LS1/t56 swap

[Alxsmt]

Holley has a lot of LS swap goodies that might help you find solutions.

ill have to check that out, I havnt dug too deep yet

You know you could flip the intake around - and do a badass intercooler setup for a turbo!

I got my Z06 calipers brand new from West Coast Corvettes - at the time they had the best package deal including pads, fluids, and stainless lines.

I bought my 2009-2013 CTS-V Brembos all new from various sources - online retailers, ebay, amazon.

As far as the oil pan baffle - yeah I wish I had known about them sooner. I stumbled across them a few months ago on the Pro-Touring boards. I JUST replaced my oil pan gasket - and on a C6 - it is a total PITA that I'm not going to do again.

So unless I have a reason to go in there - I'm just going to stick with the C6 setup. I've autocrossed / been on VIR / Charlotte Motor Speedway over the last 7 years - and I have never had a problem with the OEM setup.

I didnt know you could swap it around, I wont have room once I move it back tho. plenty of room up front from that!

ohh ok. I ended up getting all mine off amazon, well the fronts I got off ebay because they were on back order..

damn. the c5 pan I have was a pain on the ass to put on.. off the car! 2pc design. I wouldnt want to mess with it installed in the car.

Well, sounds like it will be just fine. Was scratching my head trying to think of ways to get it done. There is a short seal that goes on top of the radiator, that could come off, but there would have to be a very flat snorkel(lol). A nice long sweep 90 will do. Just hate them for something that is going to be sucking a huge amount of air at high RPM. Crazy how much there is going into a one of these engines. It's about the same as a home furnace.

lol yeah how the picture is I would have to remove the hood latch even. The ls sucks a ton of air, its unreal. people are getting gains with a fast 102 setup, on a mostly stock ls1.. still trying to find hard core dyno results proving it tho.

Are you going with the MAF setup or a speed density tune?

probably speed density but I havnt really looked too far into the pros and cons. I just know speed density a little better and I wont have a MAF to deal with.

Speed density is so 1980's....

why is that? even the Evo guys swap to speed density

Agreed - hence why I am going with the LS3 setup....

But then you get into wiring, sensor placement, etc vs not having the MAF.

One thing I didn't see - what headers you going with?

what do you mean?

I have no idea, I might see if I have any friends with some laying around I can test fit, or just buy some to test fit, or build my own if I have to. You would think something would fit tho! its a pretty basic setup and I will have plenty of room I think

[michi]

LS engines are great.... My LS1 picked up over 50whp just with headers, a FAST90 intake&98mm TB, slp lid and a street(!) tune

[Money pit Beretta]

There is some sort of kit for the "steam" line under the intake that you may need. The LS4's don't have that. I read a book on building the LS engines many years ago. Never put the info to use, so there are just small bits lingering around in my head. That could be a somewhat helpful book for you. Or just some relaxing reading after a hard days work on this thing.

[3X00-Modified]

Speed density is so 1980's....

why is that? even the Evo guys swap to speed density

Because it is, well actually it's late 80's early 90's. 88-89 Beretta's had MAF's from the start but I think the technology was just too new for it to work well which is why the reverted them to Speed Density. Come OBDII in 96 and they moved back to the MAF which works great in my opinion... Not sure on the reason why Evo guys switch other than the fact that maybe their ECU's or their MAFs can't read what they are flowing. I have two MAF type cars, the Legacy which it turbo and the Beretta... The Indy is speed density and I just feel the throttle response just isn't the same. Never mind the fact that the ECU is estimating air flow all the time where the MAF is a true more accurate reading. I can easily revert my car to Speed Density by unplugging the MAF, its fail over is SD, and the car just doesn't run the same, but I'm not saying my SD tune is spot on either but I'm not sure what to change to make it any better.

A MAF sensor these days is very easy to wire in... They are also making them quite small in comparison to what I have on my Beretta.

[woody90gtz]

You have to really nail the tune on a speed density setup, the MAF can bandaid an ok tune. But my new Holley Self-tuning setup for the Camaro is speed density and I don't expect any problems. I have seen someone fab a MAF for a 4150 style tb if needed. I'd almost be tempted to try that on my truck to see if it helps throttle response. Beretta throttle response is great though after probably 25-30 chip flashes. haha

[Alxsmt]

There is some sort of kit for the "steam" line under the intake that you may need. The LS4's don't have that. I read a book on building the LS engines many years ago. Never put the info to use, so there are just small bits lingering around in my head. That could be a somewhat helpful book for you. Or just some relaxing reading after a hard days work on this thing.

steam line?

