the back so I can get 315 35 17 Street radial Nittos or similar. 17's are about $120 less each tire vs 18's. I read the tires will fit, Is this a good way to go considering my traction issues? Any suggestions?
Furthermore, I am already thinking about heads and bigger cam next winter. Not sure why, just seems right. Ever since the harmonic balancer went I can't stop with the mods. Already wishing I went with 224/224 at least. And probably could have gotten a ss3600, but will survive with my ss3200.
I don't think heads that require big cams are for me, ive always had a torquey cam whether it be Chevelles/Harleys/etc. Any thoughts on cams/heads? Trying to keep it in a budget, It gets expensive. Intake manifold, exhaust, 3.42s, all used.
I think you'll have to be more specific with what you're intending to do with the car. What tire is on the car now? Getting a 305 or larger is no problem under these cars and I don't think a drag radial is what you'll need for more grip at that power level. Personally I run a 200 treadwear on the street like the Toyo R888 or Nitto NT01 among other options. I'm also more interested in turning than straight line acceleration.
I have 3.73 gears and an SS3200, full bolt on car, stock cam, 305 tire in the rear as well. Your days of traction in first gear are over. Doesn’t matter if you have a 315 tire either. The wider tires definitely help during twisty driving, but if you want to load the converter, you will need a drag radial. A 3600 converter will only make it worse and the converter will whine more. You can also do HPDE events with a 3200 converter, I have, I think the 3600 converter would whine more during an HPDE and just cause more trans heat. I’m preparing to do a full top end build in the future. As far as cam choice, I was thinking more of a cam motion titan 4 228/232.
Good luck on your horsepower journey and traction.
BTW, I have brand new nitto drag radials in the garage waiting for a track day.
Thanks everyone for your input. Beast, are you doing heads also? If so what kind? What kind of horsepower/Torque are you expecting?
As I have a convertible I suspect I'm limited to drag and autocross events until I get a rollbar/cage. For now I'll probably get a Racebox to keep entertained. Then sticky tires.
im not doing anything for awhile, my car is full bolt on with 3.73 gears and 3200 converter, 82,000 miles and she runs perfect, knock on wood…
Just saving money, prepared to do a tranny when the time comes or full top end rebuild, or 383 stroker build if I blow it up. I do HPDE like twice a year, and drag strip runs a few times a year. Something will give sooner or later. And I want to drive the car on road trips, so a huge cam is probably not for me. 224/228, 228/228, 228/232, or torquerV2 232/234, would be my cam choices. I would get AFR or PRC heads, plus the fast 90 setup. I would love to see a 410-420 wheel horsepower A4 trans car that I can get in whenever I want and just drive it across the country. Or maybe I need a stock C8 for that, lol.
I got the sticky tires in my garage, they cam a few days ago. I’ll post up drag times when I get it out to the strip this summer.
Last edited by Vetteman Jack; Mar 24, 2024 at 05:44 AM.
Soft tire and just learn to be smooth with rolling into throttle in 1st.
I used to have a built gen 2 lightning (550hp at the tire) and simply had to learn to drive it at full throttle at the dragstrip. Smoothly ramping up the TQ at the tire is possible. Just have to practice getting up on the convertor, launching w/o throttle increase, and then learn to roll to the floor as much as the track will take.
Learning to do that on all season tires I went from 2.1 60fts to 1.7's with only "the driver mod".
If you're having traction issues at 369/364 at the wheels the tires you have now are either too hard to begin with, or they are old and hard, and/or you need to roll into the throttle vs. treating the throttle like an on/off switch.
I've not owned an A4 but I've owned m6 C5s with 391/379 & 428/389 with 4.10 gear and didn't have the traction issues like you describe. I ran the Nitto Nt555's at that power range (which are the Nt555 G2 now and better for traction than their predecessor). I also have 640/568 at the wheels now with 3.42 diff and Nitto Nt5555R2's and do not experience traction issues launching on the street.
I personally wouldn't move to an R compound under 450whp/400 trq as it's not needed. Thinking you just need a new/better tire in the 200 to 320 treadwear range and some practice getting used to launching your car now.
Thx for replies! I think I need the most mod. Truth be told once I had a few hundred miles on the new converter i pretty much hammered it and it just spun and spun. I don't think the pedal ever hit the floor. Im certainly not used to the converter. I may get a racebox or draggy to get an idea of how much I need to get into pedal. Then I'll get the sticky tires.
Back to heads/cam. I'lI be more specific this time around. I did it backwards. Started with 220/220 cam, then Lt's, X pipe, then 3200 stall/3.42s.
If I could do it again, 1st ss3600/3.42(3.73?), then 228/228(?) Cam. I'll probably never get to the track anyhow, just wishful thinking. I don't think I can sit in a car for 1.5 hours to get to the track anyway.
So assuming this is a street only car, and the ss3200 and 3.42s are staying, which cam will make lots of low end/ mid range power with which heads?($3k parts budget) I dont want monster top end wfo heads, I dont want a gap between my 3200 converter and when the cam comes on. I like the 220/220 little cams manners, but want more power and cam sound. Big Dyno #s are not the ultimate goal, the term "power under the curve" is appealing with hp and tq in the 400-420while maintaining driveability. Any thoughts??
If you think you have traction problems now. Ha! New heads and good cam selection will make even more power. You have a budget of $3k. That will go quick!
