LT1 mods

[team beater]

Hello all, I am thinking of possibly wanting to get a few more ponies out of my c4 lt1 and looking for some insight. It recently got a baseline of 304hp to the wheels completely stock except for a pair of mufflers.

Can anyone give me some insight of some mods any any idea of hp increases

I was thinking of starting with a lt4 hotcam 1.6 rockers and long tubes back, can anyone giving me an idea of hp increase this will give me?


I dont want to spend a sh1t ton of cash, but i want something fun on the street...400hp would be great...
thanks for the input

MJ

[Firefighter Z]

Spend the money and get something bigger than a LT4 cam kit...

People have been going with cc306, cc503, LE cams or custom grinds.

But if your looking in just doing bolt-ons, LT's would be good, CAI, tune, pretty much the basics if you dont want to tear the motor apart. Then you'll have some money left over from maybe a nitrous kit.

If you do tear it apart, you might as well replace all the bearings and such.

But can you give us a idea in the max in what your looking to spend, so others could chime in, in what would be best.

[Beagle]

buy some Advanced Induction heads and cam combo and call it a day.
That will get you over 400. If you want to go cheap then buy a nitrous kit.

[95 TA - The Beast]

LT4HOT cam, 1.6 rockers, cold air kit and longtubes should net you around 60-80 extra HP. Add ported cylinder heads and a tune and you should be looking at around 425+hp.

You really need to specify what kind of 'end result' you are looking for. You also need to specify more about the car, as in auto or manual, rear gears, options, etc.

Honestly, if you are looking for a "fun" car without turning it into a loud, obnoxious, noisy, more or less 'race car', then the LT4HOT cam route is a great idea. Once you start going bigger on cams you need to start adding supporting modifications to 'flesh out' the buildup, such as gears, bigger stall (if you have an auto), etc...

The beauty of the LT4HOT cam is great driveability, good manners, good powerband, etc. It doesn't have a restricted powerband, it doesn't have idle issues, does not sound like a pro-stocker, but does have more authority and in general is one ofthe best 'middle of the road' cams out there. Pretty much keeps the Vette a refined ride, more than a drag-monster "muscle car" that most with f-bodies end up going for.

But, again, it comes down to what you are looking for.

[team beater]

LT4HOT cam, 1.6 rockers, cold air kit and longtubes should net you around 60-80 extra HP. Add ported cylinder heads and a tune and you should be looking at around 425+hp.

You really need to specify what kind of 'end result' you are looking for. You also need to specify more about the car, as in auto or manual, rear gears, options, etc.

Honestly, if you are looking for a "fun" car without turning it into a loud, obnoxious, noisy, more or less 'race car', then the LT4HOT cam route is a great idea. Once you start going bigger on cams you need to start adding supporting modifications to 'flesh out' the buildup, such as gears, bigger stall (if you have an auto), etc...

The beauty of the LT4HOT cam is great driveability, good manners, good powerband, etc. It doesn't have a restricted powerband, it doesn't have idle issues, does not sound like a pro-stocker, but does have more authority and in general is one ofthe best 'middle of the road' cams out there. Pretty much keeps the Vette a refined ride, more than a drag-monster "muscle car" that most with f-bodies end up going for.

But, again, it comes down to what you are looking for.

as far as money looking to spend i suppose its depends on what parts cost.....I am comfortable spending 1 to 2k or more if need be, if the money is well spent. I am not looking to wastefully blow money either.

the end result that i am looking for is something that is Drivable....meaning i want to drive it whenever where ever, i am not looking to have a "race car", i want something that will give me good power band, something that i can take a days long cruise in but something that can play will LSx cars at GLD or go through the twisties at RA.


I haven't done a ton of research on it yet and where to start, so i figured i a would call on the knowledgeable people here on BCM.


So you say 425 with ported and obviously a tune? This sounds right up my ally. What do think this would set me back? I would be doing the work myself.

Oh yeah not looking to nitrous, nothing wrong with it, just want the power there all the time.

