Performance Modifications for your LS1 VT-VZ Holden Commodore and HSV
The suggested modifications depend on what the customer wants from the car, the model of the vehicle and, of course, the budget for the car/project. This article deals with LS1 Performance, Cam upgrades LS1 and lists numerous LS1 Performance Upgrades.
Mafless Tuning
On most models, the pcm tune will make the most significant difference of all the activities, regardless of what modifications have already been done. Some cars with only changes to the tune perform amazingly better than with the stock tune. Eg. A stock standard VT-VX-VY with no mods will usually gain around 25kw at the wheels from just a tune and improve in fuel economy by around 15%.
We can perform a normal tune on your vehicle for $550 or mail you a mail-order tune in an engine computer for $550 plus postage. We can also perform a remote custom tune using an Autocal V3 device to suit your VE-VF for $990, including postage.
Air Intake
There are numerous brands of over-radiator cold air intakes (OTR) on the market. All of them provide gains in performance. This is due to them posing less restriction to the intake system and providing volumes of cold air via a more direct route. In well-designed systems they are not able to induce any hot engine bay heat, this is important because every degree the induced air changes correlates with around a one rear wheel kw gain or loss in power. Some intake systems can cause a lot of hot air to enter the engine from the engine bay, and this cancels out any benefits of being able to induce more air.
Oztrack stocks VCM plastic OTRs, which are $1100, including installation and regular tune. Alternatively, we can provide a mail order tune and VCM OTR VT-VZ OTR from $1150. We can also custom-tune the engine and gearbox and supply a VCM OTR from $1500. Order Remote Postal Packages here
Exhaust System
The first step for many owners is to get the car sounding more like a V8 should. Any catback exhaust system that sounds the way you want will provide gains in performance. There are many exhaust systems on the market and we have a large amount of experience, having tuned many cars with almost every configuration, we can offer the best advice as to which system to purchase. We have our preferred configurations and can help you achieve the sound you want for your application and price range. We only recommend the best value for your money spent and what we know you will like.
Extractors And Catalytic Converter
We favour the sound from 1″3/4 or 1″7/8 primary pipe four into 1s. The four into 1s often have a “beat” sound like an old-school V8, and this is evidence of good flow scavenging happening. We would typically suggest using a 200-cell metal catalytic converter (or Cat) as these provide good flow and sound while still filtering out more pollutants than a 100-cell cat. Standard ceramic cats quickly degrade over time, are often destroyed from a tiny hit from a speed bump and never offer good flow dynamics or sound. Metal cats are also more resilient and last longer than ceramic cats.
Camshaft
Many aftermarket cams are available that can totally change the engine’s power spread and the car’s personality. Some small cams are available that drastically change the low rpm power and improve fuel economy over the stock cam without any loss of idle quality. The other extreme is camshafts, which increase power at 6000rpm+ and have a lumpy race car-like idle with a loss of fuel economy. We can help you choose the correct cam for your application. We have a variety of cams we have designed in-house to suit any application. Our FE, LSV, HP1, HP3, HP9, HPS, GT and GTX-R cams have all excelled in their applications. The LSV is stronger right through the rpm range than the stock cam. The GT cam with standard heads has made in an LS1 up to 315 rwkw on the dyno, idles lumpy and still drives nicely at low rpm.
Often, people take the opportunity to fit a 25% underdriven balancer simultaneously since the stock one has to come off to fit the cam. These also gain a little more power, maybe in the vicinity of 5rwkw.
LS1 Cylinder Heads
Improved heads can provide gains in torque right through the range and even an increase in fuel economy. We can assist you in choosing the right heads to suit your application and have competitive pricing. Our best-performing heads are imported from the USA. Substantial gains are proven and well worth the money. We do not recommend heads we know don’t provide solid gains for the money. One of our VZ LS1 Customers recently had an engine that made 343 rear wheel kw with our imported heads and the GTX-R cam. This is about 30 rear wheel kw above what we would have expected with stock heads, with everything else the same.
LS1 Stroker Engines 383ci
At Oztrack, we build 383 stroker engines to suit your budget. Look in our shop for new offerings. Depending on the application, a wide range of engine options is available. Call to discuss.
Forced Induction.
There are many options for forced induction setups. Unfortunately, many of these aren’t worth the money. The cheapest kits often outperform a cam upgrade and have no upgrade options. We have vast experience and offer only the best kits at competitive drive-in and drive-out pricing. Call us to discuss the best choice for your application and a free quote.
