Olitho

During yesterday's race at Laguna Seca my LS6 disintegrated and burned. The damage is fairly substantial to the engine and engine bay.

I am thinking of going to an LS3 with dry sump. I would rather have a more powerful engine and detune down to just below 400 RWHP.

What do you guys suggest?

repman

Man , sorry for your trouble. had the same happen to me at Road Atlanta a few years ago. Good luck with the rebuild.

ErnieN85

I like the dry sump idea, LS3 seems fine with one

froggy47

Sorry for the loss, any idea what happened?

mgarfias

Oh damn that blows. Personally I'd go with a big stroker, restrict it down, and get a nice huge flat torque curve.

Olitho

Yeah, I want 400 RWHP starting at 1000 RPM all the way up to 6500 RPM.

yakisoba

If I lose one of the LS6 I have, it will be replaced with a dry sumped LS3. Sorry for your loss.

mgarfias

Exactly. 'course to do it right will cost you $$$$$^3

J.R.

Oli,

Sorry, man.

I have been running an LS3 ( both with accusump for two years and recently dry sump for last 3 seasons). No problems with either although obviously prefer dry sump.

The only thing I would change would be to run the Harland Sharp or Comp trunion kit for rocker arms.

For approx. $6300 for complete engine it is difficult to beat.

Just remember, you will need a new ECU i.e. 58 reluctor ring.
The best setup seems to be the GM hot rod package that comes with ECU tuned for 436HP LS3 and complete race car wiring harness with relays/fuses etc. for about $1200-1300.

There was a complete ASA dry sump system for sale awhile ago on the forum.

sperkins

Dang. Sorry for the bad luck, but glad you're ok. Fire is one of my biggest fears on track.
I have all the wiring harnesses and fuse block from an '01Z if you need anything.

sperkins

Also, I'm curious. How long did it burn and did you have and/or activate an onboard fire bottle/system?

geerookie

WOW! That doesn't look like fun.

If you go with an LS3 DON'T switch to the newer ECU, to many nannies to program around.
You can use the old ECU and get an adapter to go from 58 to 24 reluctor or if your tuner knows the tricks he should be able to "fix" it in the tune from what I hear.

CHJ In Virginia

WOW that is a big mess ! Gonna take forever to fix all the burned wiring and hoses, etc. My preference in a new engine would be a stroker for the huge wide torque band.

J.R.

Oli,

link to GM E Rod wiring harness installation by Popular Hot Rodding
this harness is not a complete stock unit with TPMS etc. which causes issues in race environments.

http://www.popularhotrodding.com/tec...e_rod_harness/

rmj951

Hey Oli car looks way different from when I last saw it at Mid O. Sorry to hear about your trouble. Good luck with the new build.

How is ST2 out west this year?

C5ZEE06

Several wet sump ls3 track cars around here that seem to just keep on ticking....

sothpaw2

Sorry for your loss. I would go w/whatever is most reliable. It would seem an LS3 w/factory drysump as in the lastest GS should do the trick. You'd have to have a good engine builder for the stroker.

Does anyone know how much the LS3 w/factory dry sump would cost installed? Does GM even sell them together?

taken19

I swapped my previous 2005 LS2 C6 to a dry sump LS3 last year. I bought the Lingenfelter conversion box (24 tooth to 58 tooth conversion). Not a bad setup and worked flawlessly. It was also pretty easy to install. I may have info laying around to help you with this if that's the direction you head.

Sean

JeremyGSU

Oh man! Sorry to hear about this! Do you know what happened?

I also find it interesting that people recommend the LS3. I thought the LS6 was one of the most reliable track motors there was and that it didn't require a dry-sump? It seems very subjectable as I notice some people race without them and say it doesn't need it and others with.

Is the LS3 more reliable than the LS6?

Olitho

I don't yet know what happened, but I think after about 5000 racing miles the engine just let go. I was working the engine hard that weekend running it up close to the 7400 set rev limiter going up the hills at Laguna Seca. In the previous weeks at races at ACS and elsewhere I was working that engine over very hard. I assume it just broke. The fire damage is the main bummer.

I think a properly dry sumped LS3 detuned to 400 RWHP is going to be more reliable than working my LS6 hard to keep the power up to the max 389 RWHP she was producing for my races.