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Old 06-28-2009, 11:53 AM
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He mentioned it, so I thought I'd bite.

BTW, if I had 20 large to burn on a long block and was wanting to make a 'real' 2K at the flywheel, I think I would be looking at a Arias Century BBC or a KB HEMI block. Just my .02, been down the road of 1600 HP SBC's = sure they may go 100 laps, but in the end you have a bunch of worn out junk. Maybe LSx stuff is a little different, but from what I have seen this doesn't seem to be the case.

Not to take the thread off course, nice package.

Originally Posted by Phil99vette
Guarantee with a race motor..
Old 06-28-2009, 12:12 PM
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Originally Posted by helicoil
He mentioned it, so I thought I'd bite.

BTW, if I had 20 large to burn on a long block and was wanting to make a 'real' 2K at the flywheel, I think I would be looking at a Arias Century BBC or a KB HEMI block. Just my .02, been down the road of 1600 HP SBC's = sure they may go 100 laps, but in the end you have a bunch of worn out junk. Maybe LSx stuff is a little different, but from what I have seen this doesn't seem to be the case.

Not to take the thread off course, nice package.
FYI-your not getting one of those engines for anywhere near 20k new

Another fact,my old 436 sbc that made 2500hp had 250 passes on the rotating asy and 500passes on the rest of the engine.I replaced the rotating asy and it is now running in a pro mod.If you start with junk you will end up with junk.If i couldn't make this engine last more than 100passes i wouln't even sell it.The maint on this engine should be as follows,100 passes rods rings and beaings-200 passes rods,pistons,rings and bearings,valves and springs and lifters.300 passes rods rings and bearings,400 passes same as 200+crankshaft.
Old 06-28-2009, 12:49 PM
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What makes the lsx block stronger?

I'm not an engine builder or an engine builders son....so take my guesses with a big ol grain of salt....

LSX iron metallurgy > AL

Potential for better cylindricity.

No liners...no dissimilar metal expansion rates or dropped/cracked liners.

Integral 6 bolt head fasteners.

A hope that the GM enginners and Warren Johnson placed 100lbs of extra weight in a few necessary places....they saw a need to design the LSX block for some reason.

I hope it's not a bust.
Old 06-28-2009, 01:31 PM
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Originally Posted by onfire
What makes the lsx block stronger?

I'm not an engine builder or an engine builders son....so take my guesses with a big ol grain of salt....

LSX iron metallurgy > AL

Potential for better cylindricity.

No liners...no dissimilar metal expansion rates or dropped/cracked liners.

Integral 6 bolt head fasteners.

A hope that the GM enginners and Warren Johnson placed 100lbs of extra weight in a few necessary places....they saw a need to design the LSX block for some reason.

I hope it's not a bust.
let's compare

lsx iron-yes stronger if in the correct places-also much heavier,the lsx had a lot of material removed in the bottom of the block to make room for big stroke cranks,this makes for a fairly weak main area.That combined with short cylinders makes it not as nice.I run a really long sleeve for more piston support and actually added material to the main/lower cylinder area for extra stength.Cast iron not easily repaired.

cylindricity-i'll give you that one-the cast iron block will hold a rounder bore and better ring seal

liners-proper liners installed correctly will not drop or split unless you had something break or severe detonation,in those instances you will crack the cylinder in the cast iron block just the same.In fact because the liners we use are ductile iron instead of cast iron,we can use harder rings and not wear out the cylinder nearly as fast.

6 bolt-i offer my block with 6 bolt pattern.

the only other 2 benefits of the lsx block are priority main oiling and cost.
Old 06-28-2009, 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Shawn @ VA Speed
let's compare

lsx iron-yes stronger if in the correct places-also much heavier,the lsx had a lot of material removed in the bottom of the block to make room for big stroke cranks,this makes for a fairly weak main area.That combined with short cylinders makes it not as nice.I run a really long sleeve for more piston support and actually added material to the main/lower cylinder area for extra stength.Cast iron not easily repaired.

cylindricity-i'll give you that one-the cast iron block will hold a rounder bore and better ring seal

liners-proper liners installed correctly will not drop or split unless you had something break or severe detonation,in those instances you will crack the cylinder in the cast iron block just the same.In fact because the liners we use are ductile iron instead of cast iron,we can use harder rings and not wear out the cylinder nearly as fast.

6 bolt-i offer my block with 6 bolt pattern.

the only other 2 benefits of the lsx block are priority main oiling and cost.


Good deal.
Old 06-28-2009, 09:37 PM
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[QUOTE=Louis;11796263]I would let Shawn build you what he wants to build you, and what he has experience with. The minute things change, thats when stuff gets out of whack.

Take his experience, and use it. you are paying for the R&D, not just the parts assembled. Know that.





x2
one of the better post on this forum.
it is cheaper to build the engine once..... with good bits
your not just paying for the parts, and labour, but rather the 1000's and 1000's of hours of experience and R & D.

sounds like a good deal to me....
Old 07-01-2009, 10:31 PM
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Just curious if you have met these goals on this base LS block with a sleeve kit and your girdle already or if you are just expecting this kind of life.

