Need a little Z28 help...

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Hi all.
I kinda need a little advise. I'm relatively new to the Camaro as far as ownership goes (don't actually have it yet, but will as soon as I sell my truck) but not in general. I plan on getting a 98+ Z28 M6 (actually have my eye on one for 6k) and will have roughly 4-5k to spend on it when all is said and done.
What would be the best way to go as far as performance goes? I've been really looking into getting a STS turbo for it since I can get one at wholesale price from a friend, but don't know really know if I should get one since I'm sure there are some kind of con's to the 500+ rwhp there said to make. Any help? Also, where else would be a good place to start? I have a LS1 block to build up in the future for a super stout engine, but what kind of bolt ons should i look at and what are the best of the best? I do know I'd like to get a set of OBX LT headers. There only about 500 with the cats and Y pipe, all SS and are incredible as far as quality goes. I put a set on my grandpaws 04 Sierra 6.0L high output and it really came to life.
I was thinking of getting something like the Fast intake and 90mm throttle body but is there better?
What kind of cam would be good for a daily driver. I want a somewhat lumpy sound but not to much.
Sorry for all the questions, but as you can see, I need some help as to where to start with it.

[blue02Z]

i'd invest in some suspension components, especially subframe connectors. then i'd get a new rear end to hold up and a nice heads cam and bolt ons. its kinka pricy but the rear ends are weak in our cars and they need SFC. try to stay away from sts, they are okay but the turbo is susceptable to damage and so is the piping

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Thanks for the advise. I was looking into getting a decent amount of the BMR parts. Subframe connectors being one of them. I also have a few sets of LS1 heads around, so I'll probably end up porting and polishing a set and putting them on there along with a cam and a few other things like the headers and such.
To be honest, I really don't want to do a rear end swap, but if I have to I will. I know I will eventually. I'm looking to get the car in the high 10's low 11's while still keeping it as a daily driver (asking alot I know...).
Is there a better alternative to a STS? In all honesty, I would much rather a turbo over a supercharger.

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Also, whats the best way around emissions? I know I'm gonna end up having to keep the cats, but the OBX headers have straight through cats anyway. I was also gonna block off the EGR, but will that show up on the test when they plug into the OBDII?

[BULLET_WS6]

rearend will have to go before you see consistent 11's and 10's period... stay away from turbo/ s/c if you can... just because if its a dd, i would say heads cam, rearend, headers back, fast 90/90, good tune... 4.10 gears and a extra set of tires with 315 m/t's on the back to get you good grip and you should be right where you want it in the 11's then a small 150 shot will get you into the 10's... these cars can handle n2o veryyyy easily and with a good tune you will NEVER have to worry about busting your stock internals off of that... you will have close to 450-460rwhp with a nice h/c setup and well almost 600 on the bottle... do all your suspension components add a short shifter and spec clutch... you got a solid car

[RacerBob]

http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1844

Bob put togather a nice list that should answer many of your questions.

Good luck with you build. I must warn you, it can be a sickness.

[jimmybling31]

I would say full bolt ons, heads and cam package (I don't know ls1 heads cam packages very well lt1 I know all of them. lol) 150-200 nitrous direct port with seperate high octane fuel cell, fast 90 with90mm throttle body, bigger injectors, bigger fuel pump, aftermarket fuel pressure regulator, and before it ever see too many miles or the use of the nitrous take it to a very good professional tuner, oh first time you floor it your 10 bolt is gonna say "fuck you guys I'm going home". get a ford 9 inch with at least a 4.10 gearing. you will need some grip so go with some 17x11 wheels in the back with 315 width tires. an extra set of wheels and tires with dr's would be very nice to keep good times. you will need sub frame connectors to hold it together well without twisting with all that, and you will want to upgrade alot of the rear suspension if you want to go to the strip alot with it. I could keep typing other ways to achieve the same times, but I am tired of typing already.

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Thanks for the info. I already plan to get all the UMI or BMR parts (the top of the line stuff, cromoly everything, etc.), I have 36# Bosch injectors already, gonna go with the FAST 90mm intake and TB, a small cam, gonna port a set of the heads I have and maybe bigger valves, aluminum roller rockers for sure, MSD wires (which plugs?), no2 for sure, and a Ford 9", even though I despise Ford...
As for rims, I think I'm gonna go with the AR Killers. 18x10 all the way around if they'll tuck.

The car I'm looking at already has a B&M short throw shifter, but is there better?

