Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Okay, been reading up on LS1tech.com and old posts on here. now most guys on here with LS1's are going N/A, most leaving stock internals. now with my goals in mind (800hp) i want to open it up and start replacing all the internals with good, strong, forged parts. now with that said i dont plan on driving this project anytime soon, infact i want to take my time on it and maybe in 5 years or so i can take it around the block. ill be doing everything from a widebody, custom interior, all new suspension, lots of custom bits here and there. so ill have the time to save up for something bigger and better. with that said i can always sell my LS1 and or use it as a mock up engine. with that in mind...... should i spend the extra money on say a World Products Warhawk LS7 style block and then go from there with a blank sheet and start building? or would it be smarter to just use the LS1 block i have, replace the pistons, heads, cam, rods, maybe even crank for parts that will be up to the task. like i said i have the time, the money will be there (like i said alot of time) but i simply dont want to spend money on something that just wont be worth it when i can do it for way less and still get the power/reliablity i want. seems like most ppl are getting around 650rwhp without a problem on stock LS1 internals and thats good! contacted a few companys and there gonna get back to me on what they think will will on my turbo setup i want to run.. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 240Z Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 if you want my .03 you should sell the LS1 you have now for cash, and use a bare block or a motor that is blown for your mocking up. with that much hp/NO2/boost you really need to step up to a cast block. its not that much heavier and you would probably be happier. a C5R block or LS7 block would be something you should look at also. personaly i also think that you shouldnt do a really radical custom, yeah its cool, but if you are going to go and replace just about every single part on the car and make it custom, why not make a completely custom car that dosent look like anything else... just drop the LS1 you have in there as the car sits now, just making it nice and clean. depending on what cam you get you can get 400 on up rwhp out of a stock head/bottom end LS1. when you want something a little more... swap heads and go to a FI cam and run low boost on either a procharger or a turbo set up.. there was one guy on LS1 tech, had a A4 3600 lb Firebird with a forged stroker motor, big cam and aftermarket heads and he would do LOW 9 seconds on the bottle... LS1s have pretty much unlimited potential, only limited by the pocket book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 reason why i wanna go radical is i wanna see if im up to the task... i have the most fun in building the car then anything. the car wont look like anybody elses, will be my own creation. i want a stupid fast car but i want it to be reliable more then anything. the turbo setup will be very simple, main reason for going with a single turbo setup. will look sorta like a GN motor setup, but alot...bigger. reason for no cast block is weight, i want the car as light as i can get it, i was looking at the World Products LS7X Warhawk blocks and wouldnt mind doing something like that, i just didnt know if it would be a waste if i could get the same levels of performance out of the LS1 block i have. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubin Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 The guy wants a hot rod and thats awsome. whether you start with a ford model t or a datsun it doesnt matter. its a hot rod, meaning it ALL custom and all based on owner's wants. with thtat said if the owner wants an 800hp beast let him have it. especially since he's got another "normal" looking datsun thats more tame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 haha the other datsun i have isnt tame at all.. haha. good news is the Hulk Z is coming back to my house real real soon.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubin Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 well at least the scion is tame eh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 You need to ask this question on LS1 tech. There is a Scoggins Dickey guy who hangs out over there answering questions. SDPC sells an LS2 block with a 402 CI stroker kit. Seems like an excellent way to burn up some of the excess cash you found on the money tree in Florida. I would think that would be a much better starting point than an LS1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaleMX Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I vote for the warhawk. You wont have to worry about the block then, a good Lunati forged crank and rods, Diamond forged pistons, Man you could have a nice 427 or 440 or more easily with the warhawk. It's alot cheaper than a CR5 block. Here's a blurb. http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0603htp_hawk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest el240z Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 ON3GO, I was also planning on going turbo LS1 in my Z also but changed my mind. There is a ton of aftermarket support for the LS1/LS2, and Kenne Bell even came out with a 2.6l twin screw blower for the LS1, last I heard it dynoed 525 to the