[JasonD]

I’m trying to decide what to do performance wise with my car. I purchased a 2018 ZL1 with 10k miles a couple months ago. I’ve added a roto fab intake to an otherwise stock car. I’d like to add another 100hp or so. I picked up a used set of ARH headers and Gesi ultra, or whatever they call them, cats. I was thinking of getting the blower ported and a 103 throttle body, also. Do the work myself and get it tuned. I don’t want to spend a fortune on the engine. Really, it’s pretty darn fast stock.
The car was built nov 2017. I’m concerned about the dreaded oil pump issue. So, should I go another direction and get the oil pump replaced with a Katech unit and swap the cam? I would take it somewhere to get this work done. I assume that would be pretty pricy. What kind of power would cam, headers, and air intake produce?
Another option would be keep it stock, as it’s got a year and a half left on the factory warranty. That’s no fun, though. What do you guys think? I’m in Eastern Ohio between Columbus and Pittsburgh. Any good LT shops in the area?

[Schlok]

WeaponX is nearby in Cinci, you could work with them...they have been good to work with from my experience via phone and email. Never had any build work done there though. If you're going to swap the cam, that's going to be a 6k+ job to do. It is not a small amount of work. LTs, a TB, ported blower and a lower will probably get you there but heat might be your biggest issue. At around 700 WHP you start to run out of fuel and that requires a whole other set of mods move past that . Read up on the 700 WHP (no meth) thread, lots of discussion in there.

[LS3 Machine]

Myself if I woke up in your shoes…. I’d go oil pump. Your warranty is either expired, or about to. Congrats on the ZL1… it is an awesome machine.

[LT4Greg]

I would keep it stock as you stated it still has factory warranty left and if it was me I wouldn’t take a chance on having the oil pump go out and you having to pay for the repair or a new engine. I have over 22,000 miles so far on my 2017 with no issues and my drivetrain warranty will be up in April so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that mine will be good. Good luck and it’s your decision to do what you want on your ZL1.

[EDFHOBBIES]

You have a few options.. (I'm leaving plug wires off I'm at 1000 plus w oem plug wires no issues in 5 years I did change last week just because I did new plugs and come on they been on since Oct 2017)

E85 route less parts, you have to have e85 in your area.

$1500 Headers
$300 DSX flex fuel sensor
$450 Rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 to 70 Lt5 adapter

JRE is getting 6500 for this setup lol

Lower pulley route (this is for people that get the HP bug easy and wanting 100hp now but not wanting to waste money on swapping a blower pulley or porting because they will eventually get a bigger blower or different power adder later. Basically you will spend $1800 plus on porting, pulley, porting upgrade, and shipping when you go to resale blower you will be lucky to get half that back) Doing this the lower pulley will work with any future builds.

$471.00 ATI 918856 Damper
$100 used to $165 new ATI 916227 or Lingenfelter L220170709 9.17
$29.00 k080845HD green belt (amazon)
$1500 Headers
$450 - rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$9.75LS1 ATI 951499 damper bolt summit
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 LT1/4 - LT5 adapter

Upper Pulley route

$230 griptec 2.3 or 2.175
$29.00 green belt
$450.00 roto fab
$1500 Headers
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$450 - Rotofab
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 LT1/4 - LT5 adapter

Upper Pulley route plus Ported blower

$2200 kong porting, kong x porting, griptec, box, plus shipping and tax
$29.00 green belt
$1500 Headers
$450 - Rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$650 103mm TB

Upper or lower pulley Some E content with any of the above combo's works to.

Or...

2650 for 8k using the stock TB, no headers, maybe a voltage booster for the pump vs the ported blower route.. $8000 vs 4800 with room to grow.. factor selling the Lt4 blower $2000 now your only $1200 difference in price if you did this before covid it was a no brainer the blowers were 6300 and it was cheaper to buy a bigger blower vs porting and buying a TB and Headers.

All these will gain at least 100 at the wheels some will do 125 or 150 plus.


Its your money but since your doing the labor your self a blower swap is cake vs messing with headers and all that other stuff right now plus you have room to grow.


I have a March or April build 17 39,000 no pump failure yet I did a cam and didn't swap pump yet this was before people started to talk about them.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by EDFHOBBIES

You have a few options.. (I'm leaving plug wires off I'm at 1000 plus w oem plug wires no issues in 5 years I did change last week just because I did new plugs and come on they been on since Oct 2017)

E85 route less parts, you have to have e85 in your area.

$1500 Headers
$300 DSX flex fuel sensor
$450 Rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 to 70 Lt5 adapter

JRE is getting 6500 for this setup lol

Lower pulley route (this is for people that get the HP bug easy and wanting 100hp now but not wanting to waste money on swapping a blower pulley or porting because they will eventually get a bigger blower or different power adder later. Basically you will spend $1800 plus on porting, pulley, porting upgrade, and shipping when you go to resale blower you will be lucky to get half that back) Doing this the lower pulley will work with any future builds.

$471.00 ATI 918856 Damper
$100 used to $165 new ATI 916227 or Lingenfelter L220170709 9.17
$29.00 k080845HD green belt (amazon)
$1500 Headers
$450 - rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$9.75LS1 ATI 951499 damper bolt summit
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 LT1/4 - LT5 adapter

Upper Pulley route

$230 griptec 2.3 or 2.175
$29.00 green belt
$450.00 roto fab
$1500 Headers
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$450 - Rotofab
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$200 LT5 TB
$45 LT1/4 - LT5 adapter

Upper Pulley route plus Ported blower

$2200 kong porting, kong x porting, griptec, box, plus shipping and tax
$29.00 green belt
$1500 Headers
$450 - Rotofab
$450 to $1000 Boosta pump or DSX aux pump
$7.00 ea. NGK 6510 1 step cooler plugs
$650 103mm TB

Upper or lower pulley Some E content with any of the above combo's works to.

