Newbie questions and story

[ohhtwoWS6]

Hello, let me start by saying this site rocks. Tons of info available here. About me......I was the owner of a 1984 L69 Z-28 5.0 H.O. which I purchased in 1987 with 40,000 miles on it. I drove it until 100,000 with no problems but then it started burning oil, so I had a rebuilt 350 put in it with some mods and happily drove it 101,000 more miles before selling it last August (odometer read 1,000). I thought at that point I was over the muscle car thing....then this February my cousin shows up at my door telling me he just purchased a 2001 T/A with a 6 speed and dont know how to drive stick yet, hands me the keys and says "show me what it can do"......WOW...I was hooked instantly, we drove around for 2 hours, some sideways, some triple digits, some smoke shows. Later the night my heart was still beating fast and thats when I realized it....I needed speed again. So my research started and I ended up here, reading everything I could, learning RPO codes, model year differences etc. Then my search started for my soon to be ride. I test drove 2 T/A's (2000 & 2001)and 1 Z-28 (2001) but did not feel right about them because of mileage vs. price considerations and color choices. Then I found it....my wife and I were driving past the local dealership row and I spotted it sitting inside the showroom....I tell my wife "stop turn around go back" and she pulls a u-turn over the median that would make any man smile, we pull in and there she is...a white 2002 T/A WS6 6 speed with Hurst shifter and TCS with 14,000 miles...everything but the 12 disc changer !! Needless to say she is now sitting in my garage a the weekends when "we" go for a ride....my wife loves it too. The car is a absoultley flawless 1 owner trade in (on a GTO) but I had a few questions to ask.

I think the muffler and tailpipes were changed,or the tips were stolen at one point (sounds stock) Right now there is just steel(iron) exhaust pipe coming out, no chrome or stainless tips.....the whole exhaust is system is so clean I cant see any difference in the pipes, they all look factory original. The underside of the car is super clean.What did a WS6 get from the factory for tailpipes ?

Also I have read about the factory oil pump problems and was wondering if this was corrected in the 2002's ? If not, is the LS6 oil pump the one to get still ?? I would rather invest in it before I may have problems.

Is the K&N air filer a good investment (protection wise) vs GM filters?


Thanks to all you guys here and Wolfman's crazy newbie vid, I will now use Zaino and Mobil 1 synthenitic 5w-30 exclusivley. Waiting for this weekend so I can row through the gears again.....I never had so many people looking at me at redlights, and im getting older now..LOL...tons of fun watching people look at the Ram-Air in awe and then wonder where it dissappeared to !! Green light means GO...

Thanks in advance everyone...

[Blevyou know]

Welcome... great story

Have fun with your new car. You'll love it here, plenty of nice people with good advice.

[Z Ya Later]

Welcome to the board. As for the exhaust, if you're gonna replace it, get an aftermarket kit. You'll get better flow and better sound for a cheaper price than if you bought the factory system new. I've been using the Loudmouth on my 93 for over a year now and simply love it. You can go to www.ls1sounds.com and hear a variety of the different cat-backs available and see which one you like. As for the filter, the K&N unit is definitely better than the stock unit. They last longer and flow more air, even when dirty. Good luck with your choice on exhaust system and, again, welcome aboard

[Joe 1320]

welcome...... the factory installed exhaust is stainless from downpipes back to the bumper. The muffler should have an integraded clamp that joins the muffler and the over the axle pipe. There were different exhaust options like the dual outlet tips on each side vs. the standard single tip on each side. One never knows what kind of exhaust it is without pictures. It seems that the muffler/exhaust is usually the first thing people mess with. Take some pics and post them for a better idea.

[wolfdogs]

welcome!

and............



good boy..............

[Rhode Island Red]

First,

welcome aboard!

To answer your questionsI believe the 2000's and up have the better LS6 oil pump. (the mod is to switch it out with a ported one) as the one before 00 had a problem of the oil pump dying.

oh and couple things you should know,

always properly torque your wheels down to 100 Ft-lbs (star pattern) otherwise you might suffer the "warped rotor" syndrome.

oh, and if you see you using oil (get sucked in by pcv system and ring blowby) try using Mobil-1 0W40 , it should cut down on consumption (oil analysis results show this oil is good for the LS1) otherwise if you do not suffer oil consumption, disregard this oil info

Good luck and good cruising with your new ride