wheels on a stock 2002 ZO6 on 7 psi of boost on 91oct. KB is the route I am going, since its only about 6K for the kit. In the end I can buy a cheap LS1 and throw the KB on top for a easy 500+rwhp for less then 10K, and when I want to upgrade then all I have to do is upgrade the bottom end and up the boost. EL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 ya i saw the KB kit, looks very blingy and im impressed. reason for the custom turbo setup is... well i wanna try building it. i love to weld, i love to figure things out, i love to have everything look perfect. so ill take my time and see what i can do. prob gonna run a faily large turbo with some dope, its gonna be a 1/4th, roll race, street car, doubt it will see the road race track. the warhawk block seems more and more like the way ill go, light, strong, not bad for the price and ill never have to worry about it. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest el240z Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 A custom turbo kit for a LS1 in a Z would definately be a 9-10 on the wow factor. The WP block is going to be an awsome route for the N20/FI crowd who wants to go crazy boost, only down fall is you have to use their heads, but atleast their heads flow 300+cfm right out the box from what I hear. Also GM is coming out with a 6.2l block that is going to be the new hot ticket to get, can you say 418ci for half the cost. Your Z will definately be a force to reckon with when its done, and it seems as though you have very similar goals as mine, except I want it more streetable and probably 300hp less. EL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 well i figure this.. i really want to see what i can do, so its worth the shot. if i cant pull it off i can always figure out away to get the car done. i want a very simple setup, something around a 427ci, compression around 8.5:1 (still reading up on what would be the best for pump gas) and just something reliable. im gonna copy the GN style turbo setup, or maybe bring the turbo more forward.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
titanium Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Lots of the turbo crowd us the LQ9 iron block for their huge HP apps. I got one cause it was cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS1 240Z Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 yes, the iron block is very durable and cheap. 100 lbs really isnt anything in weight diffrence. by the time you are worrying about 100lbs do cf hood, fenders and go on a diet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 From what I've read the cast iron block is preferred on high horsepower applications. If you didn't see this, Grumpy posted some info on a couple of LS1 build-ups in this thread. Look at the project psi-chotic in post #7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 is there any other ways on the engine itself to save weight if going with the iron block? i know heads, intake manifold, oil pan i guess.. but considering im going turbo and will have a fairly large intercooler, piping, and etc, all that adds alot of weight. i just dont want to have a car that will handle poorly, and plus weight is a big reason for building this car. ill do some more reading up on the iron blocks thats out there.. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest el240z Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 I read on LS1tech, that the WarHawk block can take over 2000hp, now that is really impressive, but if weight isn't an issue for some then of course the iron block would be the next choice. Also how many LS1/LS2 blocks have actually failed from to much power though, and I'm not talking about tuning failures? I have seen a decent amount of people makeing some crazy power with the stock aluminum block, so are they really that weak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted March 29, 2006 Share Posted March 29, 2006 Here's a link to an article from Hot Rod Magazine that has some great information. It mentions that the cast iron block is 88 lbs heavier than the aluminum block, but the aluminum block starts to become a liability to long-term health above 700 hp. It doesn't say you can't do it, and it will probably work well...at least for a while. The article also mentions a book that you should get if you're really interested in doing a build like this titled "How to Build High Performance LS1/LS6 V-8's" by Will Handzel. http://www.hotrod.com/howto/113_0504_block/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubin Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 I vote for the warhawk. You wont have to worry about the block then' date=' a good Lunati forged crank and rods, Diamond forged pistons, Man you could have a nice 427 or 440 or more easily with the warhawk. It's alot cheaper than a CR5 block. Here's a blurb. http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/tech/0603htp_hawk/ wow that block is crazy, but is it me or does it seem like theres barely any water jacket for cooling? is the stock ls1 block like this too? ON3GO, how come you want a single instead of twin turbos? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 30, 2006 Share Posted March 30, 2006 single over twin.. less work, less money, more simple... still can make great power. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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