How do I get more torque from my LT1?
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Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 52
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From: Chino Hills CA
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (eagleone)
How the heck did you get your 0-60 times so low? That's awesome!
Did you time it before your mods? It doesn't look like you have any major mods, is it the gears? I thought an LT1 would be more like 5.5.
Gixxer
I did time my runs before each mod, being careful to go out when the outside air temperature is about the same (around the 63 degree mark, +/- 2 degrees) and making a minimum of 3 runs. And you're right about the LT1 time. My best time when I got the car bone stock was 5.58 with 2.59 gears. A ram air mod got me down to a best of 5.18 (a cleaner run with traction control on also helped). A change to 3.07 gears got that down to 5.08. An MSD coil, 8.5 MSD wires, new Bosch platinums, throttle body bypass broght it down further to 4.91. Adding an Ed Wright chip w/a 160 stat resulted in a
4.86 best run. And believe it or not, adding an airfoil brought me to where I am now, at a best of 4.79 (no wonder people say that airfoils don't make a difference - you really can't feel it with the butt dyno - but comparing the average time from 3 runs, the accelerometer in the g-tech detected a 0.05 improvement)
Thanks for everyone's input on this.
Ed
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 1,861
Likes: 4
From: Houston TX
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (Lone Ranger)
Ok, I want to comment on this first, and I will answer you question a little further down.
Quote:
Start by losing the Bosch Platinums and put in a set of NGK TR-55ix iridium plugs. Or stock AC 41-906 plugs. They can say what they want about the stock plugs, but they do give the best low end torque.
Um, I don't know what to say to this other than "wow...that's wrong". As long as the gap, heat range, and resistance through the plug are the same, it doesn't matter if the plug is a Delco that cost $0.99 or a Bosch that cost $5...it just simply doesn't matter. People give spark plugs too much credit. Changing the gap changes the voltage which builds at the plug before the gas ionizes and becomes conductive, thus creating the spark. If the gap is too small, you won't create a decent sized kernel (flame of burning air and fuel at the spark) and your combustion will run slow, and if the gap is too big, then you might not have the available voltage in your system at high rpms to ionize the gas at all, thus causing a misfire. Basically folks, don't ga your plugs. Check to make sure that the ones you buy are actually at the correct gap (which they will be 99.9% of the time), and if they're not, take them back. Quite honestly, gapping plugs reduces their lifespan. You end up bending the tip so that it is no longer parallel to the electrode. The spark will form between the sharpest point on the tip and the sharpest point on the electrode which are the closest together. By bending the tip, you have significantly reduced the amount of material which is at a constant distance from the electrode. The spark will form at one end all the time and eat the plug up.
The resistance of the plug simply changes the magnitude of the current flowing through the gap, and the heat range changes the heat of the tip of the plug itself by changing the length of the insulator on the plug...higher compression engines need colder plugs to prevent detonation, but you want to run the hottest plug you can without detonation as the heat the plug helps induce to the air/fuel mixture improves combustion quality (look at the thermodynamics of the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel and you'll see why)
Anyway, the long and short of your issue is this....the only two ways to increase your bottom end torque from an engine mechanics standpoint and still have your motor breath properly at higher revs is to reduce the duration of your cam relative to the displacement, or increase the lobe separation angle. The first can be accomplished either with a shorter duration cam or a stroker motor. The second will accomplish the goal by spreading out the power you are currently making over a wider power band. Your peak torque and peak horsepower will be farther apart, and the peak numbers will be lower, but you will gain low end power. The problem with messing with the duration/displacement ratio is that your motor will fall on it's face at a lower rpm than it does right now....you lose top end. You can't have your cake and eat it to, assuming you want this thing streetable :D
Oh, there is one other thing you can do, but it's expensive and *should* require new pistons (if properly built), and that's to put a supercharger on it. You'll start making boost off idle there, but your bottom end will still be worse than your top end.
Quote:
Start by losing the Bosch Platinums and put in a set of NGK TR-55ix iridium plugs. Or stock AC 41-906 plugs. They can say what they want about the stock plugs, but they do give the best low end torque.
