Are longtubes worth it? - Page 3 - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Demon Hunter · 02-07-2011, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khabboub

so in the end, would you guys say that the BBKs and an intake are worth it, or swaping out for a new rear diff.

Swapping out the rear differential is going to cost double the price of headers and an intake, minimum....

mike25 · 02-07-2011, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon Hunter

Swapping out the rear differential is going to cost double the price of headers and an intake, minimum....

Negative...

mike.nite · 02-07-2011, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

OK, well I'm at work so hard to spend too much time searching for data, but I did at least fine ONE thread lol.

He did a before/after dyno, showing a 20 HP peak gain in HOT temps:

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97891

Course, you could speculate and ask "what if his MAF was heat soaked on the first run?"...and other what-ifs.

Thanks for the link KMP! One thing I notice is that the bigger HP gains were reported by the guys with the lower baseline dynos

But most important is that with the LTs there are gains through the whole range.

GretchenGotGrowl · 02-07-2011, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by khabboub

so in the end, would you guys say that the BBKs and an intake are worth it, or swaping out for a new rear diff.

Both are worth it IMHO. Sounds like you don't want a tune (if I'm catching your drift), so the 3.55 rearend will be a small enough change that you can mentally adjust your speed to avoid tickets and still see a nice gain in
acceleration. I think I saw where you can get them for the M6, but I could be wrong.

usa1camaro1969 · 02-07-2011, 08:26 PM

Go with a shorter tire. The stock tires are 28.7" diameter. I have 26" tall BFG KDW2's on and it had the effect like doing a gear swap.
When I take it to the track the car gets a 25.7" tall tire for an even better "gear swap". If you go with a shorter tire you'll need drop springs or the gap between the top of the tire and the fenderwell looks wrong, but I was going there anyway.

And in regards to the longtubes, it is an increase that is noticeable, but the tune needed for the CEL will be even more cash and will not give much more than a few HP. Rod1 has some dyno runs somewhere here on the site also.

And going by what someone else dyno'd or was able to do at the track in a different part of the country, at a different time of year is setting yourself up for disappointment. There's too many variables.

IROCanSS · 02-07-2011, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usa1camaro1969

And going by what someone else dyno'd or was able to do at the track in a different part of the country, at a different time of year is setting yourself up for disappointment. There's too many variables.

Never, ever compare to anyone else's results you read online or heard about...

Only time you can compare you car to another is if you dyno same day, same place!

KMPrenger · 02-07-2011, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

Never, ever compare to anyone else's results you read online or heard about...

Only time you can compare you car to another is if you dyno same day, same place!

Agreed!

IROCanSS · 02-08-2011, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMPrenger

Agreed!

I just noticed your VIN... too bad it wasn't 40 cars earlier!

KMPrenger · 02-08-2011, 11:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jrhaus76

I just noticed your VIN... too bad it wasn't 40 cars earlier!

I know! When I got the VIN thats one of the first things I thought of

Would have been really easy to remember lol.

Amenti · 02-08-2011, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by usa1camaro1969

Go with a shorter tire. The stock tires are 28.7" diameter. I have 26" tall BFG KDW2's on and it had the effect like doing a gear swap.
When I take it to the track the car gets a 25.7" tall tire for an even better "gear swap". If you go with a shorter tire you'll need drop springs or the gap between the top of the tire and the fenderwell looks wrong, but I was going there anyway.

And in regards to the longtubes, it is an increase that is noticeable, but the tune needed for the CEL will be even more cash and will not give much more than a few HP. Rod1 has some dyno runs somewhere here on the site also.

And going by what someone else dyno'd or was able to do at the track in a different part of the country, at a different time of year is setting yourself up for disappointment. There's too many variables.

I've been asking about going with a smaller tire diameter here and there; but, I'm not getting very many responses. The few people who have responded have a general consensus that switching to a smaller diameter tire emulates a gear swap.

I was considering going with 19x9 on each corner and a 26.7 / 27.1 inch diameter tire to emulate more aggressive gearing, reduce unsprung weight (thus improving handling), etc etc. I am a little leery about the fender well gap, though. One respondant mentioned that the Pedders Camaro went with 19's and smaller diameter tires along with an aggressive drop with their suspension setup to achieve their handling improvements.

I'd think that reducing the tire diameter by not-quite-as-much-as 3 inches and doing a gear swap for 3.55's would emulate 3.73's in the auto. I haven't actually looked at the RPM/speed though.

PoorMansCamaro · 02-08-2011, 11:29 AM

The BBK's were well worth it to me!

Demon Hunter · 02-08-2011, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike25

Negative...

Have you priced a rear end swap. At least $3k. If he's just talking swapping out to the anemic 3.55 gears than it'll be more on par, somewhere between $1000-$1500.

IROCanSS · 02-08-2011, 11:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Demon Hunter

Have you priced a rear end swap. At least $3k. If he's just talking swapping out to the anemic 3.55 gears than it'll be more on par, somewhere between $1000-$1500.

Still wrong... A gear swap is less than $1000. Been there, done that.

Ivan @ Southwest Speed · 02-08-2011, 02:50 PM

The shorties are perfect for the guys that are not wanting to deal with Tuning and CEL's. Straight up. Of course they aren't going to make 25 rwhp like some of the LT's out there.

They will make 8-15 all day long however. We do it everyday here at Southwest Speed and there have been a few C5.com customers who have even posted up their own dynos to show those gains.

Short tubes will never ever make power like full out race headers will. But that was never the designs intention and for what they are designed to do, they do just that.

Keep it fresh and enjoy your Camaros!
Ivan

02-07-2011, 08:26 PM	#33
usa1camaro1969 Back on the dino-juice Drives: '10 LS + a few more Join Date: May 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 1,641	Go with a shorter tire. The stock tires are 28.7" diameter. I have 26" tall BFG KDW2's on and it had the effect like doing a gear swap. When I take it to the track the car gets a 25.7" tall tire for an even better "gear swap". If you go with a shorter tire you'll need drop springs or the gap between the top of the tire and the fenderwell looks wrong, but I was going there anyway. And in regards to the longtubes, it is an increase that is noticeable, but the tune needed for the CEL will be even more cash and will not give much more than a few HP. Rod1 has some dyno runs somewhere here on the site also. And going by what someone else dyno'd or was able to do at the track in a different part of the country, at a different time of year is setting yourself up for disappointment. There's too many variables. __________________ I wake up in the morning and I piss excellence. -Ricky Bobby America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed. -Eleanor Roosevelt, 1936

02-08-2011, 11:29 AM	#39
PoorMansCamaro Drives: Really Slow Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: PA Posts: 57,246	The BBK's were well worth it to me! __________________

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02-08-2011, 02:50 PM	#42
Ivan @ Southwest Speed Drives: '15 Z06, '01 NBM SS, '97 SS Join Date: May 2009 Location: Rio Rancho, NM Posts: 12,161	The shorties are perfect for the guys that are not wanting to deal with Tuning and CEL's. Straight up. Of course they aren't going to make 25 rwhp like some of the LT's out there. They will make 8-15 all day long however. We do it everyday here at Southwest Speed and there have been a few C5.com customers who have even posted up their own dynos to show those gains. Short tubes will never ever make power like full out race headers will. But that was never the designs intention and for what they are designed to do, they do just that. Keep it fresh and enjoy your Camaros! Ivan