[SammYyYyY]

Hey all! My ZLE is going in soon for a BTR Stage 2 PD Cam. I would like to hear others' thoughts on the supporting mods I already have, and some mods that I am considering. The goal of the car is 7,000-7200 RPM. It's a weekend warrior car that sees the occasional amateur track day; I just want the chop and a little extra spice up top. I drive pretty hard and don't want to worry much about heat soak (more on that down below in the mods I am considering). The car currently has a Rotofab big gulp, Kooks 1 7/8" LTH, a Corsa X-Pipe, and Corsa NPP exhaust.

The list of things I currently have are as follows:

-BTR Stage 2 Cam
-Katech Oil Pump
-ARP Harmonic Balancer Bolt
-ARP Head Studs
-CHE Trunnion Kit
-BTR Phaser Lockout (0 Degrees)
-BTR Pushrods (7.850")
-0.660" Lift BTR Platinum Springs/Retainers
-Johnson 2110R Lifters
-Katech C5-R Timing Chain
-LME Timing Chain Guide
-BTR Head Gaskets and Exhaust Manifold Gaskets
-CBI DOD/Oil Block Off
-Fast Fish Front Timing Cover Seal
-Chevy Performance Lash Caps
-All unlisted maintenance items such as new lifter trays, miscellaneous gaskets/bolts, etc. I have not listed them here as they are stock and don't want to make the list too lengthy.



The list of things I'm thinking about are as follows:

-Elite E2-X Catch Can; I feel dumb for not having a catch can already. Probably worth doing, right?
-Upgraded Harmonic Dampener (Is the stock one a reliability concern at 7k+ RPM? My builder/tuner doesn't seem to think it's necessary, but of course doesn't advise against it if it gives me greater peace of mind).
-Larger Lower Pulley (what size could I go with that wouldn't be too much to handle on stock heat exchangers? Is any size-up going to cause heat-soaking problems in a road-course context?)
-DSX Flex Fuel Kit; with the 38% fuel lobe on the cam, would I be able to run, say, E40 safely without the use of a voltage-booster for the fuel pump?

I'm open to hearing any suggestions. Thanks for reading!

[Smokin19]

I don't see any change to a bigger TB (think 103mm) or big gulp intake.

[2023_ZL1-AUTO]

Originally Posted by Smokin19

I don't see any change to a bigger TB (think 103mm) or big gulp intake.

Agree on both, I have no CAM, engines never been opened and I have a Big Gulp and a Kong 103mm. I had heat soak issues and Katech just completed installing an FI Interchiller Stage 2 on mine.

I might have missed it but what rwhp/rwtq are you shooting for? That's a lot of work to get a "chop" idle. But, one thing I've learned here on the forum, there are many different ways to skin a cat!

I know you mentioned road course and I feel the type of driving you are going to do, does impact how you mod. While I'll never have mine on one road course, I will get my to the drag strip this spring! I did a write up on my build and what I would have done differently and the same if I were to start over now with a year+ worth of knowledge that I didn't have before:

Post #414 of my build thread:

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showp...&postcount=414

Full Thread here:
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=611982

Good luck on your build it sounds like it will turn out nice!!!!

[KingLT1]

This imo is what the setup needs:

X port blower

Big gulp and 103mm tb (only if you X port)

Fuel system to run Ethanol (+50 injectors, Goliath HPFP, dual tank pump or DSX port injection and dual tank pump)


* I would do X port and Port Injection before tearing the engine apart to cam it and try to run stock DI and low side fueling.

[SammYyYyY]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

This imo is what the setup needs:

X port blower

Big gulp and 103mm tb (only if you X port)

Fuel system to run Ethanol (+50 injectors, Goliath HPFP, dual tank pump or DSX port injection and dual tank pump)


* I would do X port and Port Injection before tearing the engine apart to cam it and try to run stock DI and low side fueling.

Apologies for the confusion; I do already have a Big Gulp on a stock throttle body.

My thoughts on the TB and ported blower are as follows:

I was under the impression that a 103mm TB requires a ported blower snout. I have thought about porting the blower but have decided that when the time comes for significantly more boost, I’m going to jump straight to a Maggy and do the TB at the same time rather than port the stock blower. If I do the lower harmonic balancer, I do wonder if there is a mild pulley upsize I should consider doing to bump boost a tiny bit without dealing with too much heat soak. My assumption is this doesn’t exist, but I thought it was worth asking.

The reason I’m doing the cam first is that I’m doing a promotional deal where I’m essentially paying no money in labor or tuning; I wasn’t even going to cam the car initially, but when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up.

Does that make sense?

Also, as far as RWHP goes, I’d be happy in the 680-700 range for now. The car makes 636 right now and I truly feel it’s already damn fast, I really just want the chop and higher redline.

