Last year I just ran a mostly stock 98 cavalier with a .030 shaved head,CAI,and 2 1/2 inch exhaust running halfway back out the side of the car. For this year i plan on getting
stage #3 webber cam
beehive 7500 springs
roller lifters
wiseco K025M895 high compression dome pistons
Cant forget head work
and of course a computer tune afterwards.
How do you guys with 2200 build experience think this is going to work?
What kind of power am I going to gain?
I know this will be expensive but I figure it will be well worth it. I plan on racing the car for a few years, traveling with it too.
To my knowledge (I've yet to do more then a head gasket), I have looked into the whole concept of building my 2200 over swapping it and from what I gather the Head will be the limiting factor in any LN2 OHV build.
My plan if I was to build my 2200 was to do a very Head focused build.
First priority for me would be to get the head ported and the valves upsized
Second would be to eliminate valve float at higher RPMs with stronger pushrods, rockers, springs, etc. I hear people say the valves float as early as 4500 rpm on the LN2
Third would be a streetible cam with a low mid power bias, the Two valve head is not gonna allow this thing sing at 10k rpm like a RX7. 7.5-8k seems to be the max I've seen.
Personally I'd avoid high compression, my plan would be to go forced induction in time so that's a factor for me. But, could be less for you if your willing to deal with the possible issues super high compression can bring.
I think head work would see more gains then the compression as well, you gotta get more air in the cylinders to begin with so you can squeeze it harder for the extra power.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, December 15, 2014 9:11 AM
I miss my Cavalier, even if it made 100 hp on a cold day and had more suspension then it deserved.
Another thing I've heard as well is if your budget allows an aftermarket head casting from "odessa" cylinder heads flows better than all of the gm castings & patriot castings in stock form. IMO it would b a great foundation to start with on the head work. Head & cam work along w/ higher compression will give u the most improvement.
Also think about running 5/16 heat treated chromoly pushrods with a thick wall, like 0.120, to eliminate deflection when u go with a higher lift cam & higher ratio rockers. I say use 5/16 instead of 3/8 for clearance in the pushrod slot in the head. I had my machinist open up the slots a little just in case.
The ls6 lifter springs will also help with the higher lift.
I did a Ton of work to my 2.2 & am pretty satisfied. Only thing I didn't do was raise the compression. I used a '97 cam & sent it out for a regrind. I spin my engine to 6500 rpm all the time with no probs. It pulls from 3500 - 6500 & prob will still pull to 7000 if I pushed it.
Ls6 lifter springs are a must. You'll destroy the stock ones with regular high rpm.
High conpression, can, port work and tune should net pretty positive results
Just watch the timing chain, mine stretched a LOT going to 7000 on a regular basis
"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire
I have a set of Rockers for sale if you need them.... you will need to run guide plates though I ordered them for the pre 98' so they aren't self aligning. Also you will need to get a valve cover spacer for them to fit without hitting the cover.
Matt Linke wrote:Just watch the timing chain, mine stretched a LOT going to 7000 on a regular basis
Yes... While it's on the bench, look into doing the double-roller swap laid-out in the buildup guide.
Go beyond the "bolt-on".
Thanks for all of your info guys. I've looked into this a lot since then. Ls6 springs are the best bang for the buck and I'm going to go with them. Instead of the high comp pistons I might just deck my block to TDC and then either get roller rockers or different pushrods to accommodate for that size difference.
Dirt For Life wrote:Thanks for all of your info guys. I've looked into this a lot since then. Ls6 springs are the best bang for the buck and I'm going to go with them. Instead of the high comp pistons I might just deck my block to TDC and then either get roller rockers or different pushrods to accommodate for that size difference.
Just know that the stock rockers are 1.54:1 ratio so 1.6:1 rockers aren't really much of an upgrade. In addition the 2200 rockers, while not roller tip, are roller bearing (which is really where it counts).
Nickelin Dimer wrote:Matt Linke wrote:Just watch the timing chain, mine stretched a LOT going to 7000 on a regular basis
Yes... While it's on the bench, look into doing the double-roller swap laid-out in the buildup guide.
Still around eh?
"In Oldskool we trust"
Y3llowCav wrote:No the ls6 springs within the lifter assembly. Pictures are dead in this thread but basically you're taking the stock ln2 lifter apart, removing the spring, and replacing it with springs from ls6 lifters:
http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=2&i=395556&t=395480
And here I was thinking everyone was actually talking about the ls6 valve springs lol. Thanks for the update!
