Just to whet the appetite, ZZPerformance just hit the 9's in their twincharged fwd automatic grand prix. Even though they've made a lot of mods that most people wouldn't do to their daily drivers (like AC delete) it's still a far cry from a purpose-built drag car. Zooomer of ZZP still uses it as his daily driver.
I have very little mechanical ability/aptitude so... when it comes to alternative motors for the Solstice my ignorance far exceeds my knowledge. I read one other persons post, in this thread, about the LS7 motor in a Solstice and no one said anything about if it would work. Maybe everyone here already knows something about this configuration that I don't. I know the displacement of the LS7 is bigger than the LS2, but it still is a small block, right? What modifications would need to be done to fit the LS7 motor into a Solstice?
The LS7 would by far be the most reliable 500 horse motor that you could buy, heck you would still even get great gas mileage. The outer dimensions of the LS7 are the exact same as the 5.7L LS1. You could build a 383 LS1 with a good cam and heads and get a similar 500 horses.
You guys are missing the boat. The LS1 is the motor to go with, Mallett has proven that with the LS2. Just because Chuck has to make money doesn't mean it will cost everybody $18K to do it themselves. It weighs less then the Iron 3800 and starts off with 350 horses stock natural aspirated. The aftermarket is huge with cheap tuning and parts available. I just sold an extra LS1 computer on ebay for $25! The LS1 really is the modern day 350. You could spend $400 for LS1 edit and tune it how ever you wanted off of your lap top.
It's a piece of cake finding a $6,000 LS1/T56 combo on ebay. You can buy rebuilt forged internal LS1s for $3,600 ready for 20 PSI or a 300 horsepower shot of NOS. Go find a wrecked FBody and spend $8,000 on everything that you would need.
__________________
2008 Black/Black GXP, purchased 7/23 right off the train.
Mod#1 blacked-out headlights
Mod#2 GMPP Intake -I like to hear my turbo.
Mod#3 Special Sauce (23PSI)
Mod#4 Solo Street Race
Mod#5 Repaint w/ Custom Silver Stripes
'07 Charger R/T Mama's car
For those that don't wanna go the complicated V8/V6 route and already have a Solstice, maybe consider the 2.0L SC engines in the Cobalt SS/Saturn ION Redline. The 2.0L will be easy to find in junkyards soon and GM will be supporting that motor with Stage I & II upgrades for about 240hp/TQ before other bolt-on mods, they should be out in the spring.
Plus I suspect its a direct bolt-in. Assuming it is, just get the motor and comp and there ya go.
Drive your current 2.4 until the warranty is up and in the meantime, locate the 2.0SC motor maybe even build it up too. I'd like to get a Sol in the spring, and depending on the GXP price I may do the above.
For 240/240hp/tq and about 2G's for motor and GM upgrades, I think its a pretty good comprimise.
For those that don't wanna go the complicated V8/V6 route and already have a Solstice, maybe consider the 2.0L SC engines in the Cobalt SS/Saturn ION Redline. The 2.0L will be easy to find in junkyards soon and GM will be supporting that motor with Stage I & II upgrades for about 240hp/TQ before other bolt-on mods, they should be out in the spring.
Plus I suspect its a direct bolt-in. Assuming it is, just get the motor and comp and there ya go.
Drive your current 2.4 until the warranty is up and in the meantime, locate the 2.0SC motor maybe even build it up too. I'd like to get a Sol in the spring, and depending on the GXP price I may do the above.
For 240/240hp/tq and about 2G's for motor and GM upgrades, I think its a pretty good comprimise.
many of the components in the 2.0 are limited to about 350hp. I am talking with a piston and rod manufacturer on drop in pistons and rods for the 2.4. adding these components will allow the 2.4 le5 to safely handle 400+ hp.
why anyone would abandon the ecotec is beyond me in the sport compact racing world it is hands down the best 4cylinder platform to build off of with all the parts needed to build a 400-1300hp engine available over the parts counter at your GM dealer. I have also posted info on an adaptor to adapt the tremec or automatic transmissions to the engine as well.
many of the components in the 2.0 are limited to about 350hp. I am talking with a piston and rod manufacturer on drop in pistons and rods for the 2.4. adding these components will allow the 2.4 le5 to safely handle 400+ hp.
True but I don't think that's such a bad comprimise, a 300hp Solstice Ecotec? I think thats a decent comprimise for what I assume would be a pretty much straight swap.
