harryk387

Having recently gone down this road, I can give you my insight.

I purchased all the parts myself piece by piece by doing research on these forums. Here's what I ended up purchasing:

LG G5XE cam - I went with this cam because my C5Z is my daily driver and I needed it to be as streetable as possible. Yes, I wanted more power, but drivability was a priority

Comp 921 valvesprings- yes they are pricey, but all my research said these were one of the best and I wanted to make sure to do this right the first time and have peace of mind

Texas Speed Hardened Push rods

Cam install gasket set from Brian Tooley

C5R timing chain

Melling High Pressure Oil pump

LG Super Pro 1 3/4" Long tube headers with catted x-pipe

Ported and polished stock 243/LS6 heads- I had a very reputable shop here in Southern California (American Heritage Performance) do the install of all the above parts and also port my heads. They also did a street tune and dyno tune.

With all the above the car put down 452rwhp and 431rwtq. Not too shabby at all and EXACTLY where I was hoping to be. The guys at AHP said it drives just like a stock C6 Z06 and that's what i wanted from this setup and I got it.

So how's the drivability? Pretty close to stock with a few issues, that I've been told should be able to be fixed by some tuning touch ups. Just get the occasional surging and bucking, especially in 2nd gear under 1500 rpm and sometimes it takes a few trys to get the engine started (sounds like it's starved for fuel or something).

I'm still on the fence if I want to go FAST 102 ported intake manifold and ported throttle body to finish up the engine build. If I can find a nice used set for cheap, I may do it. Should hopefully net me an additional 20rwhp or so.

Whatsa347

Amen, TSP does this for a living, they've tested more engine combinations with more parts and more spintron testing with more cams than they know what to do with. Just call them up, they're the most down to earth Texas boys you can shoot the **** with, tell them your goals and what your plans are for mods now and the future, they'll give you their input for what you should need, and the best part is they won't try to sell you parts just to sell them either. I just have personally ran the MS4 and know it's not a fit for you just based on what you've said in here, it's a good cam for the right application, but I don't think you're building a track car from the sounds of it. It's hard to not come off as a dick on the internet but I promise you I was just trying to be as straight forward as possible, no offense intended.

Z.youngg85@gmail.com

I have the MS4 cam on my c5z. I daily drive the car 6 days a week in the south. Just turned 26k miles. Around 4k miles of those are with the cam setup Have the supporting mods aka Callaway, Kooks, Tune etc. Car pulls light a freight train, has never stalled out and starts on the first crank every time. Can sit and idle in traffic with AC on with no issues. MS4 has one of the meanest sounding idles ive heard on a cam only stock engine. Valvetrain is louder with the cam, upgraded springs, pushrods etc but thats par for the course on these motors. Havent gotten any track passes but plan to once I upgrade the stock clutch so cant report on that.

RomanNYC

there is a very small number of people who had the springs issue. its like 20 out of 16000.

i had the yellow springs myself and didn't have any issues, i did however always let the car get to operating temps (didnt go above 3k rpm until it reached 170F) i do see alot of people just hop into their car and blast away to near redline so go figure

bikeriderga

There are four things you need to do when considering performance options:

1. Define your goals
Do you want good bottom end, midrange, or top speed performance?

2. Define your components based upon your goals
The key to performance is NOT ADDING COMPONENTS. The KEY is MATCHING components.

Once you define your goals, then you need to order all matching parts. Adding a heavy cam and heads and 1 3/4 headers for instance, could limit your goals. Adding 2" headers with a smaller cam and no head work, could rob you of some mid range torque and cause a "bog" condition at lower power levels..

The bigger the cam and the head work flow, the more fuel you are going to need. Does that require new injectors, a better intake manifold or manifold work, a new throttle body or will a simple porting job work?

3. What supporting mods are going to be required when I make these changes?

Increasing motor performance is only half of the story. An aggressive CAM and headwork or adding forced induction is going to require you to add in supporting mods.

Once you get to 420 + RWHP, you are probably going to need a new clutch. If drag racing, you definitely will.

If you go big, say over 450 RWHP, you may want to check into a transmission/differential brace. New fuel injectors may be required as well.

If you go aggressive with forced induction, you should plan on a clutch and transmission/differential brace. New fuel injectors may be required as well. You may also need to strongly consider methanol/water injection to keep the air temps down.

4. Tune the vehicle according to new components added
The key is in the tune once the right parts are married to obtain your goals. The best would be either a dyno tune or a live tune. By live tune I mean you drive it, get the data, and based upon current map, define the new one throughout the RPM and throttle range.

Be careful here. If you do a lot of mods, don't run it without a tune in place. Doing so could cost you a motor.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Those are the 4 basic considerations YOU SHOULD use when modding your car. If you are unsure about DIY, or matching components, I STRONGLY suggest that you contact a reputable GM High performance specialist shop.

