Is the bottom end in a camaro z28 diffrent than what is in my 2004.I was thinling of adding new exhaust and a 100 shot of N2o to what I have the car just hit 35k mile.Mycar is a auto and I have added the vortex ram air and throttle body by pass.With what I have what do these cars normally run in the 1/4 when my Z28 was stock and it was a 6 speed car it ran a 13.70 on street tires thanks for any help.

 

My '98 Z28 ran in the 13.2s, stock, with just a good LS1 edit tune, some suspension adjustment and drag radials. The basic engines are the same as in the vette. I would expect a stock vette to do low 13s on street tires, very low (13.1-13s, even into the high 12s) with drag radials, stock.

We blew up the stock engine on the Z28 with a 150+ shot of NOS in about our 60th 1/4 pass -- the car had headers, cam, etc. etc., and would do 12.6s N.A., but we were going for low 11s when we shattered a rod (and the engine) just as we shifted into third.

 

I thought the bottom end on the vettes were forged?

 

The stock bottom end is reasonably strong -- it can handle up to about 475-500 RWHP if you do not abuse it. the crank is pretty good stock -- I know of no case where the crank has bent or shattered on a stock LS engine (I'm sure there are some, just rare). Usually it is a rod if the failure started in the short block. If you SC or use lots of nitrous it is common to crack a piston or the block -- I've seen that happen pretty consistently when you get over about 550 RWHP with either on stock pistons.

But don't forget the top end. The most common failure I have seen is valves hitting pistons: guys put in 1.8:1 rockers and then re-program to increase the rev limit- even with stiffer springs, that combination results in valve-piston contact sometimes.

It is so easy to get up to over 500 RWHP with an LS engine that it is worth doing the bottom end or buying an entire built short block to give you peace of mind. There are various aftermarket parts that are good. We've gone two different routes, Eagle (inexpensive, strong, but heavy) on the Camaro's 408, which is sort of a brute force engine, and very high end Crower (really costly, strong, very lite) on the vette. Either one works and given everything the Eagle is by far the way to go if on any budget.