I think its ur company that is supplying the Cobalts/SRL's with the "PSI" kit and they're putting up some good numbers, bordering on high 13 second cars, good stuff.
I agree, I wouldn't abndon this motor unless I was going really over the top, the best domestic 4 cylinder platform IMO. I would be more than happy with a 300hp Solstice. I have a 2.2L Ecotec in my Grand Am with a RSM Vortec SC kit on it and its a blast to drive winding it thru the gears.
Apparently RSM is working on a kit for the 2.4 but the VVT is making it tricky, I dunno all the details.
The LS7 would by far be the most reliable 500 horse motor that you could buy, heck you would still even get great gas mileage. The outer dimensions of the LS7 are the exact same as the 5.7L LS1. You could build a 383 LS1 with a good cam and heads and get a similar 500 horses.
You guys are missing the boat. The LS1 is the motor to go with, Mallett has proven that with the LS2. Just because Chuck has to make money doesn't mean it will costs everybody $18K to do it themselves. It weighs less then the Iron 3800 and starts off with 350 horses stock natural aspirated. The aftermarket is huge with cheap tuning and parts available. I just sold an extra LS1 computer on ebay for $25! The LS1 really is the modern day 350. You could spend $400 for LS1 edit and tune it how ever you wanted off of your lap top.
It's a piece of cake finding a $6,000 LS1/T56 combo on ebay. You can buy rebuilt forged internal LS1s for $3,600 ready for 20 PSI or a 300 horsepower shot of NOS. Go find a wrecked FBody and spend $8,000 on everything that you would need.
Thanks for the info Brady. Maybe in another year or two the cost of the LS7 will be more affordable and and the aftermarket parts more available. I see that there is already a LS7 H.O. motor that boost hp to 580: http://www.autoblog.com/entry/1234000857066091/ It's great to see so many high performance options being discussed. When I am finally ready to buy my Solstice (about a year away) I hope there will be several members here with their results posted.
Just to get your creative juices flowing, I got this photo from Chris Pomeroy. He's dropping a Camaro 3800 into his Isuzu Trooper and hooking it up to a Toyota R150F tranny with a Dodge Dakota bellhousing. Now... if you ignore all of the 4WD stuff, you can see that your Solstice AR5 trans (Same as the Toyota) will bolt up nicely to a GM 3800 with the Dakota bell and probably slide pretty nicely into a Solstice.
Here are some of my favorite LS1 conversions, this is the way to go my friends. There are a huge amount of LS1 conversions already out there, people have already figured eveyrthing out so why spin your wheels trying something new with less power?
__________________
2008 Black/Black GXP, purchased 7/23 right off the train.
Mod#1 blacked-out headlights
Mod#2 GMPP Intake -I like to hear my turbo.
Mod#3 Special Sauce (23PSI)
Mod#4 Solo Street Race
Mod#5 Repaint w/ Custom Silver Stripes
'07 Charger R/T Mama's car
The LS7 is a good choice, but your only going to be paying for the 427 it's not worth it. You can build a 402 LS2 like Im going to do and be able to make just as much power as you would need, and the cost will be WAY cheaper.The LS7 block is like $3600-$3900 BARE. I can get a forged bottom end LS2 with a stroker crank for that. Also with the cost of buying the pistons and crank to get in it I could already have my longblock done with ET performance heads that will flow better than LS7 heads anyway for cheaper. I will be making at LEAST 500hp to 530hp N/A to the tires when I get my Sol. At wheel to wheel performance (which is one of GM's biggest peformance sources i.e. the concept silverado SS and the fastest LS motor to date.) I have seen N/A 6.0 liters run up to 800hp on the engine dyno, and turbocharged motors get close to a 1000hp without breaking a sweet. The LS family of motors (which include the LS1,LS2,LS6,LS7) are unstopable compared to any other production motor, and the hp/dollar is also by far the best. If swapping in a V8 is in your cards, you would be crazy not to do a LS motor. Unless you just wanted to do something radiacally different.
I have seen zoomer race at the motorplex, and yes that car is FAST. It was running 12's maybe 11's when I seen it at the GM M10 event. He can call it a daily driver, but I would have a hard time to call it that. It's a nice car and you can get it in a drive it everyday, but it would be hard to live with for a daily driver. They were also testing a G6 baseline to start work on that also.
Be careful what you with for! Everything one reads about the Solstice raves about the steering, balance, quiet...
