Hold(en) my beer - Monaro, Ute and Commodore content
Discussion
Swapped in the new sender just in case, although from rough gauge eyeballing, it seemed to read the same at cold idle as the 'old' one, so suspect it was fine. More spares eh!
So got it up nice and hot over lunch, and set about getting some readings. I shan't build any suspense, it's f
king fiiiiine now 
As the rpm is never completely steady it's hard to get good pictures, and the in car gauge lags behind the reading and also doesn't really give a good indication as it turns out, so I'm glad I plugged EFI Live in.
That's the all important 55psi we want when over 4500, so I'm satisfied we aren't going to have a pressure problem.
Some rough readings I picked up were basically 32psi hot idle, 43psi around 2,000rpm, 55psi by 3800 ish (was hard to keep the rpm steady up here)
With the odd blip it flashed up into the 4xx kPa over 4,000rpm so I'm happy it's building the pressure quickly as you'd expect.
More importantly, LOUD NOISES
Can see there's some excess fuelling to tidy up with the black smoke on big throttle / rpm changes, will get the injector adapters swapped over this weekend I expect ready for the dyno next weekend.
Worst case if it fails the MOT I'll just get it transported down there as it's a prime opportunity to have the Aussie tune it in person, and also to have a load of other Holdens there on the day to baseline / compare figures same day / same dyno etc.
No obvious leaks other than a smidge at the oil cooler thermostat, will just need to tighten these fittings up a touch more, no big deal.
Fingers crossed for the MOT!
So got it up nice and hot over lunch, and set about getting some readings. I shan't build any suspense, it's f
king fiiiiine now As the rpm is never completely steady it's hard to get good pictures, and the in car gauge lags behind the reading and also doesn't really give a good indication as it turns out, so I'm glad I plugged EFI Live in.
That's the all important 55psi we want when over 4500, so I'm satisfied we aren't going to have a pressure problem.
Some rough readings I picked up were basically 32psi hot idle, 43psi around 2,000rpm, 55psi by 3800 ish (was hard to keep the rpm steady up here)
With the odd blip it flashed up into the 4xx kPa over 4,000rpm so I'm happy it's building the pressure quickly as you'd expect.
More importantly, LOUD NOISES
Can see there's some excess fuelling to tidy up with the black smoke on big throttle / rpm changes, will get the injector adapters swapped over this weekend I expect ready for the dyno next weekend.
Worst case if it fails the MOT I'll just get it transported down there as it's a prime opportunity to have the Aussie tune it in person, and also to have a load of other Holdens there on the day to baseline / compare figures same day / same dyno etc.
No obvious leaks other than a smidge at the oil cooler thermostat, will just need to tighten these fittings up a touch more, no big deal.
Fingers crossed for the MOT!
Huskyman said:
Sounds awesome 
and I’m glad the oil pressure issue wasn’t something problematic. Good luck with the MOT
Cheers, me too as you can imagine! and I’m glad the oil pressure issue wasn’t something problematic. Good luck with the MOTKrikkit said:
Nice! Glad the pump sorted out the issue in the end - it might've been OK with the old pump, but peace of mind is worth its weight in gold after all this work.
Good luck with the MOT!
Absolutely right about peace of mind, if you end up worrying about something then it really limits your enjoyment of the whole thing, which wouldn't be any good after all the effort!Good luck with the MOT!
Also, I was so focused on the oil pressure I didn't notice that the IAT was reading -40
Just nipped down to check and sure enough, I hadn't plugged the intake air temp sensor back in 
Probably accounts for some of the richness...Camaro said:
I mean, I don't wish to brag, but my truck has better oil pressure at hot idle :P
Glad you got it sorted though. If you want, highly recommend 20w50 which is what we run in the race car. 70psi cold.
I think once you stack up that a ham fisted chimp finger tighted this thing together, and that said chimp was aiming for looser clearances than the General does... you're probably still right to brag Glad you got it sorted though. If you want, highly recommend 20w50 which is what we run in the race car. 70psi cold.
