$2000 to spend what should i do?

[william SS]

Im driving a 2001 camaro ss automatic. My current mods are K&N,slp lid, tuned, tower brace, lt headers/ORY/Borla catback, nitto dr, subframe connectors, and QA1 coilovers. Everything else is stock. Right now im at 316rwhp/341rwtq, 12.89/108.53mph in the quarter mile. Im looking for a low 12 second run or lower if possible ill take what ever i can get.

[camarossf650]

man i say u save a lil more and supercharge that son of a bitch,that would be a bad ass fuckin car

[INIT2WIN]

Head and cam package!! You can get a nice size cam and some LS6 heads form TSP for less than 2K. Depending on your cam choice that could put you in the 11's. If not that I would get a converter at least a 3200 stall but that is just my $.02

[rotwiler]

A stall converter and cooler..would cost about $1,200 total with install and you would drop about a 1/2 second off your times(I would add a shift kit and have it tuned for the stall) I don't have mine tuned and have a shift improver kit, not really a shift kit. I have been checking out Heads/cam packages and even with some stock LS6 heads I can get for $500, cam $300 area and install $1,500...? Hitting more into the $3000.00 area with a tune and would want to do some work on the Ls6 heads to get them to flow better. Plus while in there a new fuel pump and chain would be good since it is a simple install then. I don't want to tackle H/C myself.
I am in the exact same stage as you right now, I have around $2,000 to spend and trying to come up with the best bang for the buck. N20 is another option, a plate system with all the saftey items complete is around $1,200 and would be good parts and much safer then a thrown together kit.
Here would be my top 3"
1)Stall converter-$1,200 area installed and at least a 1/2 second ET drop... A 3200-3400 stall would be perfect for youe setup.
2)Cam-would say about the same cost $1,200 with upgrades like springs and timing chain-need retuned-gain? depends on how you want it to drive-like stock around town and really reliable with something like a LFP GT2+3, 20-30 rwhp gain...better top end...maybe 2/10ths off ET. I will know soon, getting one.
3)N20-nice setup-plate system-all setup for your car, even with plugs and switches-$1,200-1 second gain if spray from through every gear..rear end may go boom. If I do this I will only spray in 2 and D to save rear. Very nice bang for buck, but if you get addicted, it is like crack and more and more until your car goes boom. If I do this, I will only use to get new track times and have on hand if I really need it..otherwise I will not use it much.

[Y2KPewterSS]

Hi William, I would be glad to spend your money for you

Will you be doing the labor yourself or having a shop do it?

If the $2000 is for parts alone, this would be the list. If you need to use part of the $2000 for labor as well, the list would obviously change. Who did your initial tuning, was it Ed Wright or someone else?

Stall convertor $500
Shift kit & cooler $150
Lower control arms $100
Cam $400
Valvesprings $150
Pushrods $100
Oil pump $125
Timing chain $75
Underdrive pulley $225
Panhard bar $125

[william SS]

Hi William, I would be glad to spend your money for you

Will you be doing the labor yourself or having a shop do it?

If the $2000 is for parts alone, this would be the list. If you need to use part of the $2000 for labor as well, the list would obviously change. Who did your initial tuning, was it Ed Wright or someone else?

Stall convertor $500
Shift kit & cooler $150
Lower control arms $100
Cam $400
Valvesprings $150
Pushrods $100
Oil pump $125
Timing chain $75
Underdrive pulley $225
Panhard bar $125

I had Ed wright tune it for me. Most of the 2000 would probably go to parts and the rest for labor i talked to my dad about some of this and he said he would pitch in some if i needed it for labor but ill be paying for the all the parts myself. I will be haveing a shop do all the work for me. Im thinking ill use atleast 1500 for parts though.

[Y2KPewterSS]

I had Ed wright tune it for me. Most of the 2000 would probably go to parts and the rest for labor i talked to my dad about some of this and he said he would pitch in some if i needed it for labor but ill be paying for the all the parts myself. I will be haveing a shop do all the work for me. Im thinking ill use atleast 1500 for parts though.

I would eliminate panhard and pulley from my list for now then. Did you get a dyno tune from Ed the first time or just a basic tune? The other stuff I listed will get you deep into the 12s or better.

[Eric @ W.A.R.]

Or he could just do nitrous! You'll go into the 11s.

However the list above is not bad too. The stall converter and cam will make the most significant gains for you out of that list. However it's no good without traction. To help with your nittos I would do LCAs and brackets as part of that list. All our customers have agreed that they help much better compared to stock components.

Going back to the cam...do you someday plan on doing heads/cam combo? If so I personally would wait to get both at the same time. The reason I say this is that it's nice to be able to match your heads and cam together as opposed to doing one then the other. The latter will limit what you can do and will typically cost you more. For example, most who want just a cam first will go for the monster cam w/ stock heads. That's fine and dandy, however if you later wanted to add heads, you'll most likely have to fly cut your pistons to clear the monster cam due to the porting of your new heads. You'll now incur the cost of new pistons, the labor to flycut, or buy a new cam all together. See what I mean?

I would wait on the pullies for now. We've dynoed many of them and have netted small gains.

Gears are also another good option.

