Hi LS1Tech members!

To the mods: I apologize in advance if this extremely long-winded post is not appropriate for an introduction, but I figured I might as well get into it since I can't sleep. Please let me know if I need to repost this somewhere else.

I'm a former physics student (and current math and physics tutor), and cutting-edge technology is literally in my blood - I had the chance to play around with the original MagneRide prototype shocks when Delphi and GM were co-designing them, and they were just mocked-up syringes filled with magnetorhelogical flud. The first true high-performance ride I ever sat in was a C6 Z06 test mule in 2004, and my father is now a senior GM R&D technical fellow. Even though he specializes in electrical systems, the mechanics of valvetrains and cylinder head machining have never ceased to amaze me.

I've been lurking on this site for over a decade (since just before I started college), and much of my "armchair" knowledge has come from scrolling through forum posts and learning about what actually works in the real world, and what limitations there are on different combinations of valve lift and duration, head flow and power, etc. etc. Like some of you on here who don't currently have a project in the garage (I feel your pain), I'm sitting at home going a little kooky with nothing to do. So, of course, I started putting together a bucket list, no-holds-barred, big-cube, naturally aspirated LSx engine with all of the most modernized parts that could actually be run on the street...with no regards to whether it would actually work.

I've spent many a late night thinking about what I could do with an unlimited budget. But technology has come a remarkably long way in the last 5-10 years. So without further ado, here's what I've come up with so far:

• 4.180" bore x 4.600" stroke
• LSR-TD2XRC block
• 4.600" Callies Ultra Billet crank
• Wiseco 4.180" pistons
  • 0" deck height
  • 1.100" CH
  • Ring package...TBD?
• 6.350" Ultra H-beam rods
• Brodix STS BR7 BS 273 heads
  • Milled to 71cc for 14:1 CR
  • 2.250" intake / 1.614" exhaust
• Katech CF valve covers
• Hydraulic roller camshaft (would this even be physically possible?)
  • 265/289 @ 0.050 | 113+6 | 0.710"/0.684" lift
• COMP Cams pushrods (length unknown...because I don't have a physical block to test)
• Jesel solid lifters, rockers, timing chain
• RHS MLS 4.165"/0.036" head gaskets
  • Can you run a head gasket smaller than the bore size, even if only by 15 thou?
• ID1700x injectors
• Aeromotive LS7 fuel rails
• Dailey Engineering 5 stage dry sump
• Performance Design Carbon XR intake (ported and matched)
• Snow Performance water/meth injection system

And this would all be controlled through EFI on E85 with a flex fuel sensor built in (I know, I'm getting dangerously close to the sun). The goal would be to make 850/750 with a redline of no more than 6900RPM in a 505ci package. I know the power figures are possible because Katech makes the torque monster Track Attack 500 engine with a redline of only 6200RPM, and Golen has built a more streetable engine for a friend of mine that had far more peak power (but less torque) at 6700RPM. But again, none of this has been physically built, so I don't know how much of it would work. I don't claim to be a genius, but I BELIEVE it's possible. So I have questions. LOTS of questions.

1. First off - is the camshaft, valve lift, and compression ratio combination physically possible?
   • I tried to use an Excel spreadsheet calculator someone created and I was well into in the realm of physical impossibility - well under 40 thou PTV clearance - but that may well be timing-dependent (especially with a hydraulic roller).
   • Would I NEED a solid roller for this level of power and valve lift, or would a hydraulic roller be suitable? I've been on both sides of the fence, and I'm still not sure.
2. Is the compression height of the piston suitable for this engine? Again, I was just using a combination of calculators online and tribal knowledge, as it were. If not, what would be? What kind of ring package would work best?
3. Does water/meth injection work with E85? Does it raise power levels? If it doesn't, is it useful for anything? If it's not, will it harm the engine by running it? If I was running pump gas, would a 14:1 CR be physically safe, let alone streetable?
4. I want the powerband to be as wide as possible (potentially 2500-6500RPM). Tuning headaches aside, will a properly setup dual 90mm TB setup with the long runners, as on the Carbon XR, flow faster than a 102mm or 105mm? Basic math says twin 90mm TBs will flow MORE than twice as much as a 4150, and 45% more a single 105, with the added benefit of faster airflow because of Bernoulli's law. I'm curious as to whether this pans out in the real world.
5. Fun fact: I live literally walking distance away from Mr. Kinsler - I have my whole life, but I only found out quite recently. For those of you that have been fortunate enough to own one of his jewel-like pieces, how do they perform when properly set up? Does he make an ITB that flows better than the Carbon XR? And how much of a difference would it make? Again, "better" doesn't just mean "more", it also means "faster" - up to a point, from what I understand.
   • The only LS7 ITBs I've seen are made by Jenvey and Harrop, and they don't have DBW throttle bodies AFAIK. Also, Harrop seems to not have a great price-to-performance ratio, especially when you have their airbox on. But Jenvey's ITBs have a RIDICULOUS amount of throttle body surface area - 32.76 sq. in. compared to 19.72 for the Carbon XR, 13.42 for a 105mm, and only 9.62 for a 4150. Again, I'm only comparing EFI intakes.

Ironically, even though I grew up quite close to the roots of the Chevy performance tree, I've sadly had very little time to physically sit down and talk to so many giants within an hour of me - John Lingenfelter (RIP), Jim Kinsler, Gray Pratt and Jim Miller, Brian Thomson, Mark Stielow, and many more. That's all I've got for now, but I hope some of you grizzled veterans out there (and perhaps some of the great names themselves) have the time and patience to teach a relative noob like me some of the finer points of engine building! It is now past 0500, and I've spent well over three hours writing this "intro" post lol. Thank you, good night (morning?), and stay safe.

 

Welcome to LS1Tech! I got to paragraph 2, where you said your dad is a R&D tech for GM, and I asked myself....I wonder if he knows Stielow? Mark (who is an engineer with GM) is a huge influence over on another site where he details all of his Camaro builds with build threads as he goes. They are super fun and intuitive to watch as he builds them. He has another build going on right now, as a mater of fact. My build thread for my Chevelle is over there. Anyway, you should re-post this (for the most part) over in Gen4 Internal. This will make for an interesting discussion during this time of stay-at-home-madness.

 

I asked my dad the same thing once, since he reguarly visited the Wixom proving grounds when testing new technologies for ruggedness, especially during the GMT900 and GMTK2XX days. He said that he knew Mark in passing, but not as a regular coworker. If I recall correctly, he was at one point also one of the few non-GMPP engineers in the entire company to hold a level 2 test driving license (basically the ability to do everything except full-fledged 24/7 testing).