[Zealous]

Good evening fellow enthusiasts,


Recently purchased a 2020 Camaro LE manual, thinking of a dream build. Would love your input on recommended parts, shops, and any other misc. information. I don't daily drive the car, but I would like to have a relatively fast but safe build, I understand this can be an oxymoron. Associates have told me to keep it stock, lol. My goal is, if I'm taking it off warranty, to keep it as durable as possible.
Goals are the following, tiered highest desirable to less.

1. Drivability - Still will want to keep it relatively driveable, don't want a super choppy cam that is going to stall at low rpm. Still want to go out to town, and not be restrained to a lone highway. I understand the LE package has pretty decent suspension.

2. Durability - I understand this is a rabbit hole, and performance and reliability can be counter acting. If I am taking it off warranty, I would rather spend extra for that extra probability of it not breaking.

3. Gas Mileage - Especially with e85, not sure or even aware what to expect in terms of gas mileage. Allbeit this is mostly dependent on driving behavior.


So. here is what I'm thinking, feel free to Object, or chime in anytime

Engine:

LME LT1 416 Engine Paired with a Magnusson TVS 2650.
https://latemodelengines.com/lt1-416-fi-long-block.html

Fuel:

Been told meth injections may be required, if e85, definitely aftermarket. Not entirely sure the pros and cons between pump and e85.

Suspension:

Not sure. I heard the LE brakes and suspension set up should suffice.

Transmission:

Also unsure, I've been recommended to go aftermarket clutch, but not entirely sure if manual transmission will suffice.

Tires:

Been told to go radials, but not sure what size or brand.

Shop:

I am South Florida, Treasure coast. I have been recommended Redline performance down in Pompano, Fasterproms in Clearwater, any input is helpful.


Desired power: Anywhere between 7 - 900 hippos is fine with me. If I can reliably get over 1000, great, but I don't mind sacrificing a bit of hippos for that extra safety.

Thanks for your time and reading this

[Judy1le]

Originally Posted by Zealous

Good evening fellow enthusiasts,


Recently purchased a 2020 Camaro LE manual, thinking of a dream build. Would love your input on recommended parts, shops, and any other misc. information. I don't daily drive the car, but I would like to have a relatively fast but safe build, I understand this can be an oxymoron. Associates have told me to keep it stock, lol. My goal is, if I'm taking it off warranty, to keep it as durable as possible.
Goals are the following, tiered highest desirable to less.

1. Drivability - Still will want to keep it relatively driveable, don't want a super choppy cam that is going to stall at low rpm. Still want to go out to town, and not be restrained to a lone highway. I understand the LE package has pretty decent suspension.

2. Durability - I understand this is a rabbit hole, and performance and reliability can be counter acting. If I am taking it off warranty, I would rather spend extra for that extra probability of it not breaking.

3. Gas Mileage - Especially with e85, not sure or even aware what to expect in terms of gas mileage. Allbeit this is mostly dependent on driving behavior.


So. here is what I'm thinking, feel free to Object, or chime in anytime

Engine:

LME LT1 416 Engine Paired with a Magnusson TVS 2650.
https://latemodelengines.com/lt1-416-fi-long-block.html

Fuel:

Been told meth injections may be required, if e85, definitely aftermarket. Not entirely sure the pros and cons between pump and e85.

Suspension:

Not sure. I heard the LE brakes and suspension set up should suffice.

Transmission:

Also unsure, I've been recommended to go aftermarket clutch, but not entirely sure if manual transmission will suffice.

Tires:

Been told to go radials, but not sure what size or brand.

Shop:

I am South Florida, Treasure coast. I have been recommended Redline performance down in Pompano, Fasterproms in Clearwater, any input is helpful.


Desired power: Anywhere between 7 - 900 hippos is fine with me. If I can reliably get over 1000, great, but I don't mind sacrificing a bit of hippos for that extra safety.

Thanks for your time and reading this

Theres a lot to unpack here but ill start with, if your trying to reach 700-900 and even 1000 hp, its going to be a rowdy set up because youll need a cam and an upgraded fuel system as well as a plethora of supporting parts . The price difference between 700 and 900-1000hp is also quite a gap. Also with your SS you'll need to address the bottom end to handle that power and add all of the cooling measures to keep everything in check that the SS doesnt come with. Fuel, go port. Your life will be easier. Meth seems like a pita. These are all just my thoughts, so a trusted shop would be your better bet because im no expert and im oversimplifying everything here.

With your wants of drivability, reliability and durability, a simple NA set up like bolt ons or maybe even a PD/centrifugal blower with a safe and conservative tune i think meets the want criteria minus the power. All of the wants here seem to contradict each other quite heavily imo. I built my car and considered going forced induction but wanted to keep it simple and reliable so I stayed NA for my intended purposes with the car albeit its a rowdy 427. I have no troubles driving it however in town. Its noisy and the gas mileage isnt great lol but pay to play. Not saying FI cant be reliable, its just a lot more added components, heat and weight.

