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Just wanted to update on a current, ongoing project of mine that I have been very pleased with the progress on.
This build started when my 434ci LS7 motor was tired and I felt I had maxed out the 2.9L Whipple setup on the car. Seeing all the amazing results guys were getting with the 5.3s, I decided to give it a shot. The general consensus amongst turbo drag racers is A) Manual trans' aren't for drag racing, and B) they definitely don't work well with large turbos... and C) Lets not mention the platform this was going to be dropped in to; 2004 CTS-V, *THE* widely proclaimed sorriest drag racing platform with an LS power plant possibly ever released by GM. 4005 lbs on the scale yesterday, Manual Transmission, IRS, Small Motor, Big Turbo. WHY the hell would I do this? Because I do what I want
With the help of quite a few people this thing has come together beautifully in my eyes and is performing better than I could have even imagined myself. I have had amazing support from tons of guys, received tons of great advice from all sorts of people, sometimes despite their belief the Man Trans was going to work.
Build consists of:
LC9 (Alum 5.3)
Compstar Rods
Weiseco Pistons
Stock 317 Heads
Borg S484
"Stage 3" Turbo cam and supporting parts
Holley Hi-Ram with air/water intercooler.
E85
McLeod RXT Clutch
Creative Steel/Ford 8.8" IRS rear with 3.73s
DSS Axles
First pass off the trailer on WG yesterday was 9.93 @ 139mph.
4 Passes later with my buddy SLOWSEDAN on the tune, ramping in a little more boost we hit a new personal best:
9.57 @ 145.3 mph with a 1.49 60'. The car 60'd all day 1.46-1.49 and ran single digits on every run of the day. Absolute blast to drive!
Enough talking. Here's the car, and here are a couple vids
/\ Couldn't have made it anywhere without you Chief!!! SLOW SEDAN is the masked man giving it the jams! One of the few who thought this combo was going to work from the start! Thanks man!!!
What size tires are those, what gear ratios are you running, and how high are you spinning the motor? I was surprised to see you were going through the traps in 4th. At track events I'm getting close to the top of 5th at about that same speed; my R-comps are shorter than stock, whereas your tires are taller, and I've got a stock T56.
What size tires are those, what gear ratios are you running, and how high are you spinning the motor? I was surprised to see you were going through the traps in 4th. At track events I'm getting close to the top of 5th at about that same speed; my R-comps are shorter than stock, whereas your tires are taller, and I've got a stock T56.
Anyway, that thing's a beast!!
28" tall tires, 3.73s in the rear. I'm crossing through at roughly 6500rpm at 145mph in 4th (1:1 gear). Limiter is at 7400 rpm so I have plenty of overhead, Roughly 165mph at the bitter end of 4th gear if need be.
Noice. Should've yelled "shut up!" at the laptop and slammed it shut.
Question: why aluminum instead of iron block since you're running lots of boost?
Good question. I didn't want the 100 lb weight penalty directly over the nose of the car. Plenty of guys have made north of 1,000hp on STOCK aluminum 5.3s, so I wasn't too concerned with the block itself, plus added forged rods and pistons since it needed re-built anyways when I got it. The Sleeves in these 5.3s are thick as hell. Hopefully it holds up!
FANTASTIC. Really getting it done with 4 doors and a man pedal as God intended.
Thank you! I wouldn't have it any other way!!!
Originally Posted by hefftone
Oh ****!I had no idea that was a 5.3! Whats the compression ratio?
Btw, you need to update your sig.
Yessir, just a little guy in there! Compression ratio by my math is exactly 9:1
Originally Posted by 1BADCTS
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I look forward to seeing what else she can do!
Thanks man! This is just the start! Hoping to try again this coming friday with more power ramped in, and with an luck, some better 60's as I think it'll take more rpm off the launch by the feel of it.
Originally Posted by NIKDSC5
Best part is that the build is really nothing "over the top". Stock 317 heads
Not sure if sarcastic? Truthfully, I took my time painting things, so it really does LOOK nicer/fancier than it really is. Over all this is a very tame build, just really took my time seeking quality opinions and making decisions I felt would work well in the car.
I paid $250 for the shortblock, of which I sold the rods/pistons out of it for $150, then added forged parts I got from a guy on Facebook who was changing directions with his build and just wanted to unload these brand new rods/pistons. Heads cost me $75/each and I had a basic valve job done at the machine shop when he was looking them over for me.
Pretty basic other than the fancy looking intercooler setup, which isn't really working well just yet! So far, I am very very pleased, and this is still very early in the process of racing this combo. My imagination is going nuts hahaha
11-21-2016, 09:01 AM
V1: 9.57 @ 145.3mph 
