LS7 dry sump/widebodyFD Project: 6/5/08

[gnx7]

LS7 dry sump/widebodyFD Project: 6/5/08

To start: I have been collecting parts to build this project over the past year or so I figured it is about time to start a build thread on it. A little about me: I built a couple Buick GN (3.8i turbo) powered FC's (to drag race) in the late 90's which were fast and fun. I really liked drag racing which was my introduction to fast cars (Buick GN's)!

After taking out a stock FC with coilovers and RA-1's to the NorCal local tracks I was hooked on road racing and the car kicked ass on Sti and E36 M3's with only 138hp and 170K miles on the motor! 20 minutes of racing vs 10 seconds (drag) at a time was the main attraction... and you get to drag race between every corner! (thanks Dave (RX-Heven) for converting me) After this new finding it prompted me to finally sell my 700hp+ forged GN motor I had custom built and associated GN parts to fund a new found interest. The plan was to do a heads/cam LS1/FD (440rwhp) as a fast street car that was focused on road racing as the next project.

After months of building it and collecting parts the car was done and went to the dyno shortly thereafter! I was a contender in SportCompactCarMag's USSC event a few years back where it pulled 1.13g's which was one of the best handling cars they had tested. It also won that category which was a huge success to prove that V8 powered RX-7's still retain their handling! The car was built on a budget with lots of used parts and smacked around some $150K professionally built cars . Many thanks to C2 Automotive for setting up the suspension, JTR for their great products (headers/radiator/cold air kit), Hinson (engine mounting kit), Mike (LS1-FD) for his help (electrical), David White for the great parts, and others I haven't mentioned to make the car a success. At Thunderhill and Sears Point with brakes that locked up (ABS didn't work) it was still an animal and overshadowed many other purpose built cars there even though I commuted to work in it on the same tires!

BTW- Doesn't everyone commute to work on Michelin Pilot Sport Cups . The car was sold to rx7what (Casey) here on the board who owns it and is still terrorizing the surrounding Sonora area!

This prompted the next car buildup! I wanted to create the optimal street/track car running an FD chassis in conjunction with some of the best components I could source. The car is a street car with road racing in mind and the FD platform is an engineering marvel for a production car. Goals are 1.1g's+, incredible stopping power, mid 10's@140mph n/a and 9's@150mph on a 125HP shot, decent fuel economy (20mpg+ hwy) with a/c and full stereo.....

And this is where the story for this thread begins: LS7 dry sump/widebodyFD Project official launch: 6/5/08

I'm going to slowly post up pics as it takes shape... but the current progress is this. Body shop hell for 3 months... hopefully one left to go! All the parts below I currently own aside from a few misc pieces. ie exhaust fabrication (hint... Samberg Fab) and some Cobra axle parts. The goal is to have it fully completed by SevenStock '08 in September to attend the Irvine, CA RX-7 gathering with other fellow V8 RX-7's.

Engine:
custom built LS7 dry sump motor by David White (DW) in SoCal (approx 555rwhp TBD on the dyno as per Nate's buildup)
stock LS7 alum block with modified oil passages by DW
stock forged LS7 crank with balanced rotating assembly by Castillo's cranks in SoCal
Lunati ProMod billet rods (1200hp rated) and Wiseco forged pistons (11.25:1)
WCCH ported GM LS7 heads (380cfm (stock intake ports)/260cfm ported exh side) with 2.2" titanium valves/retainers
WCCH spring pockets machined for larger springs (1.46" size and 700" lift limit), 1.46" double springs
stock LS7 rocker arms modified by Harland Sharp to eliminate Timken bearing failure
ported LS7 intake, 90mm TB, stock injectors/rail
hydraulic roller cam (still finalizing specs)
4" intake with MAF (LS7)
ATI LS7/Fbody underdriven harmonic balancer
Evans Cooling system modified water pump (prevents cavitation at high RPM)
Katech billet tensioner
KRC power steering pump
GM a/c compressor
billet AWR catch can
Peterson Oiling system 3 gallon reservoir with heating element (for preheating the oil)
Oil Cooler

Fuel System:
Dual Walbro 340 pumps (to support NX kit)
-8AN feed, -6AN return
Aeromotive adj FPR
Stock fuel rails/injectors

Trans/clutch:
Fbody LS1 T56 freshly rebuilt/blueprinted by David White in SoCal
new synchros/bearings
steel 3/4 shift forks
carbon blockers
700rwhp+ capacity
Textralia twin disc flywheel/clutch
Hurst shifter, Steeda stick, Cobra shifter knob
new GM slave, Hinson clutch line, USBrake master cylinder

Exhaust:
JTR 1 7/8" long tube headers ceramic coated
dual s/s 3" exhaust merged into single 3.5" muffler (brand TBD)
either dual 3" cats or single 3.5" cat
3.5" electric cutout

