The LS1 oil-consumption problem...

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Originally posted by userfriendly:
edit...Judd; A mid 12 is about all you will get with 3/8 fuel line. [/QB]

Naaaa, 3/8s should at least get me to the mid 11s if not the low 11s/high10s. I already have enough mph to do high 11s if I could pull a good 60 foot {1.60 or so}.

As far as the mileage most LS1s seems to go, the piston slap and oil consumption that some folks tend to see does not seem to prevent the motors from lasting. I have seen several high mileage LS1s that are doing fine. Matter of fact, they are still running good at the strip.

I think that alot of the piston slap/problems are internet influenced,,,sorta like sugar pills in reverse.
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I know alot of folks with LS1s and I have not met one that has the piston slap nor excessive oil consumption {over 2 qrts in 3K miles}. I have seen alot of paint problems with the SLP cars and busted 10 bolt axles though.
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Hi,
for what its worth, in Australia some serious independent research has shown:

a) a move to a 5w/15w-50 synthetic substantially reduces the oil consumption issue. SDo much so that it is viewd by some as the "ideal" fix

b) long term durability ( see Andrew's knowledgeable post above )is a question mark
but some are robust and operate "normally"

c) most engine "failures" here have apparently been caused by low oil levels and lack of oil to pump ( caused by excessive oil consumption and some lazy drivers who do not monitor oil use )

d) excessive oil consumption appears to be a case by case issue as some engines are OK and others are a disaster. GM-Holden appear to treat warranty issues this way too

Regards
 
Doug dealers here are outsourcing LS1 motors for rebuild to A local engine shop whose owner is in my kart club. Told me when requested they 'select fit' pistons to each bore but a time consuming business so higher cost. No wonder Ford is kicking *** with their new models particularly XR6 Turbo and GTP.
 
Hi,
Sprintman - good to see Fraud kicking GM's Butt.
Roll on Bathurst

I was told by a "good source" the some of the engine's problem relate to ovality in certain bores. This would teld perhaps to bear out your info.

The use of M1 5w-50 certainly substantially reduced oil consumption in engines that were otherwise sound

GM like Castrol have not come clean with the motoring public here have they

Detroit Diesel had a turbo problem here too - told nobody of course until a few suddden engine fires raised suspicions. Then, quick recalls on certain trucks - tanker's, LPG & expolosives carriers - I wonder why?

We live in interesting times

Regards
 
Chris B.
My piston slap was when the motor was cold. Like starting a cold diesel, knocking slightly above idol rpm. It would quit after it was about halfway
warmed up.
 
Perhaps its not the shrt skirt piston, but the use of a short skirt piston with a low wrist-pin height.
A slightly longer con-rod with a slightly higher wrist-pin height may be the ultimate fix.
Can anyone look up the con-rod length, bore, stroke, and stock piston pin height?

Interesting note, everyone is happy bolting on performance goodies, but overlook a larger capacity oil pan and a high volume/pressure oil pump as a necessary addition.

Judd, I put in the 3/8 comment to bennifit all of those guys that bolt on stuff and end up not going any faster.
The stock fuel system is only going to make X amount of horsepower, no matter the cam, heads, exhaust, ect.
Look at some of the stock fuel line routing on various cars....up, over, around, down, and bent 20 times.
Often improvments to the engine slow a car down if the fuel supply is restricted.
A 12.5 uncorrected, is a very respectable time with DOT tires.
Last_Z, bet you wish that cam was ground on 115* instead of 110* with EFI??
 
quote:

Last_Z, bet you wish that cam was ground on 115* instead of 110* with EFI??

User,
Not really! The cam wasn't actually too bad as far as idle is concerned. It was choppy, but with a good distributor, it was a very smooth choppy idle....not the kind that rattles your teeth. BTW, my car had the stock, unmodified (except for springs) iron heads, quite possibly one of the worst flowing heads of any 350 SBC. No doubt the combo was mismatched, but the old tired TPI had a TON of low end and decent upper end. The best I could manage on street tires was a [email protected] sticky rear brakes and a bad distributor from AutoZone...the car was also automatic with a 2500 stall verter.
Rick
 
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