[c6vette]

RE: Summer upgrades

My upgrades for the summer are almost complete. The shop ran into a few snags along the way.

Went with the .408 stroker using my stock block, mild cam, stock ported heads, upgraded fuel system, z51 front rotors, painted (red) calipers, transmission brace, centerforce TD clutch, and a few other minors.

While on the dyno, the V-3 Si ate itself. Damage was so bad that I couldn't even rebuild it... you couldn't even turn it by hand at ALL once it was taken off the car. I ended up getting a new one from Vortech. Was disappointed as the blower only had about 12k mi. on it. Better on the dyno than on the street. Vortech did give me 400.00 off on a new one though. Also, with the damaged V-3, it still pulled 692whp!

After receiving the new blower, the car was being moved onto the lift and an oil leak was discovered. They had no idea where it was coming from, so they pulled the engine and tore it down to the core. Found out that a setting on the oil pump was in the wrong position. I was a bit po'd, but the silver lining was that they also found out that 2 of the pushrods were bent and there was a chip on one of the pistons. These parts were all brand new btw. The shop sprung for new and even better pushrods and even deeper dish higher quality pistons.

Should have everything buttoned up and on the dyno by tues/wed. Will post new dyno #'s by Friday. Looking to get 750whp.

 

[Lethal Tendencies]

Wow those are some definite upgrades. It's good the shop covered the cost of the repair.

 

[Bucwheat]

Have fun,be safe!

 

[[email protected]]

will be impressive with that level of power

 

[Ragtop 99]

Bummer on the head unit. 12,000 miles is well below expectation.

Nice to hear the shop took care of you on the engine problems.

 

[c6vette]

Thanks guys. Yeah, the owner of the shop is real good that way, I've never known or heard of him trying to get over on anyone.

should be posting results here real soon!

 

[c6vette]

Well, so far the problems continue. After everything was buttoned up, we put her on the dyno and made several pulls that ranged from 660 - 670rwhp. I was ok with the #'s as the temps topped 90 degrees today.

Afterwards, took it out for a street tune and I'm glad I did before driving her home. After some really good pulls, I noticed that it started having intermittent problems shifting into the next gear. Just for giggles, checked the CAGS and verified that they were deleted. After probably a few miles or so when I came to a stop at a red light, I wasn't able to get out of 1st gear without the car lurching forward and then dying out. I would also hear a grinding noise during the 'lurch' forward. Tried putting the car in reverse and I was able to backup off the road. I made several more attempts to take-off from 1st and 2nd gears and it would do the same thing, only the car would stay on...you just couldn't go anywhere. It idled and revved nicely.

My tuner checked the computer but didn't see anything wrong. We made a few more attempts and tried coming out of 1st and 2nd gears, but with the same result. I then tried backing up again and wasn't able to... it lurched forward and just shut off. I then called my tow guy. We suspect that it's stuck between 3rd and 4th gears. When we got out of the car, you could see where the tires had obviously been turning quite a bit when the car was lurching forward as it dug a few inches into the grass and dirt.

A few other issues that I noticed are that car ran much warmer.. around 230 - 240,.. also noticed that I have to give it a bit of gas when starting her up... should be able to push the button with immediate start up.

One other thing, had issues with the traction control. I was only able to select 'Traction control on' and Traction control off. Every now and then after a reset I could select Competitive mode, but it was rare.

Any ideas on what problems I might be experiencing is greatly appreciated.

 

[c6vette]

update:

We did some work this morning on it and so far we know that the clutch fluid is still boiling over. Car runs fine until the clutch fluid heats up and boils over, then it starts to become hard to shift into any gear until eventually you can't do anything.

I also called Centerforce and described to their tech what was going on. The clutch I'm running is one of their 1k HP DYAD clutches. Their guy says more than likely it's an hydraulic issue caused by the clutch fluid heating up. Suggestions were to reroute the fluid line away from the headers, get a new Master cylinder so that I can change 'release points', heat-wrap the clutch fluid lines and if I need to, get a new slave cylinder. That would be the last resort since I'd have to drop the tranny to do the swap. I'm also going to pick up a CX Racing oil cooler from Andy's Auto sport.

The tuner won't be back until Monday, upon which time we'll address the hp issues.
Will give another update early next week.

 

[[email protected]]

have you tried a hi-temp fluid .there are some good to over 600*

 

[c6vette]

have you tried a hi-temp fluid .there are some good to over 600*

Haven't tried anything that high yet, but the super hi-temp stuff is on the way.

I also ordered Tick performance Adjustable Clutch Master Cylinder and Slaver Cylinder kits. Will also be installing a Dewitts's double-tube radiator w/high speed fans & EOC connect. That'll definitely take care of any engine heating issues. When we were doing the initial street tune, engine temps got up to 240!

All of the parts should be in by Tuesday. Will also be addressing the hp issue. Before the original blower "ate-it" on the dyno, the car pulled 690+ at the wheels. Currently it's getting 660 rwhp. Will be looking into why the power is much lower, any ideas? Fuel, AF Ratio and all the usual suspects look good.