Have you seen the factory clearance specs on LSs? They'll take 0.0008" - 0.0021" mains clearance in production, if you got a tight one (sniggers) then I bet you'd have some serious pressure available.
Although interestingly the factory pumps run about a 52psi relief spring I think it is... at least the Monaros did.
Anyway, will likely stick with a 10w30 once it's off the break-in oil but will see what Mamo says because he is my god now and I shall accept no other
So no leaks that I could see around the pan which is good
Popped the sump guard back on
Going to give the brakes a good bleed tonight as they didn't have great pedal feel, then bumper / bonnet back on and we're good to go.
The little injector adapters turned up as well
Will get those swapped over before the dyno day. Once it's off the break in oil, from Tony's recommendation I'll likely be going to a 5w30 as he thinks it'll be better for economy and power and I can stand to lose a bit of oil pressure without any worries.
Popped the sump guard back on
Going to give the brakes a good bleed tonight as they didn't have great pedal feel, then bumper / bonnet back on and we're good to go.
The little injector adapters turned up as well
Will get those swapped over before the dyno day. Once it's off the break in oil, from Tony's recommendation I'll likely be going to a 5w30 as he thinks it'll be better for economy and power and I can stand to lose a bit of oil pressure without any worries.
SturdyHSV said:
Once it's off the break in oil, from Tony's recommendation I'll likely be going to a 5w30 as he thinks it'll be better for economy and power and I can stand to lose a bit of oil pressure without any worries.
That's what I have returned to now (5w30) in my LS2, having moved to 5w40 and 10w40 for a time. I have plenty of oil pressure and it's a little better for temps on track. 
We have an MOT!
The brake pedal feel isn't very nice though, so I've got some work to do finding out whether it's the hydroboost, or just needs a better bleed or find a Tech2 to do an ABS bleed (likely this I reckon)
I do have the tech2win software, but it doesn't work on my Surface (seems a common issue) and the only other old laptop I had is XP and it gets closer to working, but I can't install the software for the bloody plug in module because they're 64bit. I hate computers
Engine does feel pretty stout, hard to gauge really but definitely with the manual you just get that nice sense of immediate and effortless (and largely endless) power, which makes the fuel consumption worth it
I think on a run I might get 23-25 if I can get the tune nicely sorted and millimetre perfect throttle application, but likely to be 20 ish 'on a run' and absolutely godawful everywhere else
The brake pedal feel isn't very nice though, so I've got some work to do finding out whether it's the hydroboost, or just needs a better bleed or find a Tech2 to do an ABS bleed (likely this I reckon)
I do have the tech2win software, but it doesn't work on my Surface (seems a common issue) and the only other old laptop I had is XP and it gets closer to working, but I can't install the software for the bloody plug in module because they're 64bit. I hate computers
Engine does feel pretty stout, hard to gauge really but definitely with the manual you just get that nice sense of immediate and effortless (and largely endless) power, which makes the fuel consumption worth it
I think on a run I might get 23-25 if I can get the tune nicely sorted and millimetre perfect throttle application, but likely to be 20 ish 'on a run' and absolutely godawful everywhere else
seefarr said:
Congrats on getting it back on the road mate!Janosh said:
Amazing, can’t wait to see what you and Luis produce at SRR, I’ll try and pop down to have a see the beast in person..
That'd be cool, would be good to see your R8 too, enjoy your thread updates So having driven it a bit this weekend (about 80 miles or so, averaging about 15mpg
) had a couple of bits to tidy up.Tbe driver's side breather would cough out a bit of oil, it's always done this unless there's quite a tall run up to the filter, so instead I came up with a tidier solution to run the line over to the catch can, with a T in from the valley vent as well.
Both of these drop down once they leave the engine, so I'm hoping basically if oil makes it out in the vapour and condenses, it'll run down the hose and get to the catch can.
