love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have a 95 LT1 with about 70,000 miles on it. I have decided to add the Elliott LE2 head kit for $1,650.. This requires a 58 MM throttle body $ 350.00 and at least 32 lbs injectors for another $300.00 That should get me to about 400 HP. I can add a bottle of nitrous for another $500 for another 100 HP.. Thing is I have no idea about the nitro install yet. I see Summit sells a holly throttle body that supports nitrous but it cost $515.00. Should I buy this throttle body in case I decide to add the nitrous?? In addition, will these upgrades destroy the bottom end of my motor? Am I asking too much from this engine with out a rebuild? I have the money and not the experience. Am I making a mistake here? Any feed back from experienced operators is greatly appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have the money and not the experience. If you're not careful the two will start to even out... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 2, 2006 Author Share Posted April 2, 2006 As in less money and more experence? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 I have the money and not the experience If you're not careful the two will start to even out... That has to be one of the best answers I have ever read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted April 2, 2006 Share Posted April 2, 2006 To answer your question, I'd steer clear of NOS being that your engine has that many miles on it. NOS is hard on parts and IMO NOS is not for a daily driver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 As in less money and more experence? Exactly, if you're going to build something build it right the first time so it won't grenade and you lose your expensive stuff (and the stuff you didn't spend any money on because you thought it would hold). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 I have a 95 LT1 with about 70' date='000 miles on it.I have decided to add the Elliott LE2 head kit for $1,650.. This requires a 58 MM throttle body $ 350.00 and at least 32 lbs injectors for another $300.00 That should get me to about 400 HP. I can add a bottle of nitrous for another $500 for another 100 HP.. Thing is I have no idea about the nitro install yet. I see Summit sells a holly throttle body that supports nitrous but it cost $515.00. Should I buy this throttle body in case I decide to add the nitrous??[/quote'] How about turbocharging the beast? You'll get plenty of horsepower on tap and the drivability should be there. Also, You won't have to get better heads, necessarily, and you can use LT1 reprogrammed software. You can keep the TB you are using now, but you should upgrade the pistons to 8.5: 1 compression forged units. I'm not sure how the rods will be with 500 hp, but with ARP hardware, you might be OK... Do some research and think about it. It may cost you about as much as what you have planned, but you have the option of getting even more power on demand with a boost controller. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Davy, Do you have any idea what kind of HP I would get with the Turbo?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 You would do well to search on the forum and find somelinks to some of the sites where guys have turbocharged V8s. Seriously, I don't think 550 hp or more is out of order with the right turbo, but you will have to upgrade the injectors (FOR SURE) to get anywhere near that. I don't pretend to be an expert on this, but this will be my next engine build. You can go big single turbo (no too big) to avoid the extra plumbing and costs associated with a dual setup or you can run duals. Get Maximum Boost by Corky Bell and Turbochargers by Hugh McInnes. McInnes also has a fuel injection book that is great as well. The more you learn about forced induction, especially turbocharging, the more you'll realize that it is totally the way to go as far as HP is concerned. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Turbocharging this engine might be a bit much for him. My advice would be to put the head kit on and have some fun. If your bottom end is sound it should hold up to 400hp at the crank. I would trust a stock 350 about that far and I would hope a LT1 would be as strong if not stronger than a traditional sbc. And like they said earlier, if you want a little more insurance use ARP bolts and/or studs. With that said, if I were you, I would leave the engine you have stock so you can enjoy it now and build a monster in your spare time and with the money that you were going to spend on your current LT1. You could turbocharge it or spray it or whatever, just do your homework and do it right! Good luck with whatever you do! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280zwitha383 Posted April 3, 2006 Share Posted April 3, 2006 Also, if you do buy Turbochargers from ebay, I would not buy it from platinumbookhouse_ii. He has the lowest priced book but he has no feedback and a few $200 books for sale and he just changed his user ID. Just a heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 Well I was hoping for some "that’s the way to go for sure!" I thought about the build a motor idea, but I think money wise the cam and head upgrade is simple. And the nitrous is great because it only gets applied when you put the petal to the floor.. To be honest, from what I have read it would be hard to get the value of the HP because its so hard to get traction.. Is this as simple an upgrade as it appears? or will I need a lot of computer mods that cost more money? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 3, 2006 Author Share Posted April 3, 2006 I just browsed Summit's web site, It would cost $5,000 plus to buy a carbureted motor with 400 HP. I paid $1,500 for mine and for about $2,300 more; I can have 400 HP. that is a total investment of $3,800. I think I would get decent gas mileage too. No disrespect to the turbo idea but having to work up a new pulley route so I can keep my A/C seems like a big hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 240Z Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 LT1s have weak weak weak ringglands. the pistons will come appart if you put lots of boost on it. dont do nitrous either. do your heads, cam and then when you want more get a powerdyne supercharger. cheap, reliable and silent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted April 4, 2006 Share Posted April 4, 2006 i got a rebuilt 355ci lt1 with just a few miles with high po pistons and rings so no worries for me id love a blower eventualy but it may be too much i rather keep it sinple and reliable my setup should do high 11's as it sits and thats enough for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I ran my LT1 for years with a stock bottom end, ported stock heads, 224/230-114 Comp EE cam, 1.6 RR and long tube headers. You will need to upgrade the valve springs. This was in a 96 Z28, with 410 gears and it ran a best of 12.0 1/4 mile times with those mods. You'll need a good tune to see the benefits, but there are a number of decent tuners that can program your computer. I would reccommend Jeff Creech at Carolina Automasters. I think Elliott is a little over rated on his HP numbers, but his prices are decent and he seems to put together a decent package. If you plan on driving the car on the street alot, don't get too crazy on the cam. As far as nitrous, on a stock bottom end with stock pistons, you can run a 125 - 150 shot without any problems. Make sure you have a window switch and a FP safety switch. Jody Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nazar Posted April 5, 2006 Share Posted April 5, 2006 I ran my LT1 for years with a stock bottom end' date=' ported stock heads, 224/230-114 Comp EE cam, 1.6 RR and long tube headers. You will need to upgrade the valve springs. This was in a 96 Z28, with 410 gears and it ran a best of 12.0 1/4 mile times with those mods. You'll need a good tune to see the benefits, but there are a number of decent tuners that can program your computer. I would reccommend Jeff Creech at Carolina Automasters.I think Elliott is a little over rated on his HP numbers, but his prices are decent and he seems to put together a decent package. If you plan on driving the car on the street alot, don't get too crazy on the cam. As far as nitrous, on a stock bottom end with stock pistons, you can run a 125 - 150 shot without any problems. Make sure you have a window switch and a FP safety switch. Jody[/quote'] 12.0 in a camaro with those mods wow, i can only imagine in a z thats 1000lb less i cant wait , mine is a fresh 355 too... a few more days...gotta pull out the cvs and put the cage in right, damn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that240guy Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I have experience with Lloyd Elliot products and let me say he combo is pretty sweet and the hp numbers that he advetises can be made with proper tuning. We made 405 to the ground with ours. But make sure you degree in the camshaft. Our first cam was 3 degrees off. With a regular small block, you can compensate for that, but you can't throw an optispark 3 degrees off. Anyway, do the Lloyd Elliot package, but definately don't put nitrous on top of it. The LT1 rotating assembly isn't the best. The Rods in the LT1 are decent, but the stock pistons will not handle 500 wheel horsepower. The cylinder pressure will be too high. You will be happy with 405 to the ground :burnout: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted April 11, 2006 Share Posted April 11, 2006 I didn't know what the Elliot LE2 Head kit was when I first read your post. Now that it appears my head gasket went out on me, I'm looking at head/cam packages as well. My goals are lower so I'm looking at the Elliot's LE1, the street package from Advanced Induction, or just mild porting with the LT4 hot cam kit. Have you checked out the Advance Induction packages as well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love-my-V8-280Z Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 I have read that the LT4 kit is not made anymore, and I have read several times that it does not produce the HP its advertised too. What is the Advance Induction packages?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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