Thanks for the info so far

[1997 Trans-Am]

Im just giving my opinion on the hotcam since i have it in my car. I have the Hotcam kit, bolt-ons and everything in my sig and it is pretty fun to drive on the street. Its not the fastest car or anything like that but after adding the 58mm throttle body yesterday the car is sooo much more fun to drive. It really is like a different car now. im very happy

Ive had this cam in my car maybe 1.5yrs. i drive it hard, drive to Illinois all the time and its never given me any problems. It has maybe 20 passes down the track. The only thing is the rockers do get loud at times. I have just about 20k miles on it and its just overall a great DD car to mess around on the street or to drive easy. i dropped 1sec in the 1/4 with the hotcam kit alone

i personally think it is a great choice if you want something nice and easy to drive. Really any mild cam can be made to drive nice if you can get a good tune for it. i wasnt after huge power or anything like that. i wanted a nice gain in HP and have a nice choppy idle at the same time. Also me being 19yrs old at the time of purchase i didnt have a whole lot of money to spend so i wanted something reliable. And i think i made the right choice. i would also have to say a stall is necesarry for any cam(if an auto). It was a night and day difference in driveability. it drives so much better then a stock converter.

w/ $2,000 to spend you could pick up a nice heads/cam kit from AI or somewhere and make plenty of power for the street.

[team beater]

oh yeah its an m6

[Beagle]

See the thing is your always going to wish you've done more. Hotcam kit is 500 bucks. I would save that money for some heads. I know you can get Loyd Elliot heads for under 1k but Advanced induction is way better quality. LT1's where meant for nitrous. Take that 500 and buy a nitrous kit for 250 and use the other 250 for refilling the bottle.

[95 TA - The Beast]

LT1's where meant for nitrous.

That is the stupidest comment I have heard, especially in this thread, after he already stated he did not want nitrous.

And risk blowing up a nice motor for cheap power?

I have over $2500 in a progressive nitrous system in the T/A. That includes Air/Fuel monitoring to shut it down in case of going too lean, progressive programming for application per gear, automatic bottle control and heating to preset pressure, pinch solenoids to ensure I don't get a 'stuck solenoid' condition where I can blow up the motor, etc... I can get in and drive, hit a button and know when I press the pedal it will all work like it should, with as much power as I want per gear, all while running safely. No getting out and opening the bottle, no flipping switches so the heater is on, no worrying about blowing up the bottle with too much pressure, etc...

You can do stuff cheap and quick and run the risk of blowing stuff up, or you can do it right and KNOW your safe.

In regards to the roller rockers on a 'vette, it is a non-issue as the corvettes have a set of phenolic valve covers, thus they insulate the sound much better than the stamped metal ones we have on the f-bodies stock.

Honestly, set a budget, then see what you can do within that budget.

To be honest, one of the biggest concerns with the AI/LE head/cam packages out there is the fact that they usually go for top-end power for drag racing when they quote big numbers. For road racing and 'street driving' thier recommendations are much more mild. For a good 'all around' car with great manners, useability and reliability, you are talking around 450hp at the motor with a stock block and a heads/cam package at the most. Above that you are shifting the powerband so much higher to achieve the higher power output.

For example the custom cam I designed for my 'vert (which I designed and had cut back in 1998-1999), produces a VERY broad powerband (from 1300-6400rpm), but idles a little better than a LT4HOT cam, and with ported heads and mid-length 1-3/4" headers produced 379rwhp (which is right around 445 flywheel hp) with an M6 on a stock shortblock with 40k miles. Best thing is it doesn't lug at all in 6th at 1400rpm and has good power all over. Hell, at the time it even passed emissions.

I have the same cam/heads in the 383 I built for that car this year. I have around 469rwhp with a change to 1-3/4" longtubes on the new motor.

[HP ADDICT]

Where are you dynoing 469 rwhp on a 383 lt1? Seems off picking up 90rwhp going to a 10% bigger motor with the same heads. Most built lsx engines arent seeing 470 to the wheels.

[juicedimpss]

what is the budget for this "build"
that will indicate which direction to send a guy.

