HP ADDICT

Any updates on this?

0chris@sfcc

Last I heard they were finalizing the tune and getting it off to SCT for loading into hand helds.


Should be soon if I had to guess, but my guess would be as good as yours.

capevettes

In the premier edition of Auto Enthusiast Magazine there is an interview with Vic Edelbrock. He was asked when the LS7 E-Force would be available. His response was later this year (Fall 2010). So it must be soon. I haven't heard anything other than that.

099blancoss

FI on the LS7 isn't such a great idea. Get a little detonation and this could happen. Just an FYI. They used a different sleeve material than all the other LS engines.. and there is a support issue at the top of the sleeve as well.

jeffreystar

Could you tell us more about this image? Is this one of your motors? Did you tear it down? What was the setup like? Just curious.

099blancoss

That is a photo from Steve at RED. It is a customers block that was sent to him. I don't have all the particulars on it other than it was an FI car.
We were talking in a thread about the LS7 and sleeves and he was saying he had one in this week and sent me a pic of it. It was a while ago, but I have more pics from him of LS7's that were effected. I might be ale to find them. One is split from top to bottom.

HP ADDICT

Seems to be a big LS7 drawback then. What about at say 7 pounds of boost?

099blancoss

Its all about tuning and fuel and the correct compression.
Then you have safety measures that people use as enablers.
In the end you end up with all kinds of crap to try and run something it ( the engine) wasn't designed to run in the first place.

Pistons, rings and bearings gaps are all different for an FI build than a n/a build. Some people get away with it, some don't. FI guys will always paint a bright picture for you.
Its a crap shoot. You can increase your odds of good results but its not going to be 100% safe and again the engine was not built for it.

FI guys will have a much different opinion, but I like my money to be spent on reliability.

ghostmech

Well, in this case, I don't think Edlebrock would invest the money or effort into a kit for the LS7 if they didn't think the engine could handle it....let alone an engine coverage warranty.

Ideally, the engine would be a little bit lower compression and forged, but with the PD blower at relatively low boost and a safe tune, I really think they have decided that it can be done safely and reliably. The key to it is stay within the parameters of the kit and not to start swapping pulleys, ect ect.

agentf1

Yes, I do not think Callaway would be doing it either if it could not be done safely. Of course there are limits as to what can be done but when done correctly I suspect they are very safe. Needless to say Callaway is very conservative with their tune and the amount of boost they run but if they make it I suspect it will be bullet proof just like everything else they build.

There are plenty of other SC's LS7's running around with way more boost and hp than mine with no issues. That said I DO NOT think I would up the boost or change the tune on mine to be any more aggressive.

tjwong

It all depends on the engine cal, I can gurantee you that the Edelbrock tune will be VERY conservative.

Also most of you guys know Rodney at RPM transmissions, he has a 07 Z that he has been drag racing for the last couple of years with a Pro Charger, its been running in the low 9s! All on a stock bottom end, the valve covers has never been off the engine! It is his fun, daily driver and race car!

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-f...longblock.html

Its also about duty cycle, if you beat on something long enough its gonna break, even a bone stock car will eventually fail if you beat on it long enough. The magnuson kit has been out for some time, and there has been no reported failures, also Magnuson offers a 2 year powertrain warranty for 200 bux, the catch is that you must retain their calibration and that the car be totally STOCK, meaning absolutely NO HEADERS. These guys are not going to offer a PT warranty knowing something is going to break, their underwriters will throw them over the cliff if too many failures occur.

If you want to make some real power, do it right. Build a engine that will handle it.

099blancoss

I agree with all thats been said, there are always two sides to a coin. Like I said the key is tuning and fuel. If you have great tuning all the time and don't detonate your likely not to have an issue. It's the things unplanned for that can present issues. Like pump gas. It varies on octane so if your on the edge and running just a tab bit much timing on a hot summer day you could have some detonation, which would be an issue. Keeping within the design of the kit is one thing but I see so many people going beyond with no clue until its to late. We/HKE literally see FI engines all the time that have bitten the dust. The #7 is the first thing to go. Even engines built for FI get trashed real easily with a tune being slightly off. You would be surprise if you knew how many times some of the so called LSX FI leaders have to rebuild. No one will point out this side of things so I do. We build FI engines all the time, don't get me wrong but we discuss things with people who don't really know and let them know what they are getting into. We like our customer to be well informed.

tjwong

That's why I have Darton sleeves in my LS7 block along with a billet mainline girdle, 2618 alloy forged pistons Oliver billet rods, Callies 4340 Dragon Slayer crankshaft, piston oilers and the list goes on and on

jeffreystar

This is why I went with a NA Cam package 547 rwhp / 500 rwtq with a hot engine all day long and I don't need to worry about the engine blowing up. Likely my next mod will be ported heads, injectors, 1.5 points of additional compression and E85 conversion and tune.