Speed density is so 1980's....

why is that? even the Evo guys swap to speed density

Because it is, well actually it's late 80's early 90's. 88-89 Beretta's had MAF's from the start but I think the technology was just too new for it to work well which is why the reverted them to Speed Density. Come OBDII in 96 and they moved back to the MAF which works great in my opinion... Not sure on the reason why Evo guys switch other than the fact that maybe their ECU's or their MAFs can't read what they are flowing. I have two MAF type cars, the Legacy which it turbo and the Beretta... The Indy is speed density and I just feel the throttle response just isn't the same. Never mind the fact that the ECU is estimating air flow all the time where the MAF is a true more accurate reading. I can easily revert my car to Speed Density by unplugging the MAF, its fail over is SD, and the car just doesn't run the same, but I'm not saying my SD tune is spot on either but I'm not sure what to change to make it any better.

A MAF sensor these days is very easy to wire in... They are also making them quite small in comparison to what I have on my Beretta.

I never knew that. I know my 2.8 had a maf when I got it, ran like crap, then speed density, still ran like crap, then megasquirt with speed density and it did pretty good. It did have some issues in really high elevations, just ran rich with zero power. I just did some reading, its like a 50/50 for the LS guys it seems, and the MS guys seem to like speed density. It does look like MAF might have an advantage tho.. Ill probably end up getting ahold of the local LS tuner god and diyautotune to see what they prefer. My friend with the evo said they convert to speed density so they can run a BOV, or else the car will die sometimes when you come to a stop. why? I have no idea.

You have to really nail the tune on a speed density setup, the MAF can bandaid an ok tune. But my new Holley Self-tuning setup for the Camaro is speed density and I don't expect any problems. I have seen someone fab a MAF for a 4150 style tb if needed. I'd almost be tempted to try that on my truck to see if it helps throttle response. Beretta throttle response is great though after probably 25-30 chip flashes. haha

megasquirt has an autotune feature too, it seemed to screw it up more than anything.. maybe I didnt have it setup correct idk. It was professionally tuned anyways

[Money pit Beretta]

Yes, a very small aluminum line. Really not sure what it was for. Air bleed after cooling system work? Nah, that was a wild guess.

[bonecrrusher]

what do you mean?

I have no idea, I might see if I have any friends with some laying around I can test fit, or just buy some to test fit, or build my own if I have to. You would think something would fit tho! its a pretty basic setup and I will have plenty of room I think

With the MAF setup - you have the harness for the sensor - and the IAT sensor - depending on the year of LS MAF. the LS1/LS2 are separate - the LS3 has the IAT built into it. What engine harness do you have?

Those sensors get expensive really quick.

As far as Headers - the sky is the limit - you have some super cheap Pacesetter headers - to full stainless Kooks or Stainless Works.

Then there are the OEM manifold setups that you could try - it all just depends where your engine mounts and steering rack are located.

Then there are Swap headers, swap manifolds, block hugging styles - again it all depends where you put the motor in your car.

[3X00-Modified]

My friend with the Evo said they convert to speed density so they can run a BOV, or else the car will die sometimes when you come to a stop. why? I have no idea.

Sounds like something isn't setup right on that car... I have a BOV with 50/50 Vent to atmosphere on my legacy and the only issue I will have is the occasional pop in the exhaust when shifting and it vents, the ECU registers that air coming in but it's lost so the fuel it put in is a bit too much. Under normal driving conditions there is no ill effects. I've also run my wife's forester in 100% VTA and it doesn't die at idle.

For a supercharged vehicle I can see that being true if your very limited on space. Tyler's setup we had to move the MAF down into the fender well to be away from his BOV return. The air from that was confusing the sensor. If he used a VTA BOV then he would be dumping air to atmosphere at idle due to how a SC works compared to a turbo (bov's are open on a SC'd setup at idle, they are closed on a turbo at that condition). His other option to keep the MAF was to make it a blow through maf and not a suck through but with his very limited piping there was just no way he could fit the maf post SC. This is why he has to run a 100% recirculating BOV, it wont run with a VTA one. Same setups are available to the Evo if he has a suck through MAF then a VTA BOV you dump registered air and it can be rich at shifts... If it's a blow through and after the BOV then the MAF would only register the air going into the engine and not miss the air dumped by the BOV... but I do know a blow through setup is sometimes hard to configure and work with because of the nature of how a MAF works.

[Alxsmt]

Yes, a very small aluminum line. Really not sure what it was for. Air bleed after cooling system work? Nah, that was a wild guess.