I think I've made up my mind as far as the exhaust goes...OBX headers with a Magnaflow catback. Unless a td setup will be worth the sacrificed ground clearance and ugliness. Should I look for 1 7/8 primary headers instead of the 1 3/4 OBX?

I've also done a little research and it appears the driveshaft needs replacing as well. I was thinking carbon fiber? I saw one for a decent price (around 750 if i remember correctly). Yay? Nay?


Which air intake? I like Volant, but I've seen people say there worse than stock and to get the K&N, but it seems to be mixed emotions about both...
Which clutch would you recommend? I was gonna get the Fidanza aluminum flywheel and a really good clutch, just don't know which one.
Are the MSD coil packs worth upgrading?
Which MAF is best?
And lastly, which no2 is the best to go with? the HSW looks to be rather nice...

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for all the help!

[jimmybling31]

Thanks for the info. I already plan to get all the UMI or BMR parts (the top of the line stuff, cromoly everything, etc.), I have 36# Bosch injectors already, gonna go with the FAST 90mm intake and TB, a small cam, gonna port a set of the heads I have and maybe bigger valves, aluminum roller rockers for sure, MSD wires (which plugs?), no2 for sure, and a Ford 9", even though I despise Ford...
As for rims, I think I'm gonna go with the AR Killers. 18x10 all the way around if they'll tuck.

The car I'm looking at already has a B&M short throw shifter, but is there better?

I think I've made up my mind as far as the exhaust goes...OBX headers with a Magnaflow catback. Unless a td setup will be worth the sacrificed ground clearance and ugliness. Should I look for 1 7/8 primary headers instead of the 1 3/4 OBX?

I've also done a little research and it appears the driveshaft needs replacing as well. I was thinking carbon fiber? I saw one for a decent price (around 750 if i remember correctly). Yay? Nay?


Which air intake? I like Volant, but I've seen people say there worse than stock and to get the K&N, but it seems to be mixed emotions about both...
Which clutch would you recommend? I was gonna get the Fidanza aluminum flywheel and a really good clutch, just don't know which one.
Are the MSD coil packs worth upgrading?
Which MAF is best?
And lastly, which no2 is the best to go with? the HSW looks to be rather nice...

Sorry for all the questions, and thanks for all the help!

on maf... don't do it. the stock one is better.

clutch go with the ls7. I have heard alot of good things about it on here.

I don't see a point in upgrading ignition til it goes out.

I say on the driveshaft if you have the money go for it. to me it wouldn't be worth the cash.

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Alright. I do have a SLP around here somewhere, but I guess I'll stick with stock. Would you descreen it?
Should I possible look into a aftermarket LS2/LS7 clutch or is the OEM enough? I would rather spend a little extra and get better, if not the best for the situation.

In all honesty, the cars not gonna see to much of the strip, but it will see its fair share of racing.

[BULLET_WS6]

alright here we go... maf keep stock i descreened mine.. i like that...
driveshaft... not recomended for dd for two reasons... one being heat will cause it to unravel... one small peice gets warped you are fucked, and two is daily driving can fling road debris up into the driveshaft resulting in the same thing... unraveling...
clutch you will get a lot of opinions... personally if you are spending abotu the same might as well go spec stage 3 or 4... can handle anything... and upgrade all your master cylinder etc stuff... flywheel as well... as for driveshaft what you should do is a thicker aluminum... you can get it roughly same weight but better balanced more durable etc...
tires + rims being 18x10 you will be severely disapointed.... aka get those to get decent tires on 18's to hook... seriously... bad idea, someone on here could prove me wrong... but buy something nice like z06 rims or something in 17 all around... staggered is fun, but if you do 18x10 just dont expect to do street racing much, have spare tires/rims on the side to slap on for the strip... im sure some may disagree with some of this but this is my personal belief... just because yo ucan get away withit dont make it right / convenient

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That makes sense.
To be honest, i wanted the 18s for looks and 10 wide for traction. I do like the staggered look, especially if the backs an inch bigger. Downside is you can't rotate them if the tires are directional...
As for the clutch, I was looking at the Spec Stage 3+ all along, but didn't know if there was better options. Whats the difference between the Stage 3+ for the LS1 and LS7? I would think there the same, right?

