NOW I can give you some factors to think thru here but about 90% of the guys reading thru this will , be starting thier engine component selection process with some mismatched components that they will insist on using to keep the costs lower, so my main point will be to show you what your looking for when selecting parts to maximize the combo potential and hints on starting to look at each component as a part of one smoothly working system.
step one
set aside a monthly budget and do the necessary research before you buy a single additional part.
building an engine is mostly, correctly sellecting components designed to work at a certain rpm, compression ratio and air flow rate, and insuring those components will remain correctly lubricated and cooled and under stresssed during thier intended opperational range.
MAKE A LIST of components and DON,T buy parts that are NOT on that list reguardless of the deals you may be offered
step two
decide on a REALISTIC goal for YOUR application, if its a street car DURRABILITY and reasonable DRIVEABILITY trumps peak horsepower concerns, building a car with 900hp-1000hp sounds great but if its always apart for repairs it gets old real fast and its not fun.
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=741
its senceless to spend twice or three times as much on any component as you could on a cheaper component that easily matches your needs and goals, but its really stupid to try to get some part you currently own or can get cheaply, inclueded in your parts list if its going to be a restriction to reaching your horsepower or durability goals., call and discuss your choices with each manufacturer, if the cam you select is designed for 1500rpm-5500rpm the intake and heads should match that intended rpm band and the port size should reflect the displacement and intended pm bans as well.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=783
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=677
step three
performance is mostly the result of the ratio of horsepower too weight and the selection of components that will provide the accelleration,braking and handling you require, lighter weight, larger brakes, bigger tires and a large displacement help reach your power and performance goals, its far easier to have a 500 cubic inch engine in a 2600lb car with huge brakes and tires give neck snapping performance than trying to strain the limits on a 350 cubic inch displacement engine in a 4300 lb car, so before you just dive into modifying your current daily driver you might want to SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT building a weekend TOY built from the ground up to be a TOY vs trying to convert a street car that weights a great deal more than it could if it was built as a semi-race car vs a converted street car.and that also has the benefit of your retaining daily transportation during its construction or repair down time. you can add hp or reduce weight to increase accelleration or increase the brakes effectiveness
step four
you must decide on an engine transmission and suspension package that can reasistically work well together, if the transmission or rear differential can,t be expected to stand up under the torque/horsepower levels than before you go dumping thou$ands$ of dollars into upgraded parts you might want to step back and think thru your options
example if your camaro has a 10 bolt rear diff, and a radiator that came with the current 6 cylinder engine and you want to install a 600hp big block chevy in the car you can pretty much figure those components are history
displacement
youll be limited to between about 1hp-and about 1.3 horsepower per cubic inch of displacement if you don,t want to start buying rather expensive parts
head flow rates
theres a rought guide of formula for gaugeing expected hp results from cylinder or head port flow rates, you take this formula .257 x #cylinders x flow rate= potential hp
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1070
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=784&p=3796#p3796
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=727
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=333
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=322
http://www.n2performance.com/archives.shtml
example
if your current heads flow 210cfm meassured at the peak valve lift your cam supplies with the intake runners and exhaust scavaging taken into account that 210cfm x 8 x .257=431 hp
your unlikely to exceed that hp level much with those heads
swap to heads that flow 260cfm, you get 260 x 8 x .257=534 hp
a noticable increase IN POTENTIAL, that does not mean youll reach that level, only that the cylinder heads are unlikely to be a major restriction to reaching that power level t that flow rate, naturally factors like displacement cam timing, compression levels etc will effect your results.
COMPRESSION
your engine only sees DYNAMIC compression, nothing gets compressed untill both valves are CLOSED, octane levels and heat levels along with a few things like quench, fuel/air ratios and spark curve on the ignition will effect your max effective compression levels but generally the higher the compression the more torque your engine can produce, but getting into detonation will quickly destrowy an engine so its usually best to try for about 8:1 dynamic compression with current pump high test gas.
