Top end build list, would like your opinion(s)

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Originally Posted by christianchevell

front end gaskets for the timing chain swap, ls2 dampener, harmonic balancer bolt, belts for underdrive pulley, two gallons antifreeze, two oil changes worth of Driven racing Br30 break in oil. And a g.m. three bolt sprocket for the cam with bolts.....

Noted sir. So there is a recommendation to use a certain oil immediately following the top end build for the break in of the new camshaft and valve train parts, correct?

[camaro500]

The shop you buy the parts from or the manufacturer ex. comp cams could suggest to you the type of oil to use. That is your best bet. I would absolutely invest in suspension upgrades starting from rear and going forward. BMR full cradle bushings, tie and trailing arms are money well spent!

[jman17]

Originally Posted by camaro500

The shop you buy the parts from or the manufacturer ex. comp cams could suggest to you the type of oil to use. That is your best bet. I would absolutely invest in suspension upgrades starting from rear and going forward. BMR full cradle bushings, tie and trailing arms are money well spent!

I just finished my cam upgrade, and now have the parts also for the rear suspension upgrade. After that, my plan is for the aluminum driveshaft.

James

[YUHATIN]

Originally Posted by ST1LE

Based on your build I think the FAST intake is a complete waste of money. You will see minimal gain and I think you would see better gains per $ just putting that coin towards porting your existing intake and heads instead.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Originally Posted by jman17

I just finished my cam upgrade, and now have the parts also for the rear suspension upgrade. After that, my plan is for the aluminum driveshaft.

James

Sounds like your going down the same road I am. Keep me updated!


Next question: What pushrod length should I consider? 7.400", 7.425" etc?

[MikeOD]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Yeah if you talking to Tick, I think Martin S might suggest going into some heads ported by AI, he's a big fan.

I'm a big fan too...I am THRILLED with my AI 275cc heads.

[MikeOD]

Also OP...I agree that the FAST intake is probably not worth the investment...the HP gained is going to be minimal...but in my opinion, it looks really cool under the hood of the car...if that matters to you. Everyone that see's mine likes it.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Originally Posted by MikeOD

Also OP...I agree that the FAST intake is probably not worth the investment...the HP gained is going to be minimal...but in my opinion, it looks really cool under the hood of the car...if that matters to you. Everyone that see's mine likes it.

It does not matter to me. At least, not for the money spent. How much were the heads though, if you don't mind me asking?

[MikeOD]

Originally Posted by Cornflakes'Camaro

It does not matter to me. At least, not for the money spent. How much were the heads though, if you don't mind me asking?

If I remember right (was over 2 years ago), I was around $1800 for heads and the cam. That included all the valve work, new springs, new valve seals, and pushrods. I bought head gaskets from GM, C5-R timing chain from Katech (and LS7 sprocket from GM) and ARP bolts (from Jegs) separate from that too.

I think the cam was ~400 of that 1800. Custom ground, and then inspected/verified at AI before they shipped it to me. Degreed exactly what the paper said it would when I checked.

They turned my heads around fast...but I also did it in the middle of the winter...I shipped them right after new years in 2012.

[VADER SS L99]

Originally Posted by camaro500

The shop you buy the parts from or the manufacturer ex. comp cams could suggest to you the type of oil to use. That is your best bet. I would absolutely invest in suspension upgrades starting from rear and going forward. BMR full cradle bushings, tie and trailing arms are money well spent!

So long as the shop recommends a 5w-30, 10w-30, or maybe even a 0w-40 with a good amount of ZDDP then sure use what they recommend. There are some shops out there that are recommending a 50wt oil with low film strength for stock short block LSx engines and they are flat out wrong in doing so.

[litle88]

No need for break in out that's for sure.
I've also used all the parts MikeOD suggested.

Martin@Tick will take care of you over there. That's for sure.

[Cornflakes'Camaro]

Originally Posted by MikeOD

If I remember right (was over 2 years ago), I was around $1800 for heads and the cam. That included all the valve work, new springs, new valve seals, and pushrods. I bought head gaskets from GM, C5-R timing chain from Katech (and LS7 sprocket from GM) and ARP bolts (from Jegs) separate from that too.

I think the cam was ~400 of that 1800. Custom ground, and then inspected/verified at AI before they shipped it to me. Degreed exactly what the paper said it would when I checked.

They turned my heads around fast...but I also did it in the middle of the winter...I shipped them right after new years in 2012.

So you didn't purchase new heads, you had your stock ones port and polished?

[MikeOD]

Originally Posted by Cornflakes'Camaro

So you didn't purchase new heads, you had your stock ones port and polished?

Yes, I pulled my stock heads off, shipped them to AI, they did all their work to them (CNC porting, and chamber work, decked them, valve job and so on), they reassembled them for me, and then they shipped them back.

All I had to do was swap the cam, clean the head deck surface, make sure the head bolt holes were clean/dry as a bone, and bolt them on. I checked the pushrod length with an adjustable pushrod, and after adding lifter pre-load, it matched up to the length we'd thought would work based on the change in the cam base circle diameter and the amount they decked off the heads to bring the compression into spec again, so I slid those in, bolted the stock rockers (with the comp trunnion upgrade I installed myself) back on, fired her up and started tuning.

No need for any special oil, or any different weight oil. Heads/cam doesn't change any bearing clearances in the bottom end...I run German Castrol, always have in this car since I bought it. I've had 0 issues with the engine.

When I first put it back together I was losing coolant, and thought I'd done something wrong...turns out I had. I put too much stress on the heater core when I was removing the stock hoses and installing the Katech hoses (this was before GM had a PN for hoses that didn't run over the top of the engine), and cracked it...so the engine is/was always fine...I just had to go through the nightmare of replacing the heater core too.

[Blk16wls]

You can get the CFM rating on throttle body's on the Accufab web site. That 102 is ridiculous unless you have a high winding 600 inch motor. Focus on mid lift cfm, heads and cam. High velocity is more important than big flow numbers. West Coast is a good source.