[Z06] How to solve the problem of a ticking LS7...
05-10-2011, 03:53 PM
#1
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
How to solve the problem of a ticking LS7...
What? You don't want a Prius? To a starving child in Africa, that thing is EPIC!
So you're not a starving African child? Ok...
What we just did there was determine that in your mindset, the Prius is unacceptable. You probably already have it in your head that this is a gag post or a trolling attempt or that you wasted your click, so offended at the thought of trading your LS7 for a Prius.
Before you get out the tar and feathers though, step back and look at what you did. Your perception of the Prius is negative. Yet the African child's we presume to be positive in that they are impressed with its comfort,speed, etc. (compared to foot/donkey).
I doubt I can swindle you out of your corvette and into a Prius, but allow me the opportunity to try to change your mind about something very minor--the ticking going on under your hood.
A lot of you view this ticking as a serious issue, and this is understandable!
I do not, and here is why:
Piston-slap...I don't have it to a noticeable degree, but I am sure someone out there does when the car is cold. My LS1 sure had it, though. A lot of my friends through college had LS1 cars. Theirs all slapped to various degrees. Mine did, too. One friend was tearing his down and I asked him how it looked, as his was a rather loud slapping engine. He sent me pictures of the shortblock after the heads were off. Sadly, this was years ago and on my other PC, but what I saw in his close-ups were perfect, un-scratched bores with easily visible crosshash. My car slapped, too. I finally sold it with 149,XXX miles on the odometer. During that time, oil-usage (about 3/4 quart every 4500 miles) had not changed one bit. Neither had power to my detection, as at the 100K mile mark I ran a 14.0@102 with a 2.35 60' bogging like crazy scared of blowing ANOTHER rear-end.
So what causes piston slap? A lot of you already know, it's the piston being cold in the bore. When it heats up, it expands, and the slap by and large goes away or lessens. All pistons slap. Some just do it more than others due to expansion coefficients, and oil used and sensetivity of the owner's ears. I have bad hearing but sensitive ears...if that makes sense. I can hear a noise if it's being made. My Father on the other hand, could not hear any slapping or anything of the sort. If he had an LS1, it wouldn't slap
.So you see, some do it more than others, yes, but the owner's PERCEPTION plays a role as well. Either way, the slapping never hurt anything.
Lifter rattle...this is the sound you get from 1200-2200 rpm under low load like a slight rev, etc. This is very similar to piston slap. Lifters need a bit of space because they move rather fast and you don't want them galling. My LS1 did this, too. Oddly, it did it worse with heavier oils than lighter oils. Also, I did not have any shavings on my magnetic drain-plug besides the expected "powder" smear from the 72 to nearly 150K miles I owned my car.
Tapping...It's a pushrod motor, and the valvetrain has some heft to it. It's just going to make noise. My mustang 5.0 did it, my LT1 did it, my LS1 did it. The LT1 and 5.0 weren't "as bad" because they were not aluminum. A lot of you are comparing the LS series to previous iron-block engines you have owned and saying "My LT1 never had lifter rattle, or any of this other nonsense!"
Well...
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/so...ids-d_713.html
The speed of sound relates to how well a material conducts sound (obviously). The faster it is transmitted, the more efficient the material is in transmitting it.
Compare your Aluminum block to your Cast Iron block. These sounds you are hearing in your LS series engine? I am willing to bet many were present in your cast iron engines as well. You either could not hear them as they were just below your personal threshold or they were muted to the point where you considered it "normal".
So when DO you have a problem?
If the sound changes suddenly or significantly.
If you find metal in your oil.
If you cannot come to grips that for your car, the amount of mechanics you hear is normal, even though your car did it from day 1 and has done it for the last 50K miles and has run like a scalded dog.
In short, it is my belief that barring the first 2 of those 3, the only incurable noise the LS7 makes is a product of the third issue I listed above.
Last edited by BSSN; 05-10-2011 at 04:00 PM.
05-10-2011, 06:11 PM
#2
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Jun 2010
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I like you. Why? Because valvetrain noise IS acceptable and within a certain degree it's normal. On a stock catback noises are even easier to hear. When my LS7 is cold it definitely ticks a little. I don't remember my LS2 GTO doing it, but then again there was a lot more between me and the engine than in this.
05-10-2011, 06:44 PM
#4
Safety Car
05-10-2011, 07:53 PM
#5
Racer
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Because valvetrain noise IS acceptable and within a certain degree it's normal. On a stock catback noises are even easier to hear. When my LS7 is cold it definitely ticks a little. I don't remember my LS2 GTO doing it, but then again there was a lot more between me and the engine than in this.
05-10-2011, 09:11 PM
#6
The Consigliere
Member Since: May 2006
Location: 2023 Z06 & 2010 ZR1
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I put louder than stock exhaust on my car. Ticking sounds magically disappeared.
05-10-2011, 09:45 PM
#7
This! As soon as I took off my GHL system, I could suddenly hear every little damn sound this car makes. I don't mind the ticking...don't know why everyone makes such a big deal about it, what I hate is the damn "marbles in a can" sound. I feel like I'm scraping the internals of my transmission as I'm driving. I'm now looking for a B&B Fusion system to "alleviate" this issue. And that really seems to be the way to solve a lot of these noise issues. Either put a sub in the back and crank some music, or get a louder (aka non-stock exhaust) exhaust. I have an amp/sub combo but I prefer to hear my car while in the Z, without actually hearing my car...you get the point. Another great thread from bssn! Keep em coming!
