'02 CV8 Monaro Mods [Advice]

[V8MonaroMan]

Hey all,
I'm a new poster to the forums, although I have spent quite a deal of time lately reading up on a lot of the justcommodores forum. And also a fair newbie to the V8 and car modification bug, so I hope you'll excuse any questions that may seem a little 'unknowledgeable' (?) haha, anyway...

Firstly just want to make sure this is the right area to be posting this type of thread? And if so here's a few questions/thoughts.

At the moment the car is all factory original, and have been thinking along the lines of headers/full exhaust and maybe a cam to go with, and later on down the track probably the supercharger path with associated mods, (but I'll get that in a few months down the track). At the moment I am on a fairly tight budget, but have the funds now to blow maybe up to $3-4k

- Exhaust. For the exhaust and headers I was definitely thinking Pacemaker. For the headers I was thinking 1 3/4" primary, 4 into 1 with the 3" outlet... Was originally thinking about a twin 2 1/2" exhaust, but I'm assuming the 3" outlet would mean I would have to go with a 3" exhaust? If so, would it be recommended to go twin 3"/single 3" or can/should I still stick with the original plan of twin 2 1/2" considering that I may not supercharge the car for what could be longer than 12 months? And are the 1 3/4" primaries big enough?

- Cam. This is where my limited knowledge starts to kick in :P have been doing a bit of reading, but still am unsure of what size cam I would need. I don't plan to do any serious racing, just like the feeling of riding around in a tough car, not sure if this info helps at all.

So yeah any comments/ideas would be taken on. And if anyone can think of anything else that I may need to do, or have forgotten, or any ideas/list of other mods anyone including myself can do to the CV8 would be most welcome to post.

Cheers guys,
V8MonaroMan

[wikky]

I see you're in Mackay. Give Jezz a call at HDT Central Qld. Very highly recommended tuner/workshop.

index <<< Linky Linky

[GenReaper]

First mod in all seriousness is throw in some 3.9 diff gears.

Then if on a budget, full exhaust leave it at that until you can afford a cam and maffless tune and get them done both at the same time.

Gear will net you performance increase straight out the box.

Exhaust will do SFA on its own.

Its when you fit the cam and have it tuned you will notice most benifits.

Diff gears are the go first.

1 3/4 pipes match port the head perfect so they are you best bet, Pacemaker brand.
3 inch pipes are good for forced induction but wouldnt reccomend them on a 5.7 if your not going big cam or forced induction straight off the bat.

As stated best bet ring a tuner such as Jezza but go the diff gears first and exhaust then save for cam tune.

[V8MonaroMan]

Ok, cheers for the quick replies wikky and GenReaper
Thanks for the heads up about the 3.9 diff gears, doesn't sound too bad at all.
And when you say mafless tune, would it be worthwhile going with OTRCAI as well before the tune?
If so, how would this interfere/interact with an intercooling system? (muuuuch later)
Been trying to do some research on forums, google and even wiki lol, just hoping someone can give me a clearer understanding of maf/mafless and how otrcai fits into the works...
Would be heaps appreciated, thanks again

[Jesterarts]

+1 on the diff gears. Easiest way to get the car moving quicker.

In regard to the surcharges and otrcai, it depends which type of charger you are thinking.

Whipple type, these sit in the valley in on top of the engine. None intercooled a otrcai will fit onto this no issue. Not sure how they run these with a cooler, but there would be some clever plumbing involved and a regular after market otrcai won't go.

Centrifugal type, these are the snails on the side of the engine. Most the setups i've seen with these have had a enclosed pod filter but not a otrcai.

And as people have said, hold off with the tune until you're happy with what you've bolted onto or into the engine as you'll need to retune if you change bits.

Hope that helps a bit.

Sent from my HTC Magic

[XStatic64]

First mod in all seriousness is throw in some 3.9 diff gears.

Then if on a budget, full exhaust leave it at that until you can afford a cam and maffless tune and get them done both at the same time.

Gear will net you performance increase straight out the box.

Exhaust will do SFA on its own.

Its when you fit the cam and have it tuned you will notice most benifits.

Diff gears are the go first.

1 3/4 pipes match port the head perfect so they are you best bet, Pacemaker brand.
3 inch pipes are good for forced induction but wouldnt reccomend them on a 5.7 if your not going big cam or forced induction straight off the bat.

As stated best bet ring a tuner such as Jezza but go the diff gears first and exhaust then save for cam tune.

^ what he said.