I never noticed anything on my intake. I guess I never really looked tho.. Ill check it out. Thanks!

what do you mean?

I have no idea, I might see if I have any friends with some laying around I can test fit, or just buy some to test fit, or build my own if I have to. You would think something would fit tho! its a pretty basic setup and I will have plenty of room I think

With the MAF setup - you have the harness for the sensor - and the IAT sensor - depending on the year of LS MAF. the LS1/LS2 are separate - the LS3 has the IAT built into it. What engine harness do you have?

Those sensors get expensive really quick.

As far as Headers - the sky is the limit - you have some super cheap Pacesetter headers - to full stainless Kooks or Stainless Works.

Then there are the OEM manifold setups that you could try - it all just depends where your engine mounts and steering rack are located.

Then there are Swap headers, swap manifolds, block hugging styles - again it all depends where you put the motor in your car.

my freind was telling me about the LS3 maf setup, I looks like it could be a really good option. really small "card" like setup. I dont have a harness yet, Ill probably get whatever is cheap since Ill be cutting it up anyways for the connectors.

I have a set of LS6 manifiolds I got with the engine, but headers are a must! Ill probably go stainless something 1 3/4 if I find something that clears everything but who knows. Ill dig deeper into it once Im ready to buy some, tons of research left to do in that area.

My friend with the Evo said they convert to speed density so they can run a BOV, or else the car will die sometimes when you come to a stop. why? I have no idea.

Sounds like something isn't setup right on that car... I have a BOV with 50/50 Vent to atmosphere on my legacy and the only issue I will have is the occasional pop in the exhaust when shifting and it vents, the ECU registers that air coming in but it's lost so the fuel it put in is a bit too much. Under normal driving conditions there is no ill effects. I've also run my wife's forester in 100% VTA and it doesn't die at idle.

For a supercharged vehicle I can see that being true if your very limited on space. Tyler's setup we had to move the MAF down into the fender well to be away from his BOV return. The air from that was confusing the sensor. If he used a VTA BOV then he would be dumping air to atmosphere at idle due to how a SC works compared to a turbo (bov's are open on a SC'd setup at idle, they are closed on a turbo at that condition). His other option to keep the MAF was to make it a blow through maf and not a suck through but with his very limited piping there was just no way he could fit the maf post SC. This is why he has to run a 100% recirculating BOV, it wont run with a VTA one. Same setups are available to the Evo if he has a suck through MAF then a VTA BOV you dump registered air and it can be rich at shifts... If it's a blow through and after the BOV then the MAF would only register the air going into the engine and not miss the air dumped by the BOV... but I do know a blow through setup is sometimes hard to configure and work with because of the nature of how a MAF works.

Im not sure, I guess thats how you fix the issue. A local very well known evo shop told him that he has to do it if he wants a BOV and his car to run correctly.

[Cliff8928]

With the MAF setup - you have the harness for the sensor - and the IAT sensor - depending on the year of LS MAF. the LS1/LS2 are separate - the LS3 has the IAT built into it. What engine harness do you have?

The LS1 from 01+ does not have a separate IAT.

[3X00-Modified]

Im not sure, I guess thats how you fix the issue. A local very well known evo shop told him that he has to do it if he wants a BOV and his car to run correctly.

I guess this is why I have a Subaru and not an Evo... LOL

[bonecrrusher]

With the MAF setup - you have the harness for the sensor - and the IAT sensor - depending on the year of LS MAF. the LS1/LS2 are separate - the LS3 has the IAT built into it. What engine harness do you have?

The LS1 from 01+ does not have a separate IAT.

Interesting - didn't know that.

I happened to run across that when looking at adapters going from the LS2 to LS3 setup.

I got my MAP and MAF adapters for my new setup from Speartech.

[Alxsmt]

Got a little more done today. My hubs should be here by wed too.

I didnt spend too much time getting it perfect, it was just a quick mock up so I could see how the wheels would fit and how much I would have to flare the fenders






yes, it really fits that good! that side even needs to go in about 1/2" too.






I was kinda bored, really not ready to dig into the rear end but what the hell.. its gotta be done at some point


I didnt want to cut too much, I need to move the jack stands before I cut any more and mess up the structure. I dont want to fold the back half of my car over..










thats where I will need to cut.. 3-5" depending on where the roll center ends up needing to be.

[Alxsmt]

got a little more done, power was out so I was pretty limited. Moved the jack stands and got the car level again






took a little more apart and cleaned up some.


That black line is where it will get cut for the frame. That is if nothing else changes and nothing was over looked, anything is possible at this point