KB on a stock motor

[Smoky10]

I am thinking about installing a F/I cam and a KB 2.8L on my LS3, my question is that I've read where a bunch of guys can't really drive there cars very hard due to having F/I installed without having a forged bottom end. Is that the case or just people being overly careful?

[orange-prince]

i want to know that as well

[CC Performance]

Your going to get 2 school of thought on this.
Keep the boost low and the timing pulled and the intake temps under control and your could be ok for a while.

Get carried away and it wont last long.

The differences are not just in the piston material but in the compression as well.

And even then you have two school of thoughts. Conservative/reliable vs on the edge. Shops who sell a lot of of SC's on stock engines will always argue one way about it.
GM didn't just boost its LS2 or Ls3 engine, it built a whole new engine for their sc offering.

[woodside783]

u said for a while how long is that?

[Smoky10]

Originally Posted by CC Performance

Your going to get 2 school of thought on this.
Keep the boost low and the timing pulled and the intake temps under control and your could be ok for a while.

Get carried away and it wont last long.

The differences are not just in the piston material but in the compression as well.

And even then you have two school of thoughts. Conservative/reliable vs on the edge. Shops who sell a lot of of SC's on stock engines will always argue one way about it.
GM didn't just boost its LS2 or Ls3 engine, it built a whole new engine for their sc offering.

Oh ok, I was under the impression the LSA motor was just an LS3, but there are some internal differences?

Originally Posted by woodside783

u said for a while how long is that?

I'm sure that depends solely on the block.

[T-RO 2SS]

It depends solely on the Drivers rigth FOOT and BRAIN connection.

[IPSjeff]

If you are going to make sub 650rwhp (Which the KB will) and you don't plan on tracking the car twice a week it will last quite awhile IMO. That being said, a solid tune, frequent fluid checks/changes, and a bit of common sense in terms of how hard you drive the car how often will certainly extend things quite a bit.

For example, we have a client's Procharged + Cam + Headers SS that made over 650rwhp more than a year ago. He drives the car HARD. Tracks it often. Broke the Tranny. Broke the driveshaft. Broke the Diff. Ran it on slicks/skinny's and DR's on the street. I watched him hot-lap it on a private rental day like he was TRYING to break something lol.

To this day the engine is bone-stock and with Meth and twin-pump fuel system it made almost 700rwhp. I wouldn't expect this to happen every single time but it is working for him
Jeff

[radz28]

Originally Posted by Smoky10

Oh ok, I was under the impression the LSA motor was just an LS3, but there are some internal differences?

I'm sure that depends solely on the block.

Dragoneye made a Sticky in the Z28 Section with LSA specs', but to answer your question: yes - there are many desirable enhancements with LSA. Some quick ones are: forged crank, PM rods, upgraded hyper' pistons (not forged like LS9, but better than LS3), piston oil squirters, larger head bolts, upgraded roto-cast heads, additional layered head gaskets. These are just a few additional features of LSA. They've been run into the ground without failure. While I'd prefer to see more of LS9's forged components come over, LSA is certainly nothing to sneeze at. That baby should handle 600 RWHP without a problem (so long as the fuel and ignition systems are tuned accordingly). LSA also has a dual-mode fuel system, too, unlike LS3.

Originally Posted by IPSjeff

If you are going to make sub 650rwhp (Which the KB will) and you don't plan on tracking the car twice a week it will last quite awhile IMO. That being said, a solid tune, frequent fluid checks/changes, and a bit of common sense in terms of how hard you drive the car how often will certainly extend things quite a bit.

For example, we have a client's Procharged + Cam + Headers SS that made over 650rwhp more than a year ago. He drives the car HARD. Tracks it often. Broke the Tranny. Broke the driveshaft. Broke the Diff. Ran it on slicks/skinny's and DR's on the street. I watched him hot-lap it on a private rental day like he was TRYING to break something lol.

To this day the engine is bone-stock and with Meth and twin-pump fuel system it made almost 700rwhp. I wouldn't expect this to happen every single time but it is working for him
Jeff

That's saying something about the tuning!!!

[CC Performance]

Originally Posted by Smoky10

Oh ok, I was under the impression the LSA motor was just an LS3, but there are some internal differences?



I'm sure that depends solely on the block.

No the block is fine actually. When you build an engine for forced induction there are quite a few differences than when you build it for n/a.
Besides component material the bearing gaps are different and of course the compression.

No one can predict when an engine will fail but you can know when your pushing things beyond what they were built for.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Doing it is one thing, getting it to live for a long time is another. Then you have things like intake air temps that need to be controlled as well to add to the equation as well as the quality of the gas you just put in.

The cast piston used in these engines does not like to be treated unkindly either and when you get "pinging" under boost your doing damage as well.
There are a lot of things to consider to a reliable build, I like to take a conservative approach as it never hurt anyone to play it safe. Dancing with the devil will get you burned if your not very careful and I don't know to many people that can afford to throw money away.

[Smoky10]

Thank ya'll for the answers, that's what I needed to hear.

[ravensjeff]

Putting a SC on a stock motor is similar to, say, replacing your car stereo amp with a new Kick Ass 2000 Watt amp. Sounds/works good at lower levels, but will blow up the speakers when you crank it up.

[JANNETTYRACING]

Originally Posted by Smoky10

I am thinking about installing a F/I cam and a KB 2.8L on my LS3, my question is that I've read where a bunch of guys can't really drive there cars very hard due to having F/I installed without having a forged bottom end. Is that the case or just people being overly careful?

A 2.8 is considered a large blower for large HP numbers and in this case I would suggest A forged bottom End for the ultimate in reliability at over 650 RWHP.

Not that you can't install it and run it at 6 PSI for 100,000 miles but why run a big blower at 1/4 its ability.

You an choose a smaller blower at lower cost and do that.

We need to know what your goals are to make accurate recommendations.

Ted.

[mikepage0007]

running 2.8 kb w 3 3/4 pulley with cam kit -lpe fuel pump- @ 9.2 boost -89%duty cycle on kb 60lb injectors @wot...654 rwhp...i,ll post when it breaks...only time will tell..plan on 1/4 mile running about 3-4 times a year..

[Smoky10]

Originally Posted by mikepage0007

running 2.8 kb w 3 3/4 pulley with cam kit -lpe fuel pump- @ 9.2 boost -89%duty cycle on kb 60lb injectors @wot...654 rwhp...i,ll post when it breaks...only time will tell..plan on 1/4 mile running about 3-4 times a year..

How long have you had it on your car? What else have you broken so far? And how hard do you drive on normal basis?