[michaelshobby]

Out of these 4 swaps..which would you gravitate tof course all backed by 6 speed manual.
Which would you choose?
If it was the viper engine...the 4 inches would what come from moving the firewall back? is there room without messing up the dash?
The anniversary zl1 427 engine would be neat..and would address the 500hp into some better desireable numbers..but making it still street driven.
Lsa..ls3..ls9 is common now in solstice swaps.
So tell me $20,000 which would you recommend?

 

[SolNut]

Nah, put a high rev (9K+) small block chev 5.0 in it and have some fun!!
I would not use a 6 speed, too many overdrives. :brentil:

Put a Doug Nash in with 323's......YMMV

:thumbs:

 

[cdflint]

Unless you are buying from crate and doing all the work yourself, you may not have enough with these options.

I believe Werks has an LS3 option for around $15000.00 installed. Add options for more power (and A/C) and your are at your mark.

But a Viper V-10 would be freakishly awesome!!! I cant imagine the engineering and cost it would take though.

 

[cdflint]

Here is the thread for ya.

http://www.solsticeforum.com/forum/...v8-bomber-conversion-starting-14-999-a-74638/

 

[jwvess00]

Hi there!

Jegs sells the LS9 crate for just over $20,000, so I hope you've got some friends with one laying around!

Viper V10 crate is the same way. Crazy expensive. Personally, I don't care for their sound so I'd probably pass. Just checked -- Viper V10 crate from Jegs is $39,000! :ack:

So, for sanity's sake I think step one is to find a wrecked donor car...

I really like the factory supercharged LS engines. Big power, looks cool. Just hope you never hook up, or if you do, at least get video of the rear end grenading on YouTube.

Heck, the LS9 might even come close to fitting under the stock hood. Not sure, but the blower setup on those engines looks pretty compact.

 

[R&T]

Of the options you gave, 427 all the way. That is one cool motor with some great history. Any option, I would go with the 5.0 coyote engine and throw a supercharger on top of it.

 

[pantherqs]

If you wanna be retarded and a touch different, why not source a TB48DE from a Patrol, put down 3k to the wheels for jokes.

 

[TomatoSoup]

Well, at least the V-8's might/will fit. There's no way that monster Viper V-10 will fit in our engine bay as it is. Stretch Solstice, anyone?

 

[redcoats1976]

im pretty happy with mine as is...

 

[Sting Ya]

GM sells motors that they use in crash testing I had a friend whose dad owned a Car Quest auto parts distributor ship and you could get them pretty cheap just got to do a little legwork to find them.Another option is a wrecking yard or just go and get a crate motor. Viper forget it why would you want to put a Dodge engine in a Solstice and the fabrication to make it work would be a nightmare.I have been seriously looking into a v8 swap and currently looking for a Solstice body a friend of mine who helped me install my turbo system and who is a successful Pro Mod dragracer he will be doing an LS3 swap this winter if everything goes as planned and I plan on being there to help .The biggest problem is traction reading article after article that is the issue my thought and I have spoken to some fabricators is a shortened solid axle as in Pro Street this would nessiitate a tube frame and change the look of the car somewhat .There is a guy here in the Cleveland area who has a Nash Metropolitan with this type of set up so I know it can be done

 

[twowheeladdict]

I guess my question would be why are you going to do this? If it is so that everyone will gather around your car at the Friday night gatherings then go for the insane Viper motor. If it is for drivability, then go for the engine that keeps the balance and handling of the car.

Personally, if I would have wanted a V8 motor I would have bought a Vette and been done with it. But, I don't go to car gatherings so I'm not concerned with attracting attention.

 

[mcpigm01]

As someone who has owned a NA and owns a GXP as well as a corvette, I think a lot of these engine swaps are crazy. If you have 20k to piss away on a solstice, by all means, but, in my opinion, a solstice is a 4 cylinder for a reason. It was not designed to have a v8 dumped in the front. This car was made for handling, sunny summer days, while having decent gas mileage. My vette hauls butt, but that's what it was made for, the solstice is pretty quick too but not quite there. Why spend 20 grand to still have the same car when you can use it to buy an additional one? Just my two cents, not that anyone asked lol.

 

[blackbirdracing]

I personally think a gallo 12 or the gallo 24 would be a great choice.

