Need some direction (newbie)
 

2020 2SS 6spd. Car will be a weekend/fun car. I am a ford diesel guy so this Chevy stuff is very new to me. First sports car I have had. Pretty mechanically inclined. Have rebuilt a old ford 360 engine and had my 6.0L ford down to a short block and built back.

I bought a 2SS with the intentions of going with twin turbos vice starting with a ZL1. The cost savings between the two models I considered I could place back into the car with the turbo build. I now understand there are more differences between the ZL1 and 2SS (lt1 vs lt4).

Mainly have been looking at the Huron kit and Hellion Kit. I think the Hellion kit is what I would like to go with. I understand there is the heat issues. I have watched most of the guitarmageddonZL1 videos. Let’s put a goal of >800rwhp.

With this kit or others similar what else should I be thinking about? Have seen high 500’s with the kit alone and stock LT1. At what power will I need to start upgrading the fuel system and what’s the common upgrades needed? Will the stock manifold work or should that be changed when the turbos go on? With the 6spd has anyone seen the limitations of the stock clutch?

Goal of 800, pull engine go forged & do the fuel system right now before anything else ! Stock fuel system will be lucky to make it to 600, and the pistons are like rolling dice. Should of started with a ZL1 all beefed up parts already there, 9 sec car a lot easier , save in the long run , it's what I should have done.

I would agree but after hearing all of the LT1/4/5 motors have the same crappy half thrust bearing I am not so sure. It seems anything above 800whp is a crap shoot and you might be building either one with a large Centri or PD. I do think Turbos are a better solution for big power being they do not pull on the crank which contributes to the thrust bearing failure.

That being said with the current price of low mileage ZL1's, that is likely the route I would of went if I had to start over. 50k gets you a low mileage(<6k miles) ZL1. I have about 42k into my car total including the mods. So I guess with the extra 8k I could still forge this engine and buy some stronger drive line components. Still not a ZL1 at the end of the day. lol

Well he already got the SS, so water under the bridge, assuming he won't want to dump 10k into the sewer by selling or trading it now for a ZL1.

OP, I'd contact a reputable shop such as Jannetty Racing and consult them because of their extensive experience with the GM platform and built twin turbo setups as well. Info from forum members, however helpful everyone is here, will only take you so far.

IMO nothing can take 800 WHP, need a fuel system, engine, trans and clutch, shafts, diff, tires and rims... There should be no concept of "saving money".

Even the Zl1 TR6060 is going to be iffy, but would agree the rest should be OK, still need IMO cam and kit, ported heads, LPE fuel system, so 7 to 10 grand plus turbo kit, plus zl1. Not cheap there but easier for sure.

There should be no concept of "saving money".

This is very true ,if u wanna play u gotta pay


But I see he has 6.0 powerstroke so he is already use working and spending. Ask me how I know..lol

Hell just throw the boost to it , and beat on it until it pops, then rinse n repeat.....you will have a blast for awhile..... lol

Thanks. Seems I should of started out with this question before buying. Ya. No plans of trading it in. Drive it and enjoy it. Big power is just a benefit. Can enjoy the car how it is currently.

DapperDan, yes the 6.0L does keep you busy. Been great for over 100k miles.

So additional differences I am finding out between LT1 and LT4 is all centered around the blower. Different can shaft to support the forced induction with the lower compression ratio and forged aluminum pistons. All focused on being built to support the blower.

With all this, is there no stock internal high horsepower LT1s out there? So with no plan to pull the short block what would be a better route then? With the limitations of the short block should I even consider the fuel system?

Yes there are many high hp stock internals out there, just not for long..lol for most anyways
Yes install the fuel system fuel is king to making it live. Consider E85 if it's easy to get for you , but with the LT 4 fuel system you will need to blend it down, king n the other guys can drop their knowledge on ya. But IMO if you have a good fuel system and stay around 625whp. And don't beat on it too much..you should be fine...

LT1 builds don't equal lt4 builds till you change out the crank (rolled fillets), and add either Proflow intake valves or titanium as the stock LT1 intakes are hollow and made of steel. So there is more to a LT1 build than forged pistons and aftermarket rod bolts.

Trans, the LT1 Tr6060 is weaker

Shafts, all of them need to be changed

Diff... um there is gonna be ring weld failure at this power and traction level

Fuel system, the whole thing needs to be changes, so there is no difference here.

Clutch the Lt4 has a better clutch but really you should go aftermarket add 2000 to 2500, Katech has a nice billet flywheel which will save you 20 lbs.

So as stated, these is nothing that can take that power stock and bolting on twins till something blows up is not my cup of tea.

Modified quote to save space.

Well again think this is good for a newbie in the Camaro realm. Defiantly a lot of difference between the two that I did not know about. Failed to do enough homework.

So from everyone’s experience on here, if I was to scale back the build with the limitations of the LT1, considering this to be a fun/weekend car, drag strip for shits and giggles. I mean I have ran my lifted diesel (10.4 @ 8500lbs IIRC). What would be a good medium build. Without going to far internal to the engine but still making decent power. Yes that’s relative to each person I get that. If you were to do it your self what would you list look like. In Idaho E85 is non existent.

Thanks

Fwiw the SS with LT1 has been 9.4 @ 140 with a P1x, meth, msd intake, headers, converter(a8), drag pack and some weight reduction. Stock long block, stock trans, stock rear with a M6 3.73 diff. I believe it made 760whp on 12 psi. That doesn't mean all stock long blocks will tolerate this abuse especially for 100k miles.

If your car is just a weekend toy that will see some frequent spirited driving on the weekend then I wouldn't be too concerned about pushing the stock parts a bit. Now if you are going to take it to the track every weekend and make a 100+ passes a season, then yes plan on spending some coin to build the entire drive line.

Imo for a street car you are not going to utilize much more then 650whp anyway. You can do that with a supercharger of choice around 9psi, LT4 fuel system, meth if running 93, and a set of cat deletes or headers.

Find it hard to believe the axles would live even on an auto. But he also has a m6, and all that stuff would instantly blow up. Heck stock m6 with drag pack blow up. Like I said not my cup of tea. I’ve seen some bad crashes caused by drivetrain failure, lost one friend in a camaro, seen one Mustang death. It might be all fun and giggles if u talk about a ls1 and the 10 bolt spitting out the pinion, I would not want to be in a twin turbo when one side of the of the haft shaft let’s go punctures a hole in the tank as the car puts the hp to just one wheel. We all race with the dynamic stability and traction control off, heck the car is squirrelly even with everything a ok.

Many built engines fail at that power level 760 RWHP, I think you have to knock at least one digit off that 100k to get a good estimate of engine life, and two digits off to figure out the first drivetrain failure, and better hope that the failure is not at speed, or there will be some fun.