[Bayrunner]

Brand new to this brand. My only previous domestic cars were Mustangs. I am more of a spaghetti guy but my son wanted a domestic car to toy with so we ended up with a 2017 SS2 which I am excited about. They seem to be easy to modify and relatively cheap when compared to Italian and British cars. So here we are.


I would like to build an N/A 600 HP car. Mostly Street/Strip for this one. It is an automatic 8 speed. I need some advise on the following, please.
Headers, 1 7/8" vs 2"
Cold Air Intake
Cam Kits and Converter
Intakes and TB's


Most important is a tuner who will remote tune for me once the mods are made and who has knowledge on these cars. I have my own mechanic, on my payroll with a facility to do all of the installs including changing the internals with forged. Our disadvantage is the tuning as my mechanic is affluent on GM Trucks, Land Rovers and Jaguars. We do not tune these as they are daily drivers. So, any insight would be appreciated.

[bishopts]

Welcome. GM vehicles are a bit more reliable than land rovers and Jaguars, so rest assured, the coolant system wont just fall apart because it exists like what your used to.
I'm pretty sure Rover/Jaguar are still using modified Ford engines so the power range you're used to will be mid to high RPM favoring high. The LT1 power comes in much lower and doesn't really feel like it's falling off till about 6300-6500.
Factory LT2 intake with modifications to fit the LT1 will give you a little more power at higher RPM, since you will be saving money on repairs you could also go with the MSD intake.
I think you want to avoid K and N cold air intakes.
You really really want to set the car up to run E85. It will require a inline sensor and a wire tapped into the pcm connector.
There is a ton of info on testing results for different modifications made to these cars. Just need to search around in the main pages.
Be aware that its currently the most stolen car in america.

[FlukeSS]

Originally Posted by Bayrunner

Brand new to this brand. My only previous domestic cars were Mustangs. I am more of a spaghetti guy but my son wanted a domestic car to toy with so we ended up with a 2017 SS2 which I am excited about. They seem to be easy to modify and relatively cheap when compared to Italian and British cars. So here we are.


I would like to build an N/A 600 HP car. Mostly Street/Strip for this one. It is an automatic 8 speed. I need some advise on the following, please.
Headers, 1 7/8" vs 2"
Cold Air Intake
Cam Kits and Converter
Intakes and TB's


Most important is a tuner who will remote tune for me once the mods are made and who has knowledge on these cars. I have my own mechanic, on my payroll with a facility to do all of the installs including changing the internals with forged. Our disadvantage is the tuning as my mechanic is affluent on GM Trucks, Land Rovers and Jaguars. We do not tune these as they are daily drivers. So, any insight would be appreciated.

See my signature...

But recommend doing drop in pistons and rods along with the cam SAVE YOURSELF A HEADACHE of money that I'm stuck with if I ever want to add boost.

Depending on which way the wind blows almost literally I peak at about 610hp. But most of the time range from 570-590. Obviously weather, altitude, and DA matter. And I'm not on a Max effort tune, because I do daily the car as well as go to the drag strip.

Also keep an eye on that A8 for transmission shudder... Check the TSB section about A8 transmission shudder, get that taken care of now so you never have to worry about it again.

Headers: 2" are for future boost applications, you can deal with 1 7/8ths if sticking with NA. An alternative to what my mods show, you can always do a stroker 416 build probably run you about the same price, but you might hit 600-700 hp at the crank then. If you want high performance Drag Racing times, you'll need to dump the stock torque converter and get a Circle D with about a 3600 rpm stall on it, this will drastically improve your 60 foot times albeit may make it a little harsher to drive on the road at lower speeds I believe. My Torque converter is stock and the BTR 220 Cam is the biggest they would do on a stock converter.

Some of the other guys would be able to recommend a tuner, but if you want remote tuning, the best I know of that come to mind is Pray Performance, RPM, and GPI