Build A Hellcat Eater
- Thread starter Speedman87
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Building a car to beat it is one thing but there is something to be said about hitting a switch and it turns your car onto beast that can handle. I do not like driving my son's 4 series M optioned BMW for a few reasons, one being the huge A pillar that creats an uncomfortable blind spot. I have driven it a few times but I haven't driven it hard since I never push a car until I know how it reacts. My son on the other hand has shown me what his car can do, he's got launch control and the car tells him when to take off, he has different settings for his suspension and a bunch of other tricks. My car can match him in corners and my GP has power than his BMW but he drives his BMW every day and has clients in his car so it's nice he can hit the switch and the car drives like nicely behaved high end luxury car. My GP on the other hand is what it is and it takes more to change things than flicking a switch.
i thought this thread was called build a Hellcat Easter..nevermind
mentioning Easter makes the winter look longer and I am depressed enough without your help....
My Malibu runs down hellcats. I didn't build it for that but it's fun. Someone said something about the G not having all of the latest tech, that's exactly what I love about them.
Also the 6.2 vs smaller truck engines debate has positives in both directions. I would love to whip out a LS3 and beat on it like I do 5.3s. 4k++ for just the stock engine vs the $231 it costs me to get whatever the junkyard has is a strong incentive to keep with unloved truck engines.
4.8 is a special engine. It's one of a couple LS engines with a non-standard stroke. The hand built LS7 is the other outlier that sticks out. The short stroke of the 4.8 makes it ideal to use for a maximum effort boost platform. The smaller angle between the crank and piston pin makes it able to tolerate enormous cylinder pressures without folding up connecting rods. The magic of small block GM stuff is that all this junk interchanges. 4.8 crank in the LS3 FTW!! Big bore unshrouds the valves, short stroke keeps the rotating assembly stout. Ya could spin it to the Moon or compound turbo it and make 20lbs of boost at 1500rpm. Electric motor style torque but still makes cool noises. I need to figure out variable geometry turbos like diesel trucks use but on a much larger platform like s480 stuff. Boost at low rpm along with free flowing top end.
Also the 6.2 vs smaller truck engines debate has positives in both directions. I would love to whip out a LS3 and beat on it like I do 5.3s. 4k++ for just the stock engine vs the $231 it costs me to get whatever the junkyard has is a strong incentive to keep with unloved truck engines.
4.8 is a special engine. It's one of a couple LS engines with a non-standard stroke. The hand built LS7 is the other outlier that sticks out. The short stroke of the 4.8 makes it ideal to use for a maximum effort boost platform. The smaller angle between the crank and piston pin makes it able to tolerate enormous cylinder pressures without folding up connecting rods. The magic of small block GM stuff is that all this junk interchanges. 4.8 crank in the LS3 FTW!! Big bore unshrouds the valves, short stroke keeps the rotating assembly stout. Ya could spin it to the Moon or compound turbo it and make 20lbs of boost at 1500rpm. Electric motor style torque but still makes cool noises. I need to figure out variable geometry turbos like diesel trucks use but on a much larger platform like s480 stuff. Boost at low rpm along with free flowing top end.
no need to thank me,just pay it forward..mentioning Easter makes the winter look longer and I am depressed enough without your help....
As I said, G bodies have quite a few disadvantages. If you really want to build Hellcat killer out of one, you need to start with the frame. G body frames are weak and floppy and can only safely stand up to 400 hp if free of rust damage and has bracing installed. So you will need a redesigned frame that is much stronger than stock. There are a couple of aftermarket G body frames you can buy or have a race shop build one.
Next is the body, which works in conjuction with the frame. Again, a rust free stock body with racing will only stand up to 400 hp with its weak mild steel construction. Modern car bodies are made out of much stronger and lighter steel alloys. Instead of joining the body to the frame with body bushings or metal spacers, the two should be welded together to form a qusi unibody G body. The aerodynamics for G bodies are also very poor by modern standards and would need to be addressed. Good starting point would be to use a Aerocoupe as it has the best aerodynamics for G bodies.
After the body and frame are taken cared of, next is the suspension. G body suspensions are really outdated and victims of factory cost cutting. The front suspension design is recycled from old 1960's GM designs that has horrible geometry. The rear 4 link is so bad it would require a complete redesign. It is why the GNX is unique among G bodies in that it forgoes the 4 link for a different design. Developing and installing the various Nanny systems modern cars use into G bodies is beyond the scope of most DIYselfer. Then rear axles, brakes, powertrains, etc. You might 2ant to go over to Montecarloss forums and look up posts by a engineer named MAP who explains the many shortcomings in G bodies.
I still have a smogged 5L, and it can easily outrun my 2008 CVPI. If you know what you are doing, you can get a so called smog motor to perform. Sadly, knowing how to hotrod old gen engines is rapidly becoming a lost art. Just because G bodies are granny cars does not mean they can be improved, otherwise GM could not have made the pertormance sub models such as the MCSS, 442, and TRs. However, there are still practial limits in place for G bodies. Even at stock power levels, the performance G body modrls suffered issues. GNs often have distorted and warped body damage from their power output. You can still race prop planes, but a jet will still kick its *ss.
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I'll only post here to say that reply's to this thread is why I rarely post. Unfarking believable.....
Gotta get Enrique over here to explain to you good folk😉
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