I just p/u the cartek stage 2 package. MSI in Roseville, CA is asking $3,000 to install it. Is this a good deal? Also,they say they are unable to check the piston to valve clearance. I'm thinking this is necessary with 580+ lift. Any thoughts here?
I could do it myself, but really don't want to!

 

Are they just putting on heads and cam and tuning it or is that the cost with gaskets and some other misc stuff. Even if it is with everything that still does seem a little high. I would think it should be under 2k to do.

 

I charge ~ what they are asking but I also include: degreeing cam, verifying valve-to-piston clearance, keying the crank, new gaskets, ARP head STUD kit (not bolt kit!), Rollmaster double roller timing set, Edit tuning (not including the cost of the license itself) and porting/polishing the throttle body. So, that is a tall price in my book.

Why cant they check the piston-to-valve clearance? This may mean they just dont know how to...

Robert Judd
GenIII Motorsports, Portland, Or


[Modified by rwj383, 9:06 PM 12/15/2003]

 

I have the complete cartek stage 2, rev 2 system. heads, cam, intake, injectors, headers, cam, asp pulley, etc. I have EVERYTHING. They need absolutely NO parts to do this. If I'm not mistaken, most of this stuff has to be taken off to put the heads/cam on in the first place, no?

 

Yes, all has to be removed. You still need head gaskets + I recommend the ARP 12pt hex head stud kit instead of stock TTY bolts. Also the Rollmaster double roller timing set. Plus, I highly recommend the crank pulley gets keyed. I have seen the pulley's come off the snout on h/c only cars even with properly torqued crank bolt. stout h/c packages tend to really spool up fast and can loosen even the tightest crank bolt. So, I key all my customers cars. this also prepares them if they ever decide to go with a supercharger later on.

Anyway, if you dont have a warm/fuzzy feeling about your prospective installer, keep looking around. You are doing a great thing coming onto the forums to get ideas about what to expect from an installer (price, services, etc). I would not feel very good at all about an installer that says they cannot check piston-to-valve clearances. There is no reason why they cant unless they dont know how. Plus, you really need to find a good pcm tuner to make the package work right. That is a challenge in and of itself if you are in more remote areas. Too bad you arent closer....
Im not sure where you are at in Ca but there are a number of tuners in SoCal. If you are closer to the Oregon border, Portland is 5 hours away + however far south you are from the border.

Oh, as far as the clearances of the Cartek 2-X cam- I just installed the same Cartek package in a local customers 99 C5 Coupe. When I checked the clearance there was tons (at least .250"). I cc'ed the combustion chamber volumes + talked to Dave at Cartek to verify how much the heads were milled, too, (.030") in order to further determine clearances, valvetrain geometry and static compression ratio.

Robert



[Modified by rwj383, 9:38 PM 12/15/2003]

 

I have ALL THE PARTS, head bolts, gaskets everything. Also, they even sent an LS1 Edit file. Of course, its useless because I can't read it and change it as needed. I need it converted so I can read/edit it with my ls1 edit. Anyone able to help out with this? I'm tired of waiting on cartek.

 

Thats a ton of clearance. Is this the 224/228 cam on a 113?? Thanks for the info.

 

I can give you a hand with the Edit part. Shoot me the file plus your default tune you uploaded from your car. you can email me at rjudd@tqs.com

Robert

 

I had the "HS" package installed in the Sacramento area for $850 labor. 3K is a rip. That is higher than Bay Area prices. You could go to Speed Merchant for that kind of cash and not have to worry about a thing...

 

$3000... WOW, now that what I call expensive. Heads/cam on a C5 takes less than ten hours. What will take extra time is changing the oil pump/chain... dont know if your doing that. Just to put it in perspective, I can have heads/cam installed for $750 here. Intake would be no cost, as it has to come off anyway. I've done injectors myself in under 30 minutes, so that should be a minor cost. Headers, without welding... direct bolt in, are a joke when the heads are out of the car. With the parts you listed, just for installation, I could have it done for probably 1k.... was quoted $750 for just heads/cam. I know its accurate, as I had my heads/cam done there when I had my WS6 for $600. With the C5, I did everything myself but the cam... and had that done for $250 plus the cost of gaskets/fluids/ect.

 

AllData calls for just over 20hrs to do heads and cam in C5. At shop rates nearing 100$/hr in some areas, labor gets expensive. someone that does a lot of them obviously can do them faster. Andy at A&A Corvettes can swap a cam in something like 4 hrs! But labor rates are generally figured off of a national standard such as AllData/Mitchell.

 

Call Al or Shawn at LAPD. They just moved to a 13,000 Sq Ft facility and can easily accomplish this swap (including checking P/V). Also, they have LS1 Edit tuning so they can upload your flash file and tweak if necessary.

Good Luck,

 

Called Al today. Was very impressed with his knowledge and readiness to get the job done.