electric water pump
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 621
Likes: 2
From: Stillwater Minnesota
electric water pump
Anybody in here run an electric water pump on their ls1? I ran on my LT1 and liked it quite a bit. However, it cost me bout the same as a regular pump. The LS1's are a bloody fortune. Is it worth it?
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,353
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From: Dyer, IN
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
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From: At the beach in little Rhody
I looked into it. Two issues I found were the Meziere pumps 55 GPM (open) which is less than stock at above approximately 5,000 RPM. So if you are pumping less, I was worried about cooling the rear cylinders. Secondly, they don't have a very good reliability for street driving from what I have seen and would worry about getting stuck out on the road.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,025
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From: Valdosta GA
I've been running one for about three years now. No problems at all. My Vette is a daily driver with South Georgia heat so it certainly comes in handy in the summer months. In combination with the Dewitt's radiator, I rarely see temps over 180.
It has worked well for me.
It has worked well for me.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,353
Likes: 1,125
From: Dyer, IN
I've been running one for about three years now. No problems at all. My Vette is a daily driver with South Georgia heat so it certainly comes in handy in the summer months. In combination with the Dewitt's radiator, I rarely see temps over 180.
It has worked well for me.
It has worked well for me.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,025
Likes: 2
From: Valdosta GA
No, actually I changed the waterpump first when I was replacing the engine (lets just say I had a bad experience with the local chevy dealer and needed to replace the block). The elec. WP helped my situation because I had been having some cooling issues with the new SC installation (had to change the anlge of the radiator with my SC kit so the airflow wasn't moving as smoothly through the radiator as normal).
After a while, I decided to change the radiator too which further helped. The WP does especially good in traffic and in-town driving (you can actually watch the engine temp drop as you are sitting at a traffic light). The radiator helps in my situation with road driving because of the altered radiator angle needed for my SC kit.
After a while, I decided to change the radiator too which further helped. The WP does especially good in traffic and in-town driving (you can actually watch the engine temp drop as you are sitting at a traffic light). The radiator helps in my situation with road driving because of the altered radiator angle needed for my SC kit.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,464
Likes: 2
From: Cedarburg, WI
I am doing a head/cam/intake/ud pulley this spring and after reading a lot I decided to do a DeWitt's radiator and Meziere EWP at the same time. My car is not a daily driver and usually only driven weekends and at the strip. 
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Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,185
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From: NJ
Quick question, didn't the Impala SS's come with electric pumps? I know they were LT1's but does Chevy make an electric pump for the LS engines?
Ive heard some folks have issues with MEP's having short life spans.
Ive heard some folks have issues with MEP's having short life spans.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,353
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From: Dyer, IN
Was there something unique about the Impala? It certainly had the most generous engine compartment of all the LT1 equipped cars. To the best of my knowledge, the water pump on the LT1 was driven off the camshaft gear.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 1,320
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From: NW Chicago
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15
I researhed this a little since I must swap out a leaking one on my 99. What I found is an electic is good for drag racing because you can have it run along with the electric fans between runs to cool ya. As someone posted. the mechanical water pump is better if one is road racing, it flows better at higher rpms.
Team Owner
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 22,185
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From: NJ
Not 100% sure but for some reason I thought these cars had electric pumps. I remember the big deal was reverse flow cooling and electric pumps. I never had one and like I said, not positive they actually had them.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
I would not recommend one for anyone on a DD or one that sees a lot of drive-time throughout the year. They are expensive and I don't trust the long-term reliability. The average belt driven pump goes for years and besides, other than the ability to operate it while the engine is off, what real benefit is it to the average street driven car? If it's hp, then there are other (more reliable) ways to gain hp that small.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Dyer, IN
Yeah, well....I'm thinking...no. All the reverse flow cooling involved was cooling the heads first, then the block. My guess is you are mistaken, because the water pump on an LT1 was not driven from the belt.....much like an electric water pump.
Race Director
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 11,060
Likes: 291
From: Pasco WA
I bought a used one (Meziere) pretty cheap a couple of years ago. I was on a slow car-show cruise in +100 deg. and it never got above 200,so I guess it does the job. Probably wouldn't have bought one for retail.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,025
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From: Valdosta GA
I would not recommend one for anyone on a DD or one that sees a lot of drive-time throughout the year. They are expensive and I don't trust the long-term reliability. The average belt driven pump goes for years and besides, other than the ability to operate it while the engine is off, what real benefit is it to the average street driven car? If it's hp, then there are other (more reliable) ways to gain hp that small.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Like I posted before, I've used mine on a daily driver for over three years now and have not had a problem (I've got about 30K miles on my Vette since then). The biggest advantage is in the flow capacity at lower rpm's (I didn't do it for the 10 to 15 horsepower they claim). While it is true that the mechanical one will flow better at higher rpm's, the electric one flows a constant rate at lower rpm's giving you an advantage in normal (daily) driving situations. Other than on a roadcourse or all out drag racing, how often are you really over 5000 rpm?