looking for a 50 hp boost

[sothpaw]

Rich,

Yes, Optispark all along. I could have ordered it Monday Aug 4th instead of Monday Aug 25, but I wanted a pro. to tell me for sure. I was hoping against hope for something else.

I did go to Carslile, though, and I met Dave Hill and Harlan Charles. I talked to Harlan for 20 min or so, He is cool.

 

[BiZ]

So lets sum this up:

For roughly $2500 ($1000 for exhaust if you shop around and $1500 for the cam/intake porting,tuning and possibly 1.6 rr) you could add 75bhp or more.

Or your car + $10-$12k to get a C5.

IMO the $2500 in the C4 sounds like a better deal to me.

 

[sothpaw]

Can't agree with you, Biz.

If you do the work yourself, maybe you can do the cam, RR's, and exhaust system for $2500 in parts. I doubt it. When you take apart that engine, you need new gaskets, etc. Cam needs springs, etc. Need a chip for the cam.

But, cam, RR's, and exhaust alone will not get him 50 hp, certainly not 75. I'd guess 40hp tops for this combination. This assumes a street cam, nothing more radical than a hotcam.

 

[Gorgon]

Re: Best way to go!!!

I'm in full agreement to pack in the C4 and go for the C5. That is unless you have the LT4. The Lt4 is supposed to give the C5 a run for the money.

Alan

I've driven a heavily modified LT4 (can't list off the top of my head, but can probably get the list) and it was nothing compared to my FRC with intake, exhaust and LS1Edit. The owner drove my car and wound it up and shut down at 4k rpm, right before the power band. He was impressed at 4k.

Though I'm thinking about some basic open lid, exhaust work on my 95 vert, this car will be replaced by a C6 in a few years when they work the bugs out of the new model. Yeah, 300hp used to be enough.

Leon

 

[BiZ]

LT4 hotcam kit -- $569 -new
http://www.performancess.com/gmparts.html

Cat back system--$300 -used
http://65.113.119.28:7001/zerothread?id=635573

Headers Hooker 2151--$329 -new
http://www.speeddemonmotorsports.com/catalog/exhaustC4.html

Entire 1996 LT1 gasket kit--$137--new
http://www.partsamerica.com/PartDet...de=FHP&MfrPartNumber=2802&PartType=99&PTSet=A

That comes up to $1295 in parts. Add oh ~$200 for shipping. Unless you can sweet talk the retailer or seller. Now we're at $1495. Ed Wright will reprogram the PCM for $350. ($1795) And I figure that $1000 should cover the install of the parts.

Grand total $2795.

Here is a page with dyno results for the above mods and more. The gains are there.

http://www.wku.edu/~nathan.plemons/htmls/dyno_corvette.html

 

[WhalePirot]

Seems the 50hp figure was arbitrary.

I kept my car and did staged improvements. Headers and Flowmaster mufflers gave me a grin, for a while. I chose the TPIS engine to tail exhaust system, run with a new CAT. My headers are hot coated and will be wrapped....AGAIN. See other threads for the flames and my reasoning and positive experience with ThermoTech heat wrapping. As you grow into the quicker car and want more power, you can go deeper, keeping your exhaust investment secure.

Expect to get into the chip as you modify the engine internals. You MAY have luck with a mail-order chip, but mine took many hour$ of per$onal pogramming. I've heard little good about HyperTech, on this forum.

BTW, I did my entire car, new leather and a '90 TPIed 406 for under 17 large. I did, probably, $10k of wrench turning and have the scars to prove it.

It takes a real hot anything to stay alongside. (I have taken one of two bikes, too.)

It takes a tender right foot to keep out of molten rubber country.

 

[sothpaw]

I don't want to go back and forth, so this is my last post, but it's the details...

...to put the cam in, you still need lifters and springs, retainers etc, which I doubt are all in that kit. LT headers will need new bullet cats, $350 ea. from Random. Unless you are lucky enough to live in a place with no emmissions test, in which case no cats is still technically illegal. And I doubt those $300 headers are coated, everyone goes with the $800. TPIS ones.

 

[MoeJr]

Collector lets forget about HP right now. What do u want from the car. Are you looking for a certain 1/4 bracket to be in? I know a 96 Lt1 can be made to run in the 12's without extensive work. Please advise so we can take the proper approach here.

 

[iron cross]

Put a solid lifter cam in it! A cam is the heart of the engine.

 

[collector96num1]

50 hp

Hi guys,

first of all i'd like to thank you guys for all your help...but it seems to me that getting 50 hp more out of this lt1 engine isn't worth the effort. I'll just upgrade to a c5 z06 in a few years...
it seems that the only real way to get more power out of the lt1 is supercharging and for the money i rather get a c5...rear transaxle more interior space..better quality..more power and imporved everything....
also i really doubt these claims regarding headers and exhaust mods...seems like they are an expensive waste of time and money...all that cash for what maybe 10 hp if your lucky.


the C5 shall be mine...schwing!!

 

[warren s]

NOS

(Not Naaazzzzzz)

 

[sothpaw]

Collector,

Headers & exhaust can work, but it makes the car louder and I don't know that you'd get 50 hp out of it, I doubt it.

Headers w/bullet cats: 10 hp, 30 ft -lbs

exhaust: 10 hp

1.6 rr's : 10 hp

no cats: 10 hp

Still not 50hp.

