LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8
View Poll Results: Which engine company in your opinion is better... and why?
Victory Racing Engines (V.R.E.)
24
63.16%
Golen Engines
14
36.84%
Voters: 38. You may not vote on this poll

Golen vs V.R.E.

Old Jun 18, 2007 | 11:43 PM
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Default Golen vs V.R.E.

I was wondering what you guys think is better....? or at least the pros & cons. I know that Golen is GOOD!!! but i'm not to familiar with Victory Racing Engines(V.R.E.)....
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 12:06 AM
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BOTH will get you what you need. Call them both, discuss goals & budget, and make a decision on budget, comfort and desired goals.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 01:24 AM
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And do NOT post contact info on either one or it will get locked and deleted. Non sponsor pimping is a no-no.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 01:39 AM
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In my personal opinion, I no longer give Golen my seal of approval. A local guy is not pleased with his at all, and there are others who aren't either.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 05:53 AM
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VRE #1 golen, well lets say i would drop my motor off at a kindergarden and tell them to put the "big legos" together, i'll pick it up later.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 11:33 AM
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golen, they are 15 minutes away
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 12:09 PM
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I haven't seen any golen that ran what the combo should have ran with the setup they had on it....
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 12:25 PM
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I've heard some bad stuff about golen on these boards. My shortblock will be coming from either a local machine shop, or VRE.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 01:57 PM
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LME or Port Pros, both sponsors, both do awesome work.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 04:02 PM
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I have heard nothing but good things from Port Pros.

Asking questions like these on internet boards will give highly opinionated(and often uninformed) answers. Very few of the people who reply will have experience with either of the companies in questions, so most responses will be hear-say.

I would try to get in contact with member who actually have had work done from the companies in question.
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 07:28 PM
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Originally Posted by buffman
In my personal opinion, I no longer give Golen my seal of approval. A local guy is not pleased with his at all, and there are others who aren't either.
more details buffman please!
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 09:25 PM
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Port Pros.

Personal experience.
Attached Thumbnails Golen vs V.R.E.-396install6smaller.jpg  
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Old Jun 19, 2007 | 10:58 PM
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Originally Posted by fact9c1
more details buffman please!

Im just going to mention the fact the engine uses way more oil than it should. It wasn't a ***** to the wall engine, just one setup for good daily driving. 365rwhp IIRC with a mild cam and some good AL heads. It was broken in properly, but yet it likes to use a ton of oil..
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 11:35 AM
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Remember that VRE is closely associated with the former APE. Some of the same people in case you didn't know. There are still probably LS1tech members trying to get their money back from those guys.
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 12:32 PM
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Really? Do they have the same owners?

APE was BAD NEWS.
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 05:23 PM
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I was impressed with VRE when i stopped by their shop to pick up my headers and i bullshited with em for a while
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 06:06 PM
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Originally Posted by urbanhunter44
Really? Do they have the same owners?

APE was BAD NEWS.
Not totaly sure if the owners are the same.

But a few of the employees are, in fact I think a mech of APE is now the owner of VRE (Eric)

Eric is a damn good guy though dont get me wrong, his past hurts whats ahead though.

Tony.
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 07:30 PM
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Are we talking engines or shortblocks? here I will admit golen's engine packages are not the greatest and are in no way meant for someone looking for a high hp drop in engine, I've seen some stock bottom end H&C cars make more power then some of golen's complete engines, Hopefully with chad now working with LE those numbers will be better! There short blocks are a different story they use quality parts for people on a budget and you don't have to go with whats listed on the site you can mix and mingle parts just like anywhere else. I personally havent heard anything bad about them or there engines so im curious to the "issues" with them since i've been working with chad for the past yr getting the high hp quality parts needed for my SR396.

I've talked with both guys from VRE and they excellent to speak with, both have answered & responded to e-mails and phone calls rather quickly, I've also havent heard anything bad about them and have seen some of there work and they too are turning out quality products. The prices between the two are about the same so IMO it's really up to you in which company you feel comfortable with working with your engine i don't think you will go wrong with either.

Last edited by SmokedOutZ28; Jun 20, 2007 at 07:36 PM.
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 07:38 PM
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http://impalassforum.com/noncgi/ulti...252;p=1#000010
Neither of these guys are the one Matt is talking about. Matt is also leaving out that another friend of his has lost bearings in a Golen motor and something went wrong with that motor again this weekend pulling 6" of vacuum and a number of good wrenches onhand did not find an external cause.

I have long said Golen built "decent" or "servicable" engines and many here and elsewhere have blasted those statements. Glad to see a few of you have a clue.

The comments about VRE having a former APE employee are correct, he made a post trying to clear the air on that awhile back I think on camaroz28.com which might be worth finding if considering using them.
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Old Jun 20, 2007 | 10:02 PM
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As dwayne said, correct those are a few of the other guys not I did not mention.

Last edited by buffman; Jun 20, 2007 at 10:07 PM.
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