Slowridr

Check this link out for some background on my situation which is posted on this forum in another thread.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-tech-performance/4039621-2006-no-mods-oil-pressure-warning-this-morning.html#post1595794379

So I know I can go so many directions when rebuilding this engine. I am not sure what I really want as a final product.

I figured Ill list some things I can think off right off the top. I would like feedback from you all because I know some of ya'll have gone in all sorts of directions and may like or dislike the results or at least have some strong feelings on what you did and what it cost. So here goes:

• Not going to track the car
• Will do some long distance cruising
• Not a daily driver
• Like the sound of a mild lope
• Love torque
• Do not like a loud exhaust
• Like good gas mileage but would give up some mileage for more power
• Don't know what I want to budget yet
• Ill have more ideas of what I want as I see what your experience has been

Thanks

jaredtxrx

OEM rebuild with a mild cam. Full Z06 exhaust. Nice tune.
That will give you more power and possibly even better gas mileage.

Ragtop 99

pretty hard to answer without a budget, but assuming you are going low cost and willing to get a tune, the above advice is good. Even if you don't replace the exhaust, a mild cam and a tune will make a nice difference in torque and top end power.

Slowridr

I like where you all are going. Been looking at the stock Z06 exhaust systems for sale. I think I will pick one up. It looks like I need a pre 2012 system because of the cats. Is that correct?

Cam is going to be really important for me. I really want a nice lope/choppy idle. Been looking at sound clips on YT and I think I want a slightly larger than mild cam. What is' the biggest I can get without having to change out lifters, springs, etc? Should I figure that's gonna need to happen regardless of what cam I switch to?

I do plan on tuning the car to get the most out of the changes.

Thoughts?

I've been searching to see feedback on the LG cams because I see more of them on YT that sound really nice. Haven't had much luck. Ill keep searching.

dmaxx3500

find a cam that works,,not a choppy one,look at what proven combos are and do that

Slowridr

Ill definitely keep looking, I am sure somene on the forum has had similar goals and worked things out to meet their needs.

Huncle J

Talk to whoever will be tuning your car, probably not as important with a mild NA build.
Also, will u be rebuilding or somebody else?

Slowridr

Somebody else will be doing the work. Not 100% sure yet how the warranty company will handle this. The shop thinks that they will locate an engine from an auto recycler and have it installed or cut a check for the amount of a used engine plus labor to get it installed. Im calling Monday to find out.

This thread has really put me at ease as far as my hopes in finding what I was looking for in a mild cam with some lope. The cam is called a G5X1. I also saw someone in that thread give the same advice you did about talking to the tuner 1st before purchasing the cam.

Here's the thread

http://https://www.corvetteforum.com...options-2.html

There is a video posted by LG Motorsports regarding their G5X1 cam. I would be more than pleased if the tuner can get everything dialed in while leaving my car sounding like this. My car is a 6-speed so I think it will make things even easier making the cam work than the auto the OP had that was looking for help in that thread.


The searches are starting to payoff. This thread addresses a car like mine. Look at post #6.

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...ing-a-cam.html

Ragtop 99

This is correct. Cam the car based upon your performance goals and the limitations of the mods you will run. The sound you want is a tuning issue, not a cam size issue. If you want a choppy idle, simply reduce the idle speed. Even a mild cam will have a lope at the stock idle speed.

Slowridr

Keep it coming guys I really appreciate the input! As you can tell all of this is new to me. I'm starting to see that tuning and making sure the tuner knows what my goals are are the most important issues... most certainly I want a choppy idol but also I want the car to be drivable so it looks like a mild cam will work for me according to the reading I've done over at the LG Motorsports site and some of the threads Ive found on here and the LS1 site.

I've found an LS7 takeoff exhaust so that's the first thing accomplished. I've contacted the shop where my car is this morning to get the name of the tuner to talk to him.

Can anyone recommend good tuners in the Atlanta area?

I guess I'l call LG and the folks at Brian Tooley racing to talk cams. Do any of you LS2 guys have specific cam recommedations considering what you'e read here?

I'd love to hear from folks that have one of these cams or a comparable cam in their car.

Ragtop 99

I'll suggest that you contact Patrick G. For $25 he has a questionnaire that you fill out and he gives a recommendation. I guarantee you that he has done a number of cams for LS motors using stock manifolds.
https://www.guerragroup.com/camshaft-help

From my own experience, I'd suggest something around 0 overlap. (e.g., 224/230 113 for a more torque oriented cam or 224/234 115 for a more top end orientated cam). There are endless variations, which is why using someone like Patrick is good. Otherwise you'll end up obsessing over minor variations in cam specs.

If the heads are off, you can bump the compression a bit and that will impact the recommendation and the amount of advance to use.

Slowridr

Ill be giving him a call.

Thanks for the reccomemdation.

Huncle J

A lower lsa will give more lope and more grunt down low but can be a little trickier to tune...

or just listen to Pat G

Slowridr

I don't think I mentioned this earlier in the thread but after talking with the warranty company they informed me that I have a couple choices

-they would purchase a recycled engine from a place like LKQ or

-if I found a recycled engine I could go that way or

-take whatever the budget ends up being and do the whole thing myself.​​​​​​

Whatever I decide though has to have a warranty from the supplier. I have had zero luck finding a stock crate LS2 long block. Gohlen Engines up in New Hampshire said that they had some left over GM LS2 blocks and parts and could put something together for me. He also suggested that if I got the engine up there to him he may be able to rebuild that engine for a more reasonable price. He wants to talk to the mechanic first to get an idea if the block can be saved.

I'm not really looking to spend a whole bunch of money here. I want to try to fit whatever I do within the budget that I end up with from the warranty company. I won't be able to find that out until the warranty company sends their person over to look at the car. After that happens I want to be ready to go either this way or that depending on what the money is but as of now It looks like a recycled engine is the least expensive and most likely to fit their budget.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F202053805332

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F162715126977

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F142486901509

There are maybe 3 or 4 others but the mileage is higher or they are comparable to these.

I need more options for going my own route and having my engine rebuilt or finding a stock LS2 longblock

Any suggestions from you all?

Not feeling very optimistic at this point hopefully with more info coming regarding the budget Ill feel better.

Slowridr

After thinking on this a little more one thing I can do is be proactive about finding the least expensive way to build myself a long block. It may be a combination of building a short block and rebuilding my heads or finding a cheap set of LS2 heads that have been rebuilt. I'm open to any suggestions you all have along that train of thought.

Slowridr

So I call Summit and asked them to find me a stock rotating assembly they in turn called Eagle and Scat to see if there was anything like that available anywhere because Summit didn't have it. Both places told him there are no stock rotating assemblies being made for the LS2.

He told me he could put one together ala carte... the crankshaft is $975 the rods are $364 the pistons are $370. After that I may have to have block work done and at the least have the assembly balanced. By that time I would be at least $1700 into it plus the cost of balancing and minimal block work.

The least expensive rotating assembly from Eagle that would work for the LS2 would be just under $2200 and it would require boring out the block a little bit.

I guess right now I need to confirm what kind condition my block is in.

Huncle J

if you are gonna rebuild, build it! Spend a little more and get better than stock parts.

darknit

when my ls2 mn6 z51 was n/a I had a 231/235 617/623 113 +3 cam in it and loved it... plenty of lope and great mpgs...

now I have a built ls2 with k1 forged crank and rods, and wiseco forged pistons... coated race bearings... arp bolts/studs everywhere... lingenfelter oil pump... 234/246 612/595 116+4 cam for boosted applications... a&a v3-t supercharger... kooks headers/catless mids/borla mufflers... and a million other parts($30k+ doing most everything myself )

ruxvette

A lopey cam, quiet exhaust, and more torque don't go together IMHO.

redbird555

Let’s be real here, the ls2 in its stock form isn’t all that competitive nowadays. From what it sounds like the OP would be happy with a stock ls3 and a mild cam. Much more torque and power and a small cam will lobe. He’ll also have near own reliability.

I would source a used ls3 longblock, buy a lingefelter reluctor wheel conversion box and a mild cam. If you find one on the forums the engine swap could be pretty economical