Georgies

Im aware its not a huge percentage, but lets just say its cheap insurance and an excuse to mod the car...

I always let my vette warm up befor pushing it!

Georgies

Yeah ive been really leaning towards the ms4... it does sound great and packs a punch from what I hear.

How much louder the the valvetrain get percentage wise? What spring kit did you go with?

Thanks

Georgies

Im glad your happy wit your combo! Sounds pretty freaking fast! Any videos?

Also, why diid you go with the c5r timing chain and meiling pump? Any specific reasons to not stay stock or chose other brands/model? Were you happy with the brian tooley gasket set?

Thanks

harryk387

C5R timing chain and the high pressure melling were just part of the supporting mods list. During my research, those were the two that stuck out as being the recommended brands. No issues with the brian tooley gasket set either, I opted for all new ARP bolts as well.

No videos yet besides the below short idling clip:

Georgies

Harry, car sounds wicked! Thanks alot for the video clip! Did you also get the hardware from Brian Tooley?
Also, is that the stock TI catback?

American Heritage

Thank you for your business Harry!!! It was great working for you.
We love doing our ported 243 heads (they flow really well and make good power)!

Disclaimer for the video that car sounds way meaner in person.

Really was a nicely planned out build with all the correct parts working together. We drive ALOT of C6z06's and Harrys Z06 feels as close to a stock C6z06 as you can get.

http://www.americanheritageperformance.com/

Georgies

When porting, are you gasket matching the intake runners to the intake ports on the heads? And same for exhaust? ( Exhaust runners of the intake to long tube gasket?

And im assuming smoothing out all casting surfaces?

Sounds like something I could do with my various die grinders and misc sanding tools...

Let me know if you don't mind, and post a pic if possible.

Thanks

Z.youngg85@gmail.com

Probably 25 percent increase in noise from stock ones id say compared to a stock car. PRC dual spring setup all from texas speed.

harryk387

American Heritage Performance was top notch, you guys did an amazing job. I get a smile on my face every time I get in the car now and hear the car rumble to life. Like AHP said, the video definitely doesn't do the sound justice. Sounds a lot meaner in person and screams at WOT above 3500 rpm. Still haven't got a chance to push it from a stop since my tires are just budget friendly Bridgestone RE760s that already had trouble gripping at stock power levels. Once I get Toyo R888s at all 4 corners I can't wait to get some 0-60 and 0-100 runs to really feel the increase in power to the ground.

0Daniel@Vengeance

As many have mentioned on here, if you're looking for a larger camshaft for the car you really need to consider headers before or during the camshaft installation. The stock manifolds will hinder the performance and sound you're looking to achieve from a larger camshaft. We have had great luck with both American Racing and Kooks systems on these cars, and a 1-3/4" primary is more than enough on a cam-only LS1.

As far as the camshaft goes, there are TONS of options out there that have been proven to perform extremely well. Our VRX series is another to consider which we offer 6 levels that fit the LS1, as well as our Vindicator as a max-effort option similar to the MS4 that you were considering. As long as your valve springs are matched to the camshaft of your choice, and pushrods are upgraded you should have great longevity out of the valvetrain sans abuse/over-revving. Whenever I do a cam swap I always prefer to change a few other small items while already there, including the timing chain (LS2 is a great budget upgrade, or go to C5R), upgrade to Melling oil pump #10296, trunion upgrade on the rockers, and go to ARP camshaft bolts. This is a few hundred more in parts, but well worth it to ensure performance and longevity without much extra work. We sell all of this in a full kit with gaskets/seals/hardware as well if you're interested in any of our camshafts.

Best of luck on the swap. You've got the best people in the industry available on this forum to select parts and advise from and you'll absolutely love the addition of a cam and headers on your car!

- David @ Vengeance

Georgies

This is what I've pieced together so far...not to sure about the intake..

I plan on running some nos at a later time and also working the heads.

Considering the low miles of my car...should i skip on the timing set?

please let me know if I'm missing anything and what you all think!

https://www.texas-speed.com/Shopping...n-package.aspx

image hosting sitescertificity.com

Georgies

David, do you guys also sell the other parts I would need (exhaust, intake, etc..) ?

0Daniel@Vengeance

http://vengeanceracing.net/1997-2004...-corvette.html

Yes sir we do! See the link above for our C5 Z06 section of our Online Store, and let me know if there are any other brands you're looking for as I can get most anything available.

Georgies

David, what would i expect with the vindicator and above parts in terms of hp torque and drivability? What about the kaotik cam?

RomanNYC

2 x 3 headers? are you putting 1200HP + ?