Anybody have any LS1 Experience?

[evil_demon_01]

I'm slowly getting bored of the LS1 in it's current form, and I'm looking for the next step.

Conditions:
-It MUST be streetable, and a reliable daily driver, I'm not looking for 1000whp, with a 4000rpm idle.
-It still needs to be "Somewhat" Fuel economic when cruising - Yes seriously.
-And relatively cheap - $2000 or less (Labor not included)
-Nos is not an option


Currently it has:
Very lightly Ported/Polished Throttle body
4-2-1 Headers
Dual 2.25" exhaust to diff with X pipe crossover, into single 3" pipe / muffler.
OTR CAI with Mafless tune


At the moment I'm thinking a simple cam swap and tune could do the trick.
Then possibly combined with ported heads.

But I'm at a loss as to what specs (Even a general range) I should look for in the cam.
There are literally hundered's of cams for the LS1, and it seems like that's only the ones that you don't have to check the piston to valve clearance.

Then I see there's different rockers, rollers, etc




Honestly I'm REALLY missing Boost, But I don't really want to boost the LS1.


I'm looking for about 400-500hp
So.
Does anyone have any real world experience, to give me an Idea of what to look for?
Or if there is possibly better options.

[wildBill83]

Supercharge it?

http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...ing-ls1-15528/

[Jarrett]

A FAST 90/90 setup can do wonders for even factory engines and is especially helpful if your manifold is not the LS6 manifold. Over here all LS1 engines 2001 and later got the same LS6 intake manifold. It would also compliment the exhaust you've done.

Also, Patriot Performance does a really nice CNC head and you buy the heads outright instead of on an exchange basis. They have a really nice 5.3 head that is milled and has larger valves for $1230. These heads with no cam will not change the streetability of your car whatsoever. I've listed the heads in increasing "performance" and likewise price to follow the 5.3 ones.

Ported GM casting 5.3 heads milled for roughly a 10.8:1 CR.
https://www.patriot-performance.com/...&cat=36&page=1

Ported GM casting 243 (LS6/LS2) heads with a slightly larger combustion chamber but better flowing ports
https://www.patriot-performance.com/...&cat=37&page=1

Cams are tricky for this engine. The trend over the past couple of years has been to go to ridiculously high lifts that only Lunati was doing years ago. Lobe separation angle is your friend here. If you can get a 116 LSA then most cams will be pretty streetable. Lots of people like 110s or 112s just to have that lopey idle. From personal experience, driving a cam that is .595/.598", 232/236* 114LSA is still somewhat rough. A lot of that is in the tune, though. A tuner can make your factory cam sound like a dog if they lower your idle to 500rpm, so it's all somewhat relative. PM me if you ever have any more questions or I'll try to keep attentive to these posts.

[SOHC-FTW]

No experience with the LS1, but i have experience with older small block's and when dealing with those most cam choices revolve around the heads, Intake/injection (Be it FI or Carbed) capabilities. And dealing with the older TPI/TBI and computer controlled carb setup's LSA plays a big roll in tuning, but as popular as the LSx's are i'm sure tuning is far more precise.

I would start looking around at what others are using and that should give you somewhat of a base.

[evil_demon_01]

A FAST 90/90 setup can do wonders for even factory engines and is especially helpful if your manifold is not the LS6 manifold. Over here all LS1 engines 2001 and later got the same LS6 intake manifold. It would also compliment the exhaust you've done.

Also, Patriot Performance does a really nice CNC head and you buy the heads outright instead of on an exchange basis. They have a really nice 5.3 head that is milled and has larger valves for $1230. These heads with no cam will not change the streetability of your car whatsoever. I've listed the heads in increasing "performance" and likewise price to follow the 5.3 ones.

Ported GM casting 5.3 heads milled for roughly a 10.8:1 CR.
https://www.patriot-performance.com/...&cat=36&page=1

Ported GM casting 243 (LS6/LS2) heads with a slightly larger combustion chamber but better flowing ports
https://www.patriot-performance.com/...&cat=37&page=1

Cams are tricky for this engine. The trend over the past couple of years has been to go to ridiculously high lifts that only Lunati was doing years ago. Lobe separation angle is your friend here. If you can get a 116 LSA then most cams will be pretty streetable. Lots of people like 110s or 112s just to have that lopey idle. From personal experience, driving a cam that is .595/.598", 232/236* 114LSA is still somewhat rough. A lot of that is in the tune, though. A tuner can make your factory cam sound like a dog if they lower your idle to 500rpm, so it's all somewhat relative. PM me if you ever have any more questions or I'll try to keep attentive to these posts.

Wow

Really appreciate the info Jarrett, Now I'm going to have to research, process and understand it.

I HAD been looking at this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=507997911 but now I'm pretty sure I need to do more research to understand the difference between that and the cam specs you mentioned.

Heads look like a good option too, though they are far and few between over here, and shipping from the US is ridiculous in most cases.

To the drawing board . . .

[foamypirate]

I would skip the patriot heads and get some Advanced Induction Ported 243's. They are simply killer, and WAY cheaper than the Patriot heads. Lots of great reviews on LS1tech. That combined with a decent cam will get you what you want.

I would personally contact Patrick G to spec you a cam. IIRC, it's a $25 fee, but I haven't seen a single person complain about a cam he has spec'd. He is an admin on LS1tech as well.

http://guerragroup.com/camshaft_help.htm

[Jarrett]

Yeah, Patrick G has an amazing reputation. He's kind of like Bisi in that it's annoying that everyone's on his nuts all the time but he can usually back it up.

I wasn't aware of the Advanced Induction heads. Everyone always complained about Patriot being so cheap that it's hard to imagine anyone undercutting them. I'll check those out.

I HAD been looking at this http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/List...x?id=507997911 but now I'm pretty sure I need to do more research to understand the difference between that and the cam specs you mentioned.

I can't find much information on the specs of that cam other than duration. The way they say it drives as well as the part number lead me to believe that it uses a 108 degree lobe separation angle. In the states we call that a donkey dick cam. While sitting at a light it will feel like you're getting raped by one.

A breakdown of the specs as you'll find for most OHV cams are lift (intake/exhaust), duration (intake/exhaust) and lobe separation angle. I prefer a cam that has a higher lift and longer duration exhaust than intake to create a scavenging effect. If you're going for something that behaves VERY well in the lower rpm range and can still make a decent bit of power I would look at something like this or with similar specs.
http://www.texas-speed.com/p-1147-te...-camshaft.aspx

With 346ci you're going to have a hard time making 500hp with a streetable camshaft. If I were you and my goal was 500hp then I'd buy an L76 and build it. It comes with L92 heads that require a 4.00" bore or higher(meaning these heads can't go on your LS1) and the LS3 intake manifold(basically it's similar in flow to the LS6 but designed for the L92 ports and a 90mm throttle body). They're pretty plentiful in Australia and NZ so you may be able to find one for less than $2000.

[evil_demon_01]

Engine swap isn't an option either, though I'm willing to downgrade my expectations of final HP to under 500.
And I know it makes it inconvenient, but I'd rather source parts locally.
Dealing with parts from the States is a risk I'm not currently willing to take (Unless someone in NZ sources and warranties them)


Also I just found this pic below: from this site http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=23
Looks like a good guide for comparing different cam specs, Look about right?