I need some help

[smkn gts]

Hello everyone,

I am relatively new to the ls1 and do not know much so humor me please. I have a 98 trans am that i bought last year. it has about 94k miles on it but the car has been well maintained. Last summer i did not have any more money to put into the car but for this summer i have high hopes.

I have been looking into nitrous specifically the ZEX nitrous kit with a 100 shot. The kit says ideal for stock type engines. Stock is exactly what i have and unfortunately nothing else yet. This summer i plan on buying new wheel and tires, exhaust from the y pipe back with electronic dumps. slp lid and K&N filter. The brakes need to be done and i know that i need to replace the spark plugs for nitrous. Now i run into many problems. Is there any other recommendations that would make the process safer? i plan on having the kit installed myself and then dyno tuned to be safe.

Here is a link to the kit: http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/...t.phtml?p=1253

So i guess my question is.. what are your suggestions? id like power but i am not quite ready to sink into the block because i can not afford some of the performance kits they offer. i know this may all seem dumb to some and perhaps my order is off but please humor me, as i said before ill be the first to tell you i dont know shit, i know about spray and am set on getting it but i dont know what else i should be looking into.

[pewterz55]

welcome. where you at in michigan? any pics of the car? a4 or m6?

but to start ya off sub frame connectors, long tubes and y pipe to go with you cat back... and im sure a million others are gonna chime in with soem suggestions on how to spend you money

[NoscamaroSS]

I would avoid the Zex kit and just get a good kit from either Harris speed or Nitro Daves.

[smkn gts]

im going to try and upload some pictures. but yes i am in michigan and i cant drive my car right now because of the snow and salt. I am hesitant to spray now, i went to livernois motorsports by my house and everyone is trying to talk me out of spray.

am i able to put long tube headers on my t/a without having to cut things out? i was also planning on having electric dumps installed for the hell of it when i have the exhaust done

[Hobbesnmina2001]

im going to try and upload some pictures. but yes i am in michigan and i cant drive my car right now because of the snow and salt. I am hesitant to spray now, i went to livernois motorsports by my house and everyone is trying to talk me out of spray.

am i able to put long tube headers on my t/a without having to cut things out? i was also planning on having electric dumps installed for the hell of it when i have the exhaust done

If you talk to 25 different car folks you'll probably get 25 different opinions!!
You know like belly buttons most humans have them!!

Nitrous is a quick way of getting HP, however it needs to be done correctly or you can quickly find yourself looking for a new motor!
It's not rocket science but you should learn all you can about it, and realize you can't just get a basic kit slap it on and expect good reliable results!
You need to decided whether you want a wet or dry shot. They both have good and bad points, depends on your supporting equipment.
A good thing about nitrous is you can (and should) start with a small shot while you are tuning and getting used ot it, then build on that in reasonable steps. Also remember the motor needs to be in good mechanical shape and should have a good tune to begin with, this means good compression, no blow by, no KR (knock retard) sufficient fueling capacity.
First 2 rules:

1) Dry or wet shot, all the fuel necessary for the nitrous amount injected needs to be there when the nitrous hits, timing considerations need to be also accounted for shots larger the 50 hp!
2) Always remember and refer back to rule #1.

I don't mean to be condescending or trivial, just that when people don't follow the basics the usual result is not a good experience!!
If you spend a good amount of time learning first and set it up correctly you can have a good experience with it like many others have, if you take short cuts and miss steps...!!

[Knight]

Probably some of the best advice I've ever heard. Never cared much for NOS myself - I could never keep the bottle full! But it's your choice. Learn the pros and cons and then decide what to do. Great thing about these cars is you can do so much to them and get great results - just takes doin some homework. Let us know what you do.

[97ramair]

Hello everyone,

I am relatively new to the ls1 and do not know much so humor me please. I have a 98 trans am that i bought last year. it has about 94k miles on it but the car has been well maintained. Last summer i did not have any more money to put into the car but for this summer i have high hopes.

I have been looking into nitrous specifically the ZEX nitrous kit with a 100 shot. The kit says ideal for stock type engines. Stock is exactly what i have and unfortunately nothing else yet. This summer i plan on buying new wheel and tires, exhaust from the y pipe back with electronic dumps. slp lid and K&N filter. The brakes need to be done and i know that i need to replace the spark plugs for nitrous. Now i run into many problems. Is there any other recommendations that would make the process safer? i plan on having the kit installed myself and then dyno tuned to be safe.

Here is a link to the kit: http://www.livernoismotorsports.com/...t.phtml?p=1253

So i guess my question is.. what are your suggestions? id like power but i am not quite ready to sink into the block because i can not afford some of the performance kits they offer. i know this may all seem dumb to some and perhaps my order is off but please humor me, as i said before ill be the first to tell you i dont know shit, i know about spray and am set on getting it but i dont know what else i should be looking into.

You'll need a complete kit to be safe. i have a Nitrous outlet kit with some HSW accessories. This includes wet kit, plugs, WOT switch, Window switch, bottle heater, down pipe, purge kit,, etc . if you contact KY speed i know alot of people use Mark, or WS6 store which is where i got my complete kit from. Tune is necessary as the timing needs to be adjusted. Can't remember if there's anything else but that's basically it. Love the kit and nitrous. however you wont get many shots out of a tank. at the track I get about 4-5 pulls on a full tank w/ 150 shot. If you are going to use on street b very carfeul as my tires in the lower gears completely brake loose on street tires. That's why i only use it at track. Hope this helps. If you do a search on this site you'll find a ton of details. good luck!

