Bang for your Buck mods

[stav]

Hi all,

I have a VTII SS 5.7L 6spd. I just wanted to start up a thread to talk about bang for your buck mods. At the moment, I have extractors and exhaust, cold air intake and K&N filter along with a tune. This combined has given me 247 kw at the rear wheels. I also have diff, clutch and brake mods.

What I am after is to get some ideas about what mods you have found to give you good value for your dollar over the years. I am debating whether or not to keep the car at teh moment, and if I keep it, it is going to the shop first thing next year for a severe make over.

All ideas are appreciated. If anyone has experience with blower vs tradition mechanical upgrades (cam etc), I'd like to here your views.

Cheers,
Stav.

[35R]

You know my thoughts Chris (I think!).. in terms of bang for buck.. I reckon a cam is the best option.

[lautray]

I'll be keeping a close eye on this thread too... I reckon I may be in relatively same boat as you, Chris. Have gone the to the end of the "bolt-on" spectrum & am starting to contemplate next power mod. But I don't just want it to be a paper figure increase... it has to be tangible so quite a few more horses & neddies need to be found.

[BOMI]

Stav I have a baby cam, around the 216/218 mark and its giving me 256 RWKW. Not that much more than yours but my NM figure is pretty healthy.

657 RWNM

I say go for a cam, my baby is good, good fuel econ and the idle is only just noticable as not stock.

EDIT I have torque every where in the rev range and its very drivable, cams transform cars IMHO.

My 2 cents mate.

Troy :)

[RedVYIISS]

Sonny's been doing a heap of experimenting with cams (and the boys at CHE and their customers have been doing a lot of the testing). In LS1's they've got an assortment running from baby's (260 odd rwkw but with great low down torque) to monsters like Dale is running (300 rwkW).

They all offer great bang 4 yr $ but depends on how 'grumpy' you want it to be and how important fuel efficiency is to you. I don't know who tuned your car but it'd be worth talking to your tuner, talk to Dale and talk to Sonny. There's an incredible array of options and you'd be well served to get along to Ryzz's private day as many of CHE's customers will be there and you'll get the opportunity to talk to owners who'll be happy to tell you all about their option, you'll be able to see and hear them and a test drive of a couple of your preferred options shouldn't be a problem.

Dave and Troy have cams at the smaller end of the spectrum, they don't lack too much in top end but are very drivable and easy to live with. I doubt I'd be able to put up with Dale's cam in a daily driver, but he loves it.

As said, you'll need to sample a few.

[Sonny@AutoWerks]

Stav I have a baby cam, around the 216/218 mark and its giving me 256 RWKW. Not that much more than yours but my NM figure is pretty healthy.

657 RWNM

I say go for a cam, my baby is good, good fuel econ and the idle is only just noticable as not stock.

EDIT I have torque every where in the rev range and its very drivable, cams transform cars IMHO.

My 2 cents mate.

Troy :)

Troy ,

Ur cams smaller then that :)

[BOMI]

For serious?? :eek:

[DaveHAT]

GDay Chris,

As another VT owner, if you haven't already done it I recommend an LS6 manifold swap as a starting point. Approx 10rwkw right there and fairly cost effective ($450)

The next step as for most of us is a big one, as you have suggested FI or CAM/heads & cam. Being a VT FI will require a little more work as the engine will have the paper gaskets, which according to a very knowledgable source are not overly savy when bolting FI to a VT.

Thus, it leaves you with a dilemma of sorts. CAM install is simply that and not a lot of work involved. This is the option I chose with my car, basically becasue it was what I could afford. NOt a huge gain in power from when it was bolt on (250rwkw-258rwkw) but nudging 700nm of tourque which is quite nice. Plus it now has an idle that would put a horn on a jelly fish which I like a lot.

As I see it there's +ves for both options, FI is good because you can unbolt it at a later stage and return the car to OEM status with relative ease where as CAM/heads is a bit more involved. Presiding factor is as usual.... COST and whether you can justify to yourself if the cost to you will net you the gains you seek and lift the old smile-o-meter to where you want it to be.

IMHO bang for your buck --> CAM & if needed zorst upgarde. (ie tri-ys to 4 into 1's) Looking about $5000 for all that and about $3000 for CAM only upgrade from the research I have done.

Final point is, IT'S A VT... the pinacle of the Commodore design, why could you possibly want to get rid of it? :)

Hope that helps. Cheers Dave.

[NickS]

Troy ,

Ur cams smaller then that :)

Talking yourself up again Troy ... it's OK to be small mate :stick:

Stav, IMO cam is the next step. I have driven a few cammed cars and every time I do I want one in my SS. The difference is astounding.

Talk to the master ... Sonny knows everything there is to know about cams.

:D

[BOMI]

Talking yourself up again Troy ... it's OK to be small mate :stick:


HA!!! Im not the one building the veryhighsupermegaulta Coupe 4 to make up for, for, make for ahhhh, I mean to have a bloody sick as car :stick:

All jokes aside Stav a cam is the way to go and the man in the now is the guy wearing the surgical gloves :bow:

Troy :)

[highlander_69r]

a cam is a great start, for about 1 month, then you will be looking for more out of the car:cry: , such is life ;)

Troy u have a wee little cam:stick:

[NickS]

Troy u have a wee little cam :stick:

:lol: Don't worry Troy ... it's not the size that matters ... it's how you use it.

What is Troy doing with this magical cam, is he building things & fighting terrorism ... a gazebo, how did that get in here !!! :lmao:

[lautray]

What about headwork only sans cam??? Just to be different. Probably not as good value for money, but would be curious to see the gain. May be the way I go, care of Russo Performance :) .

[RedVYIISS]

It'd be interesting to see what could be achieved with head work only.

Problem is, then you'd stick a cam in it and depending on cam, the head work may not be optimised for the bump stick you fit.

Having said that, my gut feeling is that head work, particularly exhaust side, may help my F/I setup. Not that I'll ever find out as I keep telling myself that I now have 'adequate' power.

[DaveHAT]

What is Troy doing with this magical cam, is he building things & fighting terrorism ... a gazebo, how did that get in here !!! :lmao:

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: