pianoprodigy

iTrader: (1)

I've heard that forged pistons expand more slowly as they heat up which could contribute to oil usage. Can anyone confirm this?

SideStep

Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

DD 427 here. Drives great on a daily basis. 23mpg highway, far less in the city. But it's an oil burner. Selling it next week and going back to stock

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

Being that you are going the way you are going (by going back to stock), I'd appreciate any insight as to how you would have done things differently, if you would have done them at all. That's the one thing that has kept me from modding my engine...I'm afraid of getting to the point of diminishing returns and wishing I had a stock car again.

SideStep

AS mentioned above any insights you have would be greatly appreciated. If you could/would do it over what would you do different.

Also, thanks again for the candid feedback showing up here... it is a real testament to LSx community... It is a bitter pill when things do not work the way you want/plan, and it takes a special kind of person to say so...

Quickin

I can tell you what I should have done: Listen to Mike Norris when he told me NOT to use a 4.125 crank. If I listened to him and went with a 4.000 or even a 4.100 I would now have a 60,000+ mile stroker engine, but with little or no oil burn.

Other than that, nothing, the engine is awesome and showing zero signs of wear or potential failure.



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Ferocity02

iTrader: (60)

There is much to say. I'll probably make a cessation thread once the transformation back to stock is complete, ending the cycle of stock to bolt ons, to FI, to displacement, back to stock. Quite frankly, I wouldn't have done anything at all if I had known I was going to end up at the beginning. Much has been lost, including time and money, and I never truly received much satisfaction from my car with any of the modifications done. The only gains were experience, knowledge, etc...

It's time for a new hobby.

gun5l1ng3r

I can't believe you just said that!
I think you can still keep the car hobby, but maybe expand into a different area or...

Maybe you are just burnt out on the car hobby.

SideStep

I will say it one last time, thanks for the no-hype and candid responses in this thread... I think when this modding thing does not turn-out according to our plan many of us just get quiet about it. Some real/honest experiences in here...

I have done the same as you but not the big-displacement yet. Several of my friends have modded their Corvettes to the point of not wanting to drive them anymore. I recently removed my 226/230 112lsa cam and installed a factory ZO6 cam to get back to a more daily driver.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

This is the kinda stuff that I've always wondered about, but everyone seems to neglect saying anything. I've driven a friend's big cammed car (MS3 with Patriot Heads), and although it was cool for a little bit, I would never want to drive it daily. It was really no fun to drive at all around town. How do you like the ZO6 cam with the top end you have? It probably still lays down some decent numbers...

SideStep

If driving (daily driving) your car is important to you I would highly recommend it. Maybe just a little more cam, something like 220/224 112lsa(+0). With my 226/230 cam I dyno'd 453/423 and with the ZO6 cam I hit 417/396 SAE. I am in the middle of moving right now so I do not have my current dyno-graphs. I will try to dig through storage and find the graphs...

I usually get flamed for saying this; get the best heads, intake, and headers you can and then go with the milder cam. People rely too much on the cam to get their power. Just my opinion...

No Juice

iTrader: (11)

Great info here. I do think it has to do with the engine builder though. Three of my buddies have TPIS 427's with the 4.125 cranks that hardly burn any oil and they get around 26mpg with them.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

That was actually gonna be my strategy going in to this...I want the nicest heads I can get with a nice ported FAST 90 and a small cam. I'd gladly leave some power on the table for reliability and stealth.

SideStep

I know SDPC has a specific procedure (type of oil, oil additives, driving style) for breaking-in their forged short-blocks.

firefighter

It's the mentality of if one is great two is better or wow I bought a big one but that one is bigger. If you need to drive something everyday you want to try and not get carried away. Hell on a basic easy to do test get one of these video games Forza Motor sports or Granturismo take any car and drive it in stock form on the game then put everything that is available for the car on it and then try and tune the S.O.B. and see how shitty it drives unless you are pretty good at video games I happen to be pretty shitty. The guys who are saying best heads and intake with a mild/sane cam are on to something.

Quickin

What stroke does your 427 have?


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11 Bravo

iTrader: (3)

I agree. My car could easily be a daily driver, but if it actually was my DD then I would not have gone radical on it. If I wasn't making enough money to be able to afford a practical second car then at the most I would have just done a mild h/c setup.

BJM

iTrader: (1)

No one has commented on my start up noise question. One aspect of building up my car is that I hate to lose the nice OEM manners that GM puts in. My car has slap and I hate it. I never like the answer, hey it sounds like forged pistons, because they aren't.

When I was younger and had more free time I used to swap cams regularly on my old SBC 350 and getting huge power at the expense of driveability got old pretty fast for me.

My current rebuild strategy will take me a year to complete but it will focus on heads, with the cam being as mild as possible.

I am hoping someone will comment on piston noise at start up.

Quickin

I have forged pistons and have never had piston slap, cold or hot, never.


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11 Bravo

iTrader: (3)

No piston slap here. Alot of valvetrain noise, but I'm running .650 lift. But I had no piston slap with the stock engine.