So Mr Hemi31 and HEMI~C~ have talked some sense into me and I will not be upgrading my heads/cam yet.... so my question is.... is it worth spending the money now and upgrading the springs on my stock heads? or...in other words is there anything else I should do to the motor (short of a heads/cam upgrade) that will keep me from having issues (as much as possible) during the S/C install?
You don't need new valve springs unless your cam requires it. If you're not changing the cam, then leave them alone. You shouldn't need to do anything to the motor during a Vortech install. I assume that your ATI damper is keyed, right? If so, you don't need to pin the crank which is the hardest part of the install (in my opinion).
I will verify with Chris about the damper being key'ed... otherwise good...i just wanted to verify that i wouldnt really need springs
considering the forged bottom end you are running now, i would not worry about a thing and put the blower on and run as much boost as humanly possible from that thing!!!
There is a formula used for boosted engine valve springs. Valve head area x lbs of boost. That theoretical will compensate for the boost pushing on the back side of the intake valve. Now I don't see any need for it yet. Nobody is running 30lbs of boost and 7000+ rpms, the cams being used are relatively mild by drag racing standards. Unless you go radical on the cam let it go.
Don't forget that you'll need a longer belt for the Vortech kit due to your ATI damper. I have a 5% overdrive and it added 1". The belt in the Vortech kit is 104.5", so you'll probably need at least a 106" belt (provided you're not going smaller on the jack shaft pulley).
the damper and crank are keyed. he has a 17% overdrive.....gonna be longer than 106 even I think. How do you figure? 2800 on a street car is almost perfect.
http://www.rosspistons.com/ Yeah im not following you either with this lol Anyone know how to determine belt length prior to install date? And is there a "best belt" to run? I was looking at these....will they even work? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/GTR-4061073/?image=large
That's a good belt, but I don't know about the length. I special ordered a Goodyear Gatorback from AutoZone. They have TONS of sizes. You'll need a 6 rib. http://www.goodyearep.com/productsdetail.aspx?id=3128 If you have a stock damper, measure the circumference of the stock and then the ATI. Add the difference to 104.5" and you have your new belt length.
I'll be at the shop tomorrow night and can measure my old one for you if someone doesn't help you out today.
