2005 LGTL Total Rebuild - Advice?

[Nightmaresmk]

Boxkita and max capacity are both very knowledgeable people and will help you get where you want.

4032 isn't a weak point the tune is. Bren has posted many times how much he likes the ralispec motors and they are 4032 and cosworth for street. Tuning for an oem piston a 4032 and a 2618 are all different. It shouldn't be but some tuners run hotter tunes in built motors.

Also if you run at autocross/drag/etc throw in a gallon of 100oct its an extra layer of protection from bad gas and extra heat. it won't make your car run faster or better at all.

I made 2 passes in a morning at the drag strip with cobb ots stage 1 tune watching it knock added 2 gallons of 100oct no more knock. then i made 22 follow up passes with zero knock racing friends. (this was a closed track day so i kept driving back to the starting line) that was 60k miles ago and the whole reason i tell people pro tune and prep.

[Nightmaresmk]

Another serious option is Buy a ej207 v7-v9 long block swap cams and your parts, sensors, intake manifold etc with arp headstuds and their is a 400whp motor all day long.

[boxkita]

Look, I try my best to be respectful and I watch a lot of people get reamed for being over sensetive here, but seriously what is wrong with some people?

 

I've put over $30k into my car so far and busted my ass putting this together, and because you're a moderator you get to **it on me and make me feel small because I need help figuring out where to go with building my engine? I purposefully built my suspension and drive train up before choosing my brakes and engine configuration so I could pull the trigger on the right setup after careful consideration. I think I made it clear in previous posts that I want a DD I can drive to the track, maybe occasionally a few times a year put it on a 1\4 or 1\2 mile strip. This is not a car I will be driving to work or the grocery store. I've spent almost 2 years with it in my garage making sure everything is checked. I've taken every damn bolt out of this car, I've cared for it way more then most people will ever care for their car, so I would love to know why this is a trainwreck, when it hasn't even been built yet. Why do you think I'm engaging in a thread on this forum?

 

Actually my comments have nothing to do with being a mod and everything to do with having rebuilt my car twice because "DD goes to the track". I'm in the middle of rebuild #3 because "DD goes to the track".

 

"Trainwreck" is a random collection of parts thrown at a problem. A problem is "the factory did not make my car able to do something, and I have to fix it".

 

How much money you spent, time in your garage, or how many bolts you polished have very little influence on how well your car does to satisfy your goals, unless you have them. When you post up about 4032 vs 2??? (forget the number you used) pistons, you might have lost your way. Been there done that. You can go there, do that, too. However, it'll be even more time in the garage and more money spent. This is the trainwreck part...

 

I run forged pistons in a built block. I don't have custom sleeves, however, I do have a slight overbore. My car sounds like a diesel truck on startup and warmup takes a few minutes. My oil tends to get dirty faster than expected, and I have to change it more often. The road you are going down will similarly suck.

 

Here's why I was asking how much of a track car you wanted. This list:

A "track car" is more about overbuilding for heat management and under-running for longevity.

A "lapping car" is more about replacing oem parts (radiator, brake pad/disks, tires/wheels, etc) and adding ICE to make DD more fun

A "DD" that makes you smile is about everything else.

greatly determines how much more money you need to spend. So not a daily driver, a few times to the track, and a few times down the dragstrip. What about the rest of the time? A weekend toy? A garage queen? Its the "rest" part that makes it all expensive. A drag car & a track car have different needs/requirements as you know. You can build a track car that does well as the dragstrip or a dragstrip car that does ok at the track. A weekend toy that does both of those great is going to cost a lot.

 

With your current setup, you have the makings of a decent track toy. If you are aiming for 400hp or 600hp, you are going to have a very expensive garage queen. 600hp on the track is a handful and will, in all likelihood, be parked most of the day. From my 4 years experience running a wagon at the track, 335tq is enough to get you into serious trouble very quickly. Especially if you are not running a cage, seat & harness (brakes failed at 120mph entering a hairpin turn).

 

As Max and others have said, most "problems" are related to the tune. Track cars run better when cooling is factored in, not forged components. Sgt.Gator & Shralp both run OEM motors for many years on the track. Yes, they eventually blew up, however, many years had passed, not days or weeks as is commonly reported on other threads.

 

If you are an awesome engine builder, then by all means spec a list of engine parts, put it together and run it. When it blows up, because that's the nature of going to track; rebuild it learning from the failures. Given your questions, I would hazard the answer is you are not. I'm not trying to insult you, just stating facts. Awesome engine builders test combinations of parts to come up with solutions to requested performance requirements. The key word is test. You asked how do I get a higher horsepower motor with the collection of parts you have. The answer is you don't. You call a shop that will be doing the work and/or tune, tell them what you want to use the car for (honesty is best here), then they will put together a parts list based on their vast experience building & tuning engines.

 

Or you can continue as you are doing, gaining experience. Experience that will be hard-won and expensive and involve having a thick skin. I wish I could say the bashing will end. It won't, however, I'll drop off your thread and not respond ever again.

 

Good luck, you're going to need it...

[05LGTL25TSLEEPER]

Boxkita My apologies, I've just been stressed out lately. I understand what you are saying. It's funny that I get pissed at the person who offered the the best insight so far. You can go ahead and not respond to anything I post again, I'm just a little tired of the forum impatience mentality. I'm normally a very considerate person who will help anyone, and I watched a lot of people being mistreated on forums when they don't deserve it. Some do, and I guess you decided I'm one of them.

 

I don't consider myself an "awesome" engine builder, but I have built a few dozen engines that worked flawlessly. I started this thread because I haven't built an EJ25 motor for race applications yet, and it's a sea of info\misinfo out there. You get swayed by opinion in one direction, and then the next day you read something else that totally opposes previous "knowledge". I am inclined to learn the hard way, because I won't be giving up later when things get tough. A lot of people have told me to just take it to a reputable shop, but where is the experience and satisfaction is paying someone else to do your dirty work? Tuning is entirely different, of course.

 

I plan on swapping the seats, installing a good custom roll cage(a buddy of mine fabricates for heavy duty tow trucks and works with automotive reinforcement issues all the time).

 

I certainly see how expensive it all gets, but honestly driving and building vehicles is one of two passions I have in life. Music and cars, and since I worked on building a 454 and dropped it in a '69 Chevelle when i was 15, I don't see my hobby changing any time soon.

 

The brakes, I know are an issue, I will not be preemptively tracking this vehicle without upgrading them, the master cylinder as well.