Hello LS1tech -
I'm posted up my builder here instead of the swap forum, for some better gen III info.

I've been daily driving my 1999M3 with a 2002 Formula dropout LS1/T56... for the past year now, and over 7K miles.

I'm slowly upgrading the LS1 build over time and wanted to review my engine build and dyno results with you guys and talk about my future plans for this engine and power goals.

ENGINE -
45K miles 2002 Formula drop out.
Installed:
TFS 215 64cc Heads
HS RR's
TFS Cam .585" lift (Gen X 515 Pkg Cam) 283/286 dur
LS6 Intake
LS6 TB - ported
Long tubes >> dual 3" cats >> borla x resonator >> 2.5" pipes >> dual borla can muffs
SD tune

https://www.trickflow.com/parts/tfs-k306-515-460/all

Last Dyno session @ JMS in San Antonio - 405rwhp

Mods since last dyno -
car was dyno'd with the MAS in place... he switched to SD.... I have not removed the MAS..... now all 4" pipe.
moved IAT from the elbow close to the radiator.... fear it was getting heat soaked. Move it into the end of the cone filter in the cold air box.
upgraded the cold air pipe from cobbled together al tube with dents.... to air-raid smooth 4"
upgraded air filter from 3.5" to 4"

Parts on Deck -
Mamo ported 92mm fast intake and tb

My goal is 420+rwhp..... will see how things go on my next dyno session. Going to HP performance this Friday.

Question 2.0 - Can I upgrade to a more radical cam with this head? Thinking this TFS GenX 515 pkg supplys a baby cam @ .585 lift.


The LS/T56 really suit the little m3..... it surprises alot of people on the street. Hung with a new SS from 50-xxx pull easily. He was pretty shocked.
Not sure which model SS camaro... it had all the fancy carbon bits on the front and rear ends..... and dealer tags.

Other observations -
Harland Sharp RR's are noisy. I've checked the P rod length with the checker... and they are spot on with .05 pre-load.
I would like to go with mod stock rr's..... but my TFS heads have the bronze guides...... so no can do.

 

cheesy youtube vid of build.... pre/post

 

Any idea why the power drops off so drastic up to? i would think that it would carry power out farther and smoother than that.

On a dyno jet I would expect to see more than 400rwhp with those heads, but again a dyno is just a tool.

What trans is in it?

 

LilJay - tuner mentioned the power drop..... was thinking valve float.... but these are box stock new TFS heads/springs.

Trans is T56

Just swapped rear from 3.24's to 3.91's..... really woke up.

 

The TFS dyno sheet peaks a little higher rpm @ 6500

https://static.trickflow.com/global/...60%202014c.pdf

 

I've "read" on the internet that the HS rocker are heavy over the nose and cause valve float if you don't run enough spring pressure, but I can't say from personal experience.

 

Well the valve guides are likely bronze and idk much about TFS bronze guides but I dont think they agree with stock rockers. May be stuck with HS. In your case I would rather have the TSP rockers. I would not go bigger on the cam. Gains would only be seen on the dyno and not worth your time or effort. Heads are good. If you want to spend money, get a plate kit and spray a 100 shot into it. Get a plug that's two heat ranges colder and pull 6 degrees out. Should really wake it up. You can spray more than that if you want. Should cost you about $1k for everything.

 

You should be alot closer to 450 wheel with that setup. Your horsepower peaks a little early but what really catches my eye is how quickly it drops off, most likely from valve float. From my own experience i can tell you aftermarket rockers require alot of valve spring to keep everything stable. On my own car with a 233/239 tsp cam, yella terra 1.7 rockers and tsp .660 springs the engine would hit a wall at 6500. With what you have i would run pac 1208s. With those springs you should be able to rev cleanly above and beyond where this setup is going to make power giving you a margin of safety in case of a missed shift or a money shift. As for the cam the lift is a bit low and definitely not taking full advantage of those heads. Duration wise i probably wouldn't change anything unless your looking for more of a max effort setup.