I did catback on mine, sounded OK but not tough by any means, then had headers and cats done... Sounded good, went slightly better but power was nothing to write home about.....

OTRCAI and tune made the biggest difference to me. Next on my mods list is a LSD (yes i have an open wheeler) and 3.9 diff gears.

If i was to do it again, it would be in the order genreaper suggested, 3.9 gears will throw your speedo out and this can be re-corrected whilst getting a dyno tune too!

[V8MonaroMan]

Aright thanks for the info all, however due to an unavoidable and unforseeable incident (ie. hit pothole vs head on collision) it appears I'm going to have to front up with some mags due to 2x unrepairable rims... Sh*t. Anyway thinking about getting 19" 5 spoke BSA's. Should look fairly sweet on the ride, will try post some pics if I can ever get my act together haha.
So cheers with all the advice and will probably frequent the thread to update progress. Ta

[soop]

That sucks.
Something else that hasn't been mentioned.
LS6 manifold, if your car doesn't have one already they flow allot better then the Standard LS1 manifold.

I've been told a Ported LS6 manifold is good for 10-15kw more. Don't quote me on that though.

[V8MonaroMan]

That sucks.

Haha yeah tell me about it, council weren't that helpul either... oh well see what happens there, insurance is onto it.....

LS6 manifold, if your car doesn't have one already they flow allot better then the Standard LS1 manifold.

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm guessing you're talking about an LS6 Intake Manifold? Sorry pretty new to the game haha.

~ NEW LS1/LS6 TYPHOON 96MM INLET MANIFOLD POLISHED ~ (eBay item 120659447818 end time 19-Dec-10 19:03:58 AEDST) : Cars, Bikes, Boats
This sort of thing is what you'd be talking about?
(sorry about the link, was all I could find at the time :P )

[soop]

LS6 manifold was standard on VY SS on wards. Not sure if it depends on series one or two. Series two VY SS definatly has it.

[XStatic64]

LS6 manifold was standard on VY SS on wards. Not sure if it depends on series one or two. Series two VY SS definatly has it.

Every ls1 01 onwards has the ls6 manifold afaik.

Mine didn't and is a 00 model.

His would definitely have it.

[BradSV8]

LS6 manifold was standard on VY SS on wards. Not sure if it depends on series one or two. Series two VY SS definatly has it.

I think it is from vx onwards that have the LS6 manifold?
As far as mods go work out what you want too do to the car and mod it too suit otherwise you may end up buying/fitting parts you don't need and you will have too do it again.

[DLFHUB666]

yeah its vx on that have the ls6 manifold,Well mine does.

[soop]

My old mans series 1 VX doesn't. So perhaps S2 VX?

[SirNemesis]

My old mans series 1 VX doesn't. So perhaps S2 VX?

Standard on VXs1 and newer. If your old man doesn't have one, someone has stolen it.

[cpbait]

or swapped it at a dealer, heard of this happening from people at trade school a few years back, although was hsv exhausts not manifolds. you sure its an ls1 and not an ls6 manifold? unless its the very first of the vx's, but as posted i though vx1 onwards had the ls6 manifolds.

[soop]

It is an early VX.

Definitely not the same manifold as the one on my VY.

[Vt_vic]

my s1 vxss has the ls6 manifold someone definetly stole it lol

[soop]

Is it a possibility that the early VX had the VT engine?

[SirNemesis]

Nope, someone stole it.

[soop]

lol, fair enough then.

[V8MonaroMan]

Had to replace the rims due to the potholes... so heres a pic of the ride with the newies.
Also have a Pacemaker exhaust system under the house waiting for the opportunity to be installed. For the headers went with 1 3/4" primaries Try-Y (as available at the time)... into dual 2 1/2" pipes and Badlanz wireless operated dumpers just before the muffler. Fingers crossed to be installed in the next few weeks....
And as suggested by wikki earlier will be talking to someone soon in regards to: 3.9 diff gears, cam, otrcai/mafless tune. Cheers for all the thoughts, keep em comin!

MonaroFrontLeft.png picture by V8MonaroMan - Photobucket

[MR_VX]

Nice monaro mate, is that taken out at slade point?

I'd say Mackay has the worst f*cking roads in Qld, the council there dont fix pot holes with roadbase ho no no just crusherdust lazy pricks lol

[V8MonaroMan]

Hey cheers mate, nah I took that out at Shoal Point. Too many Points....
Tell me about it, the roads are bullsh!t. Meh you get used to it lol