please help...LS1 Swap - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

91camaroracer · 07-04-2006, 03:58 PM

im taking the 357 out of my 91 and putting in a carb'd ls1, im just curious as to what difficulties im going to run into and what im going to need to change over and what not, i dont know if this has been posted already for complete details but i searched and there were too many pages, so if anyone could post the link, that would also help. thanks in advance

camaro2you · 07-04-2006, 04:35 PM

thirdgen.org should have every bit of info you will need.

91camaroracer · 07-05-2006, 05:13 PM

ok, thank you

NJSPEEDER · 07-06-2006, 06:42 PM

carb'd LS1?
why would you skip out on fully programmable fuel injection?

Ian · 07-08-2006, 03:13 AM

speartech

Thirdgen will also have a ton of info. Wrongmotor.com might have a few useful bits of info as well.

Frosty · 07-08-2006, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

carb'd LS1?
why would you skip out on fully programmable fuel injection?

What he said.

V · 07-08-2006, 02:00 PM

painless wiring now makes a stand alone harness for the 99-02 LS1s and it even comes with an ECM

84HOtransam · 07-09-2006, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

carb'd LS1?
why would you skip out on fully programmable fuel injection?

ive been told that the carb manifold will make 100hp more than the same engine fuel injected.. plus the simplicty of a carb.

whats going to happen to the 357..do you have some specs

Frosty · 07-09-2006, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84HOtransam

ive been told that the carb manifold will make 100hp more than the same engine fuel injected..

You've been told wrong.

84HOtransam · 07-09-2006, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

You've been told wrong.

do you have any proof to back it up?

foff667 · 07-09-2006, 07:25 PM

there are also at least 1/2 dozen guys on ls1tech in the conversion section that have done this swap...might be another place to check.

foff667 · 07-09-2006, 07:28 PM

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312119

foff667 · 07-09-2006, 07:30 PM

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=538272

GREAT INFO HERE

CRAINHOLIO did the swap on his 82?? fbody its been a long ass time since i talked to Kevin though

he couldve been a great help.

NJSPEEDER · 07-09-2006, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84HOtransam

do you have any proof to back it up?

the fact that every carb vs efi shoot out i have ever seen proved that efi makes more power.
it is also a very well known fact that the 100hp claim is based on a tuned in, non-emissions, carb set up vs a dead stock LS1 without any tuning and with all the emissions restrictions.
if you look at the numbers that stock LS1's put out you will see that eliminating the emissions, doing common bolt ons, and getting a proper tune can be worth 100hp.

BonzoHansen · 07-10-2006, 07:27 AM

I thought about this when they did that carb crate motor on Overhauling. The carb swap might make the LSx swap easier to do in stages. If you already have a proper carb setup, what do you need, an intake & that spark box setup? Both of which I think could be easy to sell later. So you do the physical conversion stuff first (mounts, exhaust, accessories, etc.) now and maybe do EFI later & related parts (air intake, etc.). Just a thought.

Everything I have read shows that on the same engine (you can’t compare apples & oranges), a properly tuned carb will run within +/-1% of an EFI setup. But IMO, EFI is nicer because it can adjust itself for conditions (humidity, bad gas, etc.) more precisely. But there is also something nice about the simple look of a carb. To each his own.

amargari · 07-10-2006, 10:37 AM

I would think that a carb could produce more peak HP, but the area under the curve would be less and the low end HP would suffer with the carb.

84HOtransam · 07-10-2006, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJSPEEDER

the fact that every carb vs efi shoot out i have ever seen proved that efi makes more power.
it is also a very well known fact that the 100hp claim is based on a tuned in, non-emissions, carb set up vs a dead stock LS1 without any tuning and with all the emissions restrictions.
if you look at the numbers that stock LS1's put out you will see that eliminating the emissions, doing common bolt ons, and getting a proper tune can be worth 100hp.

so by bolting on a carb manifold and proper size carb,adjusting it to run properly, removing emissions restrictions the stock engine would make the 100hp claim over the bone stock factory tuned efi.

no doubt bolt on's done to the efi engine to help it reach the 100hp increase your refering to would benifit the carb setup as well.

i just believe it would be easier and more affordable for the avg user to install a carb setup on a thirdgen like mine because you wouldnt have to spend the money to have it tuned over and over again plus spending all the extra money on wiring and computers. on top of that by just using a carb intake over the stock fuel injection setup would would gain nearly 100hp out of the box.

amargari · 07-10-2006, 12:54 PM

91camaroracer,
I don’t know your background or experience and I am not trying to be a jerk, but Have you ever driven a non computer controlled carbed car? On paper, a carburetor can run just as well as a EFI unit. In the real world, a carburetor is very temperamental until you get it set up right. Even then, they are susceptible to changing weather conditions and cold startup issues. Also, setting up a carbed LSX isn’t as simple as bolting on the manifold and throwing a carburetor on it. Tuning a carb is not easy. One of the greatest advances in cars in the last 30 years is the use of EFI.

Tru2Chevy · 07-10-2006, 01:26 PM

Buying an LSx, and tossing a carb on it takes away several of the advantages of owning an LSx in the first place. IMHO, swapping an LSx isn't worth the hassle without all the tuning capabilities that it has to offer in stock form.

- Justin

NJSPEEDER · 07-10-2006, 05:15 PM

dollar for dollar, you end up with less power, worse mileage, and you have to mess with it more often to kep it runnign peak in all weather conditions. fuel injection fixes all that for you and with programs like HPTuners, even the computer inept like me can get everything safely tuned in.
the LSx computer and harness are also designed to be set up completley under teh hood, so the wiring is extremely simple.

Frosty · 07-10-2006, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 84HOtransam

do you have any proof to back it up?

Does the original poster have proof to back up the 100hp gain claim?

Frosty · 07-10-2006, 05:27 PM

http://superchevy.com/technical/engi...s/0409sc_gmpp/

V · 07-10-2006, 07:44 PM

that superchevy link was good reading... made it clear there was no real difference. i think a carbed ls1 would be cool if building a cruiser or show car. EFI is nice too, but a carb ls1...not something youd see everyday

Frosty · 07-10-2006, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokingSS

it made it clear there was no real difference.

Exactly

91camaroracer · 07-14-2006, 04:22 PM

well i scratched the LSX carb'd idea anyway, instead i went out and bout a 94 Z28 for $600 and and i didnt take offense to you questioning my knowledge or intentions amargari, i guess i didnt make myself too clear in the original post that is my fault, but my intentions were not a 10 sec street car it was about smokingSS' statement, its just not something u see everyday, especially in a 91. however now with the 94 i plan for the 10-11 sec street car.