I would start by changing springs, dyno it again and see what happens.

fwiw my friends 01 ss has these TFS 215 heads, 235/239 cam with around .630 lift. Ls6 intake, 1 3/4 headers high flow cats single 3" with a cutout. T56 car, 9" rearend with 4.30s and puts down over 450 through the stock maf and unported throttle body.

 

Whom shall I contact for better springs for these tfs heads?

lmk rec

don’t want to do this twice

thx for the help diagnosing this girl

 

That TFS camshaft is the Elgin Sloppy Stage 2 cam (white boxed). I previously ran the SS2 cam with a SBE LQ9 and was pretty happy with it. It would easily rev to the limiter set at 6800 with single beehive PAC 1218's and trunnion stock rockers. Since swapping to aftermarket PRC 225 heads I've went to a larger camshaft. The springs on those TFS heads are only good for .600 so if you step up in lift a spring swap is a must.

 

I dont think you will be making 450 wheel with what you got. 400-420 is what I would expect. I would ditch the HSRR and get a set of texas speed rockers which are supposed to be way lighter. Leave the cam and springs alone and get a fast 102, 102 nw tb, ls2 rails, 102 maf and a ftp lid. Pretty pricey for all of this, way cheaper to run a plate kit and make more power but if NA is the way you are going then these little things add up.

 

Bspeck-

so I should get the Texas speed yella terra 1.7 rr’s?


if that cures my float issue I’ll buy em

 

Talked to tx speed they doubt the rr's will make much diff..... but I'll try the yella terra's and report back.

I really dislike the noise from the HS rr's.

Next round of mods before dyno:
1 - change out the 90 deg elbow intake to a c5 style air bridge
2 - change out the LS6 intake/tb to a Mamo Ported 92mm Fast intake/tb
3 - change out HS rr's to YT rr's..... see if I get my last 500 rpm back.

I'll have some HS rr's for sale soon.

thanks for all the help to spend my $$

 

Hate to tell you but going from HS rockers to Yella Terras is not going to stop valve float. The rockers shouldn't be making noise unless either something has failed or you dont have the proper preload.

420 wheel threw a t56 with that setup is low. That is bolt on stock long block ls6 territory. Or even a cam only ls1 with bolt ons. Fwiw a stock ls1 cam makes power to 6200 then nose dives.

 

I figured my power was down.

ill post up my results as I work the bugs out

thx guys for the tech help.




focus areas—
1 since this in an ls swap into a bmw m3 the air intake has a sharp 90 elbow at the Tb. Also I had a cobbled together dented intake pipe that necked from 4” to 3.5” filter.

2 when I last dyno tuned I had the iat right behind the rad and it was heat soaking bad.

 

Not the yella terra I'm talking the actual tsp rockers. https://www.texas-speed.com/p-7364-t...oller-tip.aspx

Looks like they went up in price. Idk I'd probably leave the hsrr in there for now and assess the situation before money is spent. I got stock ws6store rockers, dual springs and manton pushrods, 2116 lifters and I have no float to redline 7500.

 

I’ll still test out the yt and see the diff in noise and power.

my hs rr were clashing w the valve covers before I removed the inner baffles.

the lifters are new gm ls7.

im confident the pushrod length is correct. Checked w pushrod length tool. Running 7.5 p rods that came w the tfs kit.

thx for the help guys.

 

Yeah the deck is thicker on aftermarket heads. With my PRC heads, LS9 headgaskets and Morel lifters I'm at 7.525 pr length.

 

How much lifter preload are you getting with that length PR?

 

Also 420 isn't that bad depending on the dyno, I would ask what other vehicles are making on said dyno and compare. I have TFS 220 heads with the BTR bowl blend a 232/236 .600/.600 lift cam with stock LS6 intake and throttle body stock MAF and made 421 rwhp 416 Tq on a mustang dyno, other cars on that same dyno for example a gt350 made about 390 stock on it. I've run a lot of cars that say they made 460, 450, 480 on other dynos and walked em……. my car is a full weight WS6.