To each their own, I like beating my cars to death and not worrying about them blowing up.

tonypittman

what is "porting"?

OJCrush08

I agree 100%. As an alternative get the factory waranteed 100,000 mile coverage on their FI setup - ZR1. And, as I learned when I did an S/C on my C5 Z06, there are many other upgrades to the driveline needed to handle the power besides the engine build. It should be a balanced system, designed to handle 25 to 50 percent more power.

Just my opinion...

tjwong

That is a very wise opinion, drivetrain upgrades:

1000hp rated prop shaft with couplers $1000+
1000hp rated half shafts $2500
1000hp rated RPM rear diff with 300M output shafts, and Quaife diff $4500+

RPM upgraded TR6060 ZR1 Transmission (including price of transmission) $5000

HP ADDICT

Well unfortunately there would be a big difference in price between the Z06 I already own with heads/cam and upgrading to a Zr1 vs adding a blower. For $8000 I can add a blower and make more power then a Zr1 with less weight. Or trade mine in with about 60k on top of it for a stock Zr1. Yes I would have a warranty with the ZR1 but less power and 50k less in my pocket.
Basically my Z makes 540-560rwhp depending on the dyno and I would like over 650. My options are either a blower or go nuts with a NA setup. E85, milled heads,bigger cam, ported fast,injectors etc. I am just waying out my options. If E85 was more available I would prob run that route.

160KTS

Are LS7's the best motor for FI? No. Will they blow up indefinitely if you put FI on it? Also no. It is a science, and a pretty precise one at that, to air/fuel/spark/ and overall tuning as well as pounds of boost, pistons, rods, rings ect.. Every car is a little different and yeah maybe one car can handle FI setup A and one blows up after a pass. You don't know, especially if you're running a high amount of boost. I'd say 7-8 pounds is where I would be comfortable on an FI setup on an LS7 with a stock block and such. If I wanted huge boost I would buy an LS1 or LS2 and build/boost it to the moon and back.

Redline Motorsports

The ZO6 block has been out there since 05....many of us had concerns in the "early" days about how much the block and the complete shortblock could take. I was one of the early guys to ProCharge my 06' ZO6 and we did it with extreme caution because of the lack of knowledge.....well its been a few years and we have more experience with that engine...

The two things that an engine can fail from are structural failure (parts can't take it) or detonation (which is kinda a structural but more a calibration issue)...from a structural stand point the stock LS7 pistons are not GM's greatest pieces but there design intent was for 550 crank horsepower and on a budget...have we found them happy at 650 wheel....yes AS LONG as we manage the spark and fuel...that is up to your calibrator.

As far as the block is concerned; the block deserves more credit then it gets..I have several "insiders" at GM that can support the blocks capacities as well as the countless 800+RWHP cars we and many other shops have produced. My personal 06 see has laid down well over 80 925+ dyno pulls, countless street roll ons (to speeds I can't say due to CF rules!) and many other drag passes and hasn't skipped a beat with a stock LS7 block. I also own two GEN5 Camaros that both make over 800 RWHP and also don't skip a beat!

On another note........Edelbrock just shipped us a LS7 unit yesterday that will be for a Vette Magazine write up..only issue is that I might not be able to say to much after we do our playing due to the magazines rights..

The kits are basically complete but they are just finishing up some last minute PCV stuff because of the dry sump system.

If you guys stick to 5-8 psig and have a shop that knows how to calibrate properly.....the kit is gonna be killer. You want big power....forge the motor and turn the boost up!

Howard

Another factor..................how much freakin power do you need on the street?? These positive displacement blowers on a 427 ci motor and going to be torque monsters! On 6 psig it should shut most people up anyway!