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PowerTunePlus

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Syclone #0044 Build Budget11/12/2007©2007 Josh Straub - josh "AT" powertuneplus.com. This document is
part of www.PowerTunePlus.com

DO NOT REPRODUCE OR REPOST ELSEWHERE.

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Since I bought this truck, I've always tried to ONLY buy parts that resulted in significant performance increases, and tried to get the cheapest price on everything while still using quality parts. You'll be hard pressed to find "worthless" mods on my truck besides a throttle body airfoil that came with it ;))Legend

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This build involves a lot of time, labor, and research. But I started in 2001 without any expertise whatsoever (I couldn't even change my own oil.) The information in this spreadsheet (along with my Vortec Head/cam spreadsheet, and my large SyTy posts) would cut your amount of research down by 50%. I basically did all the homework for you.Parts in gray italics indicate parts that were later removed from the combination

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You'll also notice there isn't any labor on here anywhere, besides the machine work on the Vortec heads. I did all the wrenching; nobody else works on my truck except when I take it in for A/C service or wheel mounting/alignment.Key parts that unlocked the next level of performance

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Road racing parts (totally unrelated to horsepower and dragstrip performance)

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Budget & Racing Notes

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Starting Point:

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Truck purchased 04/2001 and ran 14.2 @ 94 best in as-sold conditionTruck was purchased with: ATR 3" catback exhaust w/Pitbull muffler ($350), boost gauge, trans temp gauge, fuel pressure gauge ($135), KB fuel pressure regulator ($100). Total $585 (retail value if new) mods included w/$11,500 purchase price with 26,650 mi. (great deal)

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ModificationCostNotesApprox. Purch. Date

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Walbro 255 LTR/HR high pressure fuel pump$110.00AutoPerformanceEngineering09/2001

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K&N cone filter (used)free from local friend

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06/08/02: Truck ran best of 13.013 @ 101.52 with stock chip after 1 year of slowly eliminating all preexisting conditions (faulty boost solenoid wiring, tuneup, vacuum hoses etc.)Total mods at this point: $110. I believe all Syclones with good condition motor/trans can run low 13s in well-maintained "STOCK" condition like this. This is a necessary goal before modifying further!

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ATR Pitbull Street chip (used)$35.00With this and a xylene mix, I got my first taste of high octane boost.

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09/13/02: Truck ran best of 12.786 @ 103.48 at 16 PSI on ATR Pitbull chip with 93 octane pump gas / Xylene mixTotal mods at this point: $145

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Ultimate Chip for stock injectors (radar style)$315.00($350 -$35 for replacing Pitbull) (replaced by Moates Ostrich realtime chip Emulator 11/2005)06/2002

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BoostValve ball/spring boost controller$35.00boostvalve.com11/2002

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SMC Alcohol Injection Kit$375.00Old round tank kit, still running original pump with 100PSI pressure11/2002

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Remote trans filter SUM-G4980$30.003/2003

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B&M large Trans Cooler BMM-70266$60.003/2003

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Derale deep 700R4 trans pan DER-14104$73.003/2003

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2.5" Test Pipe$12.00Local muffler shop made while you wait8/2003

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10/15/03: Truck ran best of 12.269 @ 108.66 (stock turbo record) at ~21 PSI on 93 octane with SMC Alcohol, Ultimate on T3-24, fuel pressure down to 32 PSITotal mods at this point: $1080. "Low 12's for a Grand!" :-)

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PTE PT51 Turbo/3" Downpipe Kit, custom water-cooled center section$1,270.00TyRod group purchase, amazing price offered to syty.net, not installed until 11/200307/2003

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AN Fittings/hose for custom turbo coolant lines$100.0010/2003

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Money Saving Parts That Remained Stock

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stock intercooler (DIY ported inlet)$0.00Stock IC good to 10.20 @ 130+, see Denny Raab's truck. A2A = Big Waste of Money!

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factory original intercooler pump$0.00original IC pump hotwired for 50,000 miles since 2001, still running strong 11/2007.

