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shops in nj?

I would say, Gen V, Headers, and Cam, is what you are looking for to get a big bang. But my biggest concern is your trans. a 130k is alot.
Doing a cam has a list of supporting parts (ie gaskets, valve springs, ect). Rockers might be more up your alley to keep cost down in the expendables and labor.
 


so my best bet is rockers. what kind of results can i expect? my next question is do you think i have enough money for supporting mods if i wanted more boost(not much more)
 
I'm not 100% with boosted engines. But rockers headers and a slightly smaller pulley should do it. I would definitely try to get a gen V if you are serious.
 
I'm not 100% with boosted engines. But rockers headers and a slightly smaller pulley should do it. I would definitely try to get a gen V if you are serious.

cool.. thanks for the info and your time man i appriciate it. im gonna start looking for some parts to order. by genV u mean the genV blower right? no im not going to go tha far.
 
any suggestion on what kind of rockers to look for? 1.9 or? also would you happen to have the pulley tool? sorry lol last question,, do you have to pull the motor on these cars if you want to throw a cam in it?
 
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why rockers if you can cam?
cam is WAY more bang for your buck...rockers dont do anything except let you get a LITTLE more power in your top end of the rpm range. search the forum, youll find way too many people who regret not going just for a cam.
 
Hey guys.. had a couple days off.

The reason Justin is suggesting rockers vs a cam is because of his budget. New a set of rockers would go for $400, used $250-$300ish. A cam is $300 new. Both setups require springs, retainers, valve seals, valve cover gaskets, plugs, coolant and maybe an oil change. To do rockers, that's it, takes a few hours to swap that on and presto it's done. On a cam, you have all that plus more time to lower the cradle (or pull motor) and slide the cam in. Add a timing chain, dampener replacement, pull charger, lim to remove lifters, mod LIM plus front cover, SC, TB and LIM gaskets. Most guys will take another 4 plus hours of work to cam vs rockers.

Now keeping that in mind he likely needs the LIM gaskets replaced (if they are black plastic).

I wouldn't be super worried about the trans at 130K. Mileage doesn't matter quite as much when you start beating on the trans. A lot of guys have been reasonable to their transmissions at his mileage and had no problems. Others of us...could hurt a built trans by simply looking at it.
 


just want to thank you guys for your input. doing some more reading and due to the amount of driving i do ive decided to do minimal bolt ons.

-speed daddy headers or zzp downpipe(suggestions?)
-180 t-stat
-colder plugs( any suggestions on plugs?)
-intake-done this weekend
-pulley( ive seen alternator pulleys and water pump underdrive pulleys which to go with not sure)? i guess both free the motor up a tad bit
-throttle body spacer
-3.4 pulley
-dhp pcm(prob. my last mod)

so this is the list i came up with. any suggestions or comments would greatly appriciated. once again thank fellas
 
No on the throttle body spacer. It doesn't help with heat and neither does a tb shield. The only thing I've see a TB spacer do is help coolant leak into the motor and hydrolock it. Trust me, you are better without that kinda mod.

3.4 pulley is too aggressive unless you have rockers or a cam. Cam is very easy to DD. I did for a number of years.

DHP is out of business but many can hook you up with a 1.5 tune. Still not the best way to go. Custom tuning is much better because it addresses your car and your motor in your climate.

On boost, I realize you say you want more. In a turbo situation, more is commonly more power. In a supercharger situation (M90's like we have that generate a lot of heat) less boost is better. Additionally boost is known as the amount of back pressure in the intake manifold. That only means that you are not processing what you have through the engine. If you had flow mods of a cam or rockers, you'd notice your boost number go down slightly. That's because the motor is using the boost instead of stacking it up in the manifold. More is not better in our situation. Better flow is what makes power.

Read up on this for the headers. Have the needed parts on hand.
http://www.grandprixforums.net/how-install-headers-easy-method-44126.html
 
What I'd do if I had the concerns you do.

105# or LS9/L76 springs
1.9 rockers
retainers modded etc for clearance
valve seals
possibly a Gen V
3.6" pulley
Tune

Oh wait..that's what my current car is running :cool:
 
What I'd do if I had the concerns you do.

105# or LS9/L76 springs
1.9 rockers
retainers modded etc for clearance
valve seals
possibly a Gen V
3.6" pulley
Tune

Oh wait..that's what my current car is running :cool:

lol.... are you happy with this set up?
 


lol.... are you happy with this set up?

From a reliability standpoint, it's been 2 years and 45,000 miles of bliss. Honestly, no.. it's slow as heck. Most wouldn't think that way, I had one of everything thought.

Full race built transmissions with 3.29's (many...hence the vehicle being gone)
Cam with rockers on top.
Ported heads
Headers
Gen V
Full size intercooler
Electric water pump etc (don't go smaller pullies by the way..they don't give you anything noticeable)
...

Literally one of everything.
 
lol, yea i guess having a pretty much fully built car anything else would feel kinda slow. ive had a couple fully built turbo cars and loved them except for the fact there was always problems and money pits. now a days i drive pretty conservativly but every now and then i get that itch and wanna play lol.
 
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