Gear drive in an lt1.
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From: Cloverdale, BC
Gear drive in an lt1. I know there is know gear drive timming set for an lt1 but Is it possible to put one in? I know itll cause problems with the knock sensor. Is it possible to get the knock sensor deleted out of the pcm? Does anyone know anything about doing this or if its even possible with the opti?
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
We've all discussed it, and even a non-LT1 has knock sensor issues. The problem is the timing cover and gear drive. SBC required a timing cover with 2 dimples to hold the dogbone gears in place to keep them from walking. So unless you can CNC a new LT1 timing cover and insure yourself you'll never have knock and remove it (or desensitize the **** out of it, rendering it pretty much useless haha)... I had one in my TBI truck, that I never got running right most likely due to the knock, but it sounded so bad *** with that gear drive!! Just like a supercharger 
That whine PENETRATED too! Well inside my house, into my room in the basement 
That whine PENETRATED too! Well inside my house, into my room in the basement Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Cloverdale, BC
Yah I love the sound of a gear drive, I had a gear drive setup in my 85 Irocz It had a pretty badass built engine in it and the whine of the gear drive was awesome. so many ppl asked me if it was blown.
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Verdad Gallardo TECH Senior Member
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From: Decatur, TN (N-W of Athens)
I know there is know gear drive timming set for an lt1 but Is it possible to put one in? I know itll cause problems with the knock sensor. Is it possible to get the knock sensor deleted out of the pcm? Does anyone know anything about doing this or if its even possible with the opti?
they will keep your timing dead on,don't have to worry about chain fatigue.
drawback is HP loss, been seen on the dyno. most that use gear drives are the old school big ol blower guys 6-71,8-71,10-71 etc.
drawback is HP loss, been seen on the dyno. most that use gear drives are the old school big ol blower guys 6-71,8-71,10-71 etc.
Yep...there's nothing that a gear drive can do that a strong double roller can't.
Chains have been used since the 50's, I think it's pretty adequate, lol.
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From: Holland Twp/Milford, New Jersey
Last edited by sdm1234; Feb 11, 2009 at 09:13 AM.
62K miles on a cc503 lead to about an inch + of slack on a stock chain. Gears are better, but an electric WP may make up for the HP loss to be honest. I would like to do it for the sound and the reliability.
No need to think outside of the box here. yeah, but double roller setup doesn't give you the cool sound. lol I bet I could make one that runs a stock WP if someone wanted it to be that way. Your crank gear MUST be 1/2 the size of the cam gear so theoretically, any size would work as long as it holds the same ratio of 2:1 crank to cam. I could make the cam gear smaller and have similar teeth to the stock WP and drive the WP with little to no modifications. I think the timing cover will be the weak point, but there has to be some way to mount those other 2 gears in there and not really comprimise the strength of the timing cover. Hmm. I like to model anyway so what's the difference of giving it a shot.
yeah, but double roller setup doesn't give you the cool sound. lol I bet I could make one that runs a stock WP if someone wanted it to be that way. Your crank gear MUST be 1/2 the size of the cam gear so theoretically, any size would work as long as it holds the same ratio of 2:1 crank to cam. I could make the cam gear smaller and have similar teeth to the stock WP and drive the WP with little to no modifications. I think the timing cover will be the weak point, but there has to be some way to mount those other 2 gears in there and not really comprimise the strength of the timing cover. Hmm. I like to model anyway so what's the difference of giving it a shot.
I know what you are saying, I personally just bought an LT4 ED timing set for 250 bucks from jegs which is what a lot of people like to run. Well, If I could make these for like 150-200 bucks, then it would be competitive. And if you can still mount up everything that was there stock, just like the LT4 ED, then people would probably buy it because it is stronger, more accurate, and everything would bolt up. I know several guys that passed up double roller because they dont like EWPs. If you don't like the idea, that's cool, but if I do it and it is successful, then look what I would have missed out on by not doing it. We are all gonna be looking for work soon anyway so what's the difference if I find something to spend my time.