JWY Z06

I am currently in the process of planning a round of upgrades for my 09 Z06. I will be running WCCH heads that should be 14:1 compression if they check out at WCCH (where they should be by now). Car will be going to E85 for the compression increase. I have been doing my build buying parts off the forum. So far I have the heads and black widow cam kit, Fast intake with NW 102mm throttle body, ls3 rails with 80lb injectors. I also have Kooks 1 7/8 in primary headers with 3 in off road x pipe. Heads already have SS one piece exhaust valves and the guides will be checked. I also have a halltech mf107 intake setup. I am toying with the idea of doing new springs and the Widow R camshaft. Goals are just over 600rwhp with minimal surging, I know there will be some surging, just trying to keep it to a minimum. Car will be tuned professionally, still working on picking a shop for that. I am in northwest Ohio. I am hoping to have all the parts here by the end of the week or beginning of next week. As soon as parts arrive the install will begin.

I am looking for people running anything similar to post in to anything I am missing. I would like it to be as safe as possible without being excessively expensive. These mods will be going into a 2009, so the trans shouldn't be an issue. I know the clutch could stand an upgrade but I am only running 325 invo's on the rear. I know the weak link in traction will be the tires, I am fine with that as I do not intend to try and 60 ft the car at this point, If I get to that point I feel the stock clutch will not last long with sticky tires. Feel free to chime in, critique, or contribute in any positive way. I figure there is probably something I am over looking and I am not afraid to hear honest opinions. Also, sorry if this seems a little rushed as I am typing it at work.

Thanks,
Jay

walhan_qtr

I made 596whp with the widow cam I sold you. that was ~13.3 compression. so with the extra compression and a good tune you should be over 600whp. the widow R will have a little more surge from what I have been told so you dont need to waste more money.

here are some things that you might want to consider.

- C5R timing chain
- Rockers (CHE or Harold). Harold are good and cheaper (I believe around $250 cheaper than CHE)
EDIT: since you have an 09 you might not need rockers. I think only some of the 07s had rocker failures.

- you might need boost-a-pump with that power not sure really. ECS have a new unit that just came out recently.
- electric water pump if you are trying to get every little bit out of it (some dont recommend it if you drive the car for long distance, not sure why)

maybe there are few other things but I think you got everything covered.

Make sure you use the lash caps off your older heads for the intake valves. A lot of people messed this, including me, and couple thousands miles later dropped a valve (some didnt last longer than few hundred miles)

JWY Z06

I will be re-using the lash caps and rockers from my original heads. Then I will be boxing those up for later. I am probably going to end up with the c5r chain. I am hoping the fuel pump will be ok with the power level, I do not really want to have to get into that until later if/when I do a clutch. I know eventually I will need to do a clutch but I am hoping it will live for awhile as I do not plan on trying to launch the car or do any full throttle, lower rpm high gear pulls. I guess I will find out on that one. I do not really care to do the EWP at this point, I know its worth a couple hp but I do drive distance and I don't want to spend the money for a couple hp when I feel it will not really add to any reliability to the build. The 600rwhp goal is just something I would like to see, all it means is a number on a sheet but it would still be a nice one to see. It is not something I am willing to go all out for though.

I was hoping for a little more forum activity on this one, probably should have titled the thread about dropping a valve, or not wanting to drop a valve. I am hoping there is not anything I am over looking. Also hoping for some more thoughts/ideas on the build.

walhan_qtr

I forgot to mention, the 596whp was made with only 19deg of timing. and also I didnt have those lash caps on (I was told I will get more power if they were!!) so 600whp is really possible with your setup. I too dont care about dyno numbers but its always nice to set a goal and try to hit it... even though it means nothing sometimes as every dyno reads different and I can try and go find one that will read higher and get my number! one thing I would suggest is you get the car on the dyno to see before and after gains.

hopefully your fuel pump will be ok. make sure you check the pressure and injector duty cycle when tuning. Also a cheap mod is a 160* tstat. make sure to adjust the tune for it though.

when it comes to a clutch, I would suggest the DYAD or RXT. the DYAD feels like stock and hold lots of TQ. the RXT is a little heavier but also a lot of people are having very good luck with it. the DYAD have higher TQ rating and a little more expensive than the RXT, but gives you more room to grow later.

the stock clutch will be fine for a while. Make sure you change the fluids regularly. that will help. I use DOT4 as some have suggested here. also look into the return spring, I havent done that myself but was told it helps with the clutch paddle sticking in. which you might experience with that power level. We had good luck with the stock clutch holding about 550whp. but if you do 3 or so back to back street runs the clutch gets hot and it start falling in. so make sure to let the clutch cool down between runs. not sure how old is yours and what that extra 50whp will cause, but you might be ok.

since you will be running E85 I suggest you get one of those cheap E85 testers to test the fuel on the pump you use. as you already know, E85 changes during the year (summer, winter blend) some goes down to E70 which will affect your tune. I had good luck with one station I use where its usually E85 even in the winter. worst I have seen in that same station was E80. I always try to do a test every month or so when filling up. takes less than 2 mins so you will be done by the time you are done getting filled up.

not really sure what else you will need. you can always find ways to spend more money LOL. Katech tensioner, balancer, ...etc etc it never ends. I think you got all the main things though except the C5R chain, you may want to add it to your list. I believe Katech use them on every cam swap the do. cheap insurance. Also since youre at it, you might want to use ARP head studs too, I assume you are going to but thought I will mention it.

good luck and keep us posted on the progress. hopefully some other members will chim in..... and yes if it had "dropping a valve" you will probably see 100s of posts by now HAHA

Blueline

Sounds like a solid build, can't wait to see your results! Im curious how many miles you had on the bronze guides and SS valves and what wear Rich found.

