$100T2

iTrader: (1)

What mods have you done to your engines? Cams, valve jobs, etc? What kind of power are you all putting out?

gnx7

iTrader: (10)

LS1 with decent exhaust $300-700 and air filter $40 will make around 330rwhp with tuning. Add a big cam $350-450 and 380-400rwhp with long tube headers ($600-850) are easy. Ported heads get you another 40-60rwhp $1500-2500....

search on ls1tech.com for more info. Use the search button first.

I'm making nearly 500hp flywheel on 91 octane with a 7100rpm redline.

wingsfan

I made ~390 rwhp with a cam, cold air intake, an ls6 intake manifold, and hand ported stock manifolds. I've since added a turbocharger and hope to be making a little more than that when I get it back on the road.

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

Will long tube headers fit on an FC? How do you pick a cam? I've looked at the summit catalog for ideas, and all these numbers mean jack **** to me.

gnx7

iTrader: (10)

ls1tech.com has many vendors for cams... $300-450 new

225/225 to 228/228 is about the limit of duration for a truly 100% street cam with great manners. Beyond that is getting into race cam territory and idle, part throttle, low end torque, gas mileage suffer.

Jagsthatrun.com (JTR) sells long tube headers for the LS1 in the FC and FD. They fit perfectly and install in under 10 minutes from underneath the car. I have them and made 439rwhp thru cats with AFR CnC'd heads and a 233/239 cam.... they work.

cute kid BTW

wingsfan

Yup, there's a few guys rolling around with the JTR headers.

JTR Headers

Even though they say they're for an FD, they'll fit an FC.

I've also seen a set of SBF headers adapeted to work (way more effort for that though).You won't be able to find many others that fit, other than a few shorty styled headers, which aren't worth the effort..

Figure out what your goals for the car are. Are you looking for peak power? A Broad powerband? Smooth idle? Lopey Idle? Etc. etc.

If you poke around on ls1tech you can read opinions on different cams. They literally range from mild (why bother?) to wild (idle so lumpy it feels like it could stall at any moment).

If you pick up the phone and call one of the vendors listed below and tell them what you wany, they can probably pick out a good cam for you.

Summit's an awful source for anything LS1. They're great for universal parts or GenI SBC parts, but lacking on selection for anything more modern.

Here's a few vendors with nice cam selections.

Thunder Racing

Texas Speed and Performance

Futral Motorsports

Speed Inc.

Any of those should be able to meet your needs

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys, you rule!

I was looking in the Summit catalog last night, and they have a couple LS1 cams.

Here's what I'm looking for:

More power than stock.
Good manners.
Broad powerband.
Good idle.

How much power can a cam really add? Also, are you guys going dual exhaust or single? What mufflers are you using?

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

Now, if you change cams, do you have to changes springs and lifters as well?

Thanks. That's my little pimp in training right there.

Klar

What about cams on a 383?

Here's the setup I'll be putting together after my next trip overseas-

ls1 block
lunitati(sp) 383 kit. I know its over kill, but I like to beat on my car so it needs to hold together
AFR 225 heads
I'm not sure about lifters. 1.7 is stock. Still can't remember what occurs when you change this.
TI valve spring and retainers.
Looking at a 237 or possibly a 240+ cam.
All the other little stuff. ARP studs, cromemoly pushers, ls6 oil pump...
JTR headers. The rest of the exhaust is very open(I don't care about noise with my fun car)
FAST 90 Intake.
Still looking at INJ sizes.
Thinking McCloud(sp) twin plate clutch.
3.90 rear end with the possiblity of the Kaaz.
Hinson peices.
Don't know what programmer for the ecu yet.
I'm keeping the AC and power steering.
Don't know if I missed anything.

Looking for 500+whp. I hope. Maybe some N2O as well, but I doubt it.
Any comments or suggestions?
Could throw a BIG turbo in there, but I want my AC. So thats a no for now. Besides how am I going to put that kind of power to the ground?

wingsfan

Cam...singular.

MTI recommends their Z1 cam for their 383 builds 236/236 .585/.585 on 112LSA

That's pretty conservative though. YOu could probably step up to mid 240s on both intake and exhaust, and lift in the .600+ range with double springs. You don't want to go much higher than that with a hydraulic cam. Much more than 244 is starting to get into solid roller cam territory.

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

Hey wingsfan, when you buy one of these "full pullout" LS1s, should you rebuild it?

wingsfan

That pretty much limits you to just about every aftermarket cam available, save for the extreme LSA/high lift cams.

For instance, I had a 230/224 .575/.565 111 LSA cam, which should have been pretty lumpy, and "big" back in the day. I got used to it in no time, and driveability didn't suffer at all.

A lot. Poke around the dyno section at ls1tech. I made almost 400rwhp with a cam and LS6 intake, which is about a 80-90rwhp jump with just those two mods.

Most people go with a single because of the space limitations, but there are a few dual setups popping up now. Duals will make more power and sound better (IMHO), but the expense is a lot more. Your exhaust will pretty much be completely custom, so just make it however you want it. You'll just have to either put in the work, or pay someone to do it.

Yup, well, springs, retainers, and pushrods are a good idea (lifters you can leave alone)...unless you enjoy the downtime you get when **** breaks.

Cool, I just found out that my own little P.I.T. is on the way.

Klar

Congrats!!!

wingsfan

I didn't with mine. It's always a roll of the dice, but if you find a motor that seems like it's in good condition you shouldn't have anything to worry about. Even if you have to rebuild it, it's still probably cheaper than a crate motor.

wingsfan

Thanks. I'm hoping it's a boy. I'm not sure I can deal with a daughter (of course I will if I have to). With a boy there's one boy to worry about. With a girl, I'd have to worry about every boy in the neghborhood.

Klar

I've heard that one before...

owen is fat

man, I didnt mod my '98 LS1 at all and it still spins my fresh 285/40R17 Kumho MX's out back for 1st and 2nd at WOT! eeeeek!

I'm very happy with the 300-330 hp its putting out and man the torque is amazing, especially with 6 gears to rip thru.

turbogarrett

iTrader: (1)

I've got a mild 224/224, .563 lift cam, asp pulley and shorty headers('01 ls1). The car made 360 rwhp/ 370 rwtq with one of the pipes off the header literally crimped in half. You can make big power with mild cams, good tune, free flowing exhaust and a good set of heads. I am hoping for ~400 rwhp/tq with my new heads and tuning (handfinished prc stage 2.5's w/ .0015 mill). Once I get bored with that there's always larger cams, longtube headers and fast 90/90 intake

capn

the saying i have heard is with a boy you just have to worry about one dick, but with a girl you have to worry about all the dicks

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

But with a boy, you have to worry about becoming a grandparent to multiple families.

So what does it take to get an LS1/T56 combo to hit 400 at the wheels?

Marshall

A cam and longtubes.

$100T2

iTrader: (1)

LOL That sounds easy enough.

Another question for you LS1 guys... How do you get the speedo to work accurately?

wingsfan

Here's how it works for an FD.

http://www.torquecentral.com/showpos...6&postcount=14

Of course, the FC works a little different (stock mechanical sender?). Maybe Owen or somone else will chime in on how to get the FC speedo to work. You can always replace the gauge with an Autometer or equivalent.

LT1-10AE

FWIW: When it comes time to decide on a cam, pick a Cam manufacturer to call and ask them. A lot of people make the mistake of buying cam grind #XYZ because their buddy had one in a different car, but it runs like crap in theirs because of weight, gearing, auto/manual differences.

The people at Comp Cams, Crane, Lunati, etc are very sharp and can pinpoint a cam for you over the phone and will even custom grind a cam specifically to your wants.

owen is fat

since the FC stock speedo is cable driven, you would need to buy a convertor box for a few hundred bucks that allows the LS1 ECU/PCM speedo signal to drive a motor in the box that then spins a cable to hook up to the back of the cluster.

on granny's site I saw a brief explanation of a 2nd way, where you bypass the entire cable input on the cluster and find the wire/solder terminal on the speedo circuit board where the signal comes from the cable input and goes right to the speedo needle mechanism, I want to try this method but my electronic skills are pretty weak and I lack a bit of motivation... having no speedo doesnt bother me since the tach is hooked up.