[ZL14ever]

You need to measure the required pushrod length. Don't just drop the 7.85" since Johnsons have tighter preload range

[GreenZLE]

Originally Posted by ZL14ever

You need to measure the required pushrod length. Don't just drop the 7.85" since Johnsons have tighter preload range

So does everyone use adjustable rockers since the johnson lifters have such a low preload?

[RobZL1]

I think just measure the length appropriately and use stock rockers with bushings, unless you are planning to spin it to the moon for extended periods of time.

[SammYyYyY]

Originally Posted by RobZL1

I think just measure the length appropriately and use stock rockers with bushings, unless you are planning to spin it to the moon for extended periods of time.

Bingo! CHE bushings (trunnion kit) are going in with the stock rocker arms. 7.850” is the pushrod length BTR specced for me in the kit they put together. Is this not necessarily 100% correct?

[RobZL1]

If they spec'd it, and you still have stock heads and stock gaskets, you should be fine. I'd still buy the length checker and verify.

[SammYyYyY]

Originally Posted by RobZL1

If they spec'd it, and you still have stock heads and stock gaskets, you should be fine. I'd still buy the length checker and verify.

Gotcha! Stock heads, and BTR head gaskets which I believe are the exact same MLS head gaskets from the same supplier as GM, just at a cheaper cost since they’re cutting the middle man out, I will confirm with them and check them

[dfxrte]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

Apologies for the confusion; I do already have a Big Gulp on a stock throttle body.

My thoughts on the TB and ported blower are as follows:

I was under the impression that a 103mm TB requires a ported blower snout. I have thought about porting the blower but have decided that when the time comes for significantly more boost, I’m going to jump straight to a Maggy and do the TB at the same time rather than port the stock blower. If I do the lower harmonic balancer, I do wonder if there is a mild pulley upsize I should consider doing to bump boost a tiny bit without dealing with too much heat soak. My assumption is this doesn’t exist, but I thought it was worth asking.

The reason I’m doing the cam first is that I’m doing a promotional deal where I’m essentially paying no money in labor or tuning; I wasn’t even going to cam the car initially, but when the opportunity presented itself, I couldn’t pass it up.

Does that make sense?

Also, as far as RWHP goes, I’d be happy in the 680-700 range for now. The car makes 636 right now and I truly feel it’s already damn fast, I really just want the chop and higher redline.

im in the same boat as you, however it is tempting to port.

nice parts list, mine is similar just debating on ordering the katech oil pump, c5r chain and lme billet cover. not sure if necessary.

we are very very similar. already fast, just want chop sounds, and we road course the car. my tuner for whatever reason got me in with the stage 3 btr pd cam, noting i am manual and he's a great tuner - understands i am not chasing HP #s at all right now and just want chop noises

[SammYyYyY]

Originally Posted by dfxrte

im in the same boat as you, however it is tempting to port.

nice parts list, mine is similar just debating on ordering the katech oil pump, c5r chain and lme billet cover. not sure if necessary.

we are very very similar. already fast, just want chop sounds, and we road course the car. my tuner for whatever reason got me in with the stage 3 btr pd cam, noting i am manual and he's a great tuner - understands i am not chasing HP #s at all right now and just want chop noises

Thanks man! Yeah, we really are in the same boat. I was on the fence between the PD2 and PD3 cam, I really just chose the PD2 because of the street manners and slightly lower lift (I was also told that if you're on the fence about two cams, you should generally pick the smaller one so I took that advice). I feel like you can't go wrong with anything from BTR though to be honest.

if you want my thoughts:

Katech oil pump: Do it. I know they technically "fixed" the later revision pumps (2019+), but it would be a shame to go through all of that work to cam the car and see a pump failure when you're right there already.

C5-R chain: I was told this just stands up to sustained high RPM use better than the stock chain. Not a super necessary upgrade, but it's cheap enough insurance.

LME billet cover: If you were already planning on using the phaser lockout (which you would need on a PD3 cam), the front cover is essentially an aesthetics piece with the LME timing chain guide built in. I'm opting to cheap out and use the phaser lockout with the separate timing chain guide from LME (it's around $250), which leaves me with functionally the same situation as the billet front cover for a lot cheaper, just loses some sex appeal. Doesn't bother me since I will never see it and I'm a broke college student!

[ZL14ever]

Originally Posted by SammYyYyY

7.850” is the pushrod length BTR specced for me in the kit they put together. Is this not necessarily 100% correct?

That's surprising unless they thought you would be running GM (LS7 or Caddi racing) lifters. Johnson lifters are shorter than GM lifters and will likely require longer pushrods. I am running Johnson 2116 lifters & had to use 8" pushrods