How much truth in this advice against engine mods?

[OHIOSS]

I have been emailing back and forth to a guy trying to get advice on engine mods to my LS3. I asked his opinion on the Livernois 2C cam kit among other mods to increase HP. He was offering me some good advice and then he shocked me with this latest email. Kind of burst my bubble on doing HP mods to my car.

I'm sure there are two sides to the story but after reading this from a very experienced guy sure has me thinking if I really want to take the risk to do the mods.
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The most important piece of info I can give you is that these modifications rarely go without problems. That's how I got started in my car obsession. It started with just rims, then just springs then etc.

Most of the money was spent chasing problems. Plenty of problems. I am on my 3rd motor. The original motor threw a connecting rod through the block, the second race spec motor was tuned incorrectly and was rebuilt by the shop at no charge. The third motor is in the car now and we'll see how it holds up. I rebuilt my last motor as no shops were qualified to do the work in my opinion. If you want it done right you have to do it yourself.

Tunes can be good or bad. when they are bad the motor fails. Every shop is an expert when it comes to tuning until your engine fails and you really find out they had no idea what they were doing. Shops are trial and error. I now tune my own cars because I couldn't find a good tuner.

Your warranty will be void. No dealer will touch your car.

It's best just to buy a faster car and leave it alone. Modifying is just one big headache.

[BowlingSS]

Go with the ZL1.

Bill

[mikeSS]

there is some truth in that modding can be a headache. but for the most part if you go to a well known shop with the right tune and right parts plus install you should be fine. modding cars is a expensive hobby and its not for everyone.

also the Ls3 is a solid engine to mod.

[kiteman]

problem is if the dealer won't fix it and you aren't prepared to pay someone big bucks to fix issues if they arise, is that you'll have to learn to do them on your own. while you can learn a lot and it can be fun, most of the time it's just a PITA.

[ron10]

the secret to increased HP is to have the work done by someone that actually knows what they are doing.

[Smirnoff]

There are several Chevrolet dealers who will install high-performance modifications & provide warranty service.....

Keep in mind - a reputable high-performance shop with many years of experience will stand behind their work in providing total customer satisfaction. The bad news is there are some that are not as experienced and/or reputable.....DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

[Dukes117]

Originally Posted by ron10

the secret to increased HP is to have the work done by someone that actually knows what they are doing.

Bingo!

[molsonbrador]

Originally Posted by ron10

the secret to increased HP is to have the work done by someone that actually knows what they are doing.

+1

[Dukes117]

May I ask if this person is a sponsor of the site? He is for the most part correct on his claims, but if he's on his 3rd motor, the shop he's using/used doesn't know what the f*** they're doing.

[calbert1999]

Not a subject a lot of people will want to talk about, however, the man is telling you like it is brother. He's not sugar coating anything. Either you have the stomach for it when it all goes to hell or you don't. Poke around this forum long enough and you'll read enough horror stories about motors that blew up after they were modified or other parts that broke because they couldn't stand up to all that new found power.

However, with that said, I haven't heard about anyone's LS3 blow up after a CAM job. Most of the failed motors were supercharged, and regardless of what anyone tells you the LS3 is not built for boost, if you supercharge it you're taking a risk unless you gut the internals. Supercharging works out well for some folks who take the leap, and not so good for others.
The bottom line is playing with engines or pushing them to the max is risky, and some blow up it's the luck of the draw regardless of skill, tune or parts. Could be a tank of bad gas or a defective part, or someone had a bad day and put a -1 instead of a +1 in the table and good bye LS3.

I watch NASCAR races all the time, and almost every race at least one engine blows up, and that car has the very best of parts and skilled labour, but yet they still blow up.

Trick is; With the costs associated with mods nowadays you have to find a good cost benefit medium that's safe, and that's not easy to do. If you know you can have 200hp. or 100hp. for the same price tag you're going to want more not less because there may be less expensive ways to get less power. Right?

It's a catch 22 go for the gusto' and it's all good or kaboom not so good.

I've seen 2 exact vehicles, same year, same shop, same SC's, same parts, same tuner, same power; One engine still going strong other one in pieces on the shop floor. Go figure.

If you're going to do it, there's no guarantees so find a good shop, ask a lot of questions, get good parts, try to have contingencies for the worse case scenario.

If you can't afford the risks associated (re-build existing engine or buy a replacement), stay away and enjoy the stock LS3 under warranty.

As far as the guy giving you advice; You'll notice the people that have nothing to lose or gain from your decision are usually the ones who will give you the straight goods in an honest attempt to help.

[leviticus88]

My advice.

Don't trust what anyone says: including shops, forum members, dealers, santa claus, or the guy next door with a faster car.

Do your own research. Learn how these things work and what modifying them actually does. If someone tells you something back it up from another source and learn how and why they are right or wrong. Rely on yourself to determine fact from fiction and just plain BS. Learn the correct terminology and use it. Avoid car movies like the plague.

If you have very little automotive experience, it's going to take a long time and lots of reading and research but in the end the results will be worth it. Most of this stuff isn't really complicated, it just takes time and effort to educate yourself and make smart decisions based on your needs and what you KNOW to be true.

Follow the money when considering shop's claims and package results.

If you do your homework, it will be very easy to decide what you want/need for your own vehicle and can compare this with your finances and mechanical skill sets. This is also very helpful if you decide to use a mechanic for installs because when talking with different people you can determine for yourself if they have a clue or not.

Forums can be a great tool but understand that the responses you get about questions are opinion and usually all talk with little actual facts or experience. Most people on these forums have zero idea what they are talking about but seem to know it all. I have noticed this especially on forums based on cars and platforms that cost more to own and modify. They seem to throw money around and forget to do the homework and then get screwed by shops selling snake oil and magic electric superchargers and hp chips.

Determine which members on the forums and the contacts you meet along the way know what they are talking about and share the same goals as you without the BS. Be-friend these people and learn from them and be respectful.

Sometimes the truth hurts and the right direction is rarely the cheapest option.

Nobody knows everything and the majority know nothing.

Get a baseline dyno of your car as close to stock as possible before starting any modifications and weigh the effectiveness of your future mods against this baseline using the same dyno.

Keep things simple and clean and always keep on eye on the vehicle as it ages and the weather changes.

Invest in quality engine monitoring tools such as a wideband AFR, EGT, scanner, etc. This is not optional and not a place to save money.

Warranties and high HP don't mix and quality maintenance is key.

Learn how to drive the vehicle correctly based on your needs, goals and uses and invest in the Driver Mod. After all, these things can't drive themselves. Yet...

Enjoy yourself and your hobby and do everything because you want to and not because someone else did.

[calbert1999]

@leviticus88; Some really good points and straight talk.

[Pentatonic]

All mods carry some risk. A cam package from Livernois shouldn't be unreasonably high risk for the "big HP" upgrades. Once you start boosting these motors without corresponding internal engine upgrades, your risk is higher. That is unless you've got a warranty with a supercharger package which some shops and companies offer (check out the Edelbrock E-Force warranty).

[DandD]

RIGHT ON leviticus88 truer words have never been spoken!!!!!