Well, didn't get to enjoy my SS as long as I anticipated...

Sat for months at the tuner waiting for parts, install, and tune making around 580rwhp on 8 rib LSA boost district supercharger kit with Red Hot cam and full exhaust. Drive home was fine, first drive was fine, second drive after fueling with 93 octane like it's tuned for, blew the internals out the block on the interstate at only 5500rpm. Only 60k miles on the car and ran great before upgrades and the first drive, then kaboom out of nowhere. The tuner said the motor was healthy with good oil pressure during tuning so not sure what caused it as I don't drive past redline. I know we take a gamble with boost regardless but my boosted grandsport has been fine for years with 100 more rwhp than the SS. Only difference is it's a manual other than auto...figured it would've lasted awhile at that level, definitely more than 100 miles of drive time.

Anyway, been looking around at different builds on the forums. Any recommendations for blocks, rotating assemblies from reputable sources or reputable machine shops around the Mooresville, NC area? I'm more familiar with the Ford 4.6 and 5.0 platforms and never had to touch the internals on my C6 base, C5Z, or my C6GS setups so not experienced with internal work for these platforms.

 

Brother that sucks, and I'd be looking at logs and making calls to the tuner to make sure everything was truly good

AMS Racing took care of me on my 408, they are worth a look. Just one of many options- https://www.amsracing.net/products/a...er-short-block

you mentioned not yet being an LS expert. You're looking for Gen 4 motors. For easy alphabet soup 2008-2013 6.0 and 6.2 v8s. There is a bit more nuance to that, but those are roughly the year ranges. Motor codes to look for that will "work" include LY6, L76, L99, LS3, LSA

if your heads, intake and oil pan are good- you're money ahead on a short block

6.2 short blocks aren't too hard to find either. eBay has no less than a bajillion 6.2 variants listed for sale

 

I appreciate the response, I'll take a look.

Yeah, already called, drop off date back at the tuner is mid June so hopefully we'll get some better answers with what happened with the logs.

 

I did a lot of LS tuning and building too. Several FIs.

Hard to blow this platform. Tune has to be way off but can be done if you’re trying to blow one.

yeah any logs would be evidence if you’re looking.

 

Wow, that’s terrible. I’d search for a low mile LSA pull out and build it up from there. I was running 13 psi on my 09 CTS-V on 93 put 610 to the wheels. Next owner bumped up fuel system and tuned for e85, mid 600s all day.

 

An Eblend does help on a high compression FI conversion.

 

I ran my LS3 for several years with a boost limited to hold the max boost to 9.5 PSI = 750 WHP. I didn't run it hard when I had 93, only on E85.

I don't know what failed in yours but the factory sleeves are pathetically thin.

Here are pix of blocks with PowerBore sleeves and one with factory sleeves. The PB sleeves are bored out to 4.125" the maximum they recommend for boosted applications.

 

Who sleeved your block? I'm interested in a 4.125x4.00 motor as a next build

 

BES Racing Engines (founded in 1985 in Guilford, Indiana) is an elite, high-performance engine building shop owned and operated by Tony Bischoff. Widely known as the "Horsepower King," Bischoff and his team specialize in custom domestic \(V8\) engines for drag racing, truck pulling, and restorations.

Tony "The Horsepower King" Bischoff is a legendary engine builder and the founder of BES Racing Engines in St. Leon, Indiana. Known for dominating drag racing, truck pulling, and the Engine Masters Challenge, he has built a decades-long reputation for extracting massive, reliable horsepower from V8 engines.

They were great! Helped me to pick components that were appropriate for my use and to not overspend on things that I didn't need.

I already had a pair of heads which they were willing to use. DART Pro1 LS heads. Ferrea has a 40% off program for veterans so I bought the valves separately.

4.125" X 4" = 427. The PB sleeves are longer than factory sleeves to accomodate the increased stroke. Callies Compstar 8CW crank and Extreme rods.

I asked for the static CR to be in the 11 to 11.5 range. It came in at 11.375:1. Just right for a medium CSC on E85.

I used a block they provided, a 5.3L aluminum made in July of 2011.

They spec'd the oil pump (Melling) and tested the pump before installing it. There have been problems with NIB pumps not working right so they test every one before installing.

It fired up instantly and runs great!

 

Yes, I heard that about the pumps.