Steve, I'm 99% I'll be ordering this setup soon. Is there a preference of using the LS1 or LS6 block?

 

John, what is your camshaft?

 

Any year of block will work. Scott Turvey (Gen III) uses only new LS6 blocks and they are working out well - once we figured out new blocks need to be stress relieved. The strongest block in my opinion and confirmed by Jud Massingill (School of Automotive Machinists in Houston on his super quick school project car) is the '98 LS1 block. The LS1 has a slightly wider deck surface than the LS6 block and more aluminum in the lower end (no big breather windows under the cylinders).

A seasoned (high mileage) block is best as it will have been stress relieved in service.

Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development

 

Thanks, Steve. I'll be in touch real soon!

 

CANNIBAL, sorry I dont really know the specs on the cam. When I ordered the engine, Dave and I discused what I wanted out of the engine and what I was going to be doing with it. They built it and I never really asked no questions. Julio says my cam is fairley mild. Thanks John.

 

Steve, with a 4.160" bore, what would the thickness of the sleeves be? Would you feel safe running that bore size on the MID on a daily driven, naturally aspirated car?

 

This is why u need to find a COMPITENT builder...
I would let Cartek,Westin Machine or Steve build one of these for me.

Sorry thats the only place I'd go...
Remember u get what u pay for and this is $$$.

 

JS, who are you referring too?

I was asking Steve because he co-invented the sleeves and would know the exact measurements at different bore sizes.

I never said I was gonna build it myself. I would only let a COMPETENT builder assemble a motor of this expense.

I ain't no fool

 

I don't have a full answer for you but, considering the bore spacing on a LS1 is 4.4" the maximum thickness for a cylinder wall with a bore of 4.160" would be.

(4.4" - 4.160")/2 = .120"

Steve will have to answer if that is safe for a daily driver. I'd think so, you might not want to run a 300shot on it or something like that though.

 

Thanks man. Nitrous? Nope, not on my motor. It's cool but a PITA, bottle pressures, etc. Not worth it for me. It's a highway roller for me and a grocery getter.

 

On the cold thing...I understand it might not be an issue.

Would a block heater insure it wouldn't be an issue?

Thanks

 

I was wondering the same, Black Bird. Are these available in the aftermarket venue anywhere? It'd be real easy to just plug the car into the wall too a small heater w/thermostat in it.

 

I think GM offered them as a factory option for like $35 so I wouldn't think it would be to hard to find or expensive.

 

Thanks, Black Bird!

 

same question.......

 

At 4.160" bore the wall thickness would be .220". Still plenty thick.

Keep in mind that 4.160" is pretty near the limit on bore size. This because of the o'ring groove depth. You would not be leaving anything for future rebuild if you needed to go larger for some reason. I would run it at 4.150" max. (~433 inches with 4" arm) if it were mine.

Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development

 

I think a block heater would eliminate any problem if cold weather became an issue. I used to run a block heater that spliced into the heater hose when I lived in Ct. That worked great, better than the freeze plug heaters that GM has. I saw these units on display at Sema but since I now live in Ca. I didn't bother to get any info including the name of the company. Shouldn't be too hard to locate at a good auto supply store.

Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development

 

I wanted to point out that your arithmetic is correct but your .120" figure is wrong. The sleeve body OD is 4.600" therefore the wall thickness is .220" everywhere but at the flats where adjacent sleeves siamese together. Your figure of .120" is the sleeve thickness at the flat only. You can multiply this by two (.240") since the adjacent sleeve acts to reinforce the one next to it.

The Honda B series MID sleeves are .220" wall at 84mm bore (3mm over stock). They hold up no problem at 35+ pounds of boost with nitrous thrown in. Anywhere from 800 - 1,000 HP out of four cylinders. So a 300 shot won't hurt the sleeves at 4.150" or 4.160" if the rest of the engine is up to it.

I also want to point out that the siamesed sleeves is one of the main reasons the tolerance dimension of +- one half of one thousandth of an inch must be held during machining on bore location. Note that some shops are doing the machine work on CNC machines with no flood coolant capability. There is no way to hold tolerance without coolant. The block will grow a considerable amount with each hole machined. I calculated a five inch section of block will grow .001" per twelve degrees temperature change. With the block being about 22" and change long you can multiply the length change by four (.004") per twelve degree change in block temperature. Don't forget that the bore size in the aluminum will change as well. The temperature change is both from machining friction as well as room temperture change during the day. If the shop is twenty degrees warmer in the afternoon than in the morning guess what. I'll let you do the math.

Flood coolant, A/C and machining the entire block in one session are the answers to quality work when it comes to installing these kits. You never want to leave the block sit overnight and start again the next day.

Steve Demirjian
Race Engine Development

 

Steve, thanks again for all the info. Any word on the Cometic head gaskets yet? I'm gonna have you personally setup my block

 

Thats awesome! Cannibal, would you be willing to sell your dry sleeved block to a poor college student working on an all bore buildup?