I have a 98' Chevrolet S10 ZR2. It is pretty stock right now. I currently have overload springs, Fabtech Desertbar (prerunner style), KC Daylighter offroad lights. Custom dent from a b!tch in a parking lot. I plan to add an offroad chip and, K&N CA Intake, Tornado (Gas filter thingy, better mileage and 50% HP increase?), 70 shot Nitrous Express, Looking for some more performance upgrades any suggestions? (Im 17 and im not a rich a$$ snob so I cant aford the 350 small block that I want, I also doo ALL my own work accept ignition and tranny)
Later in the summer I plan for a 6" suspension lift(Trailmaster) , 2" body lift. Thank you for suggestions. I am not just a stupid teenager, Ive been around cars all my life and Enjoy working on them.
OHH YEA who has Cheap, Reliable, TURBO's with good power and maybe mileage increases????


Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. :eek7:

You want all that stuff, but say you can't afford a 350?? Buy a 350, with the tranny and everything else, out of a wrecking yard and rebuild it (or have someone else do it). It will be much cheaper than all the stuff you listed.

Do the S10's have the leaf springs on top of the axle, or below? If it is underneath, you could do a SOA for much cheaper.

The "Tornado" that you mentioned is most likely the throttle body spacer that creates the swirling effect. There is no way it will give you a 50% horsepower increase. They have been tested, and actually only increase the HP and torque about 5 units at the most.

Will this truck be used for off-road, or what? I think you need to re-consider a lot of these items (like the nitrous). I'm not trying to offend you at all, just trying to help you out.

Im pretty sure the Tornado thing is not the throttle body spacer. My friend is helpin his G/F build his Drag car and they put one on his car a month or 2 ago. This is Deffinantly going to be an offroad truck... it allready is :grinno: The nitrous thing yea one of my friends that owns a local shop and aftermarket parts store and he has (had) the biggest Dakota on the east coast and he had nitrous in that and he said it does work well when you get really bogged down. Im still not completly sold on it though. Im pretty sure the axle is underneath the leaf.

Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. :sly:

I agree with him. Get the 350 from an old something or other, lol. Then get everything else. And look for a supercharger, not a turbo. Unless you do find the kind you are looking for. And if you can't get a 350, or find one. Modify your current motor with exhaust, headers, chip, intake, some internals, maybe a supercharger like I said before, and whatever else you can think of.

You want all that stuff, but say you can't afford a 350?? Buy a 350, with the tranny and everything else, out of a wrecking yard and rebuild it (or have someone else do it). It will be much cheaper than all the stuff you listed.

Do the S10's have the leaf springs on top of the axle, or below? If it is underneath, you could do a SOA for much cheaper.

The "Tornado" that you mentioned is most likely the throttle body spacer that creates the swirling effect. There is no way it will give you a 50% horsepower increase. They have been tested, and actually only increase the HP and torque about 5 units at the most.

Will this truck be used for off-road, or what? I think you need to re-consider a lot of these items (like the nitrous). I'm not trying to offend you at all, just trying to help you out.
Leaf springs are below in the s-10

And with a ZR2, I would go with a BDS suspension lifts. I haven't heard good thingw about trail master. And WTF is an offroad chip? And what size tires are you planning on putting on......?

LOL Ive heard different. Not much about BDS but some from the Trail Master. An offraod chip is for better performance when your offroad, it modifies the programs in your trucks computer and changes all this crap. Im plannin on running 35's Either TSL or TSL Thornbirds. Ive been looking @ the new Nitto's but they have a street tire background not offroad.

Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. :eek7:

BDS is what practically every owner of a ZR2 i have seen has. It is a 5" lift and is extemly strong and reliable.

Will your truck pass a vehicle inspection if you swap in a Chevy small block? Turbochargers are not the best for off road performance, as they require lots of airflow to operate at their best. A supercharger would be a better option than nitrous, plus you would get the benefit of having the power on tap at all times and not just when you hit a button. Make sure you re-gear axles to run the 35 inch tires. The Nitto tires perform well off road, don't let the company's pavement background fool you. Yokohama Geolander tires are another good choice. You do realize you will lose any hope of respectable fuel economy, right? And the BDS/Trailmaster suspension lifts both use a spring-over conversion for the rear lift. :smile: I've heard of performance chips but never off road chips, I was never to impressed with them either way.

Well to tell you the truth ive only ever seen one lifted ZR2. Im gettin ready to look up this suspension company cuz soo far all of you have recomended it. Ive never been big into Chevys but seeing how im 17 I just did the best i could with the money I had. Im finally pretty happy with my truck after pouring months and months of work into it. It had a bunch of hidden problems when I bought it so yeah. Yes I am going to regear the axles. When I was thinking turbo i was thinking more along the lines of superchargers blowing up when a turbo wont/shouldnt. FUEL ECONOMY!!! GRR When I need it the most im gonna loose it all :banghead: thats why im trying to do some performance that will bring it up a little bit more.
HAHA sucks monkey nuts but I just found out where my top speed limiter cuts in (95 MPH) :disappoin

Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. :eek7:

Ohh yea when I said I was happy with it I meant the way its running not that im done w/ mods cuz I dont have many as it is :icon16:

Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience. :eek7: [/QUOTE]

Someone earlier said to not put nitrous on it... I couldn't agree more. Gear it so you can spin the tires, use 4x4 low if you have to. I've never known anyone to put nitrous on an offroad vehicle. There's 3 reasons I can think of.
1) You can run out when you really need it to get out.
2) It's better suited for high RPMs in a higher gear. Using it when you get bogged down would most likely damage the engine. Also, without lots of airflow over the radiator, you could overheat pretty easily.
3) Your name is RiceHaterBoi. Nothing says "ricer" better than nitrous.

