Warranty Up, Advice for Mods

[mattbatt]

2011 LS3 70k miles, daily driver, CAI (cold air induction) stainless steel retro chambered catback.

I live in CA so I kept original intake since smog will be soon and LT headers are out of the question right?

QUESTION:
What could I do for the least amount of budget, most HP and still pass smog in CA?

I'm thinking cam, tune port and polish?

I checked the sticky and a lot of the websites are down. Last time I visited this thread was 4 years ago so I'm a bit green.

Thanks for your help.

[LCPLPunk]

I think you could get longtubes but just get CA legal cats with them...without Headers you'll be leaving ALOT of power on the table.

[DOC52]

If you're worried about smog, cam isn't a good option. Maybe a smog legal supercharger? In all honesty if you're worried about smog mods aren't a good idea.

[rontammy0]

Originally Posted by mattbatt

2011 LS3 70k miles, daily driver, CAI (cold air induction) stainless steel retro chambered catback.

I live in CA so I kept original intake since smog will be soon and LT headers are out of the question right?

QUESTION:
What could I do for the least amount of budget, most HP and still pass smog in CA?

I'm thinking cam, tune port and polish?

I checked the sticky and a lot of the websites are down. Last time I visited this thread was 4 years ago so I'm a bit green.

Thanks for your help.

Can you do high flow cars ? I'm smog friendly and didn't have a cell or any problems when my car was not turned with shorty headers hi flow cats and cai. Long tubes will give you a little more but when hooked up to high flow cats shorties are ok.

[Russell James]

Chevy Perf parts cnc head and LS7 cam package. I think there are some shorty headers that are carb approved. I think.

Friend of mine has that head cam package in a smog test area, he loves it. The key to passing smog is no overlap. That ls7 cam adds some duration and lift and still no overlap with the wide LSA.

People are going to tell you how awesome racing cams are. But, there's a lot to be said for factory reliability and passing smog. Added power, cross country driving reliability.

[frankwjr]

N20.....lulz

[mattbatt]

So you are saying if I get a tune it won't pass CA smog?

What would I have to do to register the car in another state? Seriously, CA is horrific on all these laws...

[Dmpsix]

Originally Posted by mattbatt

So you are saying if I get a tune it won't pass CA smog?

What would I have to do to register the car in another state? Seriously, CA is horrific on all these laws...

No, because eventually you'll have to register it in CA if you live there and smog it.

Unless you're willing to go to someone shady and have them work some 'magic'.

[DOC52]

Originally Posted by mattbatt

So you are saying if I get a tune it won't pass CA smog?

What would I have to do to register the car in another state? Seriously, CA is horrific on all these laws...

Looks like it's time for a "vacation home" to register your car to.

You could do the GM parts cam etc but it's a waste of money. Won't gain substantial power for the price. You could do a procharger, Maggie or edelbrock supercharger. I believe they all have a kit with a carb number and do simple mods like going catless or a cold air intake, so it's easy to swap back to stock for your smog sessions.

[Moreair1]

Or here is another option you could look at(oops missed the part of minimum budget my bad)
http://www.turboneticsinc.com/perfor...hevy-camaro-ss

[smokum]

I would call Josh at starkweather performance in Turlock California. He knows all the stuff you can and can not install and still be legal. He is a great guy and knows his stuff and will hook you up. Tell him smokum sent ya and he will take care of ya.

[CreeperRS]

Originally Posted by mattbatt

So you are saying if I get a tune it won't pass CA smog?

What would I have to do to register the car in another state? Seriously, CA is horrific on all these laws...

Nah, bro, you're being fed wrong info. LT headers in Cali are illegal, some Shorty headers are CARB approved. If you have a tune in Cali it will not render you in illegal status, only if you have installed HF cats and or LT headers. Only way around it to having LT headers and or HF cats is either to remove the mods before being smogged or if you know someone $$. There are supercharger and turbo charger kits that are CARB approved. Cam and tune is legal, it will only concern you if you're worried about warranty, which I know you're not.

[mattbatt]

Great info, thank you everyone. Surprisingly, yes I did check out the Turbo Nectics. The only thing I can think of is if I contact the company and make them a video or do advertising for them, maybe I could work out a deal. I do corporate videos and websites.

Otherwise, ya, $6k is a lot. May as well just supercharge for that money.

At this point I have a great CAI and catback 3" exhaust. I was thinking the next thing to do which would still keep me legal. Shorties to me aren't worth the money, right? A few years ago, guys were saying the gains were not much.

So in my mind, a performance tune may be the next step. How much HP could I be looking at? Any suggestions?

[mattbatt]

PS: here in CA, the weather changes so much now. A few days ago it was almost 100 degrees and now 64. At a 100 degrees, the car felt good but now, this morning I'm sideways without trying. Ya colder tires but the engine is so much more alive.

What I'm thinking is: what is the next thing to do to make the engine feel the way it does at 64 degrees when its 100 degrees out. That's my logic at least! haha