403 L92 build w/ Ed Hutchings
08-18-2008, 12:17 PM
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
403 L92 build w/ Ed Hutchings
I finally made the 3 hour ride down to Ed's to pickup the car today. Ed was doing some final tuning on it and had it strapped down on his famously "unhappy" DynoJet. Ed repinned the PCM and installed a 99+ unit with it's better tuning capabilities. He also replaced a defective Racetronics fuel pump that was not picking up the last 3 gallons of gas for some reason. Ed also installed the 3rd cam (by BRE) we've had in this build along with a set of PAC's new 1521 springs. These are nitrited for longer life and good for .700 lift.
No one involved thought we'd pickup anything significant on top but thought there might be a little left under the curve. The new cam is several degrees of overlap smaller but has MUCH more lift. We traded duration for area.
This is the chart from this morning and from the last cam.
We did see improvement in the 3500-5000RPM range but the real story is the improved drivability on the new setup. From just off idle to 6800 the car pulls hard. Ed and I drove the car around Portsmouth today cruising at 20-25MPH in 3rd gear with no inkling of bucking or surging. Rolling along in 6th at 900RPM and pulling away cleanly without downshifting to pass. What has been an incredibly mild 500+ RWHP car is now even more docile with a few more ponies to boot. I got a real chance to appreciate how well the car drives on the 5 hour bumper-to-bumper beach traffic ride back from Ed's.
In testing the three cams and 2 sets of heads in this build we proved several things. The L92/LS3 builds can make good power but prefer to do it with smaller cams. Great mid-range power is to be had with moderate compression. My car is currently running 11:4. It made less power at 12:1 which limited the amount of spark lead that could be run. These heads like timing. Ed pulled mine off the dyno today at 30 degrees of lead. Ed and I agree that once you get the valve events close you're really limited strongly by the intake.
That's about all the "taking one for the team" I've got in me on this build. I think I'll wait until someone else proves one of the new intakes - if they ever come out - before I do anything else here. It's been fun but I think it's time I drive the damn car..
Thanks again Ed! (Ed Hutchings - Automotive Technologies Portsmouth, VA aka "the Horsepower Factory"
Kevin
No one involved thought we'd pickup anything significant on top but thought there might be a little left under the curve. The new cam is several degrees of overlap smaller but has MUCH more lift. We traded duration for area.
This is the chart from this morning and from the last cam.
We did see improvement in the 3500-5000RPM range but the real story is the improved drivability on the new setup. From just off idle to 6800 the car pulls hard. Ed and I drove the car around Portsmouth today cruising at 20-25MPH in 3rd gear with no inkling of bucking or surging. Rolling along in 6th at 900RPM and pulling away cleanly without downshifting to pass. What has been an incredibly mild 500+ RWHP car is now even more docile with a few more ponies to boot. I got a real chance to appreciate how well the car drives on the 5 hour bumper-to-bumper beach traffic ride back from Ed's.
In testing the three cams and 2 sets of heads in this build we proved several things. The L92/LS3 builds can make good power but prefer to do it with smaller cams. Great mid-range power is to be had with moderate compression. My car is currently running 11:4. It made less power at 12:1 which limited the amount of spark lead that could be run. These heads like timing. Ed pulled mine off the dyno today at 30 degrees of lead. Ed and I agree that once you get the valve events close you're really limited strongly by the intake.
That's about all the "taking one for the team" I've got in me on this build. I think I'll wait until someone else proves one of the new intakes - if they ever come out - before I do anything else here. It's been fun but I think it's time I drive the damn car..
Thanks again Ed! (Ed Hutchings - Automotive Technologies Portsmouth, VA aka "the Horsepower Factory"
Kevin
Last edited by WKMCD; 08-18-2008 at 12:30 PM.
09-04-2008, 05:38 PM
#5
Race Director
Thread Starter
I've been driving the car for a couple of weeks now. Drove it 640 miles total on the Carlisle weekend alone. MPG picked up about 3.5 overall with the new cam and tuning. The amazing thing is how the car drives. I can cruise in 6th down to 600rpm and cleanly pull out and pass. I put it in 6th gear and drive it like an auto. Bumper to bumper DC rush hour is no more problem than with a stock M6 car. Tip in is NUTZZZ. Tap the gas at 1500RPM and it blows the tires up. Mrs. WKMCD thinks that car runs as well as it did when I first got it - STOCK!!!. 
The combination of the Bret Bauer cam and Ed's great work on the PCM swap and tuning really made this project turn out great.
The combination of the Bret Bauer cam and Ed's great work on the PCM swap and tuning really made this project turn out great.
Last edited by WKMCD; 09-04-2008 at 05:42 PM.
02-25-2009, 08:44 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
what's the best way to get a hold of Ed? I'm not sure if he has an e-mail he checks regularly...and I really don't want to have to read the whole thing over the phone :-)
02-25-2009, 08:53 PM
#15
Race Director
Thread Starter
02-25-2009, 09:58 PM
#16
Melting Slicks
I have now :-)
I can never remember his forum name...I had Ed work on my car last year and he did an awesome job. when you first get into a C5 you think there can't be a faster car, then it spends some time with Ed and its amazing what can get done. My car feels so much stronger now than it did before, he really did great work and I'd like him to do so more!
I can never remember his forum name...I had Ed work on my car last year and he did an awesome job. when you first get into a C5 you think there can't be a faster car, then it spends some time with Ed and its amazing what can get done. My car feels so much stronger now than it did before, he really did great work and I'd like him to do so more!
02-26-2009, 09:19 AM
#17
Race Director
Thread Starter
I have now :-)
I can never remember his forum name...I had Ed work on my car last year and he did an awesome job. when you first get into a C5 you think there can't be a faster car, then it spends some time with Ed and its amazing what can get done. My car feels so much stronger now than it did before, he really did great work and I'd like him to do so more!
I can never remember his forum name...I had Ed work on my car last year and he did an awesome job. when you first get into a C5 you think there can't be a faster car, then it spends some time with Ed and its amazing what can get done. My car feels so much stronger now than it did before, he really did great work and I'd like him to do so more!
