Robzilla

sending my 2008 z06 to ahp for stage 4 heads with 116 cam upgrade,car now has a AirAid cai and borla atak catback,was wondering since im on a budget whats a better bang for the buck way to go, buying Billy Boat headers to connect to my stock Hpipe about $1300 installed or to have my stock TB and stock Intake ported about $470 for both,I only wan't to do one or the other,this is strictly a street car so torque and drivability is more important to me than every last ounce of HP.looking forward to your responses.thanks.

Boostaholic

MTPZ06

If you want a "smog legal appearing" sleeper, port the OE intake/TB. If you want a bit more HP/TQ, and you're OK running cat-less in your state, you could go with the B&B LT's. I lived in So Cal my whole life, and even took my car to AHP for the heads. If it were my car, I'd keep the OE manifolds/cats in tact, keep it smog legal appearing (AHP's 116 would pass the sniffer test), and just port the OE intake/TB...call it done and enjoy.

Robzilla

MTPZ06

That's what most people report. HP gains are negligible.

JesC6Z

Robzilla

Boostaholic

LS1Steve

I went through this, same as you, about a year ago. I opted to just do the heads (ported) and ported TB/intake. Declined the cam.

A year later, I want the cam. I wish I could have done it then so I wouldn't have to fork out another $600 for another tune, but it was pushing the budget at the time since I'd only recently bought the car. Don't break the bank, its not worth the financial pressure. Do what you can comfortably afford and you can always come back for more. Maybe like me, you can come back in a year and get that cam, AND have enough to throw in an MSD
If you can though, spend the extra on street porting the heads first. If you have a little left, port the TB/intake. I made 495/455.

Robzilla

im still not sure about paying $750 for porting when I read that milling is where the extra power comes from and I can only get 91 in Las Vegas,I’m either going with non ported heads,intake ported and tb ported and tune or non ported heads, 116 cam and tune not sure on headers with both scenarios it’s $1700 more for the cam and spring upgrade but probably more power

MTPZ06

If you're going cam, I would take the intake/tb porting money and apply it towards porting the heads. Cam & ported heads go together like peanut butter and jelly. Skip the LT's and ported intake/TB for now...all those are easy bolt-ons to add later. Porting the heads while they're off will save you headaches later down the road. As for mill, I'd skip it on 91 octane...just a minimum resurfacing (~.005 or thereabouts).

Innovate

On a budget with $1,900 exhaust? Sell it.

Robzilla

Innovate

Ah ok, once you have heads and all off you may as well grab a cam. Minor mods would work as well. It depends on your goals and what power you want to see. Heads and FBO will get you low 500's to the wheels I think.

LS1Steve

Without ported heads your TB/Intake aren't as much of a bottleneck and don't need porting. You don't mill more than 0.010 without a hotter cam. Both of your routes above don't make much sense. Anyhow, it sounds like you've read up and are decided on what you want to do, so best of luck to ya.

ssbowtie1

Knowing what I know now this is what I would run for a fully reliable and most importantly enjoyable car with no maintenance:

Heads: Get the heads ported by WCCH - their CNC porting process is proven, consistent and makes good power
Guides: Get MS90 guides
Cam: Skip the 116 and go with a custom TSP cam. something like a 224-228/240-244 and whatever LSA will give you the proper timing events. Keep the overlap under 5 degrees. You don't need 24 more degrees of exhaust duration on ported heads that the 116 cam provides.
Intake: Get the intake ported by Peak Speed. Proven and makes good power.
TB: Have Tony Mamo port your stock TB.
Manifolds: Keep the stock manifolds
H-Pipe: Optional but I'd run the Corsa X pipe
Cats: Remove the stock cats and replace with high flow cats.

This can all be done on decent budget and IMO will give you a balanced and well flowing motor that should meet your HP goals.

Robzilla

I’m leaning towards the 116 cam cause I read it has great drivability, ported intake and tb is something that I don’t know much about and what gains it provides its just one of the options offered,the biggest question I have is head porting or headers with this cam and which one will I notice more on the street

MTPZ06

Never met anyone who was unhappy with driveability from AHP's 116. Ported intake is worth ~15hp. Ported TB gains are negligible...its really nice for improved throttle response. Head porting all day long with that cam...go with AHP's street porting program.

In case you missed my comments previously...

thatdudeoverthere21

Why do you say stock manifolds? Why not run a set of ARH?

ssbowtie1

Personal preference. For a maximum effort build, go headers. There have been a few posts showing almost header like performance when using the stock manifolds and removing the cats. Headers transmit so much more valvetrain noise, I'd prefer to give up a few HP and have stock like reliability and no increased valvetrain noise by running the stock manifolds and high flow cats for the smell. Plus in Cali, I'll pass the visual inspection. Using the mods above, I think you can comfortably hit ~540-550rwhp in a completely stock looking and close to stock driving combination, with stock reliability (no msd manifold bolts coming loose, no fiddling around with getting the NW102 tb tune right, no increased valvetrain noise and burning wires or warped header flanges causing leaks/loosening x pipe bolts/ burning trans lines, etc.).

This is just what I've learned from a car that's my daily driver that runs a 116 cam, kooks headers, and MSD intake. If I was to do it over, I'd run it like I listed above. But if I was looking for a max effort build, it would be a different story...