Mod Decision help
 

2005 , 6 speed

OK, I am trying to decide if the bolt on mods will get me into the mid 425-RWHP or so...

Can I get there with a 224/230 cam w/dual springs,stock heads, FAST 102 & TB Ported, CAI, headers w/hi-flow cast and NXT exhaust & tune

If Not, then I am going Supercharger & headers and that's the end of this mod journey for now .

LS2 bolt-ons (Fast, Headers, tune) will get you 390ish whp. A cam such as Spin's 230/234 + headers would get you to that target if not passed. Read up on the Spinmonster cam. There are other max effort cams that can probably get you there but this one doesn't sacrifice driveability.

This is my dilemma, i installed 4 cams in my 1985 in search of more HP, and at the end i reached my goal and lost drive-ability, valve overlap, fuel smell etc..

I cant/don't want to loose the daily driver feel on my C6, if at all possible

He said research Spinmonster cams. It will retain driveability.

Here's a pretty good tutorial on cam philosophy by Spin:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...-on-a-cam.html

OP: The FAST 102 Intake is a great mod for the LS2 http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-t...st-intake.html Also if you do the cam install, you may want to think about adding an ATI harmonic balancer to the list so that you can save on labor.

Do centri supercharger and nothing else. Retain drivability under 4000rpm and have a 550rwhp monster when you downshift and/or take it to rpms over that. Headers are just icing on the cake.

I have most of what you are asking about.

2005 LS2 Z51 6 speed
Mods:
Texas Speed 1 7/8 with catless X
Fast 102
Vararam
Nxt Step Performance axle back

I made 403 rwhp /408 rwtq. These numbers are without porting the fast, no underdrive pulley, and no 102 TB (or ported stocker). I would think with a mid level cam and these mods, you should have no trouble hitting 425 rwhp.

Your info is a big help, thanks!

I already have the FAST 102, I'm just trying to decide the next step and cost VS gains

Sounds like you already made up your mind. You've been down this road before. SuperCharger and you're done.
Jeff

Been down this road many many times, I love to build engines, each one is a little different,

I guess it is time to buy my first Supercharger and be done with it. :D

I will likely watch out for a newer differential to come along and do that swap as well.

^^ THIS

You know what you need to do... you will blow your goal away and then some.. and keep the car driving stock! Mine is my daily driver in good weather. I sit in traffic 35 miles each way going to from work... get a quality kit from ECS and some meth and call it a day. BTW I ran without meth for a while.. but the consistency in ANY temperature with meth makes it 100% worth it. I'm not shooting meth for power really but rather safety and it makes a WORLD of difference in the hot weather if you do a few pulls!

I achieved 425 RWHP with headers, a FAST 102, a Comp XE-R 224/230 cam, CAI. I also added a 3200 Yank and the car pulls like a freight train. I did not lose the driveability at all.

That being said, for the cost, If I was doing it all over, I probably would put a supercharger in it and called it a day. The cost would have been the same or a little more! It would not sound as sweet, though!

Skip those mods and get an A&A SC kit

You're looking at ~1500 for a complete cam swap kit, 1k for a ported FAST, ~300 for a CAI, ~1250 for headers and cats, ~1000 for exhaust and 500 for a tune assuming you do the install yourself. If not lets add another 1k for install.

So lets assume, on the lower end, around around 5k to get yourself 425-450rwhp.

For just a little more (6k-6.5k) you could have the A&A kit installed and tuned, making well north of 500rwhp (you'll pick up around 200rwhp with the 3.8 pulley) and have 100% stock driveability until you hammer it. With just the 3.8 pulley and a set of longtubes I'm making 550rwhp through a stalled auto.

100% agree, in the last 5 engines I built all in the 475-515 HP range, money dribbled away and on the last 2 I built, I looked back and regretted not going with a SC.

I will look into the C5 Z06 differential mod as well

This will be my next new chapter in speed knowledge

Then PM Stanger383 (Norm).:cheers:

Jeff

Will do, I'm a machinist and turnkey machine designer of 35 years, I have lots of cool tools at my disposal:cool:

one example
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...ealth-ram.html

another example
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...ck-towers.html

You guys will have plenty to talk about then. He's the head fabricator for John Force racing and had the fastest LS2 2005 on the forum till he sold it.
Jeff