Hey, I got a 2001 zr2 with the 5" BDS lift, but I want to go bigger. I'm getting tired of replacing the wheelwell skirts or what every you call them. Tires will rub when you go off-road, but the thing is a tank. drives like one too. I'd show a picture if I knew how.

dont run a thornbird you will get stuck and i will have to pull you out. also are u goin to have to regear?

Drew

regear? I'm a total newbie dude. As far as extending the axles or what? I'm not sure what you mean. I really don't want to cut into the wheel wells. I mean its a nice looking truck and I don't want to f it up...

the tornado just does the same thing as the vortec engine.. create a swirl of air into the intake. I'm pretty sure we're thinking of the same thing. I don't think its necessary if you already have a vortec.

J-Ri, your running acetone mixed with what grade gas? and will it work with a 4.3 vortec?
thanx
-dan

re gearing is changing the gears in the axles it makes the truck accellerate like stock again

DRew

Oh, I'm not sure if I will have to. Actually, I'm not really sure how the hell to get it lifted any higher and keep it legal.

if it has a plate and insuance its legal lol. as far as gettin more lift soild axle it hehe

DRew

Hey, I got a 2001 zr2 with the 5" BDS lift, but I want to go bigger. I'm getting tired of replacing the wheelwell skirts or what every you call them. Tires will rub when you go off-road, but the thing is a tank. drives like one too. I'd show a picture if I knew how.

my friend has a 1998 chevy blazer 4 door...
2" body lift and 31's

we then have just added a superlift 6" lift on top of it.... and 34" ssr's...
he rubs off-road.... we cut some...
but his rides like a caddy...

also added 4.56's and a detroit in the back....

he had stock gears and couldnt put it in overdrive or it would bogg... so now with the 4.56's it is back to where he can go on the highway again.. he also said at 80mph rides nice...
pics blocked from work so hope this is the right post...

http://pavementsucks.com/forums/viewtopic.php?topic=79943

Re-gearing means to change the differential ratios..from say a 3.73 :1 to 4.10:1 gear ratio.. means you tires will spin faster at lower RPM's, which means you will get better grip from your tires.

I agree with the other posters.. Nitrious is a bad idea.. Turbo's are bad for off road as well.. the best thing is Superchargers or just all out engine muscle.

The Tornado is for the Throttle body. you may already have a Vortec engine, which does what the Tornado does. The trottle body is extended to give the air a whirling motion which cools the air allowing more Hp and better fuel economy. putting a Tornado on there may mess up what you already have.

Re-gearing means to change the differential ratios..from say a 3.73 :1 to 4.10:1 gear ratio.. means you tires will spin faster at lower RPM's, which means you will get better grip from your tires.

I agree with the other posters.. Nitrious is a bad idea.. Turbo's are bad for off road as well.. the best thing is Superchargers or just all out engine muscle.

The Tornado is for the Throttle body. you may already have a Vortec engine, which does what the Tornado does. The trottle body is extended to give the air a whirling motion which cools the air allowing more Hp and better fuel economy. putting a Tornado on there may mess up what you already have.


well I wouldnt say nitrous is a bad idea... there is a guy over here.. with 15" lift and 44's on a ford... worked 427 and nos.... great mud truck.... also I have thought of nitrous.. they have a new progressive stage.. works off your gas pedal.. the harder you press the more nos it injects.... :evillol:

well I wouldnt say nitrous is a bad idea... there is a guy over here.. with 15" lift and 44's on a ford... worked 427 and nos.... great mud truck.... also I have thought of nitrous.. they have a new progressive stage.. works off your gas pedal.. the harder you press the more nos it injects.... :evillol:

The problem with NOS.. is that it is limited. Depending on how big the Nitirous tanks are. once you are out.. you are out! No, better to stay with something that gives you constaint power. Turbo's are only good at high RPM's, Super Chargers are good for low and high RPM range. I am not against Nitirous.. just not for offroading.. besides if you are a true offroader.. it is not about how fast the tires spin.. it is about traction and low in torque.. sometimes too much HP.. can be at a dissadvantage because it can cause loss of traction.

The old Willie Jeeps.. Top speed 45 mph, but can crawl through anything.. Hummers.. top speed 65mpd.. can climb a mountain. again not about speed.
If you are racing.. then go Nitirous. Besides Nitirous has a high possiblity of freezing up the motor.. if you off roading you have enough things that can break, you do not need to add to the pain of something that is not needed to break as well.

I have heard nothing but bad things about TrailMaster. I would look into going with a kit from RCD. Just my two cents.

If this will be for offroad don't bother wasting money on the engine. Also forget about those lift kits. Ditch the shitty IFS the zr-2 has and get a good solid front axle under her. You can make it whatever height you want then. While you are playing with the axles and stuff re-gear them and you will be set for some serious adventures with a good tire.


Oh get rid of the G80 as well it blowssssss.