 

[BiZ]

Re: 50 hp

also i really doubt these claims regarding headers and exhaust mods...seems like they are an expensive waste of time and money...all that cash for what maybe 10 hp if your lucky.

I don't see why you would doubt what people have posted. Most of the information is from personal experience. And are not the manufacturer giving a claim to get a sale. The power gains are there.

Just in case you are not familiar with a dyno, it is a device used to measure horsepower/torque output. There are engine dynos and chasis dynos. My car was on a chasis dyno. So the hp numbers you will see are measured at the rear wheels (rwhp). I was told that to determine engine hp (bhp or fwhp) I divide the rwhp by .83. The dyno operator told me that the car has a 17% drivetrain loss.

Here is my car's response to headers then the flowmaster system. Which BTW is not the system for the most power. I chose it because of the deal I got on it, $300 installed(used). If I didn't care for the sound or the power gains it wasn't a total loss. I was sure I could sell it and break even. My car baseline dynoed at 328rwhp and 333rwtq.

I then added coated headers ($1100) and made another trip to the dyno. The result was 345 rwhp and 336 rwtq. I gained 17rwhp and 3rwtq. The cats were also removed at this time. Then came the flowmasters. The car dynoed at 357rwhp 344rwtq This next picture is a comparision headers (red) of the addition of the flowmasters(blue)

Now this is where it gets really interesting. Go back to the first picture. Look at how much power the car is making at 6700RPM. It is ~305rwhp. Now look at the blue line on the second picture, and at 6700RPM the car is making over 350rwhp. A gain of 45rwhp from the exhaust. Now translate that in fwhp, 45/.83 = 54 fwhp.

So for a $1400 modification I picked up ~30rwhp and 10rwtq at peak power output.

Sorry to make this so long winded, but you asked about a 50 hp increase in your original post. Not about should I get a c5 instead of modding my C4. If that was the question I would have just said get a C5. Doing the work and seeing the results is the second best part of doing the modding.

is the best part.

 

[redc4corvette]

50 hp

I don't see why you would doubt what people have posted. Most of the information is from personal experience. And are not the manufacturer giving a claim to get a sale. The power gains are there.

Just in case you are not familiar with a dyno, it is a device used to measure horsepower/torque output. There are engine dynos and chasis dynos. My car was on a chasis dyno. So the hp numbers you will see are measured at the rear wheels (rwhp). I was told that to determine engine hp (bhp or fwhp) I divide the rwhp by .83. The dyno operator told me that the car has a 17% drivetrain loss.

Here is my car's response to headers then the flowmaster system. Which BTW is not the system for the most power. I chose it because of the deal I got on it, $300 installed(used). If I didn't care for the sound or the power gains it wasn't a total loss. I was sure I could sell it and break even. My car baseline dynoed at 328rwhp and 333rwtq.

I then added coated headers ($1100) and made another trip to the dyno. The result was 345 rwhp and 336 rwtq. I gained 17rwhp and 3rwtq. The cats were also removed at this time. Then came the flowmasters. The car dynoed at 357rwhp 344rwtq This next picture is a comparision headers (red) of the addition of the flowmasters(blue)

Now this is where it gets really interesting. Go back to the first picture. Look at how much power the car is making at 6700RPM. It is ~305rwhp. Now look at the blue line on the second picture, and at 6700RPM the car is making over 350rwhp. A gain of 45rwhp from the exhaust. Now translate that in fwhp, 45/.83 = 54 fwhp.

So for a $1400 modification I picked up ~30rwhp and 10rwtq at peak power output.

Sorry to make this so long winded, but you asked about a 50 hp increase in your original post. Not about should I get a c5 instead of modding my C4. If that was the question I would have just said get a C5. Doing the work and seeing the results is the second best part of doing the modding.

is the best part.

try a 50 shot of nos only 600.00

 

[drags1998]

If you are REALLY shure you want to modify this car (its yours, do what you want) Not knowing your budget,If I were in your shoes,Iwould look at a SUPERCHARGER!!!!!! I have owned a supercharged car!!!!!!!!!! When someone says to me (theres no replacement for displacement) THEY have never driven a supercharged or turbocharged car.AND they can be tuned to run so well that one would NEVER KNOW what was hiding under the hood!!!! If budget does not allow this, Reprogram ecm,port &polish, exhaust system.GOOD LUCK Paul

 

[cplbilski]

I myself would do the LT4 conversion kit and port the heads and intake.

GM claims 330+ RWHP. Its about $2300 for the kit but it is everything you need.
I'm planning on buying it within the next couple months.

 

[Skant]

When did this become a C4 vs C5 thread?

I'd take the C4 myself.

As to the effectiveness of bolt-ons... Your mileage will vary. Some combinations work very well together. Some combinations cancel eachother out. Just because one person put some mods into their car and saw strangely poor results from it doesn't mean these mods don't normally work. They've worked very well for a lot of people. And it's not just unfounded claims. Lots of dyno testing out there to back it up. Like above.

Sometimes you'll see someone get very poor results out of a combination that aught to work. You don't know if it just wasn't installed well.. or if the engine is having some trouble.. or if the combination is just a bad one... there's a lot of reasons why a motor might underperform.

The way I figure it... the thing to do is follow what others have done before you. There are a number of solid combinations of mods out there that are common that have dyno tested results from multiple people. Apply the same mods to the same type of engine and the results should be similar.

If you're putting together a particular combination of mods that nobody has tried before or that you can't find any solid evidence as to its effectiveness... then it's an experiment which may or may not work.