Um, I don't know what to say to this other than "wow...that's wrong". As long as the gap, heat range, and resistance through the plug are the same, it doesn't matter if the plug is a Delco that cost $0.99 or a Bosch that cost $5...it just simply doesn't matter. People give spark plugs too much credit. Changing the gap changes the voltage which builds at the plug before the gas ionizes and becomes conductive, thus creating the spark. If the gap is too small, you won't create a decent sized kernel (flame of burning air and fuel at the spark) and your combustion will run slow, and if the gap is too big, then you might not have the available voltage in your system at high rpms to ionize the gas at all, thus causing a misfire. Basically folks, don't ga your plugs. Check to make sure that the ones you buy are actually at the correct gap (which they will be 99.9% of the time), and if they're not, take them back. Quite honestly, gapping plugs reduces their lifespan. You end up bending the tip so that it is no longer parallel to the electrode. The spark will form between the sharpest point on the tip and the sharpest point on the electrode which are the closest together. By bending the tip, you have significantly reduced the amount of material which is at a constant distance from the electrode. The spark will form at one end all the time and eat the plug up.
The resistance of the plug simply changes the magnitude of the current flowing through the gap, and the heat range changes the heat of the tip of the plug itself by changing the length of the insulator on the plug...higher compression engines need colder plugs to prevent detonation, but you want to run the hottest plug you can without detonation as the heat the plug helps induce to the air/fuel mixture improves combustion quality (look at the thermodynamics of the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel and you'll see why)
Anyway, the long and short of your issue is this....the only two ways to increase your bottom end torque from an engine mechanics standpoint and still have your motor breath properly at higher revs is to reduce the duration of your cam relative to the displacement, or increase the lobe separation angle. The first can be accomplished either with a shorter duration cam or a stroker motor. The second will accomplish the goal by spreading out the power you are currently making over a wider power band. Your peak torque and peak horsepower will be farther apart, and the peak numbers will be lower, but you will gain low end power. The problem with messing with the duration/displacement ratio is that your motor will fall on it's face at a lower rpm than it does right now....you lose top end. You can't have your cake and eat it to, assuming you want this thing streetable :D
Oh, there is one other thing you can do, but it's expensive and *should* require new pistons (if properly built), and that's to put a supercharger on it. You'll start making boost off idle there, but your bottom end will still be worse than your top end.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,019
Likes: 0
From: down that one road next to that big tree
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (CorvetteZ51Racer)
Ok, I want to comment on this first, and I will answer you question a little further down.
Quote:
Start by losing the Bosch Platinums and put in a set of NGK TR-55ix iridium plugs. Or stock AC 41-906 plugs. They can say what they want about the stock plugs, but they do give the best low end torque.
Um, I don't know what to say to this other than "wow...that's wrong". As long as the gap, heat range, and resistance through the plug are the same, it doesn't matter if the plug is a Delco that cost $0.99 or a Bosch that cost $5...it just simply doesn't matter. People give spark plugs too much credit. Changing the gap changes the voltage which builds at the plug before the gas ionizes and becomes conductive, thus creating the spark. If the gap is too small, you won't create a decent sized kernel (flame of burning air and fuel at the spark) and your combustion will run slow, and if the gap is too big, then you might not have the available voltage in your system at high rpms to ionize the gas at all, thus causing a misfire. Basically folks, don't ga your plugs. Check to make sure that the ones you buy are actually at the correct gap (which they will be 99.9% of the time), and if they're not, take them back. Quite honestly, gapping plugs reduces their lifespan. You end up bending the tip so that it is no longer parallel to the electrode. The spark will form between the sharpest point on the tip and the sharpest point on the electrode which are the closest together. By bending the tip, you have significantly reduced the amount of material which is at a constant distance from the electrode. The spark will form at one end all the time and eat the plug up.
