My performance Mod plans

**gtobob** · 08-20-2005, 09:52 AM

My plan for my new to me 04 GTO are as follows
1) Supercharger or turbo. Siding with turbo but have some problems with the STS system in the rain or any water hitting the bottom of the car.
2) Electric cooling pump (Does it work a supercharger system)
3) Exhaust. Louder but not too loud and play nice with Force Induction.
4) Something I have not seen to much of is an oil cooler. Which I think I will have to make myself.
5) A little better weight distribution like moving the battery to the tunk and removing the 15 lb skid plate. And a lighter hood.
The car will try to remain (somewhat) street legal in Northern Va. And maybe doing track dazes at Summit Point. I am thinking that I am going limit myself to about 425-450 rwhp. After that it just too pricey to drive the car cause things like brake clutch cooling and a broken engines and or driveline become to expensive.

**Sarge** · 08-20-2005, 12:39 PM

Well GTObob...first let me say welcome man.....wipe the grease off your chin

Good news is we have been there and done that.....know what works and what is BS that is for sure...oh the power of google huh?! I will only speak from personal experience and save you from the "Internet" forum experience.....I will say you won't find any bullshit here as you will find in other forums.....few things.....
What is it your are after? street/1/4 mile beast? You need to define your ultimate goals....let me go through a few things...and keep in mind this is my experience ( hands on) and not "what I read on the Internet" man...OK lets go....
1. Big Internet "discussion" here! ATI Procharger is the way to go for over 500RWHP.. You left off Nitrous....for whatever reason...I ain't gonna pimp one Power Adder over the other...they all have pro's and con's man...STS has some serious issues....google it....few folks have burnt holes in the #7 piston....per your post you are only looking for 425-450 RWHP....hells bells son...you don't need a power booster for that....Heads/Cam/Headers will get you there....you need to talk to these folks EPP....Bob is probably the only sponsor on the Internet that hasn't succumb to the bullshit fly....real folks with lots of experience... call him... http://www.exoticperformanceplus.com/
2. I assume your talking about a electric water pump....we got bigger issues than the few RWHP that gives us......see above man....
3. Once again for the RWHP you call out at the end of your post...FI is not needed....Long Tube headers...Shorties add nothing....R/T Cats and whatever "sound" you want comes from many different manufacturers such as Borla/Loudmouths/ etc.
4. Peanuts....15 pounds here or there make zilch difference....OK get a BMR skid plate and a RK fiberglass hood....you wont see any difference except in your wallet....

Son you should be focused on Headers/Exhaust/Heads/Cam/Dyno Tune/...that'll get you where you want to be....want an extra boost and remain "street able"....nitrous to impress the folks/girls....

**gtobob** · 08-20-2005, 02:52 PM

The goal is not a 1/4 mile beast per say but rather something is to run it at Summit Point Raceway which is a 2 mile 10 turn road coarse see (http://www.summitpoint-raceway.com)and virclub.com. The sessions run about 20 minutes which much different setup then for drag racing. Moving more weight off the front and to the back really helps a car on these type of coarses. Much more then aftermarket springs and shocks or even sway bars.
Then comes of issue of (street legal)/Emission/State Inspection I live in an area the requires dyno testing on the car every two years. The performance cats tend not last as long as the OEM cats. Also taking a working cat off a car and replacing it with an aftermarket cat is illegal. Lets not include the Va. State Trooper that sits outside Leesburg looking any reason to pull you over and f**k with you cause he thinks that a car may be a bit loud. I have had Forced Induction aftermarket system on another car with about 7 years. I have a good understanding on how most of the setups work. Most engines will handle about 5-7 psi of boost without touching the insides of the engine. I also will be driving this car to work 2-3 times a week which is a 110 mile round trip so I still have to think about the mileage. Thanks for the info on the STS turbo it really was not one of my first option anyways.