What did your 2500 HP Camaro run in the 1/4 mile, should have been over 210mph in the 1/4 with that power.

And yes, you can build an Arias Century BBC 557" long block for 20K (block, gear drive, oil pan and head studs - only 6900.00) , done it. All NEW. Much, much stronger than an LS based engine too, except maybe for a Dart billet LS, about the only thing I would recommend for those big numbers you are throw'n around.

Not trying to be a dick, just curious if you have done this successfully or are just hoping to do it. I follow this forum to keep up with some of these builds and the problems people have. Making power with turbo's isn't the hard part.

Your thread caught my eye, that's all. Good luck with your engine packages.

Originally Posted by Shawn @ VA Speed
FYI-your not getting one of those engines for anywhere near 20k new

Another fact,my old 436 sbc that made 2500hp had 250 passes on the rotating asy and 500passes on the rest of the engine.I replaced the rotating asy and it is now running in a pro mod.If you start with junk you will end up with junk.If i couldn't make this engine last more than 100passes i wouln't even sell it.The maint on this engine should be as follows,100 passes rods rings and beaings-200 passes rods,pistons,rings and bearings,valves and springs and lifters.300 passes rods rings and bearings,400 passes same as 200+crankshaft.
Old 07-02-2009, 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by helicoil
Just curious if you have met these goals on this base LS block with a sleeve kit and your girdle already or if you are just expecting this kind of life.

What did your 2500 HP Camaro run in the 1/4 mile, should have been over 210mph in the 1/4 with that power.

And yes, you can build an Arias Century BBC 557" long block for 20K (block, gear drive, oil pan and head studs - only 6900.00) , done it. All NEW. Much, much stronger than an LS based engine too, except maybe for a Dart billet LS, about the only thing I would recommend for those big numbers you are throw'n around.

Not trying to be a dick, just curious if you have done this successfully or are just hoping to do it. I follow this forum to keep up with some of these builds and the problems people have. Making power with turbo's isn't the hard part.

Your thread caught my eye, that's all. Good luck with your engine packages.

Well the dart billet block dropped spleeves in the only high HP turbo setup i'm aware off. I dont know why you would recommend one of them over a LSX. Othere than weight. Hell I trust the warhawk more than the dart billet at this point. I dont know if dart has corrected this problem yet or not.
Old 07-02-2009, 04:49 PM
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Originally Posted by helicoil
Just curious if you have met these goals on this base LS block with a sleeve kit and your girdle already or if you are just expecting this kind of life.

What did your 2500 HP Camaro run in the 1/4 mile, should have been over 210mph in the 1/4 with that power.

And yes, you can build an Arias Century BBC 557" long block for 20K (block, gear drive, oil pan and head studs - only 6900.00) , done it. All NEW. Much, much stronger than an LS based engine too, except maybe for a Dart billet LS, about the only thing I would recommend for those big numbers you are throw'n around.

Not trying to be a dick, just curious if you have done this successfully or are just hoping to do it. I follow this forum to keep up with some of these builds and the problems people have. Making power with turbo's isn't the hard part.

Your thread caught my eye, that's all. Good luck with your engine packages.
This is a definite apples to oranges comparison and maybe it's just me but you have $6900.00 in a block, gear drive, oil pan, and head studs. I think I read that right. To put some heads on the motor that actually make a 557" shine (relative to the heads on Shawns motor) how much is that? Port work? Valvetrain? What about the rotating assembly? All that makes up a long block right? So does this come with that $6900.00? What about hardware, cam, oiling system, cooling system, and all the machine work? OMG...can't believe I forgot the labor to do all this work...that's going to be a pretty penny too.

I would also do a little search action on VA speeds reputation and work too. Top notch and developing some really cool stuff in the LS world. This kind of power CAN be made to last longer than old school SBCs and in the end what you do not have is a bunch of worn out junk.

I've never seen so many stock parts used in 1000-1500+ hp builds than in the LS world with no problems, but maybe thats just me. We're talking two different beasts here.
Old 07-02-2009, 05:36 PM
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Originally Posted by helicoil
Just curious if you have met these goals on this base LS block with a sleeve kit and your girdle already or if you are just expecting this kind of life.

What did your 2500 HP Camaro run in the 1/4 mile, should have been over 210mph in the 1/4 with that power.

And yes, you can build an Arias Century BBC 557" long block for 20K (block, gear drive, oil pan and head studs - only 6900.00) , done it. All NEW. Much, much stronger than an LS based engine too, except maybe for a Dart billet LS, about the only thing I would recommend for those big numbers you are throw'n around.

Not trying to be a dick, just curious if you have done this successfully or are just hoping to do it. I follow this forum to keep up with some of these builds and the problems people have. Making power with turbo's isn't the hard part.

Your thread caught my eye, that's all. Good luck with your engine packages.