 

[rob the elder]

As someone who has owned a NA and owns a GXP as well as a corvette, I think a lot of these engine swaps are crazy. If you have 20k to piss away on a solstice, by all means, but, in my opinion, a solstice is a 4 cylinder for a reason. It was not designed to have a v8 dumped in the front. This car was made for handling, sunny summer days, while having decent gas mileage. My vette hauls butt, but that's what it was made for, the solstice is pretty quick too but not quite there. Why spend 20 grand to still have the same car when you can use it to buy an additional one? Just my two cents, not that anyone asked lol.

I can't speak for others but for me, it was a long thought process that resulted in my signing up for the conversion to the LS3.

Clearly I could have bought a Vette or any of several other "performance" cars. But I chose not to go that route because the up front cost and maintenance cost would leave me with roughly the same total outlay but with a factory clone car. While all performance cars in the +$80k range are nice cars, they are everywhere. And my personal experience has been that the vast majority of Solstice and Sky owners are nice people, upper middle age or above who I like to spend time with. The vast majority of owners of cars in the $80k range are not people that I wish to spend time with.

So I chose the Sky for my wife and the Sol for myself.

I now have a great little car that has awsome performance.

I got the conversion for close to half the going price because I was willing to give it up for over a year.

The debate about handling is in my experience a false premis. The mechanical impact of going from the factory four to the LS powertrain is less than the weight of my passanger's luggage on a weekend trip. In other words, I gained 150+ WHP and ~150 pounds. I drive the "factory" Sky and my V8 Sol back to back every couple of weeks. There is no discernable difference in handling. The feel is significantly lighter on the factory car, lighter clutch, softer ride etc. but much of that is due to the BC suspension compliance.

The factory car feels like a nice, responsive little car. It used to feel powerful but now feels significantly down on power when compared to the LS car. But the factory car is fun, requries a lot less operator attention and is a joy to drive. The Sol is a serious experience. It makes the operator feel like a 12 year old out for an illicite evening of cruising on Saturday night in 1965.

But for me, the V8 Sol is a once in a lifetime experience. It is not so much a car as a lifestyle statement. Until you have had a similar experience its difficult to explain.

I do not need to justify the cost. We have 5 vehicles, all but for one paid for and use them for specific needs. We enjoy them all.

I did go through a trade study as part of the decision process. Build the 4 or go to the LS. I saw a lot of built 2.0s experiencing failures and I the comparison of a cammed V8 vrs a "rice burner" turning 7500 RPM did it for me.

 

[Omiotek]

lsx is the way to go hands down... one of the best motors on the planet and a lot of the research and stuff to get it into the solstice has been done.... your not getting an ls9 in there without a modified hood.

on a black supercharged solstice we did we sank the motor as low as you could possibly get it and the blower still didnt clear the hood. close but not enough. for the power you can get a nicely build na motor too.

 

[gmtech16450yz]

LSX block weighs TWICE as much as an aluminum block LS1/2/3/7/A/9. There's no reason for that added 120lbs for this application.

My LSA fits under the hood of my Sky. An LS9 EASILY fits under the hood of a Kappa if you put the engine in the right place. The charge cooler on an LS9 is 1.25" lower than the LSA and it's dry sump instead of wet sump.

 

[Sting Ya]

Just thought it was interesting that as soon as the Solstice came out Hot Rod did a LS conversion as did Mallet with a lot of help from GM. Was this something in the cars future had they not discontinued it?As far as the Vette arguments go I have owned a few and currently have an 81 .A good friend of mine bought a one new in 03 paid $54000.00 for it and it's basically worth somewhere in the low $30000 price range with less then 8000 miles on it so a 15 to 20 thousand dollar V8 swap into a Solstice looks like a pretty good deal to me plus you just don't see our cars running around every day.

 

[Omiotek]

LSX block weighs TWICE as much as an aluminum block LS1/2/3/7/A/9. There's no reason for that added 120lbs for this application.

My LSA fits under the hood of my Sky. An LS9 EASILY fits under the hood of a Kappa if you put the engine in the right place. The charge cooler on an LS9 is 1.25" lower than the LSA and it's dry sump instead of wet sump.

lsx is a general term for ls motors... you know that. i wasent refering to the actual LSX block.

without modifying the sway bar location nad the powersteering stuff and what not its not going to happen. if it was that easy to sink the motor down further without dropping the linkage and what not. you wouldnt of had nice brackets made for you. LSA is easier to fit then the eforce blowers as well due to the intake track and what not. but yes in theory if you move somethings you can fit anything you want. dry sump makes things easier aswell. did you modify the front transition bars of the frame or are they left alone? just curious.

not trying to have an argument btw. just saying.