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stock throttle body$0.00

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stock fuel injectors$0.00Stock injectors good to high 11s

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stock (factory original) 700R4 transmission, stock 2200 RPM torque converter$0.00FP adjustments and careful Datamaster reading allowed enough spoolup to spin the tires with the stock converter and PT51 turbo. The extreme efficiency of the ultra tight converter also contributed to the exceptional 11.79 @ 114 time.

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stock (factory original) front propshaft$0.00Approx. 4,000 boost launches and no breakage.

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stock ignition coil/distributor/etc.$0.00No need for MSD, etc. Even at 27 PSI with heavy methanol usage my stock ignition works well as long as the gap is .025"

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11/15/03: Truck ran best of 11.795 @ 114.18 at ~23-24 PSI on 93 octane with SMC Alcohol, Ultimate on T3-24, fuel pressure 42 PSITotal mods at this point: $2450. "High 11's for $2500"

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PLX M-300 Wideband O2 Kit$300.00A real eye-opener for tuning! Fabulous when combined with the realtime WBO2 datalogging into DataMaster04/2004

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Max effort 700R4 w/5 pinion GM planetaries, billet 4340 output shaft$2,800.00Approx price., long story. Includes $600 of new GM trans hard parts I supplied. New 1985 trans core (I kept my original 1991 trans)2004

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Yank "PYE3400" custom 2700 RPM billet 6-lug 700R4 torque converter$846.00seasonal sale w/free shipping at www.converter.cc2004

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CBR LS1 front 12" brake kit$350.00(CBR bracket/line kit, junkyard rotors & calipers, new brake pads)2005

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BellTech 5520 rear sway bar$120.00Didn't seem to make much difference2005

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SMC Alcohol dual nozzle upgrade$30.0006/2005

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Moates Ostrich Chip Emulator, G1 adapter, parts-$85.00($230 cost, -$315 for replacing Ultimate Chip) www.moates.net
This basically converts your stock ECM into a fully programmable realtime tuning solution, equal or BETTER than a "F.A.S.T." standalone system. WBO2 datalogging right into DataMaster, and you *don't* lose ECM control of the TCC Lockup, Knock Sensor (critical), A/C etc.. and no rewiring required. $230 vs. $2500 for a standalone.		11/2005

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After built trans, 2700 stall torque converter, dual nozzle alcohol upgrade, and chip tuning, truck could only run a best of 11.8 @ 113Total cost with built trans & chip tuning tools replacing Ultimate, not including road race parts: $6341

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DIY budget Vortec head & custom camshaft upgrade, with 2001+ factory stamped roller rockers, LS2 beehive valve springs, hardened pushrods, double roller timing chain$1,504.53You couldn't possibly do a full quality complete Vortec head/cam upgrade for less than this! (see detailed Vortec Head Conversion Budget spreadsheet, and my complete SyTy photo install guide)

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Reuse stock roller lifters, stock bottom end$0.00

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50# Injectors$300.00not installed until 09/2007 during vortec upgrade11/2004

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ABS Delete$30.00Tucker Auto Parts8/2007

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As of 11/10/2007, truck ran a best of 11.45 @ 117.8 at 17-20 PSI with the PT51 maxxed out, on 93 octane and SMC alcohol. (Still full weight, full accessories)

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Total for max effort 700R4 transmission, custom billet torque converter:$3,646.00

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Total in engine performance (Grand total minus $3646 tranmission total and $500 of road race mods)$4,464.53Assuming you have a transmission that can handle it, your Syclone could run faster than 11.50 for well under 5 Grand! (Some people have half this amount just in a set of "rims" which typically *decrease* dragstrip performance with heavier weight and thinner tire sidewalls..)

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Grand Total$8,610.53This is the price to take a stock Syclone and build the motor on a budget reusing the stock bottom end, including a FULL 700R4 max effort transmission build with custom torque converter, and get it to run mid 11s.
Notice the constant increase in cost as the times get faster, for smaller and smaller gains in ET/MPH. To go just 5 tenths further (into the high 10s) would cost an additional $1500 "big turbo" plus a $5500 4L80E conversion for a total of $7000 extra, nearly doubling the amount of money spent on the truck in all 6 years of my ownership!

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*Note: $500 road race mods included in above price, but not necessary for your build.