So, after my next deployment i will have enough money for the ZZP SC kit ive been looking into. I want to juice this bad boy for as much power as i can get without doing any major work to the internals as it is my DD and will be a roughly driving project. Being fairly new to the Cobalt community I dont know what the LE5 can and cannot handle power wise. As of right now I have an AEM CAI (I know that will go away with an SC, but it came with it) Bad Mab shorty, ZZP 2.5 catted DP (enroute as of today) and Corsa Touring Catback. I redeploy in 3 months and I want to try and prep the car as much as possible before i go. Ive been looking into head work/cams etc. but all ive been able to find is people trying to juice the engine for an NA build so Ive been left with a million different answers all of which im not sure will work for an SC build. Ive also read that, after boosting, the trans (i have an auto) is on borrowed time and looked into ZZPs 4T45E, only problem is I dont think they ship it to Washington State and the cost of driving a day and a half out weighs the cost/benefits of getting the trans and install lol not to mention i cant just leave the state whenever i want to without having my commands consent and all that. Also looked into a couple goodies like electric boost controllers, axles etc. Im willing to spend the time and money to make this a good build and not half ass it. So I come here looking for pointers. To sum it up, In a week or so i will have full header back exhaust, so what should come next in preparation for an SC build? Head work and cams? If so what are some good options to go with and where can i find them? On the flip side, I dont see much of a point in getting a tune though because the SC kit comes with a new ECM/TCM and if i tune what i have ill just have to re-tune what ZZP gives me. From what Ive read around here also is that 400hp is a bit far fetched but that was kinda the number i had pop into my head. Id be happy with somewhere in the 300s though. Sorry if this seems all over the place but Im on Pre-deployment leave and have consumed the better part of a 12 pack.

 

thinking you would need to go tvs for 300s...

 

The search option is the best bet for these answers. From what I've read via many other posts the bottom end of our cars is fairly strong and should hold 300-325 hp no problem and the trans should hold about the same, 400 hp you may consider a new trans or a rebuild with stronger internals. From what others have said, 300 hp on a stock M62 is doable but still further fetched than if you turbo. I know many have said if you go with your mods and the stock m62 with a small pulley, expect to run either E85 or meth to hit 300 hp, or buy the kit minus the SC and then buy a TVS SC. But for that money it's cheaper to just turbo... I would say if you want close to 400 hp or more, buy the turbo kit ZZP sells for our cars. Im planning on doing the base ZZP SC in the spring bc im only looking for about 225-250 hp and this is just a summary of the info I found on here over the last several months.

 

You're going to need a turbo to hit 400whp. If you're after 300whp you can do it on the m62. Full exhaust is a good start and cams and head work will make it easier to break 300whp. After you get your SC set up count on meth and/or e85/smaller pulley to get over 300whp.

If you just want a fun car to drive since you mentioned dd, just get a sc kit with a 3.1(then you don't need to worry as much about iat2), cams, ported head, full exhaust should get you ~260whp. I made 257whp on a similar setup.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Ill look into all the stuff you guys listed. I suppose either way though the next step for me would be to get some head work and cams in there. If I went that route however, like i mentioned before, I dont see a purpose in paying for a tune when ZZP will just be sending me a new ECM with the kit. Would i be able to throw in a worked head and some new cams, time it and then just wait until i get the kit from ZZP before tuning it to perfection or is it imperative that I tune it immediately.

 

^^^^ no clue... Have wondered the same thing but I live 15 min from ZZP so I've been stopping in here on occasion. I would call them or email Shane and ask him. They are all good guys there.

 

I just emailed their contact email. I was browsing their products and got to thinking about a different approach. I crunched some numbers and found roughly how much money I will have to play with after I get back from deployment. I began looking into ZZPs forged short block and all the upgrades they will throw into it as well as their head/cam kit, trans, SC stage 2 kit etc. For all that it will run me about 13k+. Im sure i can save some money on all the parts and install by driving a day and a half out to ZZP and having them do it all themselves but that would be costly in itself like i mentioned before. I figure if I just hold what I have now and piece together a forged LE5 with all the components and drop it in once i have everything I should be golden. That should allow me to purchase things as i can afford them and not blow my bank all at once, though I COULD do that i dont think it would be financially responsible of me to blow a majority of my deployment money right away haha.

 

Unless you absolutely love your car, 13k can get you an aweful lot. I wouldn't dump that into a 2.4 let alone a 'Balt... You could get a nice Camaro, Mustang, Trans Am, 'Vette (with high miles) etc for that or bare minimum spend another 2k and get a nice LNF 'Balt.

I do understand wanting a sleeper or just wanting something different no one else has though too but that's my .02.