EXHAUST SCAVAGING
generally the lower the restriction to exhaust flow exiting the header collectors the easier it will be to make decent hp, keep in mind as the rpms build so does the exhaust volume!
step one
set aside a monthly budget and do the necessary research before you buy a single additional part.
building an engine is mostly, correctly sellecting components designed to work at a certain rpm, compression ratio and air flow rate, and insuring those components will remain correctly lubricated and cooled and under stresssed during thier intended opperational range.
MAKE A LIST of components and DON,T buy parts that are NOT on that list reguardless of the deals you may be offered
step two
decide on a REALISTIC goal for YOUR application, if its a street car DURRABILITY and reasonable DRIVEABILITY trumps peak horsepower concerns, building a car with 900hp-1000hp sounds great but if its always apart for repairs it gets old real fast and its not fun.
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=741
its senceless to spend twice or three times as much on any component as you could on a cheaper component that easily matches your needs and goals, but its really stupid to try to get some part you currently own or can get cheaply, inclueded in your parts list if its going to be a restriction to reaching your horsepower or durability goals., call and discuss your choices with each manufacturer, if the cam you select is designed for 1500rpm-5500rpm the intake and heads should match that intended rpm band and the port size should reflect the displacement and intended pm bans as well.
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=783
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=677
step three
performance is mostly the result of the ratio of horsepower too weight and the selection of components that will provide the accelleration,braking and handling you require, lighter weight, larger brakes, bigger tires and a large displacement help reach your power and performance goals, its far easier to have a 500 cubic inch engine in a 2600lb car with huge brakes and tires give neck snapping performance than trying to strain the limits on a 350 cubic inch displacement engine in a 4300 lb car, so before you just dive into modifying your current daily driver you might want to SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT building a weekend TOY built from the ground up to be a TOY vs trying to convert a street car that weights a great deal more than it could if it was built as a semi-race car vs a converted street car.and that also has the benefit of your retaining daily transportation during its construction or repair down time. you can add hp or reduce weight to increase accelleration or increase the brakes effectiveness
step four
you must decide on an engine transmission and suspension package that can reasistically work well together, if the transmission or rear differential can,t be expected to stand up under the torque/horsepower levels than before you go dumping thou$ands$ of dollars into upgraded parts you might want to step back and think thru your options
example if your camaro has a 10 bolt rear diff, and a radiator that came with the current 6 cylinder engine and you want to install a 600hp big block chevy in the car you can pretty much figure those components are history
displacement
youll be limited to between about 1hp-and about 1.3 horsepower per cubic inch of displacement if you don,t want to start buying rather expensive parts
head flow rates
theres a rought guide of formula for gaugeing expected hp results from cylinder or head port flow rates, you take this formula .257 x #cylinders x flow rate= potential hp
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=1070
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=784&p=3796#p3796
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=727
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=333
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=322
http://www.n2performance.com/archives.shtml
example
if your current heads flow 210cfm meassured at the peak valve lift your cam supplies with the intake runners and exhaust scavaging taken into account that 210cfm x 8 x .257=431 hp
your unlikely to exceed that hp level much with those heads
swap to heads that flow 260cfm, you get 260 x 8 x .257=534 hp
a noticable increase IN POTENTIAL, that does not mean youll reach that level, only that the cylinder heads are unlikely to be a major restriction to reaching that power level t that flow rate, naturally factors like displacement cam timing, compression levels etc will effect your results.
COMPRESSION
your engine only sees DYNAMIC compression, nothing gets compressed untill both valves are CLOSED, octane levels and heat levels along with a few things like quench, fuel/air ratios and spark curve on the ignition will effect your max effective compression levels but generally the higher the compression the more torque your engine can produce, but getting into detonation will quickly destrowy an engine so its usually best to try for about 8:1 dynamic compression with current pump high test gas.
EXHAUST SCAVAGING
generally the lower the restriction to exhaust flow exiting the header collectors the easier it will be to make decent hp, keep in mind as the rpms build so does the exhaust volume!