[BULLET_WS6]

That makes sense.
To be honest, i wanted the 18s for looks and 10 wide for traction. I do like the staggered look, especially if the backs an inch bigger. Downside is you can't rotate them if the tires are directional...
As for the clutch, I was looking at the Spec Stage 3+ all along, but didn't know if there was better options. Whats the difference between the Stage 3+ for the LS1 and LS7? I would think there the same, right?

that i cannot help you with... but i do know that is my choice of clutch... i would do some research but i would assume just a plain ol' spec stage 3 will be more than durable yet very streetable...
and 18x10 all around would be good looking but dont expect it to be performance... especially if you think the front steering is allready tight, get ready for it to get tighter... so i would recomend either get some for of rim with a 11 inch rear tire and slap some 315 nittos 555r's onthere... or if you want perfect streetability get any kind of rim with some nice tires, and then buy a set of pro stars or some sort of draglite rim and mount any kind of sticky ass tire in the back... m/t hoosier, whatever you like

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Ok.
Whats your opinion on headers? The OBX LTs seem nice, especially in my dealings with them (not on a Camaro though) and for the price. I've pretty much made up my mind on the catback. Magnaflow seems to be the way to go.
What kind of air intake would you go with? I'm thinking Volant.

[BULLET_WS6]

Ok.
Whats your opinion on headers? The OBX LTs seem nice, especially in my dealings with them (not on a Camaro though) and for the price. I've pretty much made up my mind on the catback. Magnaflow seems to be the way to go.
What kind of air intake would you go with? I'm thinking Volant.

personaly never dealt with volant... someone with it may like it, but i have no problems with my slp lid... seems to work for me and a lot cheaper... the headers... er not much experience with anything but my pacesetter lt's... i think headers are very suggestive to recommend a certain pair over the other because it mainly comes down to preference... the only problem i could see withthose is clearance/ fitting in there nice... dont know if thy do or dont... personally i want to go with the qtp lt's if i ever end up doig it again... as for catbacks.... all i can tell you is it is one again opinion... you likethe sound of one and somoene likes he sound of another... go to ls1sounds.com and ceck out a few clips of different ones and see what you like... dont cheap ass your exhaust the first time and realize you want to change later and waste money... aka what i did

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From what I've read the OBX headers seem to fit excellent. The only reason I would think to not get them would be because of the 1 3/4 primaries. I've seen some of the more expensive ones have the larger, 1 7/8 primaries. Which is the best way to go. I know you don't want them to big, but not to small...

I did a little more research and I'm gonna end up replacing the rear end, probably first thing, along with complete exhaust and a couple suspension components. I found I can get a for 9" Camaro specific housing for $835, and a pumpkin completely rebuild with a limited slip posi and my choice of gears for $599. What gears are the best choice for the M6? From what I've seen, 4.11 seems to be somewhat popular.

Thanks again for all the help.

[BULLET_WS6]

From what I've read the OBX headers seem to fit excellent. The only reason I would think to not get them would be because of the 1 3/4 primaries. I've seen some of the more expensive ones have the larger, 1 7/8 primaries. Which is the best way to go. I know you don't want them to big, but not to small...

I did a little more research and I'm gonna end up replacing the rear end, probably first thing, along with complete exhaust and a couple suspension components. I found I can get a for 9" Camaro specific housing for $835, and a pumpkin completely rebuild with a limited slip posi and my choice of gears for $599. What gears are the best choice for the M6? From what I've seen, 4.11 seems to be somewhat popular.

Thanks again for all the help.

i would suggest going through someone like epp, or texas speed for the rear... complete moser for 2300 ish... 4.11's are the best... good at track, without sacrificing street

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To be honest, I'm gonna have roughly 5-6K to spend on the car and I'd rather spend $1300 on the Ford 9" than $2300 for a S60 or comparable. I don't think you can beat that when the axle housing, for $835, comes with a adjustable torque arm, all the mounts, already painted, big outer bearings, Moser axles, and all the hardware, and then a chunk for $600 completely rebuilt with my choice of gears. But then thats just my opinion.

[BULLET_WS6]

To be honest, I'm gonna have roughly 5-6K to spend on the car and I'd rather spend $1300 on the Ford 9" than $2300 for a S60 or comparable. I don't think you can beat that when the axle housing, for $835, comes with a adjustable torque arm, all the mounts, already painted, big outer bearings, Moser axles, and all the hardware, and then a chunk for $600 completely rebuilt with my choice of gears. But then thats just my opinion.

i agree saving money is good.. not saying you shouldnt but i didnt know if that deal was for a complete etc... keep me updated if you do that deal, and what extra stepsare involved and if you needed anything extra because if i ever need to do one... i would love to save money

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Will do. From what I can tell though, EVERYTHING you need except the pumpkin is included with the housing. It uses factory brakes and all. After shipping and everything on all of it, you can have a stout 9" Ford for right at $1500.