**Sarge** · 08-20-2005, 05:18 PM

Well I'll be the first to admit I have not done much of what your talking about...just some thoughts though....on my 04...the 13" Baer brakes made tons of difference......the brake fluid that came from the factory was a joke...full of crap floating around and just worthless.....I pumped out all the factory brake fluid and replaced with a synthetic brake fluid....big big difference just in doing that...then with the Baer 13" up front...the GTO really changed hard braking characteristics......I've seen some of the local GTO's do the brake fluid flush and change and replaced the stock pads with C5 (Vette) pads and have seen a real difference........if you go with a larger wheel you can obviously go with the 14" rotors on the 18" wheels and up.....
...the sub frame connectors really stiffen the car and sub frame bushings seem to significantly reduce "shudder".......of course a dyno tune and eliminating the torque management (not traction control) really helped with the rev limiter etc.
As for weight....I have the BMR skid plate....RK Sports hood (fiberglass) and yes just those two items eliminated about 150 lbs (steel factory hood was a heavy SOB)....I also have a trannie (A4 built out w/3200 stall) and an oil cooler...the oil cooler you may consider....really works well.....anyway...for whatever it was worth

Happy hunting man and welcome again....and I think I would give some serious consideration to the ATI Procharger.... http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...509_blown_gto/

**gtobob** · 08-21-2005, 04:22 AM

Thanks for your help you have given me a lot of great information. And ATI procharger is near the top if not on the top of the list. Also on boosted cars there is always a small with the fuel regulation and fuel management. Often the fuel rail is the issue. The last cylinder is becomes lean and you will get detonation in that cylinder while all the the other are quite happy. I don't how the fuel rails are setup on the LS1 engine but a dual feed rails make tuning and fuel management. Also an in-line fuel pump is most helpfull. But all of these items can found at Summit Racing.

**Rob** · 08-21-2005, 10:08 AM

If you plan on road racing, I wouldn't get a power adder with the stock shortblock. I've had way too many friends loose the bottom end when on the road course. Too much stress.

As said above, your power goals are very attainable with heads/cam and bolt ons. Electric water pump is very nice, contrary to Sarge's post. Had one on my LT1 and loved it. Know a lot of people that have them on an LS1 and have had no problems at all.

I like turbo's myself, but that's a personal preference. Both a blower and turbo do basically the same thing, so you get great power with either. Just really have to pay attention to the tune. And KR and you'll put a hole in a piston after no time. Same for running lean.

**gtobob** · 08-21-2005, 11:28 AM

When running on a race coarse I would tune for 93 octane, but run 100 octane on the track. The heat from a 20 minute session is a bit much 93 octane. I like turbo's better myself but I don't like the choices for this application and run them on the street (mostly in the rain). Also with force induction it would surprise you on how much a dual feed fuel rail works. And it's susprising on how well an oil cooler brings down the engine temp's. And you can make your own kit going to Racerpartswholesale.com. But for now I think will just flush brake fluid and run some Performance Friction Pads.

**Sarge** · 08-21-2005, 03:51 PM

Originally Posted by Rob

If you plan on road racing, I wouldn't get a power adder with the stock shortblock. I've had way too many friends loose the bottom end when on the road course. Too much stress.

As said above, your power goals are very attainable with heads/cam and bolt ons. Electric water pump is very nice, contrary to Sarge's post. Had one on my LT1 and loved it. Know a lot of people that have them on an LS1 and have had no problems at all.

I like turbo's myself, but that's a personal preference. Both a blower and turbo do basically the same thing, so you get great power with either. Just really have to pay attention to the tune. And KR and you'll put a hole in a piston after no time. Same for running lean.

I did not say an electric water pump is a bad thing nor a waste of money...I said it wasn't a priority at this point...he needs to satisfy the basics first....just want to be clear

**Rob** · 08-21-2005, 04:49 PM

Originally Posted by Sarge

I did not say an electric water pump is a bad thing nor a waste of money...I said it wasn't a priority at this point...he needs to satisfy the basics first....just want to be clear

No problem. Guess I read to much into it