LT1 died during burnout, now confused
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 18
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From: Delaware
LT1 died during burnout, now confused Hey guys. I recently swapped my new 355 lt1 with 1.5 rockers and .510 lift cam, stock reconditioned heads, new msd opti and wires into my auto 95z and have since gotten the minor bugs worked out and tagged it! I probaly have MAYBE 500 miles on the motor since the swap and everything has been A-OKAY. Last friday afternoon on my way home from work i was having a little fun and beating my car. Nothing worse then what i usually do just a little more of it lol. Well i took off from a light in a burnout, it reved up quick grabbed 2nd kept burning and about 1/2 of the way through 2nd maybe 3500-4000 rpms it started popping and missing and lost all power. Because i was in traffic i yanked it back into first and floored it and was barely able pull off the road, as soon as i let my foot off the throttle it died. It would then only start at w.o.t then die after. I traced all my wiring and nothing is touching where it shouldnt or burnt or out of normal. Saw no oil or water leaks or loose anything. Later that day it wouldnt start at all but after i let off the key it would continue to pop and i guess "try to start" for 2-5 seconds. I pulled the valve covers and all rockers and springs and studs are intact and in good working order and all function as normal when cranking over so im assuming the cam is still okay too. Could it have jumped time or the opti have went bad even though its all new? Is there a way to test for this? Or maybe burnt a piston beings as i didnt get it tuned? Please help me out here im so devistated. Thanks guys much appreciated!
I would have a look at the opti first, the MSD is a step backwards from stock. Maybe you will be lucky and the rotor came off and did not do any damage.
Not tuning it was even dumber than buying the MSD opti. Don't drive it till you get it tuned after you get it fixed. The 95 pcm is so cheap and easy to play with, your cam alone cost about what it cost for the nicest tuning and logging software AND the nicest cable all combined and there is FREE tuning software, free logging software and cheaper cables can all be had.
I know cam companies have stupidity like "works with stock calibration" listed in catalogs but that is a LIE the stock cam benefits from reprogramming, it is critical witgh a larger aftermarket cam.
If you are willing to find and correct your mistakes you can see this through and enjoy your car. If you decide to get upset and pissy and defend your mistakes as a LOT of guys do this will be a long hard road for you.
Not tuning it was even dumber than buying the MSD opti. Don't drive it till you get it tuned after you get it fixed. The 95 pcm is so cheap and easy to play with, your cam alone cost about what it cost for the nicest tuning and logging software AND the nicest cable all combined and there is FREE tuning software, free logging software and cheaper cables can all be had.
I know cam companies have stupidity like "works with stock calibration" listed in catalogs but that is a LIE the stock cam benefits from reprogramming, it is critical witgh a larger aftermarket cam.
If you are willing to find and correct your mistakes you can see this through and enjoy your car. If you decide to get upset and pissy and defend your mistakes as a LOT of guys do this will be a long hard road for you.
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Shawnee, OK
How is an msd opti a step backward from stock? I am new to the LTx world, i am told that my car has an msd opti, it for sure has the cap wires and box. If it is backward from stock, then what would be forward from stock???
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A genuine GM opti with an MSD cap and rotor. Always use locktite on the rotor screws regardless.
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Brett Foote Ignition "upgrades" are a complete waste on all but the most radical NA setups. Something like an MSD box is generally less reliable and some have reported them retarding timing a few degrees at high rpms which hurts power. I know on my car an Accel 300+ either does nothing or might actually slow the car down .05.
First thing I bought for my car was a $400 Jacobs ignition that in hindsight did nothing but cause problems. This is not a 70s vehicle, by 96 they were targeting a 100K mile tuneup interval and emissions standards were ever stricter so the ignition systems got very good.
Not perfect but good enough that for an NA setup trying to upgrade is almost always wasted money.
The optical sensor is very finnaky. It's not that MSD does a bad job, gm just did it better. It's not uncommon to bolt brand new optis onto a car and they fail right out of the box, unless it's a genuine acdelco.
The specs for the sensor and several other opti related parts are for some reason jealously guarded secrets. And from what I've heard, Mitsubishi no longer makes the pickup, and I want to say acdelco no longer produces optis. What's out there in the stock piles is all that's left.
The specs for the sensor and several other opti related parts are for some reason jealously guarded secrets. And from what I've heard, Mitsubishi no longer makes the pickup, and I want to say acdelco no longer produces optis. What's out there in the stock piles is all that's left.
