2012 SS N/A Build
 

Ok guys here it goes. So, it all started when I bought my 2012 SS/RS with the l99 and automatic. When I got her, she was all stock except for a muffler delete and she had around 150k on the odometer. Other than that, she ran really well, and the oil looked like new inside, so I bought her in 4/2020 for a very good price of $12.500. It did have a front end and rear end impact where the bumper had a nice, crushed spot on both of them. Few miscellaneous chips and scratches here and there.

So, I drove it like that for about a year then got the bug to start modding. First thing was the exhaust. I got a full system for TSP 1 7/8 primaries with 3" pipe and cats. After that it was time to get more serious so, I went with a GPI SS1 cam with all the goodies. Car made like 415-420 whp with a remote tune form GPI and I wasn't satisfied. So, then I brought it to a local tuner her in Austin by the name of Exodus. The guy's name there is Tim and he got me 438 whp on a dyno tune. Then I was like oh yeah! So that's why I say the remote tune is a good way to get your car up and running but leaves a little on the table.

I drove it for a little over a year with a slight lifter tick that got louder and louder and finally after changing the lifters, getting new rockers, and even replacing the oil pump the ticking just seemed to get worse the longer I drove it. So I just couldn't take it anymore so decided to tear into it. And what I found made me feel better knowing what it was but with disgust. After my tuner took the heads off, we discovered that all the intake valves (I believe I'll have to double check on the picture because my tuner currently has it) had actually kissed all the pistons. Now I know what you're thinking how did that happen? Well, the shop that I first used to put the cam in had a problem when they went to first fire it up. It didn't start and seemed like it didn't have any compression. It got late so I went home and the next day they called me and said they had it running. I asked them what happened they said they had the timing off. At the time I didn't know what kind of damage it caused because now it was running really good just had that damn lifter tick. So, I willing to bet that when they had the "timing Off" it caused interference with the valves and pistons there for slightly bending all my valves. And also, you're probably wondering why I didn't see this when I changed the lifters and that would be a good question. The only thing I can think of is that I wasn't really looking for it and it didn't help that the tops of the pistons were all black at that time. Just really inexperience on my part not knowing what to look for I guess.

So now I'm faced with rebuilding the heads, replacing the pushrods. and the valve springs because it's about that time. With 170k mile I decided to go ahead and do a full rebuild now and build for some kind of boost down the road. Another thing I always wished I would have gone bigger on the cam and did a converter from the start so, that's what I'm going to do.

So, I had Exodus pull the engine for me and then took it to an awesome LS builder which I can't even name the guy or the shop because he likes to keep his shop off the map so he doesn't have everyone showing up at his door. He works alone and was 7 weeks out to build my engine but worth the wait after seeing his shop and current builds.

Now on to the parts list.
DSS FX Forged Pistons
Eagle Forged L19 Rods
Stock Balanced Crank
TSP PRC 260 CNC Ported Heads
.040 Cosmetic Head Gaskets
ARP Main Studs
ARP Head Studs
King Bearings
GPI SS3 VVT Camshaft
Chevrolet Performance Racing Lifters
Molly Pushrods
OEM Rockers with CHE Trunnions
Melling 10355HV Oil Pump
Fast 102 LSXR Intake Manifold
Nick Williams 103 Throttle Body
Fluid Dynamics Hormonic Balancer
Circle D 3600 Stall Converter
Mishimoto Radiator, Catch Can, and Oil Cooler

I have two more weeks before the machinist is done with the engine and I'm thinking that Exodus will take roughly a week to reinstall it. I'll keep you guys posted on what goes down next. Thanks for reading.

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Page #8 continues with the new ride!

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Damn that’s awesome and shitty at the same time. You are going to love it when you get it back.

Definitely! I'm another one that experienced problems with a build, now I'm running a cammed LS3 with a 3200 stall. Instead of rebuilding an L99 I just went right for a new crate haha


It's going to be awesome and you'll love it

Thanks guys I appreciate it.

Good luck with the rebuild. :popcorn:

Thank you.

Here's a couple pictures for now.
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Finally, I am defenitly going to subscribe to this build! Looks like it is going to be awesome build! :happyanim:

Thanks Vicster.

Right on joe !! Now you gonna have a stout bottom end .. any plans for boost ?

Yes sir I think I'll take a pro charger please.

::thumbup: Hell yeah !!

Well, the pistons that I got have a negative 5cc with the large valve reliefs in them. With a stock LS9 head gasket that puts me at around 10.3.1 compression and I'm shooting for 11.1 so, it looks like I'll be milling the heads .035 or so to get me there. The machinist said it won't affect the intake manifold fitment, I sure hope he's right.

Hello,

If you are planning to add boost I would not go above 10-1 compression. My LSA and 427ci are around 9.5-1 compression.

