I have searched the forums high and low and I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for. I have an 05 ss/sc with 46xxx on it. It's 100% stock and I'm looking to put a few performance parts on it. Now keep in mind this is my daily driver so anything I do to it I want it to still function with ac and not blow up after 2,000 miles. I was debating whether or not to get a stage 2 kit or a stage 3 kit. I have read that if installed correctly a stage 2 kit increases gas mileage and does not greatly decrease engine life if at all. Does anyone know how badly a stage 3 kit would harm the engine if at all? I baby the car so it wouldn't be going up to 7000rpm any time soonl. I'm not looking to cut corners so which ever kit is suggested I want every part needed to have the car run properly. Also, which would be the better kit, the gm or the zzp? I dont care about the price but I'm looking for quality, drivability, and having a long lasting car. Like I said this is my daily driver, I have another car I save all the beatings for =p. Also I'd like to add that the car isn't under warranty. Im not the original owner.

 

Go stage 3 with a good custom tune and you will be fine. I ran Stage 3 over 3k miles and not had a problem till I hydrolocked my motor. 2.9, 60's and a good H/E and dual pass.

 

my car for the last 4 years has had a gm stage 2 tune with a 2.85" pulley. now before people start with the "thats too small a pully for 42lb injectors" i know. its the way i bought the car, been running fine for 4 years, i moniter it with a wide band. i dont often run it up to 7000rpm (for 3 years the clutch has done odd things when i wind it out), i atribute that to it lasting. its not the ideal thing to do, but its proven it does work ok. i do get 40+mpg with it, so fuel mileage isnt a concern. there would be more power and greater reliability with 60lb injectors and a proper tune.

ive been out of the loop, when i used to hang around here a lot (2 years ago) OTT performance had one of the better stage kits. their stage 2 kit (2.8" pylley and 60lb injectors, and a tune) was a real attractive package and the way i was thinking of going. that was then, ive been out of the car modding scene for a while and now looking at a few upgrades, and a smaller pully and bigger injectors is something im after. still looking around to see the latest on the "stage kits" from various companies.

 

ZZP all the way OTT has a bad rep for service and ZZP is top notch

 

I have had a zzp stage 3 with 60 and a 2.8 pulley for about 10k no problems at all

 

I will be on another motor here soon, but I ran hard for over 3k on my stock one that had over 80k on it no problems at all, and i'm sure it would have been fine till over 150k had it not sucked a metric ass ton of water up.

 

I had about 53k on my car when I installed the stage 3 kit and I'm at 57k now with no problems. Keep in mind I have almost all the supporting mods and am tuned by one of the best. I'm always monitoring knock and iat2s so my car isnt going to go kaboom out of stupidity

 

I'm on a can tune no gauges or nothing. Still no problem

 

anytime you modify a vihicle from stock you will start killing reliability

 

reliability is the same if you get it done right.

 

it isent hard to put in a set of injectors and swap on a hub and have gm flash the pcm and anytime you take a vehicle away from stock form you decrease relability

 

i heard you the first time.

 

Yes and no. Replace down pipe with cat less down pipe get codes turned off and you don't have to worry about cat getting clogged. Better axles...don't have to worry about them snapping as frequently as the stock axles. Stiffer trans mounts.....prevent your trans casing from cracking or axles from biting the dust. Replacing the stock ss sc tensioner with the revised one. Upgraded endlinks and cabs....no more clunking bc the crappy stock ss sc ones didn't even make it to 50k. Interceptor so you can monitor knock and ait2s. Not attacking your intelligence mr.b just noting that the statement isn't entirely true, but then again the people that are adding mods that increase reliability are also pushing the limits thus decreasing reliability. One step forward two steps back

 

some things will, some wont. a good example is lowering, it will cause struts to fail prematurely, and can also accelerate wear on other suspension components and cause vibration problems. going with a stage kit speeds up the blower, effectively decreasing the life of the blower and putting more strain on other driveline components.

mods can help solve issues, however modding in general cause decrease reliability over leaving it dead stock.

 

I appreciate all of the help guys, I think I have an idea now about what to do =)

 

piitb?

 

zzp billy, zzp.

 

stiffer trans mounts wont keep the case from cracking, as for axles id rather break an axle then then a trans

 

wheelhop is what breaks the case, and better trans mounts help stop wheelhop. really the only thing that will stop the case from breaking is getting off the throttle as soon as you start to feel the slightest bit of hop.

 

hahahahahahahaha

 

Doug I didn't even recognize you with obama in your car. btw I tried that plati-dip to do the evo mod and it didnt look great. its damn near impossible to peel the tape off. the flat black may look good on your car though

 

I have at least 20k miles on my 2.8, 60's, and HPTuners and all the supporting mods in my sig, car has 100k total on it. I daily drive the car year round and have not had any problems. Just routine maintenance....oil change...plugs. Stuff like that on a regular basis. I had my car at the track in June and was running it back to back. Ran 14 runs in one day and it has had no problems.