The resistance of the plug simply changes the magnitude of the current flowing through the gap, and the heat range changes the heat of the tip of the plug itself by changing the length of the insulator on the plug...higher compression engines need colder plugs to prevent detonation, but you want to run the hottest plug you can without detonation as the heat the plug helps induce to the air/fuel mixture improves combustion quality (look at the thermodynamics of the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel and you'll see why)
Anyway, the long and short of your issue is this....the only two ways to increase your bottom end torque from an engine mechanics standpoint and still have your motor breath properly at higher revs is to reduce the duration of your cam relative to the displacement, or increase the lobe separation angle. The first can be accomplished either with a shorter duration cam or a stroker motor. The second will accomplish the goal by spreading out the power you are currently making over a wider power band. Your peak torque and peak horsepower will be farther apart, and the peak numbers will be lower, but you will gain low end power. The problem with messing with the duration/displacement ratio is that your motor will fall on it's face at a lower rpm than it does right now....you lose top end. You can't have your cake and eat it to, assuming you want this thing streetable :D
Oh, there is one other thing you can do, but it's expensive and *should* require new pistons (if properly built), and that's to put a supercharger on it. You'll start making boost off idle there, but your bottom end will still be worse than your top end.
Quote:
Start by losing the Bosch Platinums and put in a set of NGK TR-55ix iridium plugs. Or stock AC 41-906 plugs. They can say what they want about the stock plugs, but they do give the best low end torque.
Um, I don't know what to say to this other than "wow...that's wrong". As long as the gap, heat range, and resistance through the plug are the same, it doesn't matter if the plug is a Delco that cost $0.99 or a Bosch that cost $5...it just simply doesn't matter. People give spark plugs too much credit. Changing the gap changes the voltage which builds at the plug before the gas ionizes and becomes conductive, thus creating the spark. If the gap is too small, you won't create a decent sized kernel (flame of burning air and fuel at the spark) and your combustion will run slow, and if the gap is too big, then you might not have the available voltage in your system at high rpms to ionize the gas at all, thus causing a misfire. Basically folks, don't ga your plugs. Check to make sure that the ones you buy are actually at the correct gap (which they will be 99.9% of the time), and if they're not, take them back. Quite honestly, gapping plugs reduces their lifespan. You end up bending the tip so that it is no longer parallel to the electrode. The spark will form between the sharpest point on the tip and the sharpest point on the electrode which are the closest together. By bending the tip, you have significantly reduced the amount of material which is at a constant distance from the electrode. The spark will form at one end all the time and eat the plug up.
The resistance of the plug simply changes the magnitude of the current flowing through the gap, and the heat range changes the heat of the tip of the plug itself by changing the length of the insulator on the plug...higher compression engines need colder plugs to prevent detonation, but you want to run the hottest plug you can without detonation as the heat the plug helps induce to the air/fuel mixture improves combustion quality (look at the thermodynamics of the combustion of a hydrocarbon fuel and you'll see why)
Anyway, the long and short of your issue is this....the only two ways to increase your bottom end torque from an engine mechanics standpoint and still have your motor breath properly at higher revs is to reduce the duration of your cam relative to the displacement, or increase the lobe separation angle. The first can be accomplished either with a shorter duration cam or a stroker motor. The second will accomplish the goal by spreading out the power you are currently making over a wider power band. Your peak torque and peak horsepower will be farther apart, and the peak numbers will be lower, but you will gain low end power. The problem with messing with the duration/displacement ratio is that your motor will fall on it's face at a lower rpm than it does right now....you lose top end. You can't have your cake and eat it to, assuming you want this thing streetable :D
Oh, there is one other thing you can do, but it's expensive and *should* require new pistons (if properly built), and that's to put a supercharger on it. You'll start making boost off idle there, but your bottom end will still be worse than your top end.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 253
Likes: 0
From: Strongsville Ohio
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (eagleone)
Stroke it, no wild cams, loose torque converters. You can have a VERY friendly engine with more torque than you'll ever need. 396 cu in for example. :steering:
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 1,759
Likes: 0
From: Round Rock,Austin, Texas
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (95AquaC4)
I know you said you didn't want to change gears, however, I too have an A4 and I went with 3:54's. It has great snap off the line, and no drivability issues.
Converter and gears man, the way to go. I am puttin in hot cam soon too :thumbs:
Drifting
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 1,407
Likes: 0
From: Houston TX
Re: How do I get more torque from my LT1? (88-406)
If you want torque add Nitrous. 460 with mods listed. :steering:
Gears do not change your torque - it just feel like it. :skep:
[Modified by red-y, 9:04 AM 1/18/2003]
Gears do not change your torque - it just feel like it. :skep:
[Modified by red-y, 9:04 AM 1/18/2003]
