AGRV8D, frustrated, almost calling it quits

[93Ext5.7ltr]

Ok - so in an effort to put something down, quell the nay-sayers, get more out of the truck and make it fast, I've done what I could. Its really got me right now.

The guys at LG Motorsports put the G5X2 cam in (232/240&.595/.608LSA114). They went to tune it, it won't show a torque curve on the dyno. They state their not quite done, but with other crappy factors playing in, they're not going to be able to do anymore with it for about a week. They said it dyno'd 355rwhp.....ugh...compared to the LS1 hotcam? I though for sure 15 - 20 and that without the tune.

So I took it out to see what's up.....pretty much not a darn thing!

It won't break the tires loose, not even if I stall it with the brake depressed. Can't even feel the thing shift, almost like its shifting from 2nd (but you can't even feel it shifting to 3rd or 4th) - though it appears to, cause I took it up to 80mph.

So I'm fed up.....AGRV8D.....you win, call me pussy all day long. As this thing sits right now, I doubt I'd be much of a challenge to a Honda Accord.

Farmtruc - if you've got any ideas......the ears are quite open, but no, I don't currently have the plans to drive to SA within the next week or two. Besides, after what I've spent (basically could buy an old used car) this past week, I'd have some EXTREMELY HIGH expectations.

D*MN FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!! !!

[AGRV8D]

swap the headss with me and call it a day...

[stec3ve]

So was it the cam itself that didnt add the power, or the guys workmanship? thats crazy bro, good luck with it.

[Tim Z]

WOW man, that sucks. Why are you not getting the performance you paid for?

[farmtruc]

Why can't they continue tuning it? The majority of the tunes I do are street tunes and they come out better than dyno tunes believe it or not. Have them do a street tune and get max timing, a/f ratio as good as they can, shift points, firmness, etc. You don't need a dyno to get it tuned 99%. What was the a/f ratio?
I don't see a big difference from 12.5 to 13.0 on a the heavily modded engines.

Just as a comparison, I tuned a trans am a while back, it had an aggressive cam 232, cutouts, headers, tuning, maf and it put out 389rwhp. That's on my dyno, a tad lower compared to the other ones.

With your mods, sounds like you should be over 420rwhp.
How does it feel on the road, besides the burn out problem? I figured you'd loose some low end, but not a whole lot.
If it's really low on hp, wonder if the cam is installed correctly. I've see them a tooth off before and they don't feel strong at all. Pushrod size? Springs?

Hang in there you'll get it!
Once you do, it'll be a very strong truck, should put you easily in the 12's.

allen

[93Ext5.7ltr]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(AGRV8D &#064; Mar 28 2006, 05&#58;29 PM) [snapback]48533[/snapback]</div>

swap the headss with me and call it a day...
[/b]

HA - If I&#39;m not happy, ain&#39;t no one gonna be happy because of my fate.......the heads stay on the slow A&#036;&#036; truck and I just brag about what it use to do. Meanwhile, everybody I try to race in the meantime says I&#39;m full of

[93Ext5.7ltr]

Hi Farmtruc,

Here&#39;s feedback for the questions you asked.

Why can&#39;t they continue tuning it?
They can continue tuning, but not until next week. One of their employees broke his ribs and is out 4-6 weeks. In the meantime, their &#39;high-profile&#39; clientelle takes presidence over me. Which I understand, "money talks and BS walks".

I&#39;ll pitch the street tune to them. Though they&#39;ll probably want to charge me more for it. Not sure what the a/f ratio was. They stated it was running a little rich (before was running pretty lean).

I could understand a T/A putting down more than me, my drivetrain hurts me as I&#39;ve mentioned before (2-piece driveshaft, 8.5" axle) versus a T/As drivetrain.

How does it feel on the road, besides the burn out problem?

This thing doesn&#39;t rev. Yes, you can rev the engine.
What it feels like on the road is there is no torque, at all, in any gear. It won&#39;t downshift and it seems like instead of holding the gear, it drives up to the next shiftpoint (whtout holding the gear) and shifts "too soon". There is no firmness of the shifts. It seems like the truck has 355hp, but 50lbs tq.

Not sure about pushrod size, the springs are good to .650 lift (Comp 921).

I&#39;m approaching Fastchip (who put the original tune in). I&#39;m gonna give LG next week like they&#39;ve asked for (they should have more time). If things don&#39;t change, I&#39;ll likely ask for Fastchip to upgrade their original tune with the new cam specs...that&#39;ll cost &#036;150. I&#39;ll see where things go from there.

Thanks for the encouragement.

[stssilverado]

Suck it up and go to SA. Allen graciously sent most of the day monday w/ me runnin up and down the freeway tuning my truck. It was as perfect as it could be and feels strong. Pay the &#036;500 to Nelson Performance and you&#39;ll agree its the best &#036;&#036;&#036; spent on the truck. Paid for my tune almost a year ago, have gotten at least 4 tunes in the mail after mods and near a full day of tuning on MOnday. NO ADDITIONAL CHARGE. My opinion, he&#39;s too nice. He&#39;s busy, but he likes to see a truck run right and will take the time to do it.

[farmtruc]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(93Ext5.7ltr &#064; Mar 28 2006, 08&#58;23 PM) [snapback]48578[/snapback]</div>

They can continue tuning, but not until next week. One of their employees broke his ribs and is out 4-6 weeks. In the meantime, their &#39;high-profile&#39; clientelle takes presidence over me. Which I understand, "money talks and BS walks".
This thing doesn&#39;t rev. Yes, you can rev the engine.
What it feels like on the road is there is no torque, at all, in any gear. It won&#39;t downshift and it seems like instead of holding the gear, it drives up to the next shiftpoint (whtout holding the gear) and shifts "too soon". There is no firmness of the shifts. It seems like the truck has 355hp, but 50lbs tq.


Thanks for the encouragement.
[/b]

that&#39;s too bad, I disagree.

Everything else quoted above is exactly what is corrected with a street tune. The problem with only dyno tuning a truck is, anything below redline is questionable until you get the car home.
During a street tune, shift points, firmness, up and down shifts, max timing, a/f ratio (almost), drivability, ltrim tuning, idle, start up, hesitation, acceleration, etc, etc is corrected. That&#39;s more important than a high rpm horsepower number. Get a wideban installed and there&#39;s no need for a dyno, just for numbers.

Go back and get it corrected, I&#39;m sure there is another 50hp waiting to be unleashed.

---

Thanks stssilverado, I hope your truck is doing better. I&#39;ll be here for the next tuning session after the mods are installed.

see ya later,
allen

[93Ext5.7ltr]

Okay - so I go ahead and pay for the truck today, knowing its in need of more tuning. They guys have done nothing to it......but here&#39;s the kicker; I start it up, drive it about a hundred yards and boom, the thing lights up just like it use to&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

So drive it the exact same route I drove yesterday and it remains consistent the entire time.

I go back home, happy as a clam, let it sit for a while, go get back in it and boom, same thing as yesterday - won&#39;t downshift worth a darn. I try switching the gears manually, responds exactly like it did yesterday.

Now, it does not seem to do anything but respond the way it did yesterday....no downshift....

What the heck is going on????