 

[Ragtop 99]

A few suggestions.
1) Check for false knock readings in the logs.
2) if you've been running hot, the IAT may be heating up more than expected causing your IAT v Temp table to pull timing.
3) Do a pull without the Hi flow cats (replace with straight pipes). I've seen others post that on 600 HP S/C cars that they have had them fail and cost 5% or more on the top end.
4) Verify Cat Over Temp is off.
5) belt slip

 

[c6vette]

A few suggestions.
1) Check for false knock readings in the logs.
2) if you've been running hot, the IAT may be heating up more than expected causing your IAT v Temp table to pull timing.
3) Do a pull without the Hi flow cats (replace with straight pipes). I've seen others post that on 600 HP S/C cars that they have had them fail and cost 5% or more on the top end.
4) Verify Cat Over Temp is off.
5) belt slip

Thanks... will do! To battle the heat, going with 600+ hi-temp clutch fluid. Will also heat-wrap the lines. Have a Dewitt's radiator with twin hi-speed fan on the way, as well as a Derale -10AN oil cooler. Should have some results soon.

 

[c6vette]

Some updates from my earlier problems:

Found out that the cause of the clutch fluid overheating was due to a warped clutch plate along with several missing pucks. The plate was warped in 3 different places. Appears one of the pucks got lodged somewhere causing the heating of the fluid. A proper break-in was not conducted on the clutch.

Regarding the belt issues, found out that I didn't have enough bov. Installed a turbosmart 50mm bov which did the trick.

Retuned and after several pulls, am now at 726whp with room to spare fuel-wise. Could easily add another 30-40hp, but this is good for now.

Engine oil temps are still up.. 260'ish, but will be installing a Derale oil cooler w/fan this Thursday. Coolant temps are ok 205-210, but I have a Dewitt's rad w/twin hi-flo fans ready to install as well.

My power top is no longer working, suspect a bad fuse. The traction control issue worked itself out.

Having some issues with 'hard starts' with the car is warm. I have to press the gas pedal a few times. We're working on trying to 'tune' that out.

Other than that, the car is an absolute BEAST!! and lots of fun to drive. will scan a copy of the dyno sheet this weekend.

 

[Ragtop 99]

726 HP is pretty stout.

Oil cooler will help. I have the built in Z51 and oil cooler and just the passive cooling underway is noticeable. The oil cooler also seems to help with coolant temps too.

 

[c6vette]

726 HP is pretty stout.

Oil cooler will help. I have the built in Z51 and oil cooler and just the passive cooling underway is noticeable. The oil cooler also seems to help with coolant temps too.

The extra power is tons of fun! I've had this car since 2007 and I've never seen the nose of this thing come up so high! Sometimes I think the front wheels are off the ground lol!

You're right. I had a Derale oil cooler installed. It had it's own fan as well. I used the -10 fittings. In traffic on a hot day, oil temps top out at 230ish, coolant is much better at around 215's. On open road, coolant is around 198 and oil temps around 210-215. We have it set so that the oil cooler fan comes on at 160.

I had a Dewitt's rad w/twin hi-flo fans ready to go, but don't need. Andy @ A&A is letting me use that refund credit towards the new T-trim.
Regarding other issues that I had. The hard starts were due to the crank sensor wires. Initially, we found out that the crank sensor wasn't even plugged in. After continued problems, found out that one of the many belts that had popped had cut 1 of the 3 crank sensor wires. Starts really good now.

Power top issues - had to reset the windows. Only took about 15 seconds to do.

As for the belt issues, I didn't have enough bov. Had to upgraded to a 50mm. Also, the v-3 si just gets decimated by the 408. Have to go to a T-trim which is on the way. Looking to get 800whp as my twin in-tank pumps + KB BAP have plenty of fuel left on the table.

 

[Ragtop 99]

You're right. I had a Derale oil cooler installed. It had it's own fan as well. I used the -10 fittings. In traffic on a hot day, oil temps top out at 230ish, coolant is much better at around 215's. On open road, coolant is around 198 and oil temps around 210-215. We have it set so that the oil cooler fan comes on at 160.

if it is adjustable and is capable of handling the load, I'd bring the fans on no earlier than 180* and probably not until 200*. 160* is below optimal for engine oil.

 

[c6vette]

if it is adjustable and is capable of handling the load, I'd bring the fans on no earlier than 180* and probably not until 200*. 160* is below optimal for engine oil.

It does take a bit longer to for the car to get to operating temps during warm-up, but once there, the temps are optimal. Setting the fans to 180* will definitely help the car get to operating temps faster.

 

[Hotrod]

if it is adjustable and is capable of handling the load, I'd bring the fans on no earlier than 180* and probably not until 200*. 160* is below optimal for engine oil.

I agree on the oil cooler fan cut-in at no less than 200°F. Actually 225°F is right where you want it. :thumbsup3:

 

[[email protected]]

I agree on the oil cooler fan cut-in at no less than 200°F. Actually 225°F is right where you want it. :thumbsup3:

oil needs to get to 210* or more regularly

 

[c6vette]

I agree on the oil cooler fan cut-in at no less than 200°F. Actually 225°F is right where you want it. :thumbsup3:

:thumbsup:

oil needs to get to 210* or more regularly

Agreed. Even after a fresh oil change, I get up to anywhere from between 205 - 235. I'm currently waiting for my new T-trim head unit to come in, once it does, I'll do some more road testing and get a better picture of where my temps are, and how long it takes to get up to operating temps.

Tks for the input!