I also lowered the catch can down to hopefully assist with this.
The can has a little dipstick so I can see if it's actually accumulating anything or not.
Secondly, the Holley valve covers... So with LS2 coils on, as I think I mentioned before, there's only a few threads of engagement in the (cheap aluminium) threads on the covers, so you can't torque them down too much, annnnd they vibrate loose in no time.
The 4 bolts that hold the top cover on also seemed to be pretty loose too, so I imagine they'd backed out with vibration as well.
I blue loctited the tips and hopefully that'll keep them in place like I have done on the driver's side.
Time will tell.
I'm still not 100% convinced by the hydroboost, or perhaps just the PS pump itself, occasionally the resistance briefly changes in the steering when you apply the brake for example, which by my understanding would be that the pump can't keep up with the demand.
It just doesn't feel good at times, inconsistent, so isn't exactly confidence inspiring. I'm going to get the ABS bleed done to see how that improves pedal feel, and obviously get some more miles on to (allegedly) get all of the 'microbubbles' out of the hydroboost as per the manufacturer's recommendation, and then make a judgement from there.
Could be the PS pump I have isn't in top shape too, it was a used part of course, basically there's a lot of unknowns so I'll tick those off as best I can.
Ultimately it may be I need to just put the big ugly vacuum booster back on, I'll have to do some measuring to see if it'll actually fit without fouling the aforementioned Holley rocker covers too...
In more positive news, although not tuned yet, my god is it good to be in a manual again. It is also LOUD
Under load it sounds very, very angry, totally different to how it used to sound with the Wortec exhaust, which was a lot more refined and melodic, it is now more a biblical event when you give it some throttle.
I still haven't figured out if it's some sort of rattle upon lifting off at higher rpm or if it's just the nature of the overrun sound, more investigation necessary.
The car is now utterly dominated by the engine, which is basically exactly what I wanted, and it has also clarified in my mind that I want to build the Ute with a manual and keep it a relatively sane build in comparison, as currently the Monaro feels like 'enough' for me in terms of rawness, and actually the Ute staying around the 400hp mark but with a manual would make it a nice balance.
The wagon will get the supercharger and be refined but powerful.
Long waffle post but just dumping some thoughts and will see how I feel about them later!
A mate (Camaro) is popping over from Santa Pod so may see if we can get some video from onboard as it is quite a thing already
So yeah, those headers do hang pretty low...
More importantly, got to share the car with a mate which hasn't happened for years, and is really what it's all about. We pretty much just giggled like children the entire time, but managed to briefly stay quiet long enough and remember to take a quick video of a bit of a roll in 2nd.
Once this is tuned and running up to 7,000rpm, it's going to be quite exciting I also can't imagine shifting in to third at that point and continuing, it feels mental.
More importantly, got to share the car with a mate which hasn't happened for years, and is really what it's all about. We pretty much just giggled like children the entire time, but managed to briefly stay quiet long enough and remember to take a quick video of a bit of a roll in 2nd.
Once this is tuned and running up to 7,000rpm, it's going to be quite exciting
I also can't imagine shifting in to third at that point and continuing, it feels mental.Sounding great, really coming together now. How many running-in miles are you going to do?
For diagnostics I bought a Lenovo X31 thinkpad (little, rugged bd) and set up a Win7 dual boot - one 64-bit one 32-bit - and then a 32-bit XP setup as well. It now runs all my diagnostic stuff, everything can be made to work on 7 or XP one way or another.
For diagnostics I bought a Lenovo X31 thinkpad (little, rugged b
d) and set up a Win7 dual boot - one 64-bit one 32-bit - and then a 32-bit XP setup as well. It now runs all my diagnostic stuff, everything can be made to work on 7 or XP one way or another.Polly Grigora said:
Great news that you're now happy with the oil pressure, all comes good in the end
Yep, don't get me wrong I'm still keeping a constant eye on the gauge, but am a bit more relaxed now Krikkit said:
Sounding great, really coming together now. How many running-in miles are you going to do?