[smkn gts]

Thanks for the tips. I am actually very afraid to spray my car because it has 90k miles on it and although for the last 4 years we have taken excellent care of the car we are not positive about the owners. I have also heard that the 98 models have weaker engine components than the later models such as oil pump and fuel pump etc. Speaking of tires and wheels i just price quoted 2 17in 275zr40s gforce tires and 4 c6 corvette wheels. I have 2 of those same tires sitting in my bed room right now. As soon as the weather clears im going to by the rest of my wheels and tires set and then take the car to get the exhaust and dumps along with the slp intake and K&n filter.

Originally i wanted to take my car in for a dyno tune but if i decide later to spray my car i do not want to pay another 700 dollars for another tune. =(

Here is those wheels i am getting, i think they look good plus its just so hard to find wheels that are wide enough. These are 9.5 wide with i believe a 54 offset.

http://www.c5racer.com/catalog/images/1417_1_.jpg

http://www.lakeshorewheelandtire.com/wheels/5450-c.JPG

[Hobbesnmina2001]

don't let fear keep you from learning and planning how to best approach a project like nitrous. If you start with a smaller shot 50-75 hp it will be more forgiving while you are learning.
Nitrous also great points that can make it safer to run if they are implemented.
You might look into the pros and cons of Nano nitrous vs a bottle heater. Nano can be very helpful in getting the most out of a nitrous run by keeping the bottle pressure consistent plus it keeps the engine load consistent as well.
You can do stages, or progressive shots, you can also start the nitrous later too so it can give you a lot of implementation options.
A cool thing that happens is when you look at all these things you learn more about the nitrous considerations and how to run it safely.

[Danger731]

The 98's have larger injectors to support a dry kit. A 100 shot is a "baby" shot to an LS1. A 100 shot requires no tuning. Go over 100 then maybe, at 150 I would but some don't. Go to a 175 shot ? Get a tune.

Change your plugs to match the shot you use.

Get all the safety add ons:
Fuel pressure safety switch
Fuel pressure safety switch
WOT switch
RPM Window switch

Also get a purge and a bottle heater.

Do a lot of research and take the advice from those that spray, been on the boards awhile and you'll be fine.

I spray a 100 shot on the Z, it has 120 k on the clock.

[RealLiveMD]

If your money is tight and this your dd, don't spray it. Get a lid and LT with magnaflow or cutout first. Save a few more bucks after you get tired of that and get some subframes... to stop wrinkling your r rear quarter. Throw in a set of gears for $600. Now you'll be happy another 2-3 months, then same money and get some budget patriot heads, with a g5x3 if you're near a good tuner or 228r if you want to buy a canned internet tune...rough cost about $3000 including tune and install. This should last you until the damn car starts to fall apart. Make sure you wear good tires like gsd3's on the street and stiff shocks in the back. qa1s are best but tokicos will do. If you want to spray and your pocketbook can handle later.. with every accessory that HSW sales including separate tank, i was out of about $2700 and I did the install. Anybody with tools can work on these cars. I never worked on a car before...I started after I removed a guy's gallbladder after reading instructions. I figure cars couldn't be any harder. Hope that helps.

[smkn gts]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. I havent quite decided for sure but i want to get all of the work done properly and make sure my car is ready before i start digging into it. I just bought my rims and tires and it only set me back about 1300 i got goodrich g-force 275zr40r17 all the way around. Before i put on my wheels on i am going to install brakes. As soon as the salt is gone i am going to take my car in and have the exhaust installed with electric dumps and flowmasters. I havent decided on whether to buy the full lid kit or just the kit and the filter but that is next on my list. After some minor maintenance im going to have the car professionally buffed waxed and shampooed along with a tint. I think i am going to wait until next summer before i dig into the engine because with the wheels this should all set me back about 2500. I also just bought my brothers 1986 black trans am, my first car in fact. The difference is my friends just rebuilt the engine for him all the way down to the pistons so the car runs great and it might just be my daily driver so i can keep my good car for the weekends. =)

I hope that when i finally get out of college next year and find i good job i might just trade my car in for a new ss camaro =)

[RealLiveMD]

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. I havent quite decided for sure but i want to get all of the work done properly and make sure my car is ready before i start digging into it. I just bought my rims and tires and it only set me back about 1300 i got goodrich g-force 275zr40r17 all the way around. Before i put on my wheels on i am going to install brakes. As soon as the salt is gone i am going to take my car in and have the exhaust installed with electric dumps and flowmasters. I havent decided on whether to buy the full lid kit or just the kit and the filter but that is next on my list. After some minor maintenance im going to have the car professionally buffed waxed and shampooed along with a tint. I think i am going to wait until next summer before i dig into the engine because with the wheels this should all set me back about 2500. I also just bought my brothers 1986 black trans am, my first car in fact. The difference is my friends just rebuilt the engine for him all the way down to the pistons so the car runs great and it might just be my daily driver so i can keep my good car for the weekends. =)

I hope that when i finally get out of college next year and find i good job i might just trade my car in for a new ss camaro =)

Noone puts flowmasters on an f body. If you're not getting magnaflow, corsa or borla...you're wasting your time.

[smkn gts]

hmm ill keep that in mind. is it just the sound difference? i dont know that much about exhaust.

[RealLiveMD]

Hp and sound