New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Welcome new members, please make your first post in this section. Say hello & tell us a little bit about you and your car. We're happy to see you here!
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Welcome new members, please make your first post in this section. Say hello & tell us a little bit about you and your car. We're happy to see you here!
Hendo
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:36 pm

New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Hendo »

Hi my name is Lee Henderson,
I live near Gainesville, GA. Last Friday I bought a "used" 2013 Caprice PPV with 800 miles. It is a 9C1 Alto Grey paint 6L L77 V8. Poverty caps and the front and rear seats are a matching cloth/vinyl mix. I love the car, I have an email I sent to Chevrolet 2004 asking for the LHD Saudi Caprice in the US. I have been heavily involved with Ford vehicles all my adult life. Ford doesn't offer anything like this Caprice even before the Crown Vic was cancelled in 2011 it didn't have the power or IRS handling and ride quality. I am hoping start slow and warm the car up with a CAI, off road X(leave factory mufflers for quiet) and tune how much power can I expect? What intake is best, Rotofab, Vararam or what? Who does the best 93oct mail tunes? Are there any good shops near Atlanta? My car belonged to GM and when I got it home I looked at the radiator through the hole in the bumper and the veins are extremely bent. Want to straighten them out, repaint and cover hole with a grill or something to protect rad. Anybody do anything like that? Where can I get a set of the full wheel covers? Eventually I want to do the AFM delete before there is a fail. Figured while I was in there should do a gnarly cam, LT headers. Is it a good idea to shave the head and up compression? Should I over build with HD studs, head gaskets, double valve springs, upgraded lifters if I am only looking to run strong N/A? How much cam is ok with the stock TC and rear axle ratio? Is 2.5" exhaust ok or should I plan on running 3"? These are some of the things IDK about GM and am here to learn.
About me I am 31yrs old, a disabled Army Vet and from a Army family. I have lived all over the country in NY,HI, AR, TN, TX, GA and stationed Germany for 27 months. I have always liked large, V8, RWD cars. I started out buying a 1992 Crown Vic in 2002. I have had 6 Panther chassis cars(4 CV, 2 GMQ), 3 Mustang GTs, 3 F150s, 2 F250s and a V8 Explorer. I wanted to get involved in this forum because I hope it will be a tighter, smaller community than the Mustang and Ford truck forums. Want to know anything else just ask.
User avatar
The Tech
Posts: 283
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: Mooresville NC

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by The Tech »

Welcome to the group. Read some of the posts on here and you can get some ideas of how to proceed. Just a tune should get you to 405 HP with no changes so you can expect more if do go more radical parts. Supercharger will get you to 500 HP at the rear wheels, you'll find that on here.

Look at your exhaust as it is. You also should have a cross-over box so the x-pipe probably won't be a huge gain.
2011 Alto Gray Caprice PPV 9C3, Kooks Long Tube Headers, Kooks Drag Cats and Crossover, Solo Axle Back System.
1996 DGGM Impala SS
1995 Caprice 9C1 red over white
2015 Bright Yellow Jeep Wrangler, the better half's car.
Member of Carolina Holdens
Navy Lifer
Administration Staff
Posts: 1724
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:30 pm
Location: Canton GA

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Navy Lifer »

Lee, good to have you onboard!

I'm in Canton, and Scott Walker (novadeuce) is also in Gainesville. We're getting together tomorrow at the monthly Canton Cruise-In - you should ride over and join us!

http://poboyscarclub.com/index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

We'll be going to the show about 2 PM. It's going to be hot, but we'll still have some good cars showing up.

There are a number of LS tuners and builders in the Atlanta area. One that has gotten considerable exposure recently is just up the road (575) at Ball Ground. See LSXperts (Charlie Hill) on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/Lsxperts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (not an endorsement, just one I'm aware of)

There's also Vengeance Racing http://vengeanceracing.net/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (in Cumming), MTI http://www.mtiracing.com/dyno-tuning" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (in Marietta), and I'm sure a few more I'm not even aware of.

Any of these shops will be quite happy to help you spend your money!!!

Feel free to call me any time--Scott & I get together frequently and talk daily, so one more in the mix will be just that much better. I just spoke with Scott (he has the wheel covers you want, by the way)--here's his phone: 678-570-3304...in his home shop now, and my phone is 770-359-9207.
Hendo
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:36 pm

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Hendo »

I might just have to come out. If I get there in time can we park the three Caprices together? I would have written back sooner but, I got distracted and didn't check back. It is good to know that there are some Caprice PPV guys near me. I will defiantly have to have a look at the wheel covers. Even if I end up not being able to come to Canton. I'm at 470-385-9029 so you will know my number when I call.
Navy Lifer
Administration Staff
Posts: 1724
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:30 pm
Location: Canton GA

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Navy Lifer »

I'm available any time....Scott may not let us park too close to him. His car is a "show" car and ours are daily drivers. But he'll get over it! :mrgreen:

Hope you are able to make it to Canton today, will talk to you a little later this AM.
User avatar
The Tech
Posts: 283
Joined: Tue Mar 19, 2013 9:34 pm
Location: Mooresville NC

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by The Tech »

Scott likes having Daily Drivers next to his car, makes his stand out more. I helped him with that in Commerce. :D
2011 Alto Gray Caprice PPV 9C3, Kooks Long Tube Headers, Kooks Drag Cats and Crossover, Solo Axle Back System.
1996 DGGM Impala SS
1995 Caprice 9C1 red over white
2015 Bright Yellow Jeep Wrangler, the better half's car.
Member of Carolina Holdens
Gerome
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Jan 19, 2014 7:07 pm

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Gerome »

Welcome to the forum . Nice to see the growth of our humble forum .
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elc32955
System Manager
Posts: 2718
Joined: Thu Nov 29, 2012 10:32 am
Location: East Central Florida
Contact:

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by elc32955 »

Welcome Lee! The Caprice is a fun car and the mods available are slowly growing as more cars come into the hobby sector. You're in good hands with our Georgia crowd and a few other members around the vicinity :) And... it goes without saying but thank you for your past service.

Again, welcome aboard!
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
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greasychevy
Posts: 251
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2013 9:46 pm

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by greasychevy »

I had a rotofab intake, i liked it alot. With intake and a good tune youll prolly be looking at 325 ish whp. with headers and full exhaust you should be 360+
You cant go too big of a cam with the factory stall. Look into "stage 1" DOD kits. livernois has the best kit, i think they will send a tune as well, but you should get a real tune.
if you plan on staying NA up the comp ratio and get ARP head bolts when you order your DOD kit. Also G8 parts will work for the engine and CAI.
2011 9c1 Hugo Blue
Hendo
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Jun 20, 2014 4:36 pm

Re: New to the Caprice PPV and LS engines.

Post by Hendo »

Thanks for the salutations Eric. I have been spending time with Scott, Bill and Alex they are great guys I am lucky to be able to count them as friends. Joining the forum and putting myself out there has already paid off ten fold in the support and friendship I have gotten.

Greasychevy(or anyone else who wants to pipe up),
For now until I can do AFM delete, Cam swap and headers I was thinking G8 cat delete pipes like Jegs sells and fabbing a universal 3" X pipe in place of crossover box and front resonators leaving stock 2.5" tailpipes and rear mufflers(adding dual tips like Navylifer). SLP Blackwing CAI and 93oct dyno tune from a shop Scott and Alex recommend in the area.
I was thinking Texas Speed for AFM/Cam kits this is my shopping list.
DOD / AFM Delete Kit
SKU: 25-DODDelete
- ARP Head Studs (46-234-4317)
- 16 Replacment Lifters(LS7) (replaces all lifters)
- Cometic MLS 4.085" Bore/.040" Thickness (#28-4085040)
$774.99
PaceSetter Painted Long Tube Headers, 08+ G8 GT (1 3/4" prime, 3" collector)
SKU: 66-70-2259 $329.99
PaceSetter 3" Off-Road Header Extensions
SKU: 66-82-1165 Change This Kit
$149.99
TSP LS3 Double Spring Camshaft Package
SKU: 25-LS3Camkit650 Change This Kit
- PRC .650" Spring Kit
- TSP LS3 225/230 Camshaft
- 114 LSA
- Three Bolt Cam
- ARP Cam Bolts for 3-Bolt Cam (46-134-1003)
- N Motion 3-Bolt Double-Roller Timing Set: (28-SD7645)
SLP Cold-Air Induction Package, 2008-09 Pontiac G8 GT/GXP "Blackwing"
SKU: 38-21120 $109.95
Sub Total: $2,231.19
I was thinking about welding universal 3" X pipe to Pacesetter off road extensions the stock 2.5" tail pipes and mufflers(unless a full 3" is really necessary). Thinking about maybe using an oil filter relocation kit for the oil cooler or replacing it with a lower profile oil cooler that runs lines to an actual radiator instead of the stock heat exchanger style that is liquid to liquid and uses engine coolant to cool the oil and prohibits the fitment the G8 headers would rather not delete oil cooler if possible. The cam I picked was the mildest they had, I didn't know what LSA to pick just put 114 in there. How much $ and how big of a hassle is it to get the heads shaved like in Crazy Paul's AFM/CAM post on Grrr8? Will the thinest Cometic head gaskets add compression, I am willing to go up to 11:1 +or- a few tenths of a point. I have no problem running 93 oct and do now. Has anyone tried the SLP Blackwing CAI, seems like a great deal @ $109 even if it doesn't provide the absolute most power. Has anyone tried the Pacesetters headers? Do I really need to pony up for Stainless Works? basically I picked the cheaper parts in the hope that the power added per dollar is greater than the expensive parts and put extra money in to strength extras in the kits.
Last edited by Hendo on Tue Jul 01, 2014 2:49 am, edited 1 time in total.
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