[HP ADDICT]

My advice is to start with the bolt ons. Longtubes, CAI, get a real exhaust with no cats and maybe some gears in the back. Some sticky tires and a short throw shifter would really help you drive the car faster. Then start with the internal mods.

[Quick96ss]

Where are you dynoing 469 rwhp on a 383 lt1? Seems off picking up 90rwhp going to a 10% bigger motor with the same heads. Most built lsx engines arent seeing 470 to the wheels.

I totally second that Randy! As for the LT4 HOTCAM, i had one and didn't like it, it didn't seem like it added much. Just my opinion. I totally believe in having a heads and cam set up done by a reputable place, and have them grind a cam for you, tell them what u want and what you plan to do with it. They will tell you what they think through there experiences with all the cars they have set up. The last thing i can say is, decide what you really want as an outcome for the car! Cause i know Randy and I would think a car that's extreme is plenty drivable on the street and has decent manners for us! Where someone else would think its horrible on the street. All i can say is to each is own!! Good luck to you. I was there once i know its not easy, there's a lot of info to retain!

[team beater]

I totally second that Randy! As for the LT4 HOTCAM, i had one and didn't like it, it didn't seem like it added much. Just my opinion. I totally believe in having a heads and cam set up done by a reputable place, and have them grind a cam for you, tell them what u want and what you plan to do with it. They will tell you what they think through there experiences with all the cars they have set up. The last thing i can say is, decide what you really want as an outcome for the car! Cause i know Randy and I would think a car that's extreme is plenty drivable on the street and has decent manners for us! Where someone else would think its horrible on the street. All i can say is to each is own!! Good luck to you. I was there once i know its not easy, there's a lot of info to retain!

thanks to all, i think after doing some playing around online i will probably do a head/cam maybe intake work and some long tubes......

can you give me some direction as far as some reputable shops around?

[Quick96ss]

thanks to all, i think after doing some playing around online i will probably do a head/cam maybe intake work and some long tubes......

can you give me some direction as far as some reputable shops around?

Not a Problem! I Like Advancedinduction.com they are great. They are out of North Carolina though but worth it. If you go under the Lt1 result section my name is on there under Matt's 383 and my setup is pretty mild on the scale of things. Again just my opinion! Let me know if you have any more questions i can go over a ton more!

[juicedimpss]

x2 for Advanced Induction combo.
if trying to stay local,Brian at Extreme Speed did some work to my old LT1 heads,and i was happy with the work he did.

[95 TA - The Beast]

Where are you dynoing 469 rwhp on a 383 lt1? Seems off picking up 90rwhp going to a 10% bigger motor with the same heads. Most built lsx engines arent seeing 470 to the wheels.

Forgot to mention there was also a compression bump from 10.5:1 to 12.2:1 as well... So it was 350 to 383, mid-length to longtubes and compression bump to 12.2:1... There was also smaller changes, like 3/8" rockers to 7/16", freshening up the heads, including going from dual valvesprings with big steel retainers to BBC beehives, electric waterpump (350 had stock cam-driven), fully ported intake, etc...

I don't think anyone *just* does a 10% bump in displacement on a stroker motor build compared to the previous one. There is always other various factors that effect total power output.

Also, the heads on this motor are extremely well done. They have larger intake runners thus they are taken advantage more with the 383 than with the 350. Heads aren't the only factor in making power. They are a very important one, but not THE only one. They CAN be the biggest determining factor in HP generating ABILITY, but not the only parameter in regards to what a motor actually produces. As is said, the devil is in the details.

[juicedimpss]

Heads aren't the only factor in making power. They are a very important one, but not THE only one. They CAN be the biggest determining factor in HP generating ABILITY, but not the only parameter in regards to what a motor actually produces. As is said, the devil is in the details.

100% truth.

[team beater]

is there a reason you guys prefer ai over le?

[95 TA - The Beast]

is there a reason you guys prefer ai over le?

Honestly, they both do a hell of a job. I think it comes down to peoples expectations and how closely each vendor tends to 'get it right' for that person.

It seems as if AI has more consistency on thier side tho.