[Corner carver]

Originally Posted by EagleRS

Thanks ChicagoTommy,

I was hoping that was the case but again...I was just concerned. Yeah, not to keen on pushing the little LTG past 6K rmp.

Not to sound like a douche but I may be the first guy on here with the LTG to achieve 100K miles + in a short matter of time.

Bought my little RS in May2016 and I have ~44,300 miles on my car thus far.

Thanks again guys....

Yah sorry, kinda over reacted about the balance shafts...its just unfortunate that so much is tied into them (and pretty heavy).

Really not an issue unless you spin the engine a good bit faster than stock or/and start changing the weights of components inside the engine and down the driveline.
Unless someone is building a full on race effort a good crank dampener should take care of most of it... Not sure if one is available for the LTG yet though...

[geoffchad]

Originally Posted by EagleRS

Thanks ChicagoTommy,

I was hoping that was the case but again...I was just concerned. Yeah, not to keen on pushing the little LTG past 6K rmp.

Not to sound like a douche but I may be the first guy on here with the LTG to achieve 100K miles + in a short matter of time.

Bought my little RS in May2016 and I have ~44,300 miles on my car thus far.

Thanks again guys....

Don't worry, there are PLENTY of LTGs over 100k. Don't forget the first LTG cars built are now about 5 years old. There's one on the ATS forums with like 180k on it now.

The only reason to pull balance shafts (as said) is if you want a bajillion RPM redline and/or you want to scavenge every last horsepower. I did it once in my younger years on a 4g63 thinking it'd make the car faster from all of these supposed "robbed" horsepower but I wasn't (still aren't) a consistent and fast enough driver to take advantage of any, and the dyno showed little change for all of the headache - but in reality the engine just shook more and made the car less enjoyable on the highway.

In terms of reliability, the LTG seems to be pretty solid except for random pistons popping ringlands - otherwise I've seen cam sensors/actuators go (which are easy to change) and vacuum pumps go and the seal/front cover tends to 'weep' oil over time.

Just make sure to change your plugs and when you do, put a little anti-seize on them. GM doesn't put it on when changing plugs!

[Jason@JacFab]

Originally Posted by geoffchad

In terms of reliability, the LTG seems to be pretty solid except for random pistons popping ringlands - otherwise I've seen cam sensors/actuators go (which are easy to change) and vacuum pumps go and the seal/front cover tends to 'weep' oil!

Idk about the ats, but I bet changing the vacuum pump in the car on a Camaro is a real PITA. That, and it sucks that the vac pump has to be removed to get the valve cover off...

I'm thinking about looking to see if I can make the valve cover 2 piece so I don't have to remove the pump to remove the valve cover to access the cams.

As far as the balance shafts go. My understanding is that they cancel out low rpm vibrations, but at high rpm they actually create unhelpful vibrations. So I guess that could suck at cruising speeds/hwy... Not sure how good gm balances the rotating assembly, but I'll have to balance my new rotating assembly, so maybe it won't be that bad. I'm looking for almost every available hp while the engine is apart now, balance shaft mods aren't for everyone.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[ChicagoTommy]

Originally Posted by Jason@

Idk about the ats, but I bet changing the vacuum pump in the car on a Camaro is a real PITA. That, and it sucks that the vac pump has to be removed to get the valve cover off...

I'm thinking about looking to see if I can make the valve cover 2 piece so I don't have to remove the pump to remove the valve cover to access the cams.

As far as the balance shafts go. My understanding is that they cancel out low rpm vibrations, but at high rpm they actually create unhelpful vibrations. So I guess that could suck at cruising speeds/hwy... Not sure how good gm balances the rotating assembly, but I'll have to balance my new rotating assembly, so maybe it won't be that bad. I'm looking for almost every available hp while the engine is apart now, balance shaft mods aren't for everyone.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Some of these advanced tech type threads are causing issues with 'average' users. This isn't the first time I've seen it happen here on Camaro6. Maybe we should start labeling these types of threads [ADVANCED] or maybe we need a dedicated advanced tech forum?

[Ashium]

Originally Posted by Jason@

I'm looking for almost every available hp while the engine is apart now, balance shaft mods aren't for everyone.

Valve job! Many people (on other motors) seem to pick up about a 50% in flow numbers on just the valve job alone. That's always been my #1 must have when I open up a motor. I'm typically not a fan of oversized valves, but I do wonder how much meat we have to work with in the ports. I might have to find a head I can section and examine.

When you get the chance, can you show us the head, valves, port sizes, etc. doesn't have to be dead nuts on numbers, just ballpark. Thanks.

[Jason@JacFab]

Originally Posted by ChicagoTommy

Some of these advanced tech type threads are causing issues with 'average' users. This isn't the first time I've seen it happen here on Camaro6. Maybe we should start labeling these types of threads [ADVANCED] or maybe we need a dedicated advanced tech forum?

Haha maybe?

Originally Posted by Ashiu

Valve job! Many people (on other motors) seem to pick up about a 50% in flow numbers on just the valve job alone. That's always been my #1 must have when I open up a motor. I'm typically not a fan of oversized valves, but I do wonder how much meat we have to work with in the ports. I might have to find a head I can section and examine.



When you get the chance, can you show us the head, valves, port sizes, etc. doesn't have to be dead nuts on numbers, just ballpark. Thanks.

I read it's supposed to already be a 5 angle valve grind on the seats from the factory... Can't get much better than that!

Might have some good meat to be removed in the exhaust side. The ports are way smaller than the runners on the exhaust manifold. Haven't seen the intake side yet. Will have the head off soon.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[dekes1]

On the one hand, i can honestly say i have never driven another 4 cylinder car that idles as smooth and silent as the LTG. There are times I have to look down to see if the Auto Stop/start is engaged because i cant believe how smooth it is. Not even a tiny shake. It's smoother in my 2.0 car than the 3.6 v6 in my wife's car by a long shot.

On the other hand, in addition to the power robbing aspects that Jason has mentioned, i do wish the LTG would rev faster. The rotating inertia of 5lbs of balance shaft is definitely not helping rapid climbs of engine speed. Plus, the fact this 4 cylinder doesn't happily spin to 7200, or even 7500 rpm is disappointing and I'm sure the extra rotating mass doesn't help there either.

[EagleRS]

Is the crankshaft already balanced as if it was a "Cross-plane" crankshaft? Or is it the traditional balance of a standard Inline 4?

[RedonBlackRS]

Originally Posted by Jason@

Idk about the ats, but I bet changing the vacuum pump in the car on a Camaro is a real PITA. That, and it sucks that the vac pump has to be removed to get the valve cover off...

I'm thinking about looking to see if I can make the valve cover 2 piece so I don't have to remove the pump to remove the valve cover to access the cams.

As far as the balance shafts go. My understanding is that they cancel out low rpm vibrations, but at high rpm they actually create unhelpful vibrations. So I guess that could suck at cruising speeds/hwy... Not sure how good gm balances the rotating assembly, but I'll have to balance my new rotating assembly, so maybe it won't be that bad. I'm looking for almost every available hp while the engine is apart now, balance shaft mods aren't for everyone.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Having taken my daily driven 41k mile LTG to a 100+ mph sustained cruise with stints to ~130 mph, I can attest that there were no noticeable undue vibrations at high engine speed.

It's well-balanced from the factory, but I'm always a supporter of performance-minded weight loss

[rickwelch69]

Originally Posted by RedonBlackRS

Having taken my daily driven 41k mile LTG to a 100+ mph sustained cruise with stints to ~130 mph, I can attest that there were no noticeable undue vibrations at high engine speed.

It's well-balanced from the factory, but I'm always a supporter of performance-minded weight loss

I hit the limiter on mine at 149 and it was as smooth as glass, felt like 90

[RedonBlackRS]

^^^very nice^^^

[2.0t_godfather]

I went O shit when we opened one of these up back in May. We talked about several different ideas how to solve them. Machining does not seem to be an option. The shafts will have to be replaced with neutral balance. Direct drive isnt and option because the one cam drives the other and changes direction of the rotation for the pump. Plus the drive for the pump is offset on the backside of the housing. There will come a day when someone makes shafts, but until guys are buzzing 8k for power, its just not going to be needed. I balanced my rotating assembly while out. It will be interesting to see what it does at higher RPM

[Jason@JacFab]

Originally Posted by 2.0t_godfather

I went O shit when we opened one of these up back in May. We talked about several different ideas how to solve them. Machining does not seem to be an option. The shafts will have to be replaced with neutral balance. Direct drive isnt and option because the one cam drives the other and changes direction of the rotation for the pump. Plus the drive for the pump is offset on the backside of the housing. There will come a day when someone makes shafts, but until guys are buzzing 8k for power, its just not going to be needed. I balanced my rotating assembly while out. It will be interesting to see what it does at higher RPM

Yeah, I was hoping for something a little more simple. NOPE!

I do plan to experiment with it though... I bought some thick wall Chrome Moly tube to turn the shaft main bodies out of, and will press on (freeze on) some Straight cut gears made out of T1.

Then my thought is to test it by suspending it above a tub of oil (pickup in the oil), and use an electric motor to run it to normal engine speeds to 1) break in the gears outside the car 2) See if it holds up and if it works 3) run it for multiple hours at varying "engine speeds" to simulate real world driving/racing

If it lasts, put it in the car.

Not a super high priority at the moment, but it's on my list of things to do.