If you want to lower your times with your $2k here is the minimum I would do:

Stall convertor
Shift kit & cooler
Lower control arms
LCA Brackets
Gears

Those will definitely drop your times (for under $1k) and you'll still have money left over to save up and figure out your next plan of attack. The remainder of the $1000 can be spent on a nitrous setup and say hello to the 11s.

Honestly I would really sit down and figure out what your intentions are with the car. This will allow you to plan the best route for your money.

Good luck and happy 1/4 mile racing. I can certainly help if you'd like, drop me a PM anytime.

-Eric @ WAR (Formally Eric @ DMS)

[william SS]

I had ed do a dyno tune to the car. And my intentions are to have my camaro run mid 11's at the track and to have fun with it around town on the weekends. I someday would like to do a head and cam package together but for now since i only have two grand im thinkin stall, gears, shiftkit & cooler,lower control arms and maybe a couple other things you guys sugested. And i was thinking nitrous but i think i would like to just keep it all motor for now. Any more input on this is welcomed.

[william SS]

What would you guys suggest for gears?

[Eric @ W.A.R.]

I'm assuming you have 3.23s right now? I would say 3.42s or 3.73s depending on the stall you get (for off the line traction).

[Y2KPewterSS]

What would you guys suggest for gears?

3:73s

If you are planning to do heads later, I would wait on the cam and get everything else done now, stall, gears, suspension. Those 3 will eat up most of that $2000 after labor. Have you had any work done to your tranny or is it stock?

[rc74racer]

You might want to do the entire rear at once. 2k is just about enough but I do agree with the others about the stall and suspension too.

[rotwiler]

I would keep the 3.23's you have now, you will not see hardly any improvement going to 3.42's and if you get a stall, traction will be horrible with 3.73's. I went from 2.73's to 3.42's which made a improvement, but if I would have done it again I would have bought a Moser. With the cost of changing the gears you could have paid half the cost of a new rear. Unless you know a cheap place to do the gear swap or do it yourself, save up for a stronger rear. Plus now I have gear whine....

[JwMonE99]

Buy a Honda CRX or civic for like 200 bucks, it out complety, spend 400 bucks on a 1.4 liter VTECH and one thousand on a turbo and with that 150 HP to the crank you would hit low 12s easily...... in the 1/8 mile

[william SS]

3:73s

If you are planning to do heads later, I would wait on the cam and get everything else done now, stall, gears, suspension. Those 3 will eat up most of that $2000 after labor. Have you had any work done to your tranny or is it stock?

No my tranny right now is stock. Was gonna go with a 3200 stall and i was thinking 373 unless u think i should other wise.

[william SS]

I plan on doing more mods this winter and am considering changing the rearend if needed. But for now just want to get my 1/4 at least low 12 with what ive got to work with.

[ghui99ss]

I'm in the same boat. I have the same mods except i have a 99 ss. I have the ls6 intake and 4.10s in my trunk ready to go. But i dont have the tune yet. also, mines a m6. I have a lil more than 3 grand to spend. what heads and cam package would be best? AFRs or Patriot heads? Ne help would be appreciated.

[rotwiler]

My tranny is stock, ran my 3400 stall for about 2 years now with no transmission issues. I did add a transgo shift improver kit(not a shift kit), just to keep the pulse width modulation away(is something the pcm does when it detects slip is what I got out of it and makes a chatter sound almost like pinging). You will see a huge gain with a stall, like before I said at least a 1/2 second which would put you around 12.3's easy. Pick up a 3000-3400 stall(depending on how you want car to feel around town), cooler, shift kit, and can get a tune(mine never has been tuned). you should be easy low low 12's depending on weight of car etc. I run 12.6's on a regular basis(12.4 best) with same mods, full weight car with ground fx, every option, no weight reduction at all, even steel driveshaft, plus some car audio things.. stock springs with Bilstien shocks and LCA's and SFC's, nothing special. Now I am looking for the mod to put me in the 11's for around $2,000. Total to do all this should run you around $1,000 with the shift kit. Then you will have another $1,000 left over to add some other mods. Maybe even save and get a Moser...when you get a stall you will be launching very well.. I hit 1.5's 60 foot times almost every time out and could launch harder with a stronger rear. You could even get cam and install and still remain under your budget as long as the cam isn't too big where you need the more expensive springs etc.

[rotwiler]

I'm in the same boat. I have the same mods except i have a 99 ss. I have the ls6 intake and 4.10s in my trunk ready to go. But i dont have the tune yet. also, mines a m6. I have a lil more than 3 grand to spend. what heads and cam package would be best? AFRs or Patriot heads? Ne help would be appreciated.

It is what you want out of the car..is it a daily driver.. do you want power throughout the rpm range or up top, do you only take it to the track and rarely drive on the street? What is best for some is not best for me. I am going for a stock like feel with pull in the upper rpms..I want it to be a cam that I can drive daily and feel confident I can get a good tune and not stall out on me at a light. A lot of people now days are after dyno #'s showing max hp, which doesn't win a race or make good times at track unless it is throughout the rpm range. Bigger cams do break things over time. I do want more hp, but I don't want to sacrafice reliabilty. A good package should cost around $2000-2200 and some supporting mods like fuel pump, timing chain while your there. I have been talking to some installers and is a lot more work to do heads than a cam and cost to install and tune gets up there close to the price of parts.