“The Real Street car is going to be a far more elegant racecar that goes out for a purpose,” says Lingenfelter’s Graham Behan. “[With the black car] we wanted to be quick, and we wanted to do it with a manual 6-speed just because we could. That car evolved, rather than being planned.”
Paul Huizenga LSX TV & Corvette Online Editor
After some close calls on the street in his late teens and early twenties, Paul Huizenga discovered organized drag racing and never looked back, becoming a SFI-Certified tech inspector and avid bracket racer. Formerly the editor of OverRev and Race Pages magazines, Huizenga set out on his own in 2009 to become a freelance writer and editor.
The foundation for any performance engine build is the block, and our LSX-based race motor being built by Virginia Speed is no exception. Before any of the sexy hardware from Trick Flow, ProCharger, Holley, Lunati, JE, GRP, and a host of other partners in the build can be added, we first need a solid framework.
If you’re a fan of StangTV, Street Legal TV, or LSXtv then you already know that Vortech Superchargers is a strong supporter of these powerTV online publications, and vice versa. Today, we’re proud to announce that Vortech has stepped up in a big way to help sponsor both Dragzine and Corvette Online as well.
I got to watch it all happen in slow motion, just a few feet ahead of me. He slipped past at the line, there was smoke, and then the car darted into the wall. After the initial impact, the car bounced back toward the center line and I was as hard on the brakes as I could be without locking them up myself.
Alston Makes Quickest Vortech Pass Ever; Holes Block On Next Pass
Posted by
Paul Huizenga
on 05/21/11
Saturday’s Outlaw 10.5 qualifying in Fontana, California for the PSCA Hughes Performance California Nationals was a combination of extreme highs and lows for Chris Alston, Jr. – After running 6.719 at 212.66 MPH to capture the number one spot in the first round, disaