joshblevins

Alright guys,
So as it has been done before but not really alot of dyno sheets or videos showing it, I want to post my results from the build that I finally pulled the trigger on. I am the original owner of this vette, bought back in 2009. I am currently at 111,000 miles with the factory motor and honestly no issues at all with anything (knock on wood)

Parts 1st dyno:
Hinson 1 7/8 ceramic headers
off road x-pipe (no cats)
ac delco spark plugs and wires
Vortex v2 ram Air CAI
throttle body spacer
Tune from a Local shop

Max Power=411.58
Max Torque=414.48

I wanted alot more Rwhp so I decided to do a ton of research. I wanted a Cam that was not to going to be a headache as I do use my vette as a daily driver. After hours of research I decided to give spins cam a try and he was more then helpful to send me to the correct place to purchase his cam. Now I also didnt want to have to pay for more then one dyno tune so I opted in two having my intake manifold and ported throttle body ported and having everything done so that I would just have to run one dyno.


2nd dyno Parts:

SpinMonster 230/234 .613/.598 114 Custom Cam
* PRC .660" Dual Spring Kit with Titanium Retainers
* GM Front Main Seal
* Texas Speed 5/16" Hi-Tech 7.425" Chromemoly Pushrods
* ARP Harmonic Balancer Bolt'
Radically ported Intake manifold and throttle body
Tune by a different shop.

I kept my stock timing chain ( I know its a risk yada yada yada) as the owner of the shop said it shouldnt be a problem at all as he has had 2000 rwhp vettes that still have the stock timing chain and no issues. I kept the original oil pump as it showed no signs of failing and is running strong. My results are

Max power=488.87
Max torque= 451.39

Now, (hopefully I didnt miss/forget anything) How does the car drive?
absolutely amazing!!! spins cam is exactly as he said it was, very driveable identical with stock until you WOT. Didnt get rid of my slight surge ive always experienced but its not even bad and im not complaining as that could get better with a little more fine tuning. Overall a well investment as I will be doing heads asap!! just want a little more power to wheels. If you are wanting a car that you could drive across country(as I do all the time because of my family) then I highly recommend this setup, super smooth car has plenty of room to grow for hp, and it makes close to 500rwhp. Now if i did a pulley I would be kissing if not over 500rwhp but didnt want to spend another $400 at the moment. Overall I am 100% pleased and will be glad to answer any questions anybody has.

449er

That's a nice gain from a cam & intake!!

madmatt9471

Very nice results -

Who did the porting on the Intake manifold and does it have the Radius Rod mod as well?

Thanks,Matt

joshblevins

yes sir not to bad, definitely not the highest but still a decent power to the wheels

joshblevins

Bob from peakspeedshop did the porting on the intake manifold and throttle body at very reasonable price. I also got my entire cam setup for him too. And also no radius rod mod was done just radical porting.

madmatt9471

Right on and thank you -

I am going to do the Gwatney/Rick Crawford and even another gentleman does them as well, with the Porting and Radius Rods in the LS3 intake pretty soon.

I might even do one of the GZ Vacuum pumps just for the heck of it - I can't really do LT's here in California, even though you can get away with it at times knowing the correct people.

I just finished a mild PatG cam in my A6 LS3 and was thinking that the last two bolt ons would be the Manifold and GZ Vacuum Pump - with the exception of an UD crank pulley, but I decided against it and went with the ATI stock size lighter weight balancer.

Thanks,Matt

joshblevins

yeah i heard cali is strict with all the laws, i know if i wouldve went with a pulley i wouldve hit the 500 mark. I just didnt wanna spend the extra 450 for it lol. Im in nc as long as you know somebody here you can get away with alot of things. Good luck on your build man!

madmatt9471

Thank you and keep safe!

Thanks,Matt

Suns_PSD

Dang that's a good result.
Congrats.

joshblevins

Thanks man!! Still got a little ways to go but she pulls hard!

jaybee924

Great results I should be getting mines back hopefully next week. I'm doing everything at once i have only a Poor mans CAI and Ported Throttle body at the Moment.

joshblevins

One thing ive seen just from reading, is that as long as the cai is pulling from the outside of the car then youre good, ive seen people take the stock cai and cut out a little bit of the shroud and put a box around it to keep the engine heat out of it and they ran pretty dang good. The route youre taking is cheaper, i was goong to wait to so the same but i just got impatient and payed for two dynos 😂😂😂 did all the work myself on the first mods, just didnt have the time to slam the cam in myself. Definitely post your numbers up when you get it back!!!

CMY SIX

111.000 miles and you left the stock chain in? a $100 was going to be a deal breaker? I guess you saved $ on seals and gaskets too.

joshblevins

There are hundreds if not thousands of modded C6s without issue. Now that is not to say you don't have to worry. Yes, worst case scenario your entire motor will be gone. If you are planning on a cam/UD it would be wise to upgrade the TC as well. The problem is that no one has yet to figure out a "definitive" cause of the TC breaking. Some say it's too much power. Others say it's the balancer/pulley. And some say it's either a defective part or faulty instal and valve train harmonics. This is what is so frustrating because we can't pinpoint the cause and remedy the situation. Now when they pulled apart i had them check the tc to make sure it was all right, i already had the c5r chain bought. The cam chain tensioner was shattered and laying in the oil pan as it is only plastic, that could be one of the major issues with a failed tc. And in what i know makes perfect sense, the shop wanted another 350 to drop the oil pan remove the oil pump and changed the tc. The mechanic at the shop has 2000hp vettes that still run stock tc, is it a risk ABSOLUTELY, do i know the outcome if it goes south? ABSOLUTELY. Build wasnt cheap and i didnt “cheap” out on parts as I am not even done with the build i want. Eventually i will change the oil pump and in that case the tc will be changed also.

CMY SIX

you DO NOT have to drop the oil pan to do the TC, all that needs to come of is the timing cover and oil pump, and by the way the I think I got mine for $55 a melling M295 is a much better oil pump then stock, normal pressure and volume, my idle pressure HOT went up 5 psi and 5 psi overall, think you better find a new mech if he thinks you got to drop the pan. that statement makes me wonder about the "2000 hp vettes" statement, the build is not that expensive when you do the work yourself, I don't think I had $750 in mine, lets see... cam, TC all gaskets and seals, oil pump, springs, valve seals, tool steel retainers and locks, cam gear got the crank gear too, but couldn't get the old one off, drill rod to keep the lifters from falling.

joshblevins

the mechanic isnt the issue, hes not a backyard mechanic and has plenty of proof of his builds and accomplishments. As i stated originally, I wouldve done the work myself (2 days top and its done) issue is that I dont have the time for it. The m295 is what i will be putting on when the time comes, as far as the stock oil pump its perfectly fine, holds like it should. Of course the horrer stories come out on forums like this about tc chain failures but as i mentioned before what is the actual cause? Every one i have read has mentioned the chain tensioner was found in the bottom of the pan. No tensioner means TC can slip which would blow the motor. Never had any issues with mine but the tensioner was broken and found in the bottom fo the pan. Replaced it with better one and the chain showed no signs of any issues. Ive rebuilt cars and bikes plenty of times to understand the concept and risk. And the exact reason why I made this post is that there arent very many detailed installs about spins cam on here which there has been somebody thag clamed it was garbage and wasnt good. My results and others show otherwise, if you compare how many people have had failures to how many havent the failure issue isnt as big of an issue. Does it hurt to be safe, nope sure doesnt. But being the original owner of the car not a second hand buyer i know how the car was treated, only issue ive ever had was the stupid emissions pak failure. $25 fix and i was done. (Knock on wood). Not telling anybody to skip the TC, but knowing how my build is going to go im not worried about the TC at the moment or the oil pump.

joshblevins

this is what happened to my tensioner, now you and I both know that at high rpm's without this properly on there the chain would slap causing a failure. If people did a cam install and never changed out the stock tensioner and the tensioner failed later on and the car blew up because of the increase power and high rpm redlines then thats the root cause. Now can I prove thats what is happening? nope, sure can't. But it definitely fits the profile as a high possibility as its a well known issue to fail in these cars even at low miles.