For diagnostics I bought a Lenovo X31 thinkpad (little, rugged bd) and set up a Win7 dual boot - one 64-bit one 32-bit - and then a 32-bit XP setup as well. It now runs all my diagnostic stuff, everything can be made to work on 7 or XP one way or another.
Running in is well past done now, it's only to seat the rings and that was done on the way to and on the dyno, so nowt more to do now other than abuse it (more so once it's tuned) For diagnostics I bought a Lenovo X31 thinkpad (little, rugged b
d) and set up a Win7 dual boot - one 64-bit one 32-bit - and then a 32-bit XP setup as well. It now runs all my diagnostic stuff, everything can be made to work on 7 or XP one way or another.The clutch needs about 500 miles before any clutch dumps and hard shifts etc., it's probably had about 100 or so over the weekend so likely to be a little while longer.
Also, because people love to know, an initial rough estimate from the onboard computer is that it's averaged about 15mpg
So I just checked the fluids last night for the sake of it as it's nice out, all looked fine, topped up the clutch fluid a touch.
Also, found a good 'before' shot from when I got the car...
And after of course...
Also chatted to the guy that I sold my old cam to, and he'd had his Monaro VXR tuned / dyno'd and it made 497bhp (406 at the wheels) which was interesting to hear. I never had it dyno'd after the cam, so was good to get a ballpark figure, his has a few more stock bits than mine did so I'd say mine was probably making 500 with the cam at least
He sent me the graph which was interesting because my new cam for the stroker should give a similarly shaped torque curve, maybe a little steeper in the middle, so was good to have a nose at that. It was tuned down at Surrey Rolling Road (where I'll be on Saturday / Sunday, and same tuner) so considered to be pretty representative figures.
Gives me some hope for the mystical 600 as I've got the spicier cam, better valvetrain, all the ported intake goodies, the enormously better heads and of course 10% more capacity!
We shall see. Will be swapping over the injector adapters this evening I think.
Also, found a good 'before' shot from when I got the car...
And after of course...
Also chatted to the guy that I sold my old cam to, and he'd had his Monaro VXR tuned / dyno'd and it made 497bhp (406 at the wheels) which was interesting to hear. I never had it dyno'd after the cam, so was good to get a ballpark figure, his has a few more stock bits than mine did so I'd say mine was probably making 500 with the cam at least
He sent me the graph which was interesting because my new cam for the stroker should give a similarly shaped torque curve, maybe a little steeper in the middle, so was good to have a nose at that. It was tuned down at Surrey Rolling Road (where I'll be on Saturday / Sunday, and same tuner) so considered to be pretty representative figures.
Gives me some hope for the mystical 600 as I've got the spicier cam, better valvetrain, all the ported intake goodies, the enormously better heads and of course 10% more capacity!
We shall see. Will be swapping over the injector adapters this evening I think.
Edited by SturdyHSV on Wednesday 20th July 09:25
Janosh said:
Nice, 406whp at SRR is a good result for a cam’d LS2.
I bet you can’t wait till Saturday!
The weather looks very tolerable for the drive down which is a relief and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing a load of Holdens and owners again as it feels like it's been years!I bet you can’t wait till Saturday!
My tuning session will be on Sunday and yeah I'm definitely excited, although also mildly apprehensive obviously, but hey, I have AA cover so...
I'm probably most looking forward to the drive back, looking at the dyno graph from the first little session, you can see there's a lot of tidying up to be done so having it all nicely buttoned up and giving it a good send through second for the first time is going to be very exciting.
I was saying to Camaro when we went out for the little drive around that it's already at a level of drama going through second that I can't really imagine banging it in to third and carrying on accelerating, proper roller coaster ride
Also I imagine hearing 6.6 litres at 7,000 for the first time I imagine is going to be a bit special 
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