All in all, best advice is talk to a shop and tell them your goals. Youll get key board warriors with all sorts of suggestions/opinions with a few good suggestions sprinkled in. I had my car built at Katech and will encourage anybody/everybody to work them. My experience was fantastic.

[Dmoney2SS]

Originally Posted by Zealous

Good evening fellow enthusiasts,


Recently purchased a 2020 Camaro LE manual, thinking of a dream build. Would love your input on recommended parts, shops, and any other misc. information. I don't daily drive the car, but I would like to have a relatively fast but safe build, I understand this can be an oxymoron. Associates have told me to keep it stock, lol. My goal is, if I'm taking it off warranty, to keep it as durable as possible.
Goals are the following, tiered highest desirable to less.

1. Drivability - Still will want to keep it relatively driveable, don't want a super choppy cam that is going to stall at low rpm. Still want to go out to town, and not be restrained to a lone highway. I understand the LE package has pretty decent suspension.

2. Durability - I understand this is a rabbit hole, and performance and reliability can be counter acting. If I am taking it off warranty, I would rather spend extra for that extra probability of it not breaking.

3. Gas Mileage - Especially with e85, not sure or even aware what to expect in terms of gas mileage. Allbeit this is mostly dependent on driving behavior.


So. here is what I'm thinking, feel free to Object, or chime in anytime

Engine:

LME LT1 416 Engine Paired with a Magnusson TVS 2650.
https://latemodelengines.com/lt1-416-fi-long-block.html

Fuel:

Been told meth injections may be required, if e85, definitely aftermarket. Not entirely sure the pros and cons between pump and e85.

Suspension:

Not sure. I heard the LE brakes and suspension set up should suffice.

Transmission:

Also unsure, I've been recommended to go aftermarket clutch, but not entirely sure if manual transmission will suffice.

Tires:

Been told to go radials, but not sure what size or brand.

Shop:

I am South Florida, Treasure coast. I have been recommended Redline performance down in Pompano, Fasterproms in Clearwater, any input is helpful.


Desired power: Anywhere between 7 - 900 hippos is fine with me. If I can reliably get over 1000, great, but I don't mind sacrificing a bit of hippos for that extra safety.

Thanks for your time and reading this

Hey man, I’m also in the treasure coast, Port St. Lucie in specific, and I took my challenger to hades motorsports here, they also do Camaros and I intend to take my Camaro there as well

[radz28]

Redline and Fasterproms have been in the game way before Gen Vs came out. You probably couldn't go wrong either way. I think their build strategies could be a little different (Formato always seems to have emphasized squeezing every last drop out of the combination through efficiency, for example), but I'm not speaking for anyone, and I haven't had direct experience from either. I know Tanner is a tuning genius, though, Formato has had many record Gen Vs and been in this game from the beginning. He learned from his dad who was burning PROMS from, like, the late 80s or early 90s, so he knows a thing or two, too.

Another option is shipping your car. Ted Jannetti (JRE) is one of the Sponsors here, and he could set you just as straight as anyone else. Just offering another option...

[6spdhyperblue]

Didn’t realize formato was the son. Good to know

[oldman]

I have a manual, so let me address that.
1) I have ZL1 clutch, ZL1 driveshaft (don't think the 1LE has the ZL! driveshaft), and ZL! axles (passenger side needed a 3/4 spacer). So you will need an aluminum one-piece shaft and a shaft safety loop.

For street tires and 305 drag radials this is plenty strong

If you intend to run real slicks and drag race this at a prep track, IMO the entire setup is weak, I'd go for a ZL1 trans which is stronger due to the lower gear ratio, a centerforce clutch, full 9" conversion, should run a blowbell.

You did say it was a dream build.

If you are looking to really wow the crowd at the 1/4 mile then:
turbo 400 conversion, trans brake, full manual valve body, I still upgrade the ZL1 axles to performance axles, large slicks, need a Holley Proram sticking out of the hood

[Zealous]

Originally Posted by Judy1le

Theres a lot to unpack here but ill start with, if your trying to reach 700-900 and even 1000 hp, its going to be a rowdy set up because youll need a cam and an upgraded fuel system as well as a plethora of supporting parts.

From my understanding, the LME longblock comes with a custom cam.

Originally Posted by Judy1le

Also with your SS you'll need to address the bottom end to handle that power and add all of the cooling measures to keep everything in check that the SS doesnt come with.

Could you expand on this?

