170K Mile Engine Refresh
 

What's up Camaro 5. Looking for some advice. Trying to build up my '11 SS LS3 to be something I can take to the drag strip and not be completely humiliated. I installed a BTR Trinity intake, Nick Williams 103 MM TB, got a decent tune, big cam, ZL1 Fuel Pump, Mccleod twin disc racing clutch. Doing the street tuning portion after my intake manifold change, I noticed I have a bit of an oil leak. Which will get you banned from any drag strip in the country. So I had to address the leak. Its my oil pan gasket. So I got the frame crossmember modded to be able to drop the oil pan.

The guy who welded up the crossmember for me drained the oil in anticipation of dropping the pan. He said lots of coolant, and metal shavings came out with the oil. Which means its time to rip her apart and have it professionally gone through. It's an LS3, 170K miles. I want to start this with, I'm going to have to save my money for any of this. I cant afford it right now, so I'm trying to plan ahead. So since I'm planning, I'm turning to you all to help me plan.

Should I upgrade the heads since they're coming off anyways? Should I upgrade the Rods/Pistons? The more parts I have to buy, the longer I will have to save my money, which means longer till I get to drive it again, but since its coming apart there's no better time. I want it to still be a street car.. I love her and hate not being able to drive her, but I want to enjoy the track experience as well. I swapped to a trunion kit, and upgraded the lifters when I did the CAM change, along with new timing chain, lifter trays, all the basic internals. What would be best for me to change/ buy/ get installed while the engine is apart? As always, thanks for any inputs.

I’d have wanted to see these “shavings and metal in the oil” before anything’s done.

The first step is to define a goal beyond "not get humiliated". Ok, second step after confirming it really needs a rebuild.

Well, I'm still NA, and almost everyone at the track has a power adder. I'd like to not lose by more than say 3 car lengths.. I'm probably sitting around 500 HP currently. It's hard to set a HP goal, because adding HP gets expensive fast. I'm just a guy that loves his car, and wants to be able to make it as fast as possible on a pretty low budget.

Anything over 500rwhp is also going to get real expensive NA. And will probably be for pretty small gains. At some point gears and traction are going to be where you gain time.

From what i seen, I dont think that intake is helping!It all depends on how wild you go with your engine to see if this intake is worth it!

I agree with this, have you actuallty verified this? Its hard to trust people these days.

If you're wanting to compete with boosted cars on a budget, sounds like nitrous is in your future.

If your wanting to get over the 500 whp mark then your going to have to go to a 416 build.

500 wheel or crank hp?

I'm at around 500 wheel. Roughly, I've had it on a dyno, but that was before some changes. The intake is to add high RPM power. I understand people concern about wanting to see the shavings, and the deal with trusting people, believe me I get it. But the diagnosis is from the guy who has helped me with every major improvement I've done to the car. He's an experienced "LS guy" who understands these engines really well. He helped me tear the engine apart to do the cam change, he helped me pull the transmission to change the clutch, he designed/welded my cage. And he modded the crossmember to make it removable. And... he's dating my daughter and probably my future son-in-law. If there's a single person in this world who's earned my trust when it comes to my car, it's this guy.

So engine changes get expensive staying NA? Then maybe I'll just do the essentials.. change out the bearings, resurface the heads, bore the cylinders, change the piston rings, make sure the engine is healthy, then focus my wallet on gearing..

you could race slower cars and save money? ok ,maybe NOS is a better idea,look at what it did for all those slow hondas in F&F.at least you wouldnt be paying for it all the time,500 hp on the street should be more than enough...

I have 530 rwhp and i think that 600 is enough for the street... But when I have 600, I will probably want 700... and so on and so forth. lol

lol aint that the truth. Be careful, its a slippery slope. I had 650whp, then that wasn't enough. Went to 800whp, now I'm preparing to go to 1000whp. All the while for the street, 650 rwhp was honestly fine. Get all kinds of stupid issues past that point not to mention the $$$. Do the suspension/gearing work, and use the power you have more effectively is my suggestion. Dyno numbers < Track times

I take it you run at Tucson Dragway. I've only visited once but it seems like a well maintained and fun track. Are you just running Friday Night drags or actually doing some class or bracket racing? If you're participating in "run what you brung" heads up racing than you're gonna have problems matching up to the boys with deep pockets. I suggest you just do a good solid LS3 N/A rebuild focusing on strength and reliability. Work on your driving technique and improving reaction and 60 ft time. Try to line up against cars with similar HP if at all possible. Remember you're out there to have fun and you don't have any sponsors to answer to OR to help offset some of your expenses.