Another 408 Build.
Another 408 Build. Well I bit the bullet and ordered the rest of the parts.
Here's the combination of my parts thus far.
Lq4 machined block from ATK Performance.
Lunati Forged 4' crankshaft.
Federal Mogul 152m Main bearings.
Lunati Forged 6.125 rods.
Diamond 4.03 Forged Pistons 1.8 cc valve reliefs.
L92 Heads very mild port.
BTR .660 Valve springs.
LS3 intake with 42lb injectors
Pacesetter LT's hooked to 3in pipe straight to one magnaflow muffler.
This setup will net me close to 11.6:1 compression.
I have yet to spec a cam and will probably get with either Pat G. or Martin at Tick to spec one for me. Most people seem to shoot for 500hp but being that I'm hooking to a 4l60E with 3.42 gears I'm shooting more around the 475 to 480 mark.
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions?
I'll be posting pics and things as stuff goes on.
Here's the combination of my parts thus far.
Lq4 machined block from ATK Performance.
Lunati Forged 4' crankshaft.
Federal Mogul 152m Main bearings.
Lunati Forged 6.125 rods.
Diamond 4.03 Forged Pistons 1.8 cc valve reliefs.
L92 Heads very mild port.
BTR .660 Valve springs.
LS3 intake with 42lb injectors
Pacesetter LT's hooked to 3in pipe straight to one magnaflow muffler.
This setup will net me close to 11.6:1 compression.
I have yet to spec a cam and will probably get with either Pat G. or Martin at Tick to spec one for me. Most people seem to shoot for 500hp but being that I'm hooking to a 4l60E with 3.42 gears I'm shooting more around the 475 to 480 mark.
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions?
I'll be posting pics and things as stuff goes on.
Last edited by Werewolf SS; Jan 31, 2014 at 01:54 PM.
It would be nice to hit 500. But after looking around I see with an A4 it's harder to pull that off. Maybe I'll get lucky? Would be nice to see 500 on a dyno sheet but I'm more concerned with 1/4 mile time then a fancy piece of paper.
As promised I'll start uploading pics and I'll start first with what I worked on last night.
BTR Springs came in. They look great and now I can join the hundreds (if not thousands) of others who can attest to the quality of these springs.
They're going on some l92 heads.
And of course here they are installed on the first head.
I ended up using the LS Valve Spring tool that's sold on here. Just make sure to follow directions and have some oils for the threads and it works great for both removal and installation. I did manage to mess up the first valve seal when I was installing so I had to order a replacement so one spring is not installed yet but that will be rectified come Tuesday.
The Crank and Pistons are on order and should be here this week. I'll start shortblock pre-assembly testing at that time for fitment and clearances.
The block being used:
More to Come Soon!
As promised I'll start uploading pics and I'll start first with what I worked on last night.
BTR Springs came in. They look great and now I can join the hundreds (if not thousands) of others who can attest to the quality of these springs.
They're going on some l92 heads.
And of course here they are installed on the first head.
I ended up using the LS Valve Spring tool that's sold on here. Just make sure to follow directions and have some oils for the threads and it works great for both removal and installation. I did manage to mess up the first valve seal when I was installing so I had to order a replacement so one spring is not installed yet but that will be rectified come Tuesday.
The Crank and Pistons are on order and should be here this week. I'll start shortblock pre-assembly testing at that time for fitment and clearances.
The block being used:
More to Come Soon!
I have some nice, milder LS3 stroker grinds that work really well for street cars. If you wanted something more aggressive you'd need to change rear gears.
The exhaust is the weak point in your combination. From the heads, to the headers to the y pipe and muffler set-up. Because of this the I/E split will be wider. Heavy overlap with this exhaust set-up will also not be beneficial unless a narrower higher revving power band is desired.
For what I would want in a heavy street car with 3.42's would be something similar to this: 237/252 .622/.595 116lsa.
The exhaust is the weak point in your combination. From the heads, to the headers to the y pipe and muffler set-up. Because of this the I/E split will be wider. Heavy overlap with this exhaust set-up will also not be beneficial unless a narrower higher revving power band is desired.
For what I would want in a heavy street car with 3.42's would be something similar to this: 237/252 .622/.595 116lsa.
I plan on borrowing some dial gauges from some friends at a local auto shop that I do computer work for on occasion. If not then I'll have to just do plastigauge and go from there.
Martin can you elaborate on my exhaust setup?
What would you recommend?
I'm looking for a street/strip combo something I can DD if I chose and take to the drag strip several times a year for fun. I'd love to get into the high 10's but I'd be satisfied with low 11's.
I'm looking to turn the rpm's to 6,400 but I'd take it to 7000 if it made a big difference and my valvetrain is capable of holding it with out issues.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
Martin can you elaborate on my exhaust setup?