Not that i have to defend anything here(i have proven what i can do many times over)but i will say that while i have used all of these pieces in different engines,some of them i have not used in this particular combination-but based off of experience from other engines-it will work with no problems and will probably be overkill.
While we didn't run my camaro but once on the 1/4-it would run 170 in the 1/8 and the one time we did run on the 1/4-very bad track still went 203 without much effort.
It has been proven time and again you can make 2000+ hp with a cast aluminum small block and be reliable-whether it be a ls1,sbc,sbf.Paul Major has been 208 at 3500 lbs with a warhawk block proving that you don't need a billet block to handle that power.hell,Brian's motor is pushing somewhere around 1700hp with a stock ls2 block and stock sleeves.
While you could probably buy all the parts to build a 557 bbc for $20,000.00,you still just have parts,parts don't equal an engine.The knowledge and know how to use those parts properly is more important than the parts themselves.When you buy an engine from me you get all of the knowledge i have aquired from years of racing,years of trial and error,and years of building engines.What's that worth?
Old 07-02-2009, 06:28 PM
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Responses like that (professional, knowledgable, honest, and especially tactful) are the reson I will be giving you a call within the next two weeks on getting my next build started. I've been doing a lot of talking with Chris/Veee8 and will be almost going with a most similar build as his. Keep up the good work man.
Old 07-02-2009, 10:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Shawn @ VA Speed
Not that i have to defend anything here(i have proven what i can do many times over)but i will say that while i have used all of these pieces in different engines,some of them i have not used in this particular combination-but based off of experience from other engines-it will work with no problems and will probably be overkill.
While we didn't run my camaro but once on the 1/4-it would run 170 in the 1/8 and the one time we did run on the 1/4-very bad track still went 203 without much effort.
It has been proven time and again you can make 2000+ hp with a cast aluminum small block and be reliable-whether it be a ls1,sbc,sbf.Paul Major has been 208 at 3500 lbs with a warhawk block proving that you don't need a billet block to handle that power.hell,Brian's motor is pushing somewhere around 1700hp with a stock ls2 block and stock sleeves.
While you could probably buy all the parts to build a 557 bbc for $20,000.00,you still just have parts,parts don't equal an engine.The knowledge and know how to use those parts properly is more important than the parts themselves.When you buy an engine from me you get all of the knowledge i have aquired from years of racing,years of trial and error,and years of building engines.What's that worth?

Not trying to attack you buddy or doubt your skills, and I am not saying you can't go fast with these parts, I am just in question of the reliability of these parts (LSX) at that level - not SBC's or BBC's, I have ran those engines in many different forms over the years and I know what works and lives and the problems you see with the both of them when leaning on them.

My experience is not that deep with High HP LSx engines, but everyone I read about on here and the few I know that do any 'real' extended competitive racing ends up with problems at those levels. Obviously, the turbos will put you there with HP, I am just curious if these engines will really stand the test of time at the power level. You mentioned alot of laps as if you were talking from experience, but it sounds like you are stilling experimenting. That's all. BTW, the ideas sound good.

No need to tell me about R&D and the energy and thought process to build a race engine and then go race it competitively- been there.

I guess when I think of 200 laps, 300 laps, etc I am thinking 1/4 mile runs and a full season of events, not one hit wonders or Big HP dyno numbers- there is BIG difference in pieces lasting. All I was saying is that an Arias Century BBC or KB Hemi bottom will be a better investment in the long haul at 2K + HP for a competition based class car, at least IMO based on my experiences, although a roots blown alcohol set up is a little less forgiving than a turbo.

Also not trying to compare apples to oranges, not at all. I was really just interested if you have been there when these LS based engines. The 557" Arias Big Chev I did was 6 years ago and was a roots blown/alcohol engine that was used in an Outlaw 10.5 car. I took it from out of the box parts to a complete 2200 HP combo that never ate a single part after 3 hard years of racing, just rings, bearings, valve springs and fuel. Very solid foundation. And Yes, this 20K did not include my labor/machine work or the 10K in supercharger, injection, fuel system, ignition, etc. - just long block. Of course your experience, time and labor are worth money - it looks like you have some expensive New equipment to pay for from your website, and I think your taking my comments the wrong way and getting on the defensive.

Some people should know there are more people that lurk these sites other than just LS car owners and sponsors. I work in the same industry as yourself, and although I only have a mild LS based street car to toy around with I know a little bit about racing, race cars, and the parts that go into them.

I ran Outlaw 10.5 back in 1999, and went through 2005 before realizing I needed to go to turbos to be competitive, I guess I got wise and got out before going broke and put my money where I could make money. I attached a couple of pics of the two cars. Fun days.

As I mentioned I just find this thread interesting and hopefully I'll learn something after I weed through some of the chest pumping.

On a side note, what events were you running with your Camaro and is that the same car on your webiste? I think you will agree 1/8 mile racing is a little easier on parts than 1/4 mile racing.
Attached Thumbnails Virginia Speed Turbo LS2-complete-car-fm.jpg   Virginia Speed Turbo LS2-2001-good-pic-engine-comp-pass-side.jpg   Virginia Speed Turbo LS2-bkd6-09-27_017a.jpg   Virginia Speed Turbo LS2-557-blown-bbc.jpg   Virginia Speed Turbo LS2-bkd6-09-27_079a.jpg  


Last edited by helicoil; 07-02-2009 at 11:02 PM.



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