I've never been able to figure out what kind of cam and heads should i put on my car. its totally stock right now exept for a flowmaster exhaust. ill be getting an LS6 intake manifold and mybe a BBK TB(not sure bout TB). I wanna switch to borla exhaust and not sure about headers. but i have NO idea on heads or cam. idk even know how to tell if there good or not. Can you guys help me pick some out or explain to me how to pick them? thanks

 

You can get a $150 ported TB from Thunder Racing and not worry about the $400 BBK piece.

Nearly any type of longtube header will work 10x better than the stock manifolds -- The most inexpensive pieces are the Hooker Longtubes, Pacesetters, or FlowTechs and all make very similar performance gains. If they are stepped, they'll make more torque. If they are longer, they'll make more horsepower/torque. If they have larger primaries (1-7/8"), they'll make more peak horsepower at the sacrifice of torque.

Some good heads are the Dart 225cc heads, AFR 205/225cc heads, and Trickflow 215cc heads (cheapest -> most expensive). "Budget" ported LS6 heads will also work well for the money.

Cam selection is entirely up to you and how driveable you want the car and what you can deal with -- The Futral Motorsports F-13 is probably the best all-around cam you can put into your LS1 motor -- tons of power and very driveable.

I've given a ton of advice for these very subjects if you just search the board

 

Just to add to Kraest's post:

Do a little more research on the catback system. Borla sounds great on the LT1, but IMO it sounds like crap (and most agree) on every LS1 I've ever heard it on, even aggressive engine setups.

 

You should hear mine.

 

flowmaster is fine....as long as you put a cutout on it....otherwise you're losing power.

what kind of power level would you like out of your h/c setup? how much will it be driven? what kind of trans?

street? drag? road race? show?

all things that have influence on what h/c you choose

 

First step is to figure out what you want out of your car and to do the bolt on's. This includes suspension and brake mods.

 

OK, post a video!

 

I really want 500HP but i dont think ill be able to do that on an everyday driver car. and it would be just for crusing and showing off really. Some people have said magnaflow sounds pretty good on the LS1. I cant decide on exhaust really.

 

^ You can, but you'll need a GOOD set of heads a a GOOD cam! If you want 500 HP, this thread is for you: http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?p=7248595#

Take care of the supporting mod first.. I understand if you are researching future mods, I do it all the time too.. Look into the Thunder Racing Cams. They put a lot of research into getting good power for any goals.. Under the curve Power, Top end power, you name it.. LSX/LSK lobes are a must, if you want TQ, go w/ a good EXH lift. If you want driveability, go w/ a milder duration cam, if you want HP, good INT lift, and duration.

 

500hp at the crank is not difficult...that's the equivalent of 430-450rwhp depending on the drivetrain setup.

any of the good daily driver cams like the Torquers, or the F13 or F14 with a decent set of heads will reach that goal.

better heads will allow you to get the power you want with a smaller cam, which means better driveability.

mods like the FAST intake will give you a 20hp boost over the LS6 on a h/c setup...which again means you could step down on the aggressiveness of the cam.

something like the 228R cam, with a set of AFR 205 heads, or even the more budget Terminators or even more budget Dart 205s should get you 425rwhp easily. it will have FANTASTIC driveabilty with a good tune (a must with any cam). the cam will have great low end with any of those heads and will still make great power up top.
throw a FAST on there and you'll be pushing 450rwhp probably.

 

^ Exactly right.. I've heard that FAST intake screams at the mid-upper range over the LS6 w/ h/c. Also, look into the low lift flow #'s at the .200" - .400" lift, that's where it matters. The .600" lift 330CFM flow #'s don't mean jack when even the FAST 90/90 seems to 'lop off' the flow at around 280 CFM. 330 CFM is then worthless.. If you maximise the flow #'s at low RPM #'s you will get great flow before the valves reach full open. Instead of hving to 'wait' for the peak flow.

 

Not true. Even though the intake untouched may only flow around 280 on a bench, a head that flows 280cfm (theoretical limit) will be blown away by a head that flows in the typical 315-320cfm range. It's been proven time and time again. There's a lot more to the "real world" intake flow than the pressure drop a flowbench produces