Do you know how much horsepower loss I would see N/A with 11.1 to 10.1 because that's a big decision for me? A full point of compression seems like it would be pretty big N/A. One thing is I don't know how far down the road boost will be in my future. It could be a year from now or three years. Another thing that I have to consider is the ring end gap. Will the bigger gap right now hurt anything like my cats and will it burn more oil?

Thanks Vic

I stole this from an old thread from 2009. Tell me if this does or does not make sense?
This issue comes up because when you lower compression ratio with a centrifugal supercharger, you disproportionately affect the low end of the power range. That is, the engine has lower power at pre-boost rpm, even though it is much more powerful at post-boost rpm. The solution would seem quite naturally to be higher compression with lower boost.

Ok so I've been reading up on compression versus boost applications and it seems like 10.1 to 11.1 is only about 20 hp. So I think that is acceptable to me and be able to run around 10psi safely (correct me if I'm wrong). But I've also read with a very good tune 11.1 is ok but again with a very good tune, which I have one of the best if not the best tuner in Austin. I just don't know how much boost I could run at 10.1 or 11.1. I know a lot of people run 10-12 lbs. of boost all the time on stock ls3's with the stock compression being at 10.7.1. Sorry just up late thinking about all of this

No problem, but be careful it can drive you crazy!
I get 20mpg on the highway with approx. 1100hp. I feel that dropping the power at low rpm helps with fuel economy and for street drivabilty. If I was building a drag car I would go turbos as the power off the line is lower and climbs with rpm's. Superchargers are great for the track they hit hard at lower rpms and fall off at higher rpm's. Also the higher the compression pressure rises so does the problems of knock and detonation.

Everyone has an idea on what they want for throttle response and power levels, which I think is great! Or we would all have the same thing... Just remember as your power levels go up, so does the requirements for drive train and suspension upgrades.

Like I said before that’s an insane amount of power for the road but unfortunately mine will be my daily so I'm not sure if yours is that streetable (and I'm not saying that yours isn't) . I Just want a fun ride for the moment and 500 whp might do it for me I'll just have to wait and see. Like you were saying all the other mods that I will have to do are a ways away anyway so I think that they are anyways but you never know what life will do for you. I think that I will go ahead with the 11.1 compression and if I decide to go boost I can always change the heads back to a stock height and then be back down to 10.3.1 or go with a 70cc chamber size foe more of a reduced compression ratio. Thanks for your input Vic I appreciate it.

If you know you are going to add forced air, go with the larger piston ring gap. I run large gaps 0.026" on top I am planning on 18 psi boost. But that depends on the heads and cam, as increased flow lowers the intake pressure. You only need to see one engine come apart due to rings being set to tight. Usually ends up being total engine loss.

Also centrilfugal blowers need a more specific cam profile to get the most out of it. With ported heads something like this.

https://cammotion.com/camshafts/cs-2...r-centrifugal/

Just remember this is just my personal feelings, ask 100 mechanics you will get 100 different answers.

That cam is really similar to the GPI SS3 vvt cam that I'm going to use. The SS3 vvt just has a bit more lift.

Sounds like you know what you want! That is the hardest thing to figure out!:thumbup: You are most welcome!

It has begun.
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Talked to machinist today and we discussed ring end gap. He set my worries at ease. I'm definitely new to the boost scene but was wondering if the 24/26 versus the traditional 18/20 N/A ring end gap would consume more oil or lose power and he said no. So, I went ahead and told him to do the 24/26 gaps for boost or maybe even nitrous later on. Now my block will be able to handle all
I want to through at it although I still have the stock crank being my only weak point, but it should hold up for a big number I just don't really know how much. Everything that I've read says it's capable of 900-1000 crank hp maybe a little more. That should be good for me because I don't think I even want that much power anyways, but you never know.

Awsome!!! :thumbup:

Haha.. man that block sure is purdy !! ..

Thank you sir.

For cooling I'm going to use the Mishimoto oil cooler kit (https://www.mishimoto.com/chevrolet-...2010-2015.html) (doing factory oil cooler delete) with a Tru Cool 40k tranny cooler and a Lingenfelter T-stat (https://www.summitracing.com/parts/LPE-L310155307). I think when I need to I will get a Mishimoto radiator too.

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Looking forward seeing this build! everything sounds amazing!

Thank you!

Dang, not sure how I missed your build thread…. :bonk::bonk: but I’m all caught up now! Looking forward to reading more as it comes along. Should have a very fun ride when your finished!

Thank you sir.

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Gonna be a spicy unit when it's all finished up! Looking forward to it!

Thanks Andrew.

Yeah this thing is gonna be good. What rwhp will you be shooting for and what injectors do you have?

I'm hoping for 500 whp but don't think I'll make it there but I have a really good tuner so we'll see. For the moment I'm on the stock fueling system.

What rpms are you trying to turn?

I think around 6700.