[Gas]

2018 SS 1LE, thinking of keeping it awhile longer and looking to give it some more power. currently has Kooks longtube headers and corsa extreme.

which route do you think I should go? really leaning towards camming it since it changes the whole demeanor of the car. let me know what you think!

[gtfoxy]

What’s your power goals?

[BlaqWhole]

If you're not planning to keep the car then don't mess with the cam. It'll ruin the value. And you'll never get the money back. A blower can be removed and sold. And It'll make more power more efficiently. I'd go blower.

[LT4Greg]

Supercharger is the way to go! Either a Magnacharger, Procharger, Edelbrock or others. You have a few to choose from.

[laynlo15]

You'll be better off with the Supercharger. No pulling the motor, tearing the heads off, etc. Put a blower on and have it running the same weekend if you can do it yourself.

[LT4Greg]

Since you have headers you will have to get a tune when you install a supercharger because of the canned tune but you can get a tuner kit which is cheaper.

[RyanR623]

If you have the money... Supercharger. The cam idle is awesome, but so is supercharger whine and it'll make more power.

[Gas]

Originally Posted by gtfoxy

What’s your power goals?

really don't have a power goal in mind. just want a fun street car. Im only slightly worried about boost because the LT1 rods and pistons aren't very happy past 600whp

[ST1LE]

For me, I would go ZL1 before supercharging a 1LE. From a super charged car perspective, the ZL1 is the complete package.

If it were my car, I would go cam or trade in for a ZL1.

[gtfoxy]

Originally Posted by Gas

really don't have a power goal in mind. just want a fun street car. Im only slightly worried about boost because the LT1 rods and pistons aren't very happy past 600whp

That depends on fueling. Ethanol blend helps a lot.

Here’s a good read.
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=575903

Some kits come with provisions for port injection which really opens up the door to pushing it. At the very least it will give you a safety margin.

When I was in your shoes I was heavily leaning toward the Edelbrock kit.

Originally Posted by ST1LE

For me, I would go ZL1 before supercharging a 1LE. From a super charged car perspective, the ZL1 is the complete package.

If it were my car, I would go cam or trade in for a ZL1.

Ultimately this is what I chose.

[Gas]

Originally Posted by gtfoxy

That depends on fueling. Ethanol blend helps a lot.

Here’s a good read.
https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=575903

Some kits come with provisions for port injection which really opens up the door to pushing it. At the very least it will give you a safety margin.

When I was in your shoes I was heavily leaning toward the Edelbrock kit.


Ultimately this is what I chose.

I was/still kind of am on the fence about just trading it for a zl1. but I'm not sure if I want that bigger payment.

[zx9rmal]

Originally Posted by Gas

I was/still kind of am on the fence about just trading it for a zl1. but I'm not sure if I want that bigger payment.

I say ZL1. You'll still have a warranty, not to mention the strengthened parts. Maybe find a low mileage '18 or '19.

[Redlinez]

If you're doing HPDE events with any frequency, I'd go with a cam. Like someone else said, if you're not keeping it long term, go FI. You can take it off and sell it. Cam surge can be a pita to daily drive if you get the wrong cam.

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by Gas

really don't have a power goal in mind. just want a fun street car. Im only slightly worried about boost because the LT1 rods and pistons aren't very happy past 600whp

"LT1 rods/pistons are not happy past 600whp" is the biggest spread of misinformation next to Covid-19. It is a fact that you can not just moon boost a LT1 without making sure you have some important things covered. Tune, Octane, and Cooling have to be on point. Above 600whp on 93 pump a LT1 starts to walk a tight rope due to octane wall from high compression. Meth helps in the octane department but it doesn't do a great job removing heat from the cylinder...especially when spraying 100% meth with no water. Water injection does a great job removing heat but it doesn't add octane or power. 50/50 mix is probably the best way to use it but you also will be relying on it as a supplemental fuel. Then we have E85 which is arguably the LT1's best friend...it does both very effectively but the fuel system upgrade costs in order to run it seems to scare most off.

So if you plan to supercharge your LT1, I would consider running a blend of Ethanol. If you do the LT4 fuel system it will support 8-9psi peak on E55 or so and the engine will be much happier in the long run. If you add meth on top of E or go straight to FIC +30 injectors with a LPE HPFP, then I wouldn't be afraid to push upwards of 11-12psi.

Imo a cam install alone isn't worth the time or effort on this platform for what you are looking to do. It is very labor intensive and the valve train life will be greatly reduced for no more power you are going to gain. I would wager a low boost setup would outlast a cam car longevity wise. If you want to go NA then you really need to do the Heads/Cam/Intake package from somebody like Pray and it will run it's balls off. Plan on valve train maintenance every 20-30k miles or even sooner depending on how aggressive the cam lobes and spring rates are.

I agree with others that moving up to a ZL1 isn't a bad idea either.