best motor
best motor so over the past few years I have become much more of a road race guy rather than a drag race guy. I am planning on setting up my car to be a "street machine" / mild road racer (maybe a few NASA events nothing to crazy though). I will be building a forged 355ci LT1 based engine. my question to you guys is, what are some specifics that would be a must for road racing (pans that prevent starvation, cooling systems to handle constant racing, ect...)
Im looking for any suggestions from what comp ratio, to heads and cam setups, to rod lengths and pistons.
Im looking for any suggestions from what comp ratio, to heads and cam setups, to rod lengths and pistons.
Balance, balance, balance ...
I would stay under 11:1 so that you can stay with pump gas.
A good oil pump, like a Melling Select.
An aftermarket pan causes some issues with the Y-Pipe. My stock Y-pipe rests against my Canton 242T and can cook the oil. so ...
An oil cooler is a must. But you will need to respring the check valve in the pump or you'll have oil pressure issues.
A really good radiator. I use a Northern Racing Chevy version and had a return bung welded in the passenger side tank.
I run CMC2 so I don't have any performance mods.
I would stay under 11:1 so that you can stay with pump gas.
A good oil pump, like a Melling Select.
An aftermarket pan causes some issues with the Y-Pipe. My stock Y-pipe rests against my Canton 242T and can cook the oil. so ...
An oil cooler is a must. But you will need to respring the check valve in the pump or you'll have oil pressure issues.
A really good radiator. I use a Northern Racing Chevy version and had a return bung welded in the passenger side tank.
I run CMC2 so I don't have any performance mods.
Balance, balance, balance ...
I would stay under 11:1 so that you can stay with pump gas.
A good oil pump, like a Melling Select.
An aftermarket pan causes some issues with the Y-Pipe. My stock Y-pipe rests against my Canton 242T and can cook the oil. so ...
An oil cooler is a must. But you will need to respring the check valve in the pump or you'll have oil pressure issues.
A really good radiator. I use a Northern Racing Chevy version and had a return bung welded in the passenger side tank.
I run CMC2 so I don't have any performance mods.
I would stay under 11:1 so that you can stay with pump gas.
A good oil pump, like a Melling Select.
An aftermarket pan causes some issues with the Y-Pipe. My stock Y-pipe rests against my Canton 242T and can cook the oil. so ...
An oil cooler is a must. But you will need to respring the check valve in the pump or you'll have oil pressure issues.
A really good radiator. I use a Northern Racing Chevy version and had a return bung welded in the passenger side tank.
I run CMC2 so I don't have any performance mods.
Also what kind of cam setup solid or hydraulic? Should I try to setup for good mid range power or high rpm power.
I don't mean to bother you guys with tons of questions but I want to be well educated on how to do this right the first time.
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 381
Likes: 15
From: Oshawa (Home of the 5th-gen)
Whether to have a low, mid, or high-RPM motor sorta depends on what track(s) you intend to run. If you're going to run a track that flows nicely, without any/many SLOW/tight turns, then you'd want a mid-high revving motor. My LS1 is a DREAM to drive compared to my LT1. It just pulls and pulls down the long straightaways, and still has loads of "grunt" to get out of slower corners too. The (stock) LT1 runs out of breath too soon, esp. at Mosport, with a ~3/4 mile back straight.
I haven't done anything to either of my motors in terms of oiling upgrades. Just taking my chances for now I guess?
My race car (the '93 LT1 Z28) had cooling issues when I first got it, but it turned out that the previous owner screwed up the air-flow through the rad by opening up at the back of the hood (at the base of the windshield), which actually forced air INTO the engine bay from that high-pressure zone, and limited air-flow. I bought a nice ~2" thick rad to compensate, but even it couldn't "cure" the problem, until I finally blocked that opening off, and now the motor runs steady between ~180° - 190° 
(with a 180° t-stat).
Building a motor that will run on PUMP GAS would be important, unless you have the budget to afford racing fuel to the tune of ~20 gallons or more a day!! (+/-, depending how much / where you run). Gas is already expensive enough!
I haven't done anything to either of my motors in terms of oiling upgrades. Just taking my chances for now I guess?
My race car (the '93 LT1 Z28) had cooling issues when I first got it, but it turned out that the previous owner screwed up the air-flow through the rad by opening up at the back of the hood (at the base of the windshield), which actually forced air INTO the engine bay from that high-pressure zone, and limited air-flow. I bought a nice ~2" thick rad to compensate, but even it couldn't "cure" the problem, until I finally blocked that opening off, and now the motor runs steady between ~180° - 190° (with a 180° t-stat).Building a motor that will run on PUMP GAS would be important, unless you have the budget to afford racing fuel to the tune of ~20 gallons or more a day!!
(+/-, depending how much / where you run). Gas is already expensive enough! 
