No top end (yet)

[lwbneed2no]

Finally got to the track. Geo Tracker with 98 LS1/ 4L60e with stock everything except open element air filter, no cats and true 2.5 dual exhaust and turbo mufflers. Ford 8.8 posi rear with 3.73:1s. On a crazy hot day it spun hard in first two gears on a greasy track ran a string of 13.02-13.06 runs at 104.7-105.2 mph, 60' times were 1.93 to 1.98. I popped the right headlight out and spun the air intake tube around for a cheap cold air and picked up to a best of 12.75 with most in the 12.82 range at 105.8 to 106.9 mph and the 60' times dropped to 1.919 avg, and a best of 1.869. It leaves hard but I think at 2900 lbs with me in it it should easily top 109 to 111 mph. It has not been tuned and I haven't even swapped the plugs that came in the Ebay motor. I have less than $6K in the whole deal including the Tracker and the wheels and tires so I am just getting started. I plan to do the usual stuff, LS6 intake, 3000-3500 stall convertor and cam but wanted to know how much I can expect with just a good tune on the stock motor? By the numbers my horsepower is down below 275: I have friends topping 108 with their F-bodies. FYI, it ran great, no missing or bogs and went through the lights at 5100 rpm and was amazingly consistent. The track didn't help as I had to leave from idle or spin and it spun in second most of the time. On the few runs with no wheel spin the best mph was 106.93 so still down on power. With the windows down it smells rich on top so I hope a tune will get me 20-30 hp minimum.

[Firebirdjones]

What a fun ride that should be. With a short (and narrow) wheel base, I wouldn't want to be sideways for too long That's just not something I want to go fast in.
On my bone stock 02 SS a simple tune done by me with HPtuner got me a solid 3 tenths and nearly 3 mph. So I'd guess a solid 20 hp isn't out of the question in my case.

[0rion]

geo tracker for real?? Man..... I love the imagination and ingenuity you guys have. What an awesome transplant. A tune would be a good thing to have....put a wideband in it too so you know where your AFR is all the time. It's such a cheap tool to buy ( ~$170 shipped for an LC-1) and takes a lot of guess work out as far as how rich/lean you might be. If the stall is in the immediate future wait until you get that and/or some mods on there to get the most bang for your buck with the tune.

[lwbneed2no]

It's been a lot of fun, I kept stock looking steel wheels and pretty quiet turbo mufflers so it's a sleeper and has surprised a lot of local cars. On the street it will just barely turn the tires and leaves harder than at the track. Even when it spun it went dead straight and was absolutely drama free through the traps. I've had to to 128 by the GPS and it was stable but the top wants to come off. All and all a fun project and I drive it to work daily.

[lwbneed2no]

Thanks, it has been great so far, I've put about 1000 miles on it with zero issues. It got 22 mpg on the drive to the track and I made 21 or 22 passes with most of them hot laps and it never got over 205°. I may try to fins someone in Indy for the stock tune but soon hope to get the wide band O2 and Hptuner and try my hand at tuning. It still has the stock intake but I have removed the EGR and air pump. This was my first EFI project and the wiring was a little daunting but there is so much good info online I got through it pretty quickly.

[bmax327]

Pictures?

Sounds like a fun project.

Brad

[lwbneed2no]

Here is a video from when it had the stock rear end with 4.3:1 gears and stock tires. It would break them loose at 55 mph. With the 3.73:1 posi and Toyo R888s the only time it spins is at the track.

[lwbneed2no]

Here is a parking lot launch from idle with the Toyo R888s.

[Firebirdjones]

One word.................Hilarious!!!

[smokestack]

I bet that would be alot of fun lol

[lwbneed2no]

Swapped plugs and wires tonite and moved the turnsignals down into the bumper to allow cold air in to the air filter and PCM. Also did the coolant bypass on the TB while I was in there. Plan to check the throttle blade tomorrow and possibly do the stop mod if it isn't opening fully.

[lwbneed2no]

Found problem< no power to MAF or O2s, running in open loop. Should get better mileage and hopefully run a little better since I believe it would revert to low octane tables with code P0102. Will try to disconnect battery tomorrow to clear code and hope to pick up my missing 20 - 25 hp (remember it was high 90ºs). Shift smoother with MAF powered up!

[lwbneed2no]

Picked up to a best of 12.49 ET and 109.6 mph with MAF hooked up but it has a miss at around 5000-5500 rpm at the top of second gear now.

[Nicholleren]

What I am getting is that you are looking for some sort of fruitful and prolific information regarding wheels and tires. I would suggest you to thoroughly test their durability before you bargain for them, or make any decision regarding them.

[Smittro]

What I am getting is that you are looking for some sort of fruitful and prolific information regarding wheels and tires. I would suggest you to thoroughly test their durability before you bargain for them, or make any decision regarding them.

[tatertot91]

that last post had me confused as well
cool project, the launch made me laugh a bit

[SuperSSguy]

What a fun ride that should be. With a short (and narrow) wheel base, I wouldn't want to be sideways for too long That's just not something I want to go fast in.
On my bone stock 02 SS a simple tune done by me with HPtuner got me a solid 3 tenths and nearly 3 mph. So I'd guess a solid 20 hp isn't out of the question in my case.

When you did the tune yourself..what did you adjust?... and how did you know what levels or degrees to set ?...What i mean is like if you set your AFR or fuel trims etc.. how do you know how high/low to set it at? Just curious?

[smokestack]

When you did the tune yourself..what did you adjust?... and how did you know what levels or degrees to set ?...What i mean is like if you set your AFR or fuel trims etc.. how do you know how high/low to set it at? Just curious?

Either a wideband or data log alot and pull some fuel and add some timing. Much easier with a wideband though...And safer.
Thats me though

[SuperSSguy]

Either a wideband or data log alot and pull some fuel and add some timing. Much easier with a wideband though...And safer.
Thats me though

Yeah ok but what tells you how much fuel to pull and what degree of timing to add or subtract.? what do you use as a base? How do you know if your adding to much or too little?I know on a dyno that it reads your hp and tq curves etc. so you can use that to adjust the parameters ..i guess i need to take a course/class on tuning?

[Firebirdjones]

The ability to know what an engine is going to like comes from alot of tuning experience and some knowledge of how a combustable engine works. What AFR makes best all around power, how much timing a particular combustion chamber design likes for best power etc...These are generalizations without getting into too many specifics. With that knowledge you can dial in any engine pretty darn close without the dyno (although that's a big help).
The track is another good place to make tuning tweaks by watching your mph.

For instance an LS engine has a modern heart shaped combustion chamber (as most aftermarket heads now do) which doesn't require so much ignition lead. Because of this, LS engines tend to make best power with total timing under full load of about 24-28 degrees. 24 might be a safe starting point to work from. A safe AFR to command for a naturally aspirated engine under full load may be something like 12.6-12.8, and then work from there. Some stay on the safe side, others push the limits to squeak a few more HP.

With the computer you can log variables like timing and fuel, and use a wideband while logging, and know exactly what changes to make.