What would you recommend?
I'm looking for a street/strip combo something I can DD if I chose and take to the drag strip several times a year for fun. I'd love to get into the high 10's but I'd be satisfied with low 11's.
I'm looking to turn the rpm's to 6,400 but I'd take it to 7000 if it made a big difference and my valvetrain is capable of holding it with out issues.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
Basically he's hinting at the point that on a nice healthy stroker combo with good heads and a cam swap 1 3/4" headers are simply not sufficient. You really should look into a 1 7/8" at a minimum and forget the single 3" and either move up to 4" or to a true dual setup.
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Verdad Gallardo Well I received my head studs in today. Bad news is they're the wrong ones >_<.
I have a 2004+ block requiring the 2 bolt length setup and I ordered such but instead got sent the pre 2004 3 bolt length head studs instead. So now I'm going to end up fighting to get the right ones sent to me. In the meantime I'm looking into 1 7/8 headers and exhaust systems. Anyone running the TSP headers? Good reviews? Bad reviews? Opinions? I see Hooker has their super comp headers for a little bit more also.
Would anyone recommend going to a 3 1/2 exhaust off a y pipe or just do true dual? I like sound but I don't want this thing to be so loud its un-drivable on the street/highway.
I have a 2004+ block requiring the 2 bolt length setup and I ordered such but instead got sent the pre 2004 3 bolt length head studs instead. So now I'm going to end up fighting to get the right ones sent to me. In the meantime I'm looking into 1 7/8 headers and exhaust systems. Anyone running the TSP headers? Good reviews? Bad reviews? Opinions? I see Hooker has their super comp headers for a little bit more also.
Would anyone recommend going to a 3 1/2 exhaust off a y pipe or just do true dual? I like sound but I don't want this thing to be so loud its un-drivable on the street/highway.
I plan on borrowing some dial gauges from some friends at a local auto shop that I do computer work for on occasion. If not then I'll have to just do plastigauge and go from there.
Martin can you elaborate on my exhaust setup?
What would you recommend?
I'm looking for a street/strip combo something I can DD if I chose and take to the drag strip several times a year for fun. I'd love to get into the high 10's but I'd be satisfied with low 11's.
I'm looking to turn the rpm's to 6,400 but I'd take it to 7000 if it made a big difference and my valvetrain is capable of holding it with out issues.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
Martin can you elaborate on my exhaust setup?
What would you recommend?
I'm looking for a street/strip combo something I can DD if I chose and take to the drag strip several times a year for fun. I'd love to get into the high 10's but I'd be satisfied with low 11's.
I'm looking to turn the rpm's to 6,400 but I'd take it to 7000 if it made a big difference and my valvetrain is capable of holding it with out issues.
Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?
You have a 408, it needs to breathe!
If you can't ditch the 3" exhaust and go with 4", what you can do is grab the 3" to 4" flowmaster merge, and grab a 4" cut-out. Run the 4" cut-out in the I-pipe after the merge, then reduce it back down to 3" and connect it to your cat-back.
The heads you have have a large intake port and intake valve. They like RPM. Don't stop at 6,400. The valve train you have will handle 7000rpm all day long. You don't always have to turn it that high, but the cam I recommend will prefer a 6600-6700rpm shift point.
The cam will drive well in a 408 if need be for DD use, but still make the power needed to run at the strip.
I think a lot of guys forget about the exhaust. It is highly important and influential in clearing out the cylinder of spent exhaust gas AND pulling in fresh charge. If the cam is ground correctly for the induction package and exhaust system on the car, the pulses from those spent gasses leaving the engine can be used to help pull in fresh intake charge.
Engines have pumping losses. Maximizing these losses by utilizing the pressure differentials available via wave tuning is something many just totally ignore,
I'll need to get under the car and recheck. The piping may be 3.5 already. It's been awhile since I've looked and its not from a kit it was all hand made prior to me purchasing the car. I only hooked it all up afterwards.
More pics, the exhaust valve stem replacement came in so both heads are now assembled. I had the valve covers painted and here's a pic of them assembled.
And to get a picture of fitment I went ahead and set them and the intake on the engine as shown here.
The crankshaft will be arriving tomorrow, I'll be sure to snap some pics of it but I won't get to doing some pre-assembly work until this weekend.
More pics, the exhaust valve stem replacement came in so both heads are now assembled. I had the valve covers painted and here's a pic of them assembled.
And to get a picture of fitment I went ahead and set them and the intake on the engine as shown here.
The crankshaft will be arriving tomorrow, I'll be sure to snap some pics of it but I won't get to doing some pre-assembly work until this weekend.
