ZL1 #140 starting mods

[2012ZL1]

Originally Posted by KD Innovations

"Shouldn't you guys be workin'?"

I only work 3 days a week. Its my weekend now....

[1st Gen Forever]

Damon just finished VE tuning the car over lunch. It's running even crisper now!

Gonna drive it some now, do a few more subtle mods like a line lock, and get it to the dyno later this month and see what numbers we get out of it!

[RedZL1]

Originally Posted by 1st Gen Forever

Damon just finished VE tuning the car over lunch. It's running even crisper now!

Gonna drive it some now, do a few more subtle mods like a line lock, and get it to the dyno later this month and see what numbers we get out of it!

Please keep us posted on those numbers!

[sammyv]

1st gen, You said it was loud, are you running cats

[All-American ZL1]

Great Build! This has been very fun to watch. Are you thinking about putting the car on a scale to get an idea of how these mods have changed your weight distribution. It probably won't make any significant difference, but I was just curious because those heads look huge!

[Drew P]

Any particular reason you went with the Mast heads instead of have a port/polish job done on the stock heads?

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Drew P

Any particular reason you went with the Mast heads instead of have a port/polish job done on the stock heads?

I'm not speaking for him, but those heads are more efficient, basically. They also have thicker decks and taller valve cover flanges, too. Given, LSA heads are better to withstand heat and boost than LS3-style heads because of the roto-casting, but valve angles are better for the intake on the MASTs and the ports don't have the vane cast into them, which purportedly effect flow. They're supposed to impart swirl and homogenize (?sp?) the air/fuel better, but I believe they flow less than LS3-style heads, too. More flow usually equals less boost which results in less heat, much of the time, so long as the rest of the system is up-to-snuff.

[PhxTriode]

Originally Posted by Drew P

Any particular reason you went with the Mast heads instead of have a port/polish job done on the stock heads?

After dealing with both the ported lsa and the mast, the mast is better all the way around. That is not to take anything away from the lsa because it is a fantastic head from the factory.

Take the flow numbers from the best lsa porting and the mast LS3 med bore castings and it is a no brainer. Now take the cost of a set of ported casting with valves and cores, the $500 premium for a purpose built head makes more sense.

[1st Gen Forever]

-On the sound -
I am running Stainless Works high flow cats that came with the 1 7/8 headers. The rest of the exhaust is stock. With more driving time in now, I would say that leaving the muffler butterflies in stock behavior around town, the car has a strong deep rumble at idle that quiets down once you start moving and if you keep the throttle opening small you can even run the RPMs up to 5k without it getting too loud. However- If you really step into it, opening that 102TB up nice and wide, once the RPMs pass 4k, it roars like a Sprint Cup stock car!

-On the heads-
My logic for selecting the MAST heads is a little bit of Damon's logic above mixed with simply going a little nuts on the idea of getting this thing to breathe as good as possible. I got lot's of feedback from different people as to whether the heads would help that much vs porting on a supercharged build. As far as the vane in the LSA heads, most port jobs remove that so I see that as more of a stock benefit.

The dyno numbers as well as 1/4 mile times will tell the real story later but I must say that this thing pulls like CRAZY in the middle of the power band.

[PhxTriode]

Originally Posted by 1st Gen Forever

-On the sound -
I am running Stainless Works high flow cats that came with the 1 7/8 headers. The rest of the exhaust is stock. With more driving time in now, I would say that leaving the muffler butterflies in stock behavior around town, the car has a strong deep rumble at idle that quiets down once you start moving and if you keep the throttle opening small you can even run the RPMs up to 5k without it getting too loud. However- If you really step into it, opening that 102TB up nice and wide, once the RPMs pass 4k, it roars like a Sprint Cup stock car!

-On the heads-
My logic for selecting the MAST heads is a little bit of Damon's logic above mixed with simply going a little nuts on the idea of getting this thing to breathe as good as possible. I got lot's of feedback from different people as to whether the heads would help that much vs porting on a supercharged build. As far as the vane in the LSA heads, most port jobs remove that so I see that as more of a stock benefit.

The dyno numbers as well as 1/4 mile times will tell the real story later but I must say that this thing pulls like CRAZY in the middle of the power band.

We have a few more degrees of timing for the top left to go, but want to put a good load on her with the dyno to verify the top of 4th gear.

[Godsplumber]

Very Sick

[1st Gen Forever]

Even with all the mods, when it has to be civilized it does just fine!

[KD Innovations]

Need to add throttle.

[sammyv]

Nice! They say it never rains in Arizona!