cv67

THe big established guys surely started out as part timers til they got busy enough. I'd rather have someone who could put the time into the motor himself do it rather than a shop that was swamped but had a large staff pumping out the work and a "name" attatched to it. Sure they are all great tuners, but if its done right, who cares whose name is on it?

I'm a little green with the LT5, but IMO paying 10k or more for a top end job is ridiculous. Labor, port, tune, misc. parts, what else am I missing?
It's just a motor.

LoTu5

All i can add is hopefully in the future i will be sending a short motor to be built by Mike at EES,Hey Mikes so solid hes even trying to help me tune my car from a distance and i ring and chat to him at all times of the day,hes one patient dude!

LoTu5

I would feel very confident about Rod building a motor for me,what i love about the guy ,like Mike,is he is a hands on mechanic in the real world that builds his own motors,not afraid to try new things and then jumps in the drivers seat and gives them the pain,lets face it anything thats hauls in a 10 sec pass then drives back down the track has got to be one solid motor,ive never met the guy but from what ive read ,heard and seen i feel totally confident he wont be far off a 9 sec Quarter come May.
Respect.

Cdn Z06 Mike

Mike has been great with me answering questions and offereing help and it has been really appreciated. Absolutely super guy. If I get the funds together I'll be doing business with Mike.

NITROUS JUNKIE

Jay, I do performance work for a living as well as a few other businesses. I have a 7000SQFT shop---bigger than any other LT5 tuner except for LPE/or DRM...and for sure big enough to handle whatever LT5 demand there may or may not be. Building LT5s full time would mean death to any big shop, there just isnt enough business building LT5s full time.


As for my engines holding up....... I have built a sprayed 415 that ran 10.6 at BG...It ran 3 years with a lot of miles and visits to the track, it finally blew a HG after MANY races. More hard stroker miles than any other tuners....My engines hold up fine..My LT5s are just run A LOT harder...Its a no brainer to build a NA 415 and have it hold up for real high mileage. The faster you go the more stress on the parts

Spray any LT5 stroker and see how long it lasts from ANY builder...Id put money on Doc blowing a HG quickly on his 415 if he sprays, the SGC 408 also blew a HG, and Limey has blown a few HGs in his time...Well do you think there might be a problem with the open deck engine? LPE resolved the HG issue in the TTS, no EES has resolved the problem with the copper head gaskets As for Mikes engines holding up, I see NO issues with the 396 package he has done.

When other LT5 tuners get past the 10 sec hurdle they will finally be stressing parts too. Lets see Haibeck or SGC run a 10.2at BG..there reliable image might go away. Any engine builder can set back and run 11s...and NEVER break any parts..There are 350s that have a chance to take out Haibecks and SGCs strokers !!!! Im going for 9s with no engine issues.


I have the parts now to spray and be reliable...even with a 427

If I was running the kind of times the other tuners are doing....Id never break any parts or push the engine hard....I have pushed the LT5 hard, it just takes some better parts to make it live.

Zr1 Destroyer

Maybe a brand new member, but not new to the Z seen!!!

Again WIZTARD good work, is that brown mark on your nose permanant?

RatRacer

Five years ago SW was running hot laps over and over in his LPE 415 at Bowling Green. He literally made 20 passes in one day.

He ran consistantly 10.45-10.55 at 135mph without the aid of nitrous. He didn't even cool down much. One run he took my wife as a passenger and still ran 10.50. No nitrous, no automatic, just a lot of power and a good driver on a greasy track. Take off the nitrous, put the 6 speed back in and run faster than 135mph at bowling Green and I'll be impressed.

Zr1 Destroyer

Amen my brother!!!!! A little green or not, you are very correct.

There is less than 10k in a stroker crank,rods, pistons,liners,porting, ect...the ridiculous part is the extra 10-15k added on for "non pro-builder" labor!!!!

Part timers "rule"

RatRacer

One of the builders on my list quoted me $13k for a complete 415 short block. That was complete with no core.

ron_bidwell

You might want to consider Arron Scoot's (South Georgia Corvette) stage II twin turbo system. Around 900 rwhp. Cost around $40,000. if starting with stock motor.

Zr1 Destroyer

I agree, LPE is 100% bada@@!!!! I heard that car was very wickkked.

The others you mentioned(on your list) don't even come close to those SW numbers, but then again Rod's car did run faster(10.20). I think SW's Z was pushing the limits of the open deck design(but John may have had a little different head gasket set up on that Z,big compression,huge cams)!!! I have been in Nitrous Junky's car in rush our traffic, w/the A/C on. That set up he runs is very reliable and fassttttttt>.......

LoTu5

I can vouch that a Jeal 415 is so called as it puts out around 415 hp @the rear wheels ,if you want a bad *** 415 then one of these things couldnt get much worse

RatRacer

SW's 415 car made 565rwhp SAE net on the dyno. I was there when the current owner, Paul Smith, had it dynoed at 21st Century Muscle Cars.

It had stock head gaskets, 12:1 compression, no secondary butterflies and cams similar to SGC's stage three.

4cefed

I belive at one time it made more power than that. Back when SW had it I think it was closer to 600 rwhp than 550. One thing for sure it was/is the daddy of 415's. Plus, SW could sure drive.

RatRacer

SW told me that the engine made 714hp on LPE's engine dyno. It was John Lingenfelter's personal engine so you know it was the best of the best. Everyone seemed to make lower power that particular day at 21st C. I was 20hp down that day. Paul probably should have been 25hp higher.

Zr1 Destroyer

I heard through the LT5 grapevine that when SW owned it, the cams were so radical that it would not idle below 1500rpm. (John was known to sand bag a little)


At any rate all those passes SW made, he would have got B@!&%slapped all the way down the track by the "Junkie" from start to finish, end of story!!!

Don't forget that the LPE "big dog TT" with N2o/auto, was there this year with more HP than SW,s Zr1 ever had and was dominated by the Junkie.


I also herd when Lingenfelter showed up to BG, the entire 1/4 mile was sprayed w/track- bite, so maybe SW's car would of had a hard time running that fast?????Lingenfelter is a 100% bad @ss car builder... everybodys et's would have been a little better this year with that type of glue layed down

RUN what you BRUNG, the junkie will dominate all in"06"

Zr1 Destroyer

Is that the TT that was hidding in the bushes on race day

RatRacer

Hey destroyer, I heard Rod wants his jock back.

DDSLT5

Yep! Real damn close to 600 rwhp on 93 octane - BUT - the cams were HUGE!!! Those cams are no longer in the car I believe - the ones in there now are very similar to the stage III SGC cams, and therefore the 565 rwhp number (close to other 415s with these cams from other builders). I have a vid of that car with SW behind the wheel making a 10.50 pass at BG a few years back - make no mistake, SW is one hell of a good driver!

As for nitrous and 415s.....well.....they don't mix too well! I'd love to have 700 rwhp in my Z like my TT, but I can guarantee I'd blow the headgaskets sky high before too long. LPE had the right idea with the extended liners into the o-ringed heads. I would love to see what a 447 cid LT5 could muster - somebody pay Mike to do one - this will be the DADDY of N/A LT5s, and it should last when tuned properly.

Maybe my car is a slow low 11 second car for now - but it is plenty of fun! I have my resonator off right now, and am putting the x-pipe in to pick up a pony or two - so I figured, what the hell, lets drive her around with just headers! HOLY SNIECKIES!!!!! Talk about loud! Sounds like a freaking NASCAR racer! I LOVE IT!!! SO.....I'm working on some muffler eliminators for the track!

Zr1 Destroyer

Hey RumpRacer, tell your bu*#buddy to wash it first.