Or...

2650 for 8k using the stock TB, no headers, maybe a voltage booster for the pump vs the ported blower route.. $8000 vs 4800 with room to grow.. factor selling the Lt4 blower $2000 now your only $1200 difference in price if you did this before covid it was a no brainer the blowers were 6300 and it was cheaper to buy a bigger blower vs porting and buying a TB and Headers.

All these will gain at least 100 at the wheels some will do 125 or 150 plus.


Its your money but since your doing the labor your self a blower swap is cake vs messing with headers and all that other stuff right now plus you have room to grow.


I have a March or April build 17 39,000 no pump failure yet I did a cam and didn't swap pump yet this was before people started to talk about them.

Thanks for all that information, I really appreciate it! I was under the impression that headers and throttle body were highly recommended with a 2650 blower. If not, the bigger blower makes more sense. I want to run cats, and was concerned the stock ones wouldn’t hold up with the increased power. As I already have headers, I figured 3k more for Kong porting and throttle body. I thought that would be about it, other than tuning? CSP made 90whp/100wtq with that combo. Pretty sure I’d be happy with that.

[EDFHOBBIES]

Originally Posted by JasonD

Thanks for all that information, I really appreciate it! I was under the impression that headers and throttle body were highly recommended with a 2650 blower. If not, the bigger blower makes more sense. I want to run cats, and was concerned the stock ones wouldn’t hold up with the increased power. As I already have headers, I figured 3k more for Kong porting and throttle body. I thought that would be about it, other than tuning? CSP made 90whp/100wtq with that combo. Pretty sure I’d be happy with that.

If your not doing a big fuel upgrade that blower will max out the fuel system header or no headers

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by EDFHOBBIES

If your not doing a big fuel upgrade that blower will max out the fuel system header or no headers

Understood. I read some stories of melting/blownout cats and didn’t know the stock system would hold up.

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by JasonD

Understood. I read some stories of melting/blownout cats and didn’t know the stock system would hold up.

Guys have made over 800whp on bone stock exhaust. It can be done if tuned correctly. Most simply choose to free up exhaust restrictions and gain some power by going with headers. Usually those that are melting cats are running leaner which can be done with catless headers...but catted setups need more fuel to keep the cats cool. Hence why there is a feature in the ECU called "COT" which stands for Cat Over Temp protection. It's a fuel adder table that will request the ECU to add more fuel if cats reach a certain temp threshold.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

Guys have made over 800whp on bone stock exhaust. It can be done if tuned correctly. Most simply choose to free up exhaust restrictions and gain some power by going with headers. Usually those that are melting cats are running leaner which can be done with catless headers...but catted setups need more fuel to keep the cats cool. Hence why there is a feature in the ECU called "COT" which stands for Cat Over Temp protection. It's a fuel adder table that will request the ECU to add more fuel if cats reach a certain temp threshold.

Thanks! Do you recommend changing the oil pump before any mods? If I get the pump changed, and a cam, what kind of power could one expect from those with just headers and a roto fab?

[Smokin19]

Originally Posted by Schlok

WeaponX is nearby in Cinci, you could work with them...they have been good to work with from my experience via phone and email. Never had any build work done there though. If you're going to swap the cam, that's going to be a 6k+ job to do. It is not a small amount of work. LTs, a TB, ported blower and a lower will probably get you there but heat might be your biggest issue. At around 700 WHP you start to run out of fuel and that requires a whole other set of mods move past that . Read up on the 700 WHP (no meth) thread, lots of discussion in there.

WeaponX no longer does any engine builds (about 3.5 years ago). The shop has been taken over by Blake Leonard and called Top Speed Cincy. They are starting my build the end of this month. Blake is a very good mechanic and does all the tuning. Speaking of which, a TCM tune will be done on mine and would be a good addition to any build, even stock.

[EDFHOBBIES]

Originally Posted by JasonD

Thanks! Do you recommend changing the oil pump before any mods? If I get the pump changed, and a cam, what kind of power could one expect from those with just headers and a roto fab?

I'd wait on the oil pump unless you do a cam. I monitor oil pressure all the time get to know your car see where the pressure rides normally and be conscious of it. Mines been solid w a 2017 build never goes above 40 and never goes below the 1st bar to the left of the 40.

If your one of those guys that doesn't want to monitor it there are gauges you can by like the Idash banks super gauge that you can set thresh holds on for the min and max pressure and it will warn you. I bet there some OBDII aps that you plug a reader and wifi module into the obdII port and you can do the same with your phone.

I lied actually I had a bad injector and it screwed with the oil pressure it read low on the highway with no throttle and with throttle it rode high.

[JasonD]

Originally Posted by EDFHOBBIES

I'd wait on the oil pump unless you do a cam. I monitor oil pressure all the time get to know your car see where the pressure rides normally and be conscious of it. Mines been solid w a 2017 build never goes above 40 and never goes below the 1st bar to the left of the 40.

If your one of those guys that doesn't want to monitor it there are gauges you can by like the Idash banks super gauge that you can set thresh holds on for the min and max pressure and it will warn you. I bet there some OBDII aps that you plug a reader and wifi module into the obdII port and you can do the same with your phone.

I lied actually I had a bad injector and it screwed with the oil pressure it read low on the highway with no throttle and with throttle it rode high.

I was only going to do a cam, if I got the oil pump changed. My preferred plan is headers, intake, throttle body, ported blower. I’ll do that work myself. Oil pump, I’ll have to take it somewhere. Aside from cost, there’s always a risk the shop screws something up. I’m trying to weigh everything. I keep going back and forth. Good ideas about setting up a low pressure alarm!

[ChadSZL1]

I went with the JRE flex package. It’s great!