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You are going to LOVE the stainless works headers and catback exhaust. When I got them installed on my zl1, which I always thought sounded really good from the factory, there was absolutely NO comparison. Trust me, in 2 weeks you will see exactly what I mean when I say the stainless works animate the car in a way that will surely put a smile on your face, even at idle.
You could probably get away without the injectors or heat exchanger and simply get a bigger reservoir, but I wouldn't risk it if it were my car. An extra grand to have confidence in your reliability seems worth it to me.
I personally wouldn't touch the internals and simply leave it full bolt on. Messing with the internals is where stuff usually starts to go wrong and it goes from being a reliable mass produced automobile into a shop car. If you must, the LS9 cam is known to be reliable, but I don't know how it would stack up to being placed in the LSA. Like I said, I wouldn't risk it.
Also, you said it yourself, the LS motors are tanks! The stock internals will easily be able to handle those mods (which will probably put you in the upper 600 range to the wheels)
Do yourself a favor: stop reading those horror stories of cars that blow their motors within the first 2000 miles. That is not likely and is VERY rare. I personally never buy warranties for anything unless they are thrown in for free because warranties are scams. They give you a time period where they know nothing will go wrong. Otherwise, they wouldn't offer it. That's why they don't make power train warranties last for hundreds of thousands of miles with no yearly limit; it would not help their business grow. Free yourself from the mindset that you must refrain from modding until your power train warranty ends. It will give you peace of mind and will make you exponentially more happy with your car.
As others have said in posts before numerous times, I would definitely get a catch can. The amount of oil it catches is crazy and will only then make you very happy you spent that extra $100-200 and did the easy install.
I would definitely do the pulley mod though. It makes the ZL1 a whole different animal. It'll give you the same feeling as if you traded it in for something better, except will be much more friendly on your wallet and will provide the same amount of smiles!
Goodluck with the headers and catback install! I can't wait to see your reaction to the new install. You are honestly going to wish you did it the day you bought the car lol.
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