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Damn those are some good pics. POTM for next month!
They def are geeat pics
LTXtech.com is my DRUG!
I made a low buck lt1 turbo. Using all stock parts except for je pistons and ARP studs on everything and ran 15-16psi. It lasted a long time with a lot of beatings. Ended up bending a pm rod but only because I ran it with no water in the intercooler.
Longevity has always been my main concern with this build. I can't afford for my motor to go out with a bang, that's why the whole thing is being built pretty stout. However, I'll be beating the piss out of it and I plan on using most of that power potential.
SO...
I have pretty much have all of the shortblock parts minus the oil pump, oil pump drive, drive saver, cam, hub, balancer, and the block itself. I sold the other LT1 block because I didn't like the nasty rust/rot near the skirt. I'm sure it would have been fine and the mileage was relatively low, but I wasn't going to chance it. Everything has to be picture perfect. There's another one I need to go pick up soon.
What I have so far:
GM forged 3.48 crank
Mahle dished pistons
Eagle H-beams
Clevite 77 bearings
Cloyes double roller timing set
Spec billet flywheel
ARP main studs
ARP head studs
Howards 4 bolt caps
Those caps are splayed I presume? List looks good so far IMO, though I'm partial to Diamond pistons.
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Yea, partial to JE, have not heard of many LT1 guys running mahles with boosted motors. But, I don't get out much.
Yep, they're billet caps that are splayed 10*.
I came to a fork in the road with my build a while back because of piston material. On one hand I could throw a 2618 set in there and boost the motor to hell and back. It wouldn't be nearly as street friendly because of increased PTW and slap, plus the pistons would deform with many miles and cause a loss of compression over time. Definitely a race car piston alloy. The other option was to dial back some boost with 4032 and put more money into a kick ass top end to make up the difference. I wouldn't have to deal with that kind of nasty slap on the street (something that would drive me up a wall) and it would last much longer. 4032 is what's used in all boosted OEM applications (the ZR1 uses dished mahles). My main concern with the motor is that it has to be street friendly because that's where most of its time will be spent. Going to the track is really a special occasion for me, there isn't much nearby.
I think all of the JE pistons are 2618 alloy and most of the dished Diamonds are the same way. Both were kind of expensive and not exactly what I was looking for. I found a bitchin deal on a set of Mahles w/rings that seemed pretty thick from the specs I got from one of their techs.
I also did a little bit of research and found a guy running a very similar piston setup. Only difference is that he was using the Mahle powerpaks in a turbo LQ4. I got to ask him a few questions about the pistons and it turns out that the specs between his pistons and mine are very similar in terms of crown and top land thickness. Same alloy too.
http://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-ind...comes-end.html
More important than material IMO is top/ringland thickness.
FWIW, I only hear my 2618 pistons slap on cold sarts. Can't hear them after they warm up a little.
They might make a little noise even after the engine is up to temp but between the sound of the exhaust and roller rockers I can't hear them. :)
Top land is .326" and the dish is only -16cc so it shouldn't get too close to the back of the ring groove. The valve reliefs don't look super deep or wide either. They seem like well designed pistons compared to the "nitrous ready" Wisecos I was looking at for more money.