New motor?
New motor? As winter approaches I feel compelled to save some money to do something else to the car. Quick background: 120k mile (by the time winter hits) DAILY DRIVER, small cam right now, all bolt ons, runs pretty good (fair share of odd noises, but it's an LSx). I have little desire to turn this into a drag car, or even a drag oriented car. It's a street car first, a weekend "toy" last. Not having a car I could drive all the time is what pushed me to sell my old car so having it down for a huge build/tons of money buildup is not really interesting. Before anyone says anything, I will drive this car in anything BUT a full out blizzard, and the last time the roads in NJ were "undriveable" was a long time ago, so the excuse of "well you can't drive in the winter anyway, so why not build a ginormous motor" wont really fly with me. I'm looking for suggestions. Power under the curve is important to me since it is nice to have that driving around town. I love the cam I have in my car now, and I'd go bigger (slightly) only with some more cubes to cancel it out. Thanks for the suggestions.
-J
-J
Launching!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: College Station, TX
New motor or rebuild? Original block is still good. I know you said you can drive in winter, but I wouldn't suggest a stroker for the mechanically added torque. If you wanna redo everything, I'd just get an LS2 block or something. If you want street, I might suggest lightweight pistons and connecting rods. You can probably push your redline up 1k. Also, do a lightened valvetrain so that the engine doesn't sign off early.
If you want ginormous, 454... I think that the LS2 is good enough. You can probably buy one used on eBay for not too much. I would assume that the LS2 is going to be better in extremely cold weather than the LS1.
If you want ginormous, 454... I think that the LS2 is good enough. You can probably buy one used on eBay for not too much. I would assume that the LS2 is going to be better in extremely cold weather than the LS1.
Thanks for that suggestion, I was honestly thinking something along the lines of that... not TOO much bigger, but a few more cubes sounds nice. I was looking for a new motor, block IS still good, but worse case scenario something happens, well, yea. BTW, why do you not suggest a stroker? Is it directly related to driving in the cold, or not related but a different thought all together?
I have the Patriot Extreme Duals already, and would likely move them laterally to the new setup whatever it might be. Or did you mean something entirely different by lightweight valve train? Thanks.
-J
I have the Patriot Extreme Duals already, and would likely move them laterally to the new setup whatever it might be. Or did you mean something entirely different by lightweight valve train? Thanks.
-J
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 133
Likes: 0
the stroker will be fine, actually better just don't drive like an ******* in the bad weather. I think you would be happy with a mild cammed ls2. assuming you have a 6 speed I would not want to have to ride the clutch out at 1800rpm up a hill in the rain or snow and then having a big cam blow your gas money out the tailpipe. Make the same power but with the added displacement of a stroker it will allow for a more street friendly engine.
Yea that was my thinking too. Something mild like a 6.0 with the same cam I have in my car now would probably be a real nice daily driver. Decent torque as it is now then a couple more cubes could only help. It is an M6 also btw. Thanks.
-J
-J
Launching!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
From: College Station, TX
The stroker mechanically makes more torque. You have a larger radius on your crankshaft and you get more foot pounds of torque, just like using a longer wrench. With bad road conditions, more torque will spin the wheels easier. Also, because of the long stroke, the pistons undergo more acceleration and it lowers your redline because of the additional stress. Street machines and roadracers, I imagine, would have high redlines.