 

[L-N-F'n]

GMT is the LSX an block iron? Where to use the LSA charge cooler, in your photobucket you thought might use a LS9. Are there any important differences between a LS9 an a LSA besides dry sump instead of wet sump? Omiotek answered while I was typing.

 

[gmtech16450yz]

I actually did think you meant LSX Matt. You said "one" of the best motors. Also, when it's used to mean ALL LS motors in general, it's written LSx. You typed lsx. Punctuation, capitalization and spelling DOES make a difference in getting your exact point across.

The LSX is an iron block motor.

The LSA charge cooler is different than the LS9 in that it has one solid cooler block instead of two separate ones like the LS9 and E-Force setups. The two separate blocks allow the charge cooler to be set a little lower.

The biggest difference between the LSA and the LS9? About $10k! It's very easy and much cheaper to get LS9 power out of an LSA. That's why the LSA is so popular, it's a lot of bang for the buck. ~700hp out of an LSA is relatively cheap and still bullet proof. The biggest differences in the LS9 are the titanium rods, dry sump and a bigger blower.

On my particular engine position and mounting, there isn't a vendor out there that makes brackets that I would have used. I've designed and made ALL my parts myself. (Except for the welding work, I have a welding company certified in structural welding doing ALL the welding on this car. If anyone wants to see beautiful and solid welds, they're on my car. I can weld, but I absolutely would NOT trust anyone but a certified welder for suspension, frame and brake parts.)

I won't get into the details of my build because I'm really not interested in giving away information to other vendors so they can use those ideas as there own and profit from them. Let's just say that there isn't a vendor doing Kappa V8 swaps that has the knowledge, expertise and attention to detail that is going into this build.

The engine is significantly lower, further back, and better supported.

The transmission/engine location is NOT determined by the location of the shifter, as is all the other swaps.

The TR6060 transmission uses the CORRECT for the LSA engine, fully stock dual mass/dual disk clutch including the master cylinder. The clutch effort is LIGHTER than the stock LNF clutch.

The shifter is an MGW billet C6 unit, supported by a custom made billet mount. Shifter feel and throw is insane.

The driveshaft is carbon fiber.

The ECM and BCM are STOCK CTS-V/LSA parts with STOCK calibrations. (My cruise WILL work!)

The exhaust manifolds and cats are OEM, they won't crack or fail.

The intake is OEM ZR1.

ALL drive accessories are new and exactly what would be on a '12 CTS-V. Actually almost every single component of this build is new, and 90% are OEM, down to the nuts and bolts.

The cluster is the exact one found on '09 to '13 CTS-V's. Complete with LED's that follow the speedo and tach and blink at the rev limiter. The information center (DIC) is fully functional. It will also have two digital, programmable OBD2 readouts built into the cluster.

It will have an onboard (in dash) fully functional Windows based touch screen computer for audio (no stock radio, iTunes for music with USB interface for amps), theft deterent system, logging and tuning, WiFi and video cameras.

It has CTS-V Brembo's on all four corners, with separate Brembo park brake calipers controlled by the CTS-V electric parking brake controller. It also uses huge OEM brake rotors from a Saab SUV.

And best of all... It will be CALIFORNIA SMOG LEGAL.

There isn't a vendor out there that has made a V8 swapped Kappa like this, I can guarantee that. That's because there isn't one that knows what I know. None of the vendors do their own ECM's because they don't know how. None of them know how to wire up or program the BCM's correctly. I don't believe any of them have made a smog legal V8 swap, much less a California smog legal V8. None of them have built an entire swap, including interior work, suspension work, paint work and ECM/BCM/computer programming/tuning work entirely themselves. Except for the welding, a couple parts I bought from a couple vendors, a radiator I had Griffin build, the driveshaft and the heat exchanger, this build will be all built with my own hands.

So honestly, why would I share details with other vendors of how I've done things on this build when there's practically nothing they've done for me? One vendor has caused me nothing but headaches and disappointments. So sorry Matt, I'm not going to get into the details of how my engine is mounted. Sounds harsh, but that's the way it is.