I received some great help from members of this forum when I started asking about cams. Read the link and you will see who they are. Here is my journey: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-coupe-m6.html
My 98 is a MM6. I went with low lift TSP "Truck" cam. 432 rwhp and 403 ft/lbs was the result. I talked to Issac (Ahbi is also a good egg) at TSP and he said for any of the low lift cams I was looking at with Headers and the CNC ported, stage 1, LS6/243 heads I had... He said go with the Stage IV. I also told him I had no desire for a "Chop", just power and torque at low rpms = Street car. I have nothing but good experiences with the folks at TSP
If you cannot score some used LS6/243 heads you can always get the TSP "Brawler" new made in the USA castings, with the same CNC porting and 5 angle valve job, as the Stage 1 service I bought. If you stay with a truck cam you can ask about a, Substitution for LS6 GM beehive or PAC 1218/1218(X) single spring setup. So many options...
There is a **** ton of "While you are there" items when you do this. Get good lifters, I went GM Performance LS7. I read some horror stories about all the major brands and cant help but wonder if some of the reported failures were from counterfeit parts. Then there is the population that wants to run thew biggest cam possible with the cheapest lifters. I also changed every rubber item I touched, belts, hoses, WP, PS hoses...
10k miles since the install of the parts, last year. Runs great. I'm no engine builder, but let me know if I can help. There is a spread sheet with al of the PN's and costs at the end of my build thread. Good Luck and post what you end up with.
Good to follow guidance on this site: http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=1
Thx again Beast, thx Prop Joe! Tons of info! I'm contemplating DIY, but it may be too much for me given lack of time/lousy back. I replaced the knock sensors last summer. Deepest surgery by me so far. I broke everything I could. Stripped oil sender switch, had incorrect tq specs on intake manifold bolts and snapped one. Much more. I learned much though. I can make enough $ doing side hustle on a weekend to pay for labor so it's probably wiser to go that route. It would take me a month of weekends to do it myself if I were lucky. Bad back is main hurdle.
Great cam info! I like the truck cam. Big hp! When I had the TSP 220/220 cam installed I didn't have the converter in yet and was limited to size. Now with the ss3200 converter again I am limited to cam size, but I like low-mid range power so it's OK. Attached are the parts I used last time, will these springs work with the cam? I replaced the oil pump/balancer as well. I had already done an LS6 manifold. I think I'll look for some 243's and send them off to TSP. I probably won't do the work until November so I've got time to look. Such a different world than an old small block Chevy.
For everyday driving and for most cams, 3200 converter is enough. Your only going to want a bigger converter if your going for a launch from a dig with a drag radial tire. But, I’m not the expert. Talk to a tuner.
You really have my attention with the stage 4 truck heads! One of the recommendations from TSP was stay with my 220r cam and get 225 as cast heads. It seems like lots is left on the table with that cam. Do you think a high lift stage 4 truck cam combined with high flowing 225's would produce more torque/power? I don't see any info out there or much similar.
I cannot comment on your 220/220 cam with those 225 heads. I have no reason question TSP's guidance. I have nothing but good things to say about my interactions and guidance from TSP that I was given. I just have the stage I CNC ported heads. My heads were procured from a 2003, Z06 with 42k miles on them. They are the 243 casting heads, which also bump the compression a touch to 10.4 to 1. A stock LS1 is 10.1 to 1. If you read thru my build post several forum member here told me to get better heads. That is exactly what I did, The 243/ Z06 casting heads are working great. I sent them to TSP for the stage I CNC porting. I re-used the stock valves from the Z06 heads. Exhaust valves are sodium filled and the intakes are hollow to save weight, had low miles, so I re-used them. The CNC program that TSP uses also comes with a 5 angle valve job. Flow numbers are here:
Really nice numbers from a stock casting with stock valves imo. CNC machines are wonderful and repeatable
The stage IV is the TSP "Truck" cam and is a modest .550 lift in my car. Intake duration at .050 is 223° and exhaust at .050 is 226°. The reason I went with this cam was to be easy on the valve-train parts, plus I wanted torque. There are trade offs with cam design. If I had a cam that liked 7500 rpm shifts, I know myself and I'd be shifting it there, till it blew. This cam is happy at 6000-6500 rpm shifts which is perfect for me. I love to drive this car and have already put 10k miles on it in the last year since the cam/head/header upgrade. There is a little surge below 1500 rpm in gears 1-4 at steady speeds but that may be able to be tuned out. I thought about asking the tuner again, but for now I'm just enjoying the car. Its not unbearable and I just hold it in gear (MM6) a tad longer before up-shifting to avoid that issue.
As far as how a high lift stage IV truck cam would work, I'd defer to the folks at TSP.
You may want to ask TSP about the "Brawler" heads they offer. Sounds like a new 243/Z06 head with big valves and dual springs/Ti retainers. Ask how the brawler compares to the 225 heads...
[img alt="Finally!
I had an issue getting it tuned. I chose a tuner that couldnt tune driveability for whatever reason.(228/230 .585/.585/112lsa) Ugg. I took it to SMG in Mendon, Ma and he did a great job! Not bad for a 228 cam through an a4.
Ive already went from 3.15s to 3.42s, but it could stand 3.73s or even 3.90s."]https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.corvetteforum.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/20250701_170349_445679a917aa1236fae49de0 6d74c4486e4ca20d.jpg[/img] Finally! I had an issue getting it tuned. I chose a tuner that couldnt tune driveability for whatever reason.(228/230 .585/.585/112lsa) Ugg. I took it to SMG in Mendon, Ma and he did a great job! Not bad for a 228 cam through an a4. Ive already went from 3.15s to 3.42s, but it could stand 3.73s or even 3.90s.
Sounds like a fun car. Just curious what your final numbers were? Stock heads, stock intake? In the end, it doesn’t really matter what the numbers are, as long as you are happy and it rips.
Traction issues
while maintaining driveability. Any thoughts??
