Step-by-Step: Trick Flow Builds an LS Camaro That Runs 11s Affordably

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Go quick and do it cheap is a time-honored rodder’s mantra… and Trick Flow Specialties 1998 Camaro Z28 proves the concept is still valid. You can drive it to the track, run 11 second ETs all day, and get 25 miles per gallon on the way home with the A/C on nuclear and the power seat set to Detroit Lean. No blower, no nitrous, nothin’ but motor. Total cost for the Stage One version: a smidgen under $14,000, including the purchase price of the car.

“This is a very realistic build for the average guy,” said Al Noe, Product Manager of Trick Flow, told us. “LS1 Camaros are affordable, and the majority of the parts are either on our shelf or straight out of the Summit Racing catalog. The Camaro is quick, but it’s not some stripped down, barely streetable car that lives only at the track.”

The Car
Trick Flow shelled out $6,000 for a rust-free, 140,000-mile Z from Texas with an LS1, a 4L60E automatic, and a 3.73-geared 10-bolt--a pretty good deal, especially because the car is a hardtop and not a creaky T-top model.

Stage One: The Top End
The buildup centers on Trick Flow’s GenX™ Top-End Engine Kit. It has all the stuff to convert a stock LS1 short block into a dyno-proven 515 hp beastie, less the recommended LS6-style intake manifold. The kit features fully CNC-ported GenX 215 heads with 215cc intake runners, 80cc exhaust runners, 64cc combustion chambers with 2.040/1.575 in. valves, and 1.300 in. dual valve springs rated to .600 in. of valve lift.

The GenX 215s also have a shallower 13.5 degree valve angle (factory is 15 degrees) and spark plugs located closer to the center of the chambers. These changes unshroud the valves to significantly increase mid-lift airflow. At 0.400 in. of valve lift, the GenX 215s flow 269 cfm on the intake side, about 25% more than the factory LS1 intake runners at 215 cfm.

The following parts round out the GenX Top-End Engine Kit:
• Track Max roller camshaft (228/230 degrees duration @ 0.050, 0.585 in. lift with 1.7 ratio
  rockers, 112 degree lobe separation)
• Harland Sharp 1.7 ratio roller rocker arms
• Trick Flow chromemoly pushrods
• GM Performance Parts head bolts, intake and exhaust gaskets, and balancer bolt

Other Stuff
The Camaro got a host of other performance goodies as well:
• FAST LS1/LS6 intake manifold
• Trick Flow TFX 30 lb./hr. fuel injectors
• Trick Flow TFX 85mm throttle body
• Dynatech SuperMAXX long tube header and midpipe system with catalytic converters
• Stainless Works 3" cat-back exhaust system (part number CA93023.5, available direct from Stainless Works)
• TCI 3,600 rpm stall Super StreetFighter torque converter
• B&M Hi-Tek Supercooler transmission cooler
The idle, fuel, and spark parameters in factory ECU were modified via laptop with EFILive tuning software. The transmission shift points were also raised to 6,300 rpm to take advantage of the extra top-end horsepower.

Shod with all-season radials, the Camaro ran a best of 11.84 @ 114 mph at Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park (Norwalk, Ohio). Considering a stock ‘98 LS automatic F-body is capable of mid-13 second ETs, that's a solid performance gain.

Stage Two: Suspension and Drivetrain
The track testing also revealed the effect 140,000 miles can have on suspension bits. It was back to the shop for several boxes’ worth of parts from BMR Fabrication--a K-member, torque arm, lower control arms, an adjustable panhard bar, and subframe connectors. QA1 coil springs and shocks rounded out the upgrades.

Despite the best efforts of the B&M trans cooler, the 4L60E was showing signs of imminent heat-induced demise. Trick Flow replaced it with a TCI Super StreetFighter transmission. The addition of a Moser Engineering 12-bolt (with 4.11s and a Detroit Tru-Trac) and a set of Mickey Thompson ET Radials all helped improve the Camaro’s quarter-mile performance to a best of 11.60 @ 116 mph.

Stage Three: Upgrading the Short Block
Unfortunately, the better grip and harder shifts took their toll on the short block as the top of #7 cylinder’s cast hypereutectic piston decided to implode. This is a common problem on LS1s due to issues with coolant flow (#7 cylinder is last on the list, so it gets the hottest water) and a tendency to run lean (leading to detonation). Trick Flow’s Ron Grezanik upgraded the short block with a set of Wiseco forged pistons and Wiseco/K1 Technologies 4340 billet steel connecting rods.

The refreshed short block proved its worth by lowering the Camaro’s ET by two-tenths of a second (11.40 at 118 mph). Al Noe thinks there’s more to be wrung out of the car. “At a good track in perfect air, the Camaro could go 11.20s or even a little quicker,” he noted.

The Camaro will continue to serve as a Trick Flow test mule for new LS parts. With a 10.3:1 compression forged short block, some power adder fun is definitely not out of the question. In the meantime, use this story as template for your own 11-second, budget-friendly Camaro.

Stage One Parts List

Stage Two Parts List

Stage Three Parts List