Originally Posted by Judy1le

Fuel, go port. Your life will be easier. Meth seems like a pita. These are all just my thoughts, so a trusted shop would be your better bet because im no expert and im oversimplifying everything here.

Not saying FI cant be reliable, its just a lot more added components, heat and weight.

All in all, best advice is talk to a shop and tell them your goals. Youll get key board warriors with all sorts of suggestions/opinions with a few good suggestions sprinkled in. I had my car built at Katech and will encourage anybody/everybody to work them. My experience was fantastic.

Understood, thanks.

[Zealous]

Originally Posted by oldman

I have a manual, so let me address that.
1) I have ZL1 clutch, ZL1 driveshaft (don't think the 1LE has the ZL! driveshaft), and ZL! axles (passenger side needed a 3/4 spacer). So you will need an aluminum one-piece shaft and a shaft safety loop.

Are these parts interchangeable? Can an LT1 fit a ZL1 driveshaft?

Originally Posted by oldman

For street tires and 305 drag radials this is plenty strong

Recommended rim? Will stock LE's suffice? What about the brakes?

Originally Posted by oldman

If you intend to run real slicks and drag race this at a prep track, IMO the entire setup is weak, I'd go for a ZL1 trans which is stronger due to the lower gear ratio, a centerforce clutch, full 9" conversion, should run a blowbell.

You did say it was a dream build.

If you are looking to really wow the crowd at the 1/4 mile then:
turbo 400 conversion, trans brake, full manual valve body, I still upgrade the ZL1 axles to performance axles, large slicks, need a Holley Proram sticking out of the hood

Some of this I understood, thanks for the input lol.

[Zealous]

Originally Posted by 6spdhyperblue

Didn’t realize formato was the son. Good to know

I have heard mixed reviews, one of my associates is getting his charger tuned there. Even installing a new cam!

[Judy1le]

Originally Posted by Zealous

From my understanding, the LME longblock comes with a custom cam.



Could you expand on this?



Understood, thanks.

So taking a good look at the LME long block that you shared, ill retract all statements regarding the upgrades to the LT1 mentioned before, if your intent is to put the LME build in your car to replace the stock LT1. You could upgrade your OEM block still. Still will need to upgrade your fuel system. Prepare your pockets though. With what youre suggesting on doing will be a very easy $50-60k+ build but should be plenty fun.

[sr71bb]

Originally Posted by Zealous

Good evening fellow enthusiasts,


Recently purchased a 2020 Camaro LE manual, thinking of a dream build. Would love your input on recommended parts, shops, and any other misc. information. I don't daily drive the car, but I would like to have a relatively fast but safe build, I understand this can be an oxymoron. Associates have told me to keep it stock, lol. My goal is, if I'm taking it off warranty, to keep it as durable as possible.
Goals are the following, tiered highest desirable to less.

1. Drivability - Still will want to keep it relatively driveable, don't want a super choppy cam that is going to stall at low rpm. Still want to go out to town, and not be restrained to a lone highway. I understand the LE package has pretty decent suspension.

2. Durability - I understand this is a rabbit hole, and performance and reliability can be counter acting. If I am taking it off warranty, I would rather spend extra for that extra probability of it not breaking.

3. Gas Mileage - Especially with e85, not sure or even aware what to expect in terms of gas mileage. Allbeit this is mostly dependent on driving behavior.


So. here is what I'm thinking, feel free to Object, or chime in anytime

Engine:

LME LT1 416 Engine Paired with a Magnusson TVS 2650.
https://latemodelengines.com/lt1-416-fi-long-block.html

Fuel:

Been told meth injections may be required, if e85, definitely aftermarket. Not entirely sure the pros and cons between pump and e85.

Suspension:

Not sure. I heard the LE brakes and suspension set up should suffice.

Transmission:

Also unsure, I've been recommended to go aftermarket clutch, but not entirely sure if manual transmission will suffice.

Tires:

Been told to go radials, but not sure what size or brand.

Shop:

I am South Florida, Treasure coast. I have been recommended Redline performance down in Pompano, Fasterproms in Clearwater, any input is helpful.


Desired power: Anywhere between 7 - 900 hippos is fine with me. If I can reliably get over 1000, great, but I don't mind sacrificing a bit of hippos for that extra safety.

Thanks for your time and reading this

Well I have my dream build CURRENTY and for me it serves as a DUAL PURPOSE DD and track car. It consists of an LME 416 fully forged and studded 14:1 compression NA engine that makes between 580-600 rear wheel horsepower, a A10 trans, KW Variant 3 coilover set up, VOSHLAG camber plates. AP RACING front brakes and stock Z1 rear brakes with DTC-60 brake pads.