Bought a '94 Miata, and loved it. I live in the mountains and have an abundance of twisty roads that are deserted every Sunday morning. I especially enjoyed observing the peaks with the top down-a motorcycle without the helmet! Then I decided to improve the car after a couple of years once my loan was retired by:
1) lowering it 1 1/2 inches and adding performance shocks
2) installed higher performance +2 tires and wheels
3) Performance headers and exhaust
4) Turbocharger, intercooler, larger injectors and performance computer
5) Racing radiator
6) Brembo brakes
The above work was done by an acclaimed Miata shop called the Dealer Alternative, and upped the stock hp from about 135 to a dyno checked 240+ at the rear wheels.
$15,000. on top of a $17,000 car.
It became great fun to tease the exotics around town and then run away from them!
The downside...the fun of just cruising thoughtlessly with my left arm draped over the doorsill at anything below 85 mph, was gone. I found myself edgy after driving the car and choosing it less and less! The increased hp easily overpowered the Miata chassis, braking and steering capabilities.
Finally, I decided that all the changes had ruined the Miata and were not for the best. Sadly, I sold my former favorite toy.
That's too bad of a story.. We all love our toys and hate to get rid of them. We have been breeding performance for a while now, so I am aware of what is what, and I know that stock will never just be good enough for me. Besides the Sol, we have plenty of other projects going on also, a twin turboed 355 S-10 with a 200 shot to go 8's, a LQ4 S-10 with 5.7 heads and a nice cam to go 10's, a fullsize L31 with bags and ramjet with a turbo to go 11's, a regular cab 00' going to get a LQ9 with a 150 shot and a 6 speed. Also my other baby a 98 S-10SS 4.3 to go maybe 9's or low 10's. But that's a secret yet. haha. There's a group of us, it takes that to get all that work done.
Jay
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregor
Be careful what you with for! Everything one reads about the Solstice raves about the steering, balance, quiet...
Bought a '94 Miata, and loved it. I live in the mountains and have an abundance of twisty roads that are deserted every Sunday morning. I especially enjoyed observing the peaks with the top down-a motorcycle without the helmet! Then I decided to improve the car after a couple of years once my loan was retired by:
1) lowering it 1 1/2 inches and adding performance shocks
2) installed higher performance +2 tires and wheels
3) Performance headers and exhaust
4) Turbocharger, intercooler, larger injectors and performance computer
5) Racing radiator
6) Brembo brakes
The above work was done by an acclaimed Miata shop called the Dealer Alternative, and upped the stock hp from about 135 to a dyno checked 240+ at the rear wheels.
$15,000. on top of a $17,000 car.
It became great fun to tease the exotics around town and then run away from them!
The downside...the fun of just cruising thoughtlessly with my left arm draped over the doorsill at anything below 85 mph, was gone. I found myself edgy after driving the car and choosing it less and less! The increased hp easily overpowered the Miata chassis, braking and steering capabilities.
Finally, I decided that all the changes had ruined the Miata and were not for the best. Sadly, I sold my former favorite toy.
Gregor you're right. Owning a car that is beyond your personal capabilities sometimes isn't as fulfilling as you might think. That is something that these guys should consider. The other problem is that you paid way too much money for what you ended up with. Looking back I probably had more fun driving my $3,500 250 horspower IrocZ in highschool then my $35,000 580 horsepower Camaro that I have now.
There are many different types of people and there are a few that have the skills and patience to build a hot rod and be happy. You need to know what you are doing and you need to know enough to keep the costs at reasonable levels. Bang for the buck usually has more to do with satifiaction then the performance level that you end up at.
A couple of easy questions to determine which type of person you might be:
1.Do you expect things to work out perfectly because you paid a certain
amount of money?
Or
2. Are you happy when you're solving problems and the bugs are being worked out?
Sometimes buying a used Corvette or a M3 makes a lot more sense for some people.
__________________
2008 Black/Black GXP, purchased 7/23 right off the train.
Mod#1 blacked-out headlights
Mod#2 GMPP Intake -I like to hear my turbo.
Mod#3 Special Sauce (23PSI)
Mod#4 Solo Street Race
Mod#5 Repaint w/ Custom Silver Stripes
'07 Charger R/T Mama's car
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I read one other persons post, in this thread, about the LS7 motor in a Solstice and no one said anything about if it would work. Maybe everyone here already knows something about this configuration that I don't. I know the displacement of the LS7 is bigger than the LS2, but it still is a small block, right? What modifications would need to be done to fit the LS7 motor into a Solstice? 
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