best bang for the buck performance upgrades?

[pavelbarchuk]

i have a 2010 ss that i recently bought, its a automatic, although its fast on paper and in real life, it could use a little more power.

so heres my to buy list.

Vararam cold air intake
SW Retro 3" chambered catback and get it proffesionally tuned once i get these mods on it.

not much, simple stuff. so what would be the best/cheapest way to get this thing to 500HP? no reason for 500, it just sounds good and will be a little faster.

dont think a cold exhaust and a tune will make 100 more. any suggestions?

[SirCrush32]

CAI and tune will not make 100 more.

To get to 500HP will be difficult and not cheap. I guess you could get that Night Fury Cam from Lethal Racing. They're claiming great numbers with just the cam. They're vendors on here as well.

Here would be my list: (some of these you have)

Cam
Ported Heads
LT Headers
Cat-Back
CAI
Ported Throttle Body
160 thermastat

Depending on your combination you would be over 500 at crank but not the wheel. If you went with Night Fury Cam and those mods you would be over 500 at the wheel, but then you have another set of issues. I don't know your future goals with the car but create a plan and then get the mods that will support your plan.

[K32 Camaro]

A catback will not give you anything. Vmax tb, cai, lt headers and high flow cats, tune.
I don't think people realize how much of a difference 100 crank hp can make. Don't get caught up by all the people with 650+rwhp. Completely unnessesary if you don't track it.

[Lethal Racing]

Yes you could go with a cam and the Night Fury does make good power. Do you want 500 at the wheels or Motor? With the LS3 Conversion and Night Fury we can get you 500 at the motor, not at the wheels. The cheapest and fastest way to 500 at ground is to supercharge it. We install a good amount of both. Feel free to send me a pm or give a call and I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.


Shawn

[Brandon@LSRPerformance]

Originally Posted by pavelbarchuk

i have a 2010 ss that i recently bought, its a automatic, although its fast on paper and in real life, it could use a little more power.

so heres my to buy list.

Vararam cold air intake
SW Retro 3" chambered catback and get it proffesionally tuned once i get these mods on it.

not much, simple stuff. so what would be the best/cheapest way to get this thing to 500HP? no reason for 500, it just sounds good and will be a little faster.

dont think a cold exhaust and a tune will make 100 more. any suggestions?

Please check out our LSR CAI, we offer a kit that can be used both with or without a tune:

• ~15HP & 12 ft/lbs TQ Max Gains at the Wheels with no tuning, ~35HP & 38 ft/lbs TQ Peak Gains at the Wheels with tuning
• High-flow Lifetime Air Filter
• Velocity-Stack Inlet smooths incoming air
• Made in the USA
• Lifetime Warranty

Let me know if I can help you with anything.

[Apex Motorsports]

Originally Posted by pavelbarchuk

i have a 2010 ss that i recently bought, its a automatic, although its fast on paper and in real life, it could use a little more power.

so heres my to buy list.

Vararam cold air intake
SW Retro 3" chambered catback and get it proffesionally tuned once i get these mods on it.

not much, simple stuff. so what would be the best/cheapest way to get this thing to 500HP? no reason for 500, it just sounds good and will be a little faster.

dont think a cold exhaust and a tune will make 100 more. any suggestions?

If you are just looking for a fast/fun car and not bragging right then I would suggest the following:

intake system
ported throttle body
Retro Chambered cat back
1 7/8 headers with high flow cats
"Torquer" cam
torque converter
3.73 gears
A good dyno tune and trans tune

That may not make a nice round 500 rwhp figure but it will be fast as hell on the street. I would also suggest a few suspension upgrades to help transmit all that new found power to the pavement. If you have any questions feel free to hit me up.

[suzbndt]

I have night fury cam, intake, LT headers, 3'' catback and a blue cat tune only have 458 at the wheels

[2SS45th]

For 500 at the crank, an LS9 cam can be had for $100, you'll need some headers too

[AngelSpeedFreak]

500 isnt as easy as a lot of people think

you might want to start by saying what your budget is? That would help to see what would be the best bang for that amount.

[Bo White]

LT headers of choice, cai of choice, good tune, gear swap and 2800+ stall converter will make the car a beast compared to now. Night and day to stock.

[Coyotekiller]

The 160 degree thermostat is a waste of time. The car is still gonna run at 190 degrees but with the 160 degree unit, it's gonna take much longer to warm up. And LS motors make more power above 190-200 degrees than they do cooler.

The rest of the mods listed on here are a good place to start. I'd say I'd start with a good set of longtubes, a mild cam, a good cold air intake like the Fastlane or the YellowJacket, and on and on and on...

[Higgs Boson]

Originally Posted by Coyotekiller

The 160 degree thermostat is a waste of time. The car is still gonna run at 190 degrees but with the 160 degree unit, it's gonna take much longer to warm up. And LS motors make more power above 190-200 degrees than they do cooler.

The rest of the mods listed on here are a good place to start. I'd say I'd start with a good set of longtubes, a mild cam, a good cold air intake like the Fastlane or the YellowJacket, and on and on and on...

i used to think this was true but the cars I have installed 160s on run between 180 and 190 with no fan activity at all and this is in 100 plus ambients.

the stock stat would cause the fans to run nonstop and the car stayed over 200.

as far as the ls running better hotter, got any proof? please don't tell me you are repeating what you heard online.....the ls engine is not immune to the laws of physics.

[Bad70supreme]

Best bang for the buck is what I do best

Lunati cam that was 400$ runs on stock valve train!

XS power headers, $350 but $800 dollar quality!

Home made cold air cost almost nothing, about $75

Stock H pipe dumped at the rear with 3"x8" glasspacks, $75

Deal on a tune in winter 360$

440hp 430tq at the wheels with more in it, so a bit over 500 at the crank! For only $1,260 bucks... doing your own work and own ideas

[Coyotekiller]

Originally Posted by Higgs Boson

i used to think this was true but the cars I have installed 160s on run between 180 and 190 with no fan activity at all and this is in 100 plus ambients.

the stock stat would cause the fans to run nonstop and the car stayed over 200.

as far as the ls running better hotter, got any proof? please don't tell me you are repeating what you heard online.....the ls engine is not immune to the laws of physics.

Proo that LS motors run better when they are at operating temp? Why don't you ask anybody that has ever seen an LS motor on a dyno? It's pretty much common knowledge, or so I thought anyway...

And if the motor runs better at a warmer temp, which it does, then there is no need to run a lower temp thermostat.