JWY Z06

The heads have stock guides in them right now. Heads should have gotten to Richard on Friday. I sent an email to him Thursday and Monday, no response so far on anything, not even a confirmation that he recieved the email. I assume he is busy or on vacation or something but right now I know nothing. I will keep everyone posted as I am interested on the wear after 10k miles or so.

JWY Z06

I dont think I am going to run the 160 thermostat becuase I do drive the car in pretty cold weather if the roads are clean and don't want to wait forever for the car to get to operating temp and struggle to be there. I know on warmer days it will probably cost me some power but I am ok with that. I figure the E85 will help with running temps anyways. Thats the current plan, time will tell on how its going to work out.

IanM

I would get an ATI damper while your at it without a doubt. Under drive or not it's worth the insurance and will keep those bearings happy for a long time. I just got the 10% under drive and really wish I had put it on when I did the cam. Oh well soon enough.

JWY Z06

Did you notice a difference or is it just the piece of mind from having it?

IanM

The power difference is nominal and at most 5hp but their has been more than one stock damper failures especially with track use. Also the ATI is lighter and much better and dampening vibration. That means longer main bearing life etc.

Bill Dearborn

How about letting us know what WCCH finds when they measure the valve guides?

Bill

JWY Z06

I fully plan to post all the data I get back from WCCH as soon as it is presented to me. Should shed some light on high(er) lift cam wear on the guides over about a 10k mile period, well at least for this particular motor. As stated earlier I am just stuck wondering if they actually recieved my heads since it has been a couple days since they havecontacted me after several attempts to verify the heads arrived.

phxcobra

this is essentially the same as my build except I stayed at 13:1. Make sure you stick to good sources for your e85 because I think the 14:1 will give you less margin of error. I also went with fast rails and 85lb injectors and had enough room fuel wise. I also went with a custom comp grind and upgraded springs. I think if you do that cam, get some good springs. On a good day, the car dynos just over 600. Very quick in the HPDEs I do. People are surprised by the speed I pull away from them on the straights. :-)

JWY Z06

Are you still running a stock fuel pump? I plan on finding a good station and sticking to it. I agree with Walhan_qtr, I will be getting a good test kit to make sure I am really getting E85. I don't expect to have any problems at this time of year but I have a feeling my winter cruising might be over becuase I do not trust E70, both from the projected octane and the fact that more volume with more gas means it will be running rich on lower octane fuel.

On a side note I really appreciate all the posts today. I was feeling a little left out yesterday. I am excited for this build. I have done supercharged and turbo cars before, but never a high compression cam'd v8. If all goes as planned this will be just a stepping stone for a future TT build, although only the intake manifold and throttle body will carry over. Eventually I want to build a motor for the car and add boost but it is not in the budget this year.

phxcobra

still on the stock pump. another guy here that did an e85 build like this had his pump take a crap. Shops theory was over time the e85 loosened up lots of crap in the tank etc and clogged the pump. I think they said there's a nice aeromotive drop in available. I'll keep the stock pump until it dies. Car will sound awesome with big cam, headers and 14:1.

phxcobra

also, during the winter, you could probably run a can of torco per tank to keep the octane up if it goes to e70. still run rich though i think.

walhan_qtr

I had few pumps fail on me. stock pumps and one walbro 400LPH. I never mentioned this because it seems like a lot of people are having good luck with it. I am running a walbro 450LPH now which is E85 compatible. it has about 1k miles or so now with good luck.. all my other pumps failed on me with less than that. (one was for 400miles ONLY!!)

This is the tester I have

http://www.jegs.com/i/Quick%20Fuel/7...0002/-1?CT=999

works great and its cheap.

I am not too worried about you running rich with the winter blend but more with the lower oct. and knock..

Edit: actually I think you will run leaner with E70 not the other way.... so lower oct and leaner..

08VRZ06

I wonder if the drought is going to have an affect on the availability of E85??? I have heard that because of the price of corn a lot of ethanol plants are shutting down..............

Sounds like it is going to be an awsome motor though.

Mark

JWY Z06

Hopefully there is not a supply issue with E85, or that they compensate for a shortage by changing the ratio of the blend. Time will tell on that one though.

Intake manifold/TB/fuel rail/injector set up should be here today. Then its time to pull the intake apart and get it ready for its new color of paint.

JWY Z06

Quick update as things are moving along, all the exhaust guides show wear out of GM in service specs as does one intake valve. These were the stock guides. Bronze guides are currently being installed at WCCH. I do not know how to post the specs but I will when I get that figured out. As a side note Richard measured the combustion chambers and they come out to 51cc, putting me at 13.8:1 compression so the heads will not be getting milled anymore. Heads should ship on wednesday. Build to begin next week hopefully.