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tommyc6z06 (05-06-2023)
05-11-2011, 08:06 PM
#11
Drifting
Ummm.... 
I get the whole, the tick isn't a big deal thing, but what does african children with an unsatisfied appetite and a toyota prius have to do with anything?
I get the whole, the tick isn't a big deal thing, but what does african children with an unsatisfied appetite and a toyota prius have to do with anything?
05-11-2011, 09:03 PM
#12
Valve noise
What? You don't want a Prius? To a starving child in Africa, that thing is EPIC!
So you're not a starving African child? Ok...
What we just did there was determine that in your mindset, the Prius is unacceptable. You probably already have it in your head that this is a gag post or a trolling attempt or that you wasted your click, so offended at the thought of trading your LS7 for a Prius.
Before you get out the tar and feathers though, step back and look at what you did. Your perception of the Prius is negative. Yet the African child's we presume to be positive in that they are impressed with its comfort,speed, etc. (compared to foot/donkey).
I doubt I can swindle you out of your corvette and into a Prius, but allow me the opportunity to try to change your mind about something very minor--the ticking going on under your hood.
A lot of you view this ticking as a serious issue, and this is understandable!
I do not, and here is why:
Piston-slap...I don't have it to a noticeable degree, but I am sure someone out there does when the car is cold. My LS1 sure had it, though. A lot of my friends through college had LS1 cars. Theirs all slapped to various degrees. Mine did, too. One friend was tearing his down and I asked him how it looked, as his was a rather loud slapping engine. He sent me pictures of the shortblock after the heads were off. Sadly, this was years ago and on my other PC, but what I saw in his close-ups were perfect, un-scratched bores with easily visible crosshash. My car slapped, too. I finally sold it with 149,XXX miles on the odometer. During that time, oil-usage (about 3/4 quart every 4500 miles) had not changed one bit. Neither had power to my detection, as at the 100K mile mark I ran a 14.0@102 with a 2.35 60' bogging like crazy scared of blowing ANOTHER rear-end.
So what causes piston slap? A lot of you already know, it's the piston being cold in the bore. When it heats up, it expands, and the slap by and large goes away or lessens. All pistons slap. Some just do it more than others due to expansion coefficients, and oil used and sensetivity of the owner's ears. I have bad hearing but sensitive ears...if that makes sense. I can hear a noise if it's being made. My Father on the other hand, could not hear any slapping or anything of the sort. If he had an LS1, it wouldn't slap
.So you see, some do it more than others, yes, but the owner's PERCEPTION plays a role as well. Either way, the slapping never hurt anything.
Lifter rattle...this is the sound you get from 1200-2200 rpm under low load like a slight rev, etc. This is very similar to piston slap. Lifters need a bit of space because they move rather fast and you don't want them galling. My LS1 did this, too. Oddly, it did it worse with heavier oils than lighter oils. Also, I did not have any shavings on my magnetic drain-plug besides the expected "powder" smear from the 72 to nearly 150K miles I owned my car.
Tapping...It's a pushrod motor, and the valvetrain has some heft to it. It's just going to make noise. My mustang 5.0 did it, my LT1 did it, my LS1 did it. The LT1 and 5.0 weren't "as bad" because they were not aluminum. A lot of you are comparing the LS series to previous iron-block engines you have owned and saying "My LT1 never had lifter rattle, or any of this other nonsense!"
Well...
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/so...ids-d_713.html
The speed of sound relates to how well a material conducts sound (obviously). The faster it is transmitted, the more efficient the material is in transmitting it.
Compare your Aluminum block to your Cast Iron block. These sounds you are hearing in your LS series engine? I am willing to bet many were present in your cast iron engines as well. You either could not hear them as they were just below your personal threshold or they were muted to the point where you considered it "normal".
So when DO you have a problem?
If the sound changes suddenly or significantly.
If you find metal in your oil.
If you cannot come to grips that for your car, the amount of mechanics you hear is normal, even though your car did it from day 1 and has done it for the last 50K miles and has run like a scalded dog.
In short, it is my belief that barring the first 2 of those 3, the only incurable noise the LS7 makes is a product of the third issue I listed above.
05-11-2011, 09:40 PM
#14
Race Director
all this just to talk about a ticking noise.. all the LSx motors do it to a degree so many factors at play though
05-11-2011, 10:36 PM
#15
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
...wait a minute! It probably doesn't mean a darn thing. I'm sorry for taking one minor aspect of your post, dwelling on it, and losing the entire meaning of what you were trying to convey.
05-11-2011, 10:41 PM
#16
Le Mans Master
Thread Starter
05-12-2011, 10:47 AM
#18
Pro
My WIFE had the car out all day for her Birthday. When she got home from a day on the road, all she wanted to talk about was all of the great and different sounds that "our" Z makes. Of course she always drives with the Mild to Wild on "Wild", which hurts not a bit.
She even enjoys the creaks and goans of the Coil overs, saying that all of the aural mechanics is what adds to the value of this automobile. I tend to agree. The more "noise" the merrier...just my (and her) 2cents.
She even enjoys the creaks and goans of the Coil overs, saying that all of the aural mechanics is what adds to the value of this automobile. I tend to agree. The more "noise" the merrier...just my (and her) 2cents.
Isn't it? 
