Little money, more horsepower...

**DarkVaderFRC** · 08-29-2011, 02:40 PM

I had never join these blogs but after 4 months searching I have to admit that most of the people at this site know what they are talking about. The reason why I join in mainly is because I could not find my particular situation in other blogs so I need to ask the experts right.... I own a 99 corvette with 418rwhp, but I bought it like it is from a dealer who had acquire it through auction. I know I have patriot heads because you can read it. But that is it, I have no Idea of anything else in the car. Here comes the interesting part, I am racing someone with 470hp and this guy is a big mouth and has humiliated many times if you know what I mean... I am tired of being beat up. Easy math I need about 53 hp or more to beat him...right. How I achieve this without opening the engine and not using nitrous, turbos or superchargers? is there a way or should I give up?... Am I in the max hp for a LS1?

**transamtom** · 08-29-2011, 04:50 PM

Well a 99 FRC Vette weighs about 3200lbs give or take <50>

What kind of car does your buddy have?

You probably have him on the power to weight ratio so this race will be about the driver.

Your car probably has CAI,Headers,CB so there isn't really too many things other than N02 that will get you 50HP quick.

**transamtom** · 08-29-2011, 04:52 PM

BTW Welcome.

BTW2 your no where near the max HP for an LS1.

I know people that have run TT set ups on a stock LS1.

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-30-2011, 07:23 AM

Like Tom post, what kinda car is he running?

Is he boosting about having that much HP or does he have it on paper? Not really important, it's just that ppl can say anything without proving it.

Does this driver have a lot of track experience? That matters a lot. If he has run his car, he most likely knows how to launch it properly and where to put more power into it down the track. Example - if the car is going to spin coming from a dig the driver may not floor it as much, till the car gets moving, then he'll gradually add gas to make up speed. Little things like that win races. It takes time and practice. Hell yes $$$ and parts help too, but not everything in racing is about power.

Most likely you need to learn how to drive your car. A Vette is a formidable car in any race. But you have to take the time to get to know it and control it. Races from a dig are all about putting power to pavement without spinning or hopping the tires. More races are won by suspension then throwing power at the engine. You can have all the power in the world but if you can put it to the pavement you just end up having an expensive exhaust fan.

Take the time to get to know your car.

One thing that sucks in not knowing what cam is in the car is the only way to know is to take it out and look for markings/stamping. That would mean you would have to tear it all down to get to it and then put it back to together. I wouldn't do this unless I had to change the oil pump or timing chain unless you really, really, REALLY wanted to know.

What kind of heads? Not all heads are created equal. Some heads can actually make you lose HP if not matched up with the right cam and tune.

Tuning - You could also have a street tune that gives it a modest increase in HP but not to the full potential.

Are you an auto or manual? That matters as well as gear ratio. A higher stall may help for auto as well as a better clutch. LS& Clutch Kits are really good, SPEC and Monster Clutches are for those that seriously race hard. Increase your GR in the rear and you can gain torque.

Now for parts: Headers, Bigger Cam & tune, Weight reduction & suspension upgrades will get you there. NO2 with definitely put you there but that is another matter in itself.

**79Firebird_99TA** · 08-30-2011, 07:35 AM

You could get your cam specs by using a cam degree kit.

***SMWS6TA*** · 08-30-2011, 08:02 AM

how hard they to use?

**79Firebird_99TA** · 09-01-2011, 07:34 AM

It's not hard but it's still going to take work to take off the harmonic balancer and a valve cover. If you really have to know the specs of the cam ... .that's the easiest way to find them IMHO. There is a lot of info on how to degree a cam out there. I was once in your situation and wanted to know what was in my 400.... I was having some issues with some noisy rocker arms. The valve guides were chewed up. After pulling the specs, the intake and exhaust duration at .050" was in the high 230s with the CR being only 8.2:1. The lift was also .520 on stock heads. Needless to say I changed my cam and also shaved my heads to bump CR to 9.5:1

. That was a ridiculously huge cam and wrong for the application.

As for you, it appears to be more curiosity than a repair needed. I personally wouldn't worry about it ... or at least hit the dyno.... and see what's what.