Well installed the crank and bearings and did a clearance check. Came out around 0.0028 and 0.003 for all main bearings. This is with a brand new Lunati 4 inch crank and Federal Mogul 152m bearings.
What are thoughts on this? I'm told for a 408 stroker you want to be a bit loose especially for higher rpms.
What are thoughts on this? I'm told for a 408 stroker you want to be a bit loose especially for higher rpms.
It'll run fine, but oil pressure will be affected. I thought you were wanting less than 500whp, why the need for "higher RPM"?
You can get a set of the FM 152M for a .001" undersize, mix them with the standards you have now, and it should cut your clearances down by about .0005".
You can get a set of the FM 152M for a .001" undersize, mix them with the standards you have now, and it should cut your clearances down by about .0005".
It'll run fine, but oil pressure will be affected. I thought you were wanting less than 500whp, why the need for "higher RPM"?
You can get a set of the FM 152M for a .001" undersize, mix them with the standards you have now, and it should cut your clearances down by about .0005".
You can get a set of the FM 152M for a .001" undersize, mix them with the standards you have now, and it should cut your clearances down by about .0005".
I merely said I was expecting less than 500 since it's an A4 and seeing they tend to do just shy of the 500 mark. I'm just not hyping my self up only to be disappointed when it dyno's under that mark. Now if it dynos' at 500 or higher then I can be ecstatic!
The cam Martin Tick spec'd is a higher rpm he's told me L92 heads want to breath and as such you need to rev them out higher to make peak gains.
I haven't heard of anyone "wanting" less horsepower.
I merely said I was expecting less than 500 since it's an A4 and seeing they tend to do just shy of the 500 mark. I'm just not hyping my self up only to be disappointed when it dyno's under that mark. Now if it dynos' at 500 or higher then I can be ecstatic!
The cam Martin Tick spec'd is a higher rpm he's told me L92 heads want to breath and as such you need to rev them out higher to make peak gains.
I merely said I was expecting less than 500 since it's an A4 and seeing they tend to do just shy of the 500 mark. I'm just not hyping my self up only to be disappointed when it dyno's under that mark. Now if it dynos' at 500 or higher then I can be ecstatic!
The cam Martin Tick spec'd is a higher rpm he's told me L92 heads want to breath and as such you need to rev them out higher to make peak gains.
Ok some more pics to upload.
Pistons came in, Diamond 4.03 with -1.8cc valve relief.
Pic of the crankshaft. Lunati Voodoo series. Well machined I'm quite surprised at the attention to detail. Even the counterweights have been notched for piston stroker clearance with is a nice touch.
And finally a pic from earlier when I started test fitting and getting read to get bearing clearances.
Pistons came in, Diamond 4.03 with -1.8cc valve relief.
Pic of the crankshaft. Lunati Voodoo series. Well machined I'm quite surprised at the attention to detail. Even the counterweights have been notched for piston stroker clearance with is a nice touch.
And finally a pic from earlier when I started test fitting and getting read to get bearing clearances.
No clue, don't have access to a flow bench to check them.
I would assume very close to stock the port I've done was very minimal.
I moved on to short block pre-assembly checking all the rod bearing clearances and making sure everything turned over ok for block clearance. I had a moment of worry when getting to the last piston #8. Turned the crank to find the counter weight hitting the bottom of the piston support and stopping.
But Diamond knows better and after a quick look I realized that one piston has a notch built into it and is solely designated to be the number 8 piston as the notch clears allows the piston base to clear the counterweight. So swapping out for the right piston resolved the issue and I can now move on to actual short block assembly.
I had to get a set of piston rings so once they come in I'll custom fit them to each cylinder and do any filing needed and then move on to actually assembling the short block.
I would assume very close to stock the port I've done was very minimal.
I moved on to short block pre-assembly checking all the rod bearing clearances and making sure everything turned over ok for block clearance. I had a moment of worry when getting to the last piston #8. Turned the crank to find the counter weight hitting the bottom of the piston support and stopping.
But Diamond knows better and after a quick look I realized that one piston has a notch built into it and is solely designated to be the number 8 piston as the notch clears allows the piston base to clear the counterweight. So swapping out for the right piston resolved the issue and I can now move on to actual short block assembly.
I had to get a set of piston rings so once they come in I'll custom fit them to each cylinder and do any filing needed and then move on to actually assembling the short block.
The lobes the cam I suggested uses will be fine with 7000rpm and BTR .660" springs.
I normally shim the BTR .660" springs .030" for 167#@1.75" and 400#@1.12. Works well as I like the added seat pressure with the bigger valve.
I normally shim the BTR .660" springs .030" for 167#@1.75" and 400#@1.12. Works well as I like the added seat pressure with the bigger valve.