how hard can an LS1 swap be???
Discussion
was wondering why eveyone seems to think that it is a hard job to swap an LS1 engine into a TVR CHIMAERA????i am still no 100% sure of what to do.i have around 5k$$$ to spend on my car.so option 1 put a blower,option 2 put a TVR 5 litres,option 3 an LS1.i am looking at around 270 to 350hp.a 4 litres like mine will make around 280hp to 300hp with a blower.a 5 litres makes 270 to 300 N/A.an LS1 makes a good 340hp out of the boxe and will be super reliable.so i pissed a lot of guys in the TVR forum with all my questions but u have to understand.i live in KL malaysi.here nobody tune V8 in fact nobody drives V8 around here.so all ur comments and help are welcome.cheers
ok BOOSTED the think is if i use my 4 litres i might one day want more power.so will be better to start with a bigger engine like the 5 litres and maybe one day put a blower.the thing is my engine is in pretty good condition and i dont think someone will buy it here or in UK.what kind of power u think the 4 litres can take with blower+intercooler etc...i am not too greedy i am looking to get better torque and at least 80hp i just want it to be reliable like how it is now.i miss my turbo kick so i would really like to have a bit of that.i imagine that a V8+supercharger must be a fun car to have.i never try so cant tell.what do u think i should do.if one of the TVR forum brother comes here and see that i ask again this question i am cyber dead ahahah dont tell SILICONE KID ahahah
OP, stick with the 4.0 as it'll like to rev. Also, you may find the 5.0 has a higher compression to start with so it won't like as much boost. Your 4.0 will probably be on 9.35 to one if using land rover stock pistons. This means it'll be happy with 7 psi boost without any modification internally. That's a fairly large amount of air being crammed into the engine and it won't be stressed either.
I was pushing chevy conversions eons ago before anybody here had heard of them but they're to expensive for most people unless you start cutting corners. They do break as the pistons are fragile. They are good engines but if you don't want huge gains then there's no point into going to all the hassle of a conversion. You can bolt on some boost, remap and be done with it. If anything breaks just get some more rover parts, easy.
I was pushing chevy conversions eons ago before anybody here had heard of them but they're to expensive for most people unless you start cutting corners. They do break as the pistons are fragile. They are good engines but if you don't want huge gains then there's no point into going to all the hassle of a conversion. You can bolt on some boost, remap and be done with it. If anything breaks just get some more rover parts, easy.
Boosted LS1 said:
I was pushing chevy conversions eons ago before anybody here had heard of them but they're to expensive for most people unless you start cutting corners. They do break as the pistons are fragile. They are good engines but if you don't want huge gains then there's no point into going to all the hassle of a conversion. You can bolt on some boost, remap and be done with it. If anything breaks just get some more rover parts, easy.
Not so familiar with the LS1 but fragile in comparison to what? Thought the stock motor was good for 10-12 psi and 700ish hp before #7 conrod gave way, going off what the boosted guys on LS1tech.com are running. Stock block copes with at least a thousand. Love to hear about some stock internals brit engines that happily run over 700hp boosted. Edited by aventino68 on Saturday 9th October 05:39
They're fragile because the top ring land is very thin when compared to more robust and primitive engines before them. One whiff of detonation and the pistons are prone to cracking, sometimes cracking the block with it. That's a very expensive loss if it happens. The stock lsx ecu/pcm does a good job of protecting against knock under normal conditions but it's not the easiest pcm to map in the UK and certainly not in Malaysia. If using an aftermarket ecu for mapping it won't have the inbuilt maps the stock pcm has. So, you take a risk. A rover is stronger then an lsx in the upper ring lands because it's more agricultural 
bit like the buick. Rover liners don't crack either.
As for Brit engines, they're are plenty that have broken but nobody shouts about it. They're either proper racing atmo engines or supercharged engines on the street. It's not rods that are at fault but pistons and temperature issues which bring you back to detonation.
bit like the buick. Rover liners don't crack either.As for Brit engines, they're are plenty that have broken but nobody shouts about it. They're either proper racing atmo engines or supercharged engines on the street. It's not rods that are at fault but pistons and temperature issues which bring you back to detonation.
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