Guys, I am currently rebuilding my ls1 & am modding it at the same time. quick run down of parts(not including supporting mods). MS3 cam, ported 243 heads, ls6 intake, 85mm maf, stock ported tb, american racing lts, and stock bottom end(pistons, rods, & crank) all new rings & bearings.

Im hoping to get 430-440rwhp from this setup through my t56.

Well my question is, how many of you guys are running 430+rwhp on the stock bottom end? and how many miles have you put on the setup? Im wanting this to last if I do it but 2 of my friends who both graduated from UTI claim that itll blow up. They both have LS1 camaros so this isnt a bashing lol. but they said it may even give up on the dyno. They said I need to go forged pistons & rods & keep the stock crank.

What do you guys think? I dont really want to spend all the money on pistons, rods, & machine work for them to match the pistons & bore, etc. I will never be at the track with the car or never spray it. just cruising & street racing. I was thinking if I kept the rpms down a little (6200-6300) it may be a little easier on it.

so post up your "X"rwhp that you have been running on stock bottom end & how many miles you have on the setup.

Thanks,
Brenton

 

I have 449 on a safe tune with my mods in my sig and I have been daily driving it for almost a year.

 

I think that they are full of it...only need for forged internals is if you are throwing high boost or juice...there are tons of guys out there running 500 crank hp (400-425rwhp) on bottom ends. I am one of them, I'm making 400 at the wheels on a stock bottom end 98 camaro which has the least desirable early ls1 bottom end. The only thing I would do if you are rebuilding is to have your rods resized and use arp rod bolts. I think your friends have a little too much "expertise" for their own good. You will be fine!

 

Ya no offense to uti. But they don't educate people on specific engines on generics. 430whp on an Ls bottom end it kids stuff. The only thing as mentioned would be to do rod bolts and resize them.

 

THANK YOU!! thats exactly what I was thinking! I dont ever argue with them because im not an expert. Yeah I will be upgrading rod bolts too. But im going with the Katech bolts. no resizing needed with them. I know theyre $200 but everyone Ive talked to that has used them has no complaints.

 

If you have the motor out I would just go arp and resize them. The katechs are good and I havent heard of any failures with them but there was a thread on here recently that displayed with a micrometer that katechs DO distort the bore somewhat. Whether its as much as arps or detrimental to the engine who knows but I'd want to ensure mine are perfectly round. If the engine was in the car I'd go katech but since its out i'd resize and go with the cheaper arps.

 

Yea if you want the motor to live a long life go with the arp....if you build ls1s correctly a 100k miles is just the beginning. Also I wanted to say I wasn't knocking uti, but I have talked to some tech school guys and just cause they graduate doesn't guarantee that they know it all. there is always something to learn no matter how long you have been in the game. Anyway good luck on your build man. I forgot to say I have been at 400whp for like 5k miles including a lot of 12 seconds 1320s.

 

Hmm, now you got me thinking about the ARPs man lol. Would the price to resize the rods be cheaper than going with the katechs? I mean ARPs & resizing cost. The only local machine shop close to me are good machinist but kinda dicks & want to squeeze money out of people. Plus they always make me feel stupid when I ask them for something lol.

And wildcamaro I knew you werent knocking them. I understand. I have a 3rd friend who graduated from UTI and he is dumb as a **** on mechanical stuff haha.

 

H/C/I 480 rwhp NA and 650 on a 200 shot....eventually upped it to 250 and it lived...all stock bottom end and ARP head studs. I wouldn't recommend it for a DD but for a weekend warrior it was fine.

 

That is the problem with machine shops, they always wanna do more than you want. And they make you feel stupid bc they act like the extra stuff they wanna do is a requirement. If I was you I would call around to places like Texas speed and see if they resize rods bc at least they know what they are doing. You actually might be able to get aftermarket rods for around the same price of resizing rods and arp rod bolts. It's worth checking out.

 

435 rwhp through an A4 and just hit 133K!

 

Power from H/C/I isn't going to kill the LS1. Hell a H/C/I + NOS LS1 is going to survive as long as there is adequate fuel and the timing and A/F are spot on. The main problems come from RPM or poor tune.

If you routinely spin to 7k+ your bearings may get starved for oil as the top end of the LS1 likes to hold onto the oil a little too much. Rod bolts may also come into play, but I think people have less problems with that than failed bearings to be honest. The stock powdered metal rods are actually pretty stout - it's the rod bolts that are the weak link.

The other is the tune. If you're running too lean at WOT you might damage something especially if you run nitrous through your setup.

 

Your friends are funny. I wouldn't even worry about the rod blots unless the motor is getting re-done. If the short block is still in the car just put it together.

 

I'm at 430 N/A through an auto, which would be more like 450 with a manual. No problem on a totally stock bottom end. In fact, I've been spraying a 150 shot of nitrous at the track too. Recently, I melted an exhaust valve from too much timing, but the bottom end survived. I'm putting it back together with new heads and going to keep running the stock bottom end. LS1 crank, rods, and pistons are tough.

 

UTI grad here. They sure don't. Boosted 5.3's run upwards of 1000 hp on stock bottom end with rod bolts and head studs. That's what I read on here anyways. LS series engines has serious beef in them.

 

LOL I wouldn't trust the engine to 1k HP.

On boost though, many engines have shown life even at 550-600rwhp. Comes down to tune.

I certainly wouldn't push it much past that.

 

My old A4 Z28 had 400whp + 200 shot and it loved every bit of it

 

I am a uti grad lol and will tell you it will be fine. Unless you are talking about some high rpms. 7k plus. Heads and cam are really just making it more efficient of a air pump. Stock bottom end will hold. Good tune and reasonable rpms good to go.

 

Dem UTI boys aint very bright.

 

I know! I'm one of dem Houston boys!