The best street tires are Michelin Sport 4S 305 30 19 on ALL four corners on APEX SM-10 19 x 10.5 ET22 wheels. The BEST track tires I have found are Michelin Slicks N3 compound 30 65 18 on APEX EC-7 18 x 11 ET25 wheels. The square set up especially on the street tires allows me to get between 15-20K miles of wear because I can rotate front to back. The Square setup results in BETTER handling because it makes the handling much more NEUTRAL which helps ALOT in weight transfer thru the corners on a road course.

I get ABOUT 10MPG with I run E85 and 14MPG on 93. I pull a tire trailer behind me with slicks when I go to the track. When I am crusing with the tire trailer around 75MPG, I get 14 MPG.

I have an INTENSIVE build thread with 340 posts on this car where I have documented the mods here:

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602092

[oldman]

Originally Posted by Zealous

Are these parts interchangeable? Can an LT1 fit a ZL1 driveshaft?

1LE and ZL1 have the same diff and axle shafts, I am not sure about the driveshaft. It is pretty easy to tell as the ZL1 shaft gets fat and the plain LT1 shaft is the same thickness. You can search on the powertrain thread where I bolt in a ZL1 manual shaft into my SS.

Not to confuse you I'm just saying I running ZL1 shafts on my SS setup and they can take some abuse but not IMO I'm building a 1/4 mile high HP car type of abuse. Should I call it "normal" abuse?

Yeah, you have to look at what DR fits on a 1LE wheel, I'm sure there are guys with it. Brakes unless you are doing road racing should be OK.


edit, I just checked and the 1LE runs the SS driveshaft so you need a real shaft, minimally that would be a ZL1 shaft, but since this a dream build, I'd get a carbon fiber or alluminum one piece shaft aftermarket and a driveshaft safety loop (required at some tracks for 10.99 and below in the 1/4 mile.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/28456317966...caAghAEALw_wcB

Here is what a ZL1 driveshaft looks like.

Once again for about 700 WHP and drag radials I think the ZL1 or 1LE axleshafts and differential are fine.
For 700 WHP the SS or 1LE driveshaft is hopeless and you need minimally a ZL1 shaft
For serious 1/4 mile IMO none of that stuff can take the abuse including the manual trans and that would require a complete 9" conversion and ZL1 manual transmission and an aftermarket clutch, might as well toss in aftermarket throw-out bearing, slave and slave line too. many strips require blowbell at this level of performance.

Here is the 1.5 SFI multiclutch specs:
https://www.sfifoundation.com/wp-con...1.5_020906.pdf

[Zealous]

Originally Posted by Judy1le

So taking a good look at the LME long block that you shared, ill retract all statements regarding the upgrades to the LT1 mentioned before, if your intent is to put the LME build in your car to replace the stock LT1. You could upgrade your OEM block still. Still will need to upgrade your fuel system. Prepare your pockets though. With what youre suggesting on doing will be a very easy $50-60k+ build but should be plenty fun.

Thanks, I guess I need to do some homework on the cooling situation, especially if going FI. Any insight on what fuel system I should use?

Although, if you feel the LT block can handle the abuse, I just don't mind spending a little extra for that extra assurance (understandably, there isn't an exact metric for it)

[Zealous]

Originally Posted by sr71bb

Well I have my dream build CURRENTY and for me it serves as a DUAL PURPOSE DD and track car. It consists of an LME 416 fully forged and studded 14:1 compression NA engine that makes between 580-600 rear wheel horsepower, a A10 trans, KW Variant 3 coilover set up, VOSHLAG camber plates. AP RACING front brakes and stock Z1 rear brakes with DTC-60 brake pads.

The best street tires are Michelin Sport 4S 305 30 19 on ALL four corners on APEX SM-10 19 x 10.5 ET22 wheels. The BEST track tires I have found are Michelin Slicks N3 compound 30 65 18 on APEX EC-7 18 x 11 ET25 wheels. The square set up especially on the street tires allows me to get between 15-20K miles of wear because I can rotate front to back. The Square setup results in BETTER handling because it makes the handling much more NEUTRAL which helps ALOT in weight transfer thru the corners on a road course.

I get ABOUT 10MPG with I run E85 and 14MPG on 93. I pull a tire trailer behind me with slicks when I go to the track. When I am crusing with the tire trailer around 75MPG, I get 14 MPG.

I have an INTENSIVE build thread with 340 posts on this car where I have documented the mods here:

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=602092

This was very helpful, thanks. I was wondering how the handling will change when all 4's are the same tire size. Someone mentioned to me the NITTO NT555's ? But I believe their tire size isn't compatible with the camaro LE's. It's nice that there is a set up that can prolong the tire life. Another 3-4k, and I'm already looking to replace the F1's.

If you don't mind me asking, why the discrepancy between the front and back brakes?

Keeping this car out of the track, for now, lol.