What kind of power is safe with stock transmission and rear?

[2SSHADOWLSX]

My build is coming along very nicely as of lately. I just added a McLeod RXT Clutch kit that came with a billett steel flywheel and a twin disc clutch good for 1000 ft-lbs. Also threw in an MGW short throw shifter while I was in there, and I am loving it, much better than factory Hurst shifter. Currently running a BTR Stage 4 Supercharger Cam kit and full Bolt-Ons. I'm pushing about 470 to the wheels, 535ish Crank. I plan to get a whipple 2.9L supercharger in the near future. I'm wondering where that will put me in terms of horsepower, interested in both crank and wheel numbers, and what else I should plan on replacing if need be. I dont like 1 piece rears, I want to stay independent (if I need to do the rear). I'm also thinking about turning up the boost to about 11 psi after the blower is on. I heard Strange makes good rears, the one I saw recently also came with 3.73 gears. Any advice?

[fz4k98]

As a reference, I have a whipple 2.9 on a stock 2013 ss ls3 and it dyno 610rwhp after the tune. The only other items to add power were fresh air scoop and chai, and long tube headers with high flow cats. It's running the 4 inch pulley on 93 octane.

As far as the suspension, it will depend on how you use it and how well the tires hook. While on the stock tires I had no drivetrain issues. Add slicks and damaged just about everything.

[Greenhornet2]

You'll be about where i am power wise. You'll need fuel system upgrades. Drag racing at the track with slicks and you'll break stuff inevitably. Though if you upgrade the rear suspension, get rid of about wheel hop, and preload the drivetrain the stock stuff will hold up pretty good. Upgrade would be ZL1 diff. Axles and ds stock will work. Trans, I'd upgrade to a tick rebuild with cryogenic treatment. That's what i'm going to do when my clutch goes along with an mgw shifter. Rear railing arms, toe links, cradle mounts are a must for wheel hop.

[Moto-Mojo]

I like the OP’s original question. I suspect there are no definitive answers, simply because what’s being modded and how it’s used. Cool to hear some of the real life stories of what lives and what doesn’t.

[christianchevell]

https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp...parts-failure/

Good Old article.....its still very relevant...…….about what breaks on our Camaros, I recommend BMR toes and trailing arms and a good LPW rear cover.....good luck

[Jrichards73]

I couldn't drive out of the neighborhood without losing a rear axle CV once I passed 500. It is lowered on coil-overs, but there is no factory suspension left (all BMR or UMI). GForce outlaw 1500hp axles solved the issue. The Hurst wheels are heavy and were probably a contributing factor.

[Moto-Mojo]

Originally Posted by Jrichards73

I couldn't drive out of the neighborhood without losing a rear axle CV once I passed 500. It is lowered on coil-overs, but there is no factory suspension left (all BMR or UMI). GForce outlaw 1500hp axles solved the issue. The Hurst wheels are heavy and were probably a contributing factor.

This is interesting as it relates to the ‘rubbing noise’ thread going. Before your axles completely failed, did they make any noise while turning?

[Greenhornet2]

The cv angles suffer when lowering and not doing offset diff bushings. That could be a big part of the problem richards

[FasNuf]

Originally Posted by Greenhornet2

The cv angles suffer when lowering and not doing offset diff bushings. That could be a big part of the problem richards

Thanks GH for the reality check. I'm back and forth on lowering my ZL1 and everytime I'm about to start buying parts, reality of things sets in. Seems a proper lowering job will run about $1000 and never thought about the CV angle. Just another reason to keep it stock height.

Pros:
Looks good, maybe handles better if setup right


Cons:
Cost $$$
Magnetic ride needs recalibrated
harder to get over driveways and curbs
harder on some components like CV
dealing with jacking, lifting and road conditions.

Ugh!

[BAH2SS]

My 2010 did 700+ with stock tranny and diff though it wasn't beat on.

[John_C]

I've been at 760 rwhp on stock diff and axles for like 2 years.

BUT....

I keep TC on and no sticky tires yet.

I run Continental DWS 06's.

The sidewalls are tearing up on them though.

[acammer]

Stick car drive-line life his highly dependent on how it is driven. Plenty of stories go both ways - guys breaking axles and diffs on bolt on power and OE traction, guys making 700whp+ in a tire and keeping the stock stuff alive for years. The biggest variable is without a doubt the left (and right, to a lesser extent) foot of the driver.

These cars seem to be willing to handle a pretty good amount of steady state load, but are not very tolerant of shocks to the drive line. The stock clutch is quite a strong unit, and has more than enough torque capacity to snap the factory axles and any ring and pinion you put out back in the stock housing. The key to keeping that stuff alive is no clutch dumps, and no wheel hop. Either one of those are a quick ticket to forced upgrades.

I've broken a few diffs and axles in my car on the road to learning what works and what doesn't. For me, I've found a couple things. First - you need upgraded subframe and diff bushings. The factory pieces are like big springs that live to put oscillation into the driveline, which turns into wheel hop. For suspension upgrades, those are top of the list without a doubt. The rest of the stock stuff leaves some to be desired, but doesn't contribute near as much to hop as those two pieces.

Second, you can beef up the rear end by running a quality gear (Motive, US Gear, Yukon), properly setup, and with a diff cover to give the case some rigidity, and the ring gear caps some extra support. That setup is a bit like putting a stethoscope right on the ring gear and piping it into the cabin, so some gear noise would be expected.

But the biggest thing you can do is drive it better. If the car ever gets into wheel hop, get out of the throttle, immediately. When you launch, don't dump the clutch, make a quick but deliberate release that doesn't "surprise" the driveline. I'm a big fan of preload, when I launch I use the e-brake to hold the car, and get the clutch dragging just the tiniest bit, to take slack out of the driveline to remove any "snapping" effect. This has an added benefit of helping control wheelhop as you've already "wound up" the spring like effect of all those mounts, bushings, arms, etc so you're less likely to get them rapidly springing back at you, inducing hop.