Rear end:
'03 Cobra 8.8" IRS alum pumpkin with 31 spline inner axles
3:73 gears, stock TrackLok (Ford Racing Zexel Torsen maybe)
Samberg Fabrication Cobra/FD cradle
Driveshaft Shop 33 spline outer CV's
Driveshaft Shop 300M forged steel axles
Driveshaft Shop 3.5" alum HD driveshaft

Brakes:
RacingBrake front/rear BigBrakeKit (BBK) 13"/12.7"
HAWK HT-10 race pads (thanks Hyperion for testing these)
braided s/s lines

Suspension:
Penske Double Adj coilovers with remote reservoirs custom valved by Ankeny Racing
Hypercoil 700/550lb springs + helper springs
TriPoint Engineering modular race hollow front bar .188" wall, Widefoot billet front mounts, stock rear bar
M2 tubular toe/trailing arms
SuperPro Performance poly 18 piece bushing kit, 6 new Mazda pillowball bushings, 2 new rear lower inner suspension bushings

Rims/Tires:
CCW "Classic" 3 piece rims with titanium hardware
front- 18x10.5" rims shod with 285/30/18 Michelin Pilot Sport Cups
rear- 18x12.5" rims shod with 335/30/18 Toyo RA-1's

Exterior:
JKL Racing Mazdaspeed replica GTC bumper (FRP)
Burnout front flared fenders (FRP)
Pettit Racing rear flares (fiberglass)
VIS rear hatch (CF) with FAL lexan window
APR adj rear wing (CF)

Interior:
LeatherSeats.com custom seats with black leather sides and black suede centers finished off with grey double stitching
Alpine CD player with backup camera
Infinity 3 way door speakers
Infinity rear speakers
Infinity 10" powered subwoofer (removable)
Clarion 400W amp (removable)
Raceshop chromemoly race rollbar with removable driver side door bar (legal to 10.0's)
Simpson 5pt Camlock racing belts
Valentine1 radar detector

[Sabre002]

What wide body are you putting on the car?

[gnx7]

the money shot!

[65imp]

Mark,
Hope you can make it down for sevenstock and the steaks and beer meet. I have that as a tentative date for my build as well. Of course I will likely push my car over to the event!

Couple questions:

1. Why the larger springs? Going hog wild with the cam?

2. Target weight?

3. What RPM do you figure you can turn with the changes you have made to the ls7?

[gnx7]

65IMP- Steaks and beer will be a great time as usual! I hope you finish your car.

The stock spring pads limit the cam size you can run because of the small spring diameter which limits selection. Enlarging the pads opens up more choices. LGMotorsports I think was the first to do this... It has a 253/259 .650 110LSA cam in it now..... but I'm changing it out to something with less intake duration and a little different LSA after talking to other folks. The current cam/setup made 555rwhp in Nate's car which is a near identical motor. My motor has been sitting on a pallet in my garage for a year now waiting to be put into use! I haven't even unwrapped it yet....

I'm hoping for 2900lbs with full tank of gas and the Carbon/lexan hatch in place, and removed sub/amp/spare/tools.

The plan is to spin it to 7300rpm on occassion. We'll see if the components can take it. I have more in these cylinder heads than my last motor! They better work.

[nzk]

how are u going to plumb the dry sump system, or is it a custom setup unlike the one that comes with Z06/LS7?

[czwalga00gt]

I have the same front rear fenders in my build thread a few threads below. Are you going to cut the stock fenders? If you dont there's no point in putting the wide fenders on. I also relocated the filler cap if you plan on molding them in for a cleaner look.

[2MCHPWR]

no rollbar?
i have the evans pump. with 25% underdriven pulley, i had some low rpm cooling issues.
still with 10% or stock diameter if possible.

[gnx7]

nzk- stock LS7 GM factory dry sump system. I'm running an oil pan adaptor so it converts to -AN fittings and then run custom lines from there. I plan to mount the reservoir in the car behind the passenger seat. Hopefully build some form of heat barrier/box around it with a small fan to suck out the heat from inside the cabin (if that works). I would like the a/c to work nicely.

00gt- in the 4th pic you can see my 1/4 panels have been cut back and welded closed. I'm keeping the gas tank fill neck stock and simply bolting on the flares. I don't want any issues with them cracking from body flex. Your car would never pass tech where you located the fill tube in my area. It is a cool place to put it... but not for me. I'm still debating whether to use the Burnout front flares or not. The stock fenders give a much cleaner look.

2MCHPWR- I'm running the RaceShop bar. I also spoke with the guys at Evans about the underdriven pump and they said to contact them just before the car hit the road and they will have a solution to what you are describing. They may have it already.

Are you running a Tstat? Are you running Evans NPG coolant?

[macnewma]

Very cool project. If you don't run the burnout wide front fenders, how will you accommodate the wider front wheels?