I am prepairing for another deployment overseas and while I am gone I am wanting to peice together powerful DD. I am very familiar with trucks, imports and engines in general but want to transition over to a camaro. My first question is what are some common swaps as far as the LS engine goes? Meaning different heads on different blocks for different power combinations. Next what are the power ratings that stock rods and pistons can handle? I know different models may be different. If there is a site that explains any or all of this please post link. Also are most of the rear ends the same or do they all have different gear ratios? Also what type of power can each rear end handle? Thanks in advance and I do know to study which I am and will continue to do.

 

To start LS is going to be the best base engine for a powerful yet moderate DD, the block on factory internals have been known to hold upwards of 500HP maybe more..., cam, intake manifold, throttle body, and heads wake these cars up the best.... everything on the intake is only 75mm so if you go to 85 or 90 you gain alot....
Cams, most people go (Crane, MS3, or Comp)
Intake manifold (Fast 90, LS6, or Typhoon)
Throttle body (most go B&M)
Heads (Patriot, LS6, LS2 LOTS OF OPTIONS)
They all have the same 7.5in rear axel... But the gears vary
they vary by year and trim type...
By the way dont waste your time... buy a 6 speed

 

oh yeah 6 spd is the only way to go. I'm looking a few different options like the 98-2002 camaro model but Im trying to see if picking up the model I want with either a v6 the swap in the v8 or just find a v8 in good shape and rebuild if needed. I am deff going forced induction.

 

Once you get the car you will find that most forced induction on the camaros is hard to do without modification to the cowl...most people keep it simple and with nitrous on the f-bodies..mti does make a supercharger kit for the cars but to get it to fit you notch the cowl and lower the k-member. but the kit comes with everything you need to do so..

 

Another question that I do have is about the tranny and rear end. I know that you or someone else had stated that the rear ends vary by model which makes since but I am wondering can a stock rear end and tranny handle a decent amount of abuse? I keep seeing different articles about the tranny and some say they are good for 500 hundred horse while others change them out. If I were to swap in a stonger clutch say ACT on a stock tranny could it hold up? Of course it would depend on the amount of wear and tear already placed on the tranny. Keep in mind I do intend on going with a SC. I just want to keep in mind all of the different parts that I may need to buy and or replace prior to the main build. Once again thanks and I will keep on reading different articles.

 

the tranny will be fine up to about 500ish... its the rear end thats 50 50,,, everyone of us that builds these cars will tell you its hit or miss... there are guys run 10 sec quater miles on stock rear ends, and then there are guys that snapped them street racing with 400 hp.... its very iffy...

 

if you want it allto be reliable then do it right the first time. You'll need a rear to be safe, moser 12 bolt or ford 9 inch. If you do the top end, heads cam and then supercharge you are going to want to spend money putting forged goodies in the bottom if you running big boost. Then if you at the 600 mark at the wheels your tranny may need beefing up so get a built one.

Price it all up for everything, if you have a budget then you'll have to cut some stuff out but remember more power breaks more things

 

Start with the V8 car do not try to buy a V6 model and then swap it out. This has been talked about a lot and its just cheaper to buy the V8 car to start with. The T56 (6 speed) is a great transmission and can handle 500 very easy with just a good clutch. The stock 10 bolt rear is another story and any thing past 400 rwhp will just be a ticking time bomb until it goes out or your upgrade to a 12 bolt or 9 inch.

As for power you can make 400 plus at the wells with just bolt ons and cam. If your still looking for more a good head/cam package with intake, headers, exhaust, and a good tune should get you well into the 450 plus range with no problem.

The LS1 is a great motor and there is no need to swap any other motor into the F-body unless you are going crazy power full. There are a few guys that are making right around the 480 horse mark on stock bottom ends NA and a tone more pushing 550 and up with nitrous or forced induction however that is going to be the limit with out forged pistons and rods. I dont recommend going past 500 on stock bottom ends on forced induction and nitrous set ups because you are pushing the stock ring glands and facing catastrophic damage.

Now if your talking about a fully build LS1 then the sky is the limit. Some guys are pushing 700 horses forged forced inducted and nitrous all popular 347 set ups. While there are even a few NA guys pushing mid 500s on ringing in at 383.

One thing you want to keep in mind is durability. If your going to run a Supercharger on a stock LS1 i would keep boost low, add meth or alky for extra protection and keep power under 500 rwhp.

Personally i would start small with the basics. (LS6 or FAST intake manifold, Headers, Y-pipe, exhaust, mild 22x or 23x cam, good valve springs with harden push rods, and a good dyno tune) I would say this should cost less then 3500 bucks from a good shop to install why you are way and you should see well over 400 at the wheels with no problem. If you still have some extra cash and want a little more then patriot performance LS6 heads would be a great investment at 1300 bucks and will push you to around 440 at the wheels with no problem.

But thats just my 2 cents. Fully bolted with a head/cam package and a good tune will run mid 11s all day long and kill 99.8% of cars on the street. Plus you will still have the drive ability of a stock car with the same full mileage until you nail the pedal. I would guess you would invest about 5500 total.

I hope this helps.

 

like others have said...heads, cam, intake, headers, and all the little perif. stuff will put you in the mid 400's with no problem. I know a guy who put down 430hp with a dead cyl... that is the way i am going in the fall

 

There are guys that have made 400 on M6 cars with only a cam and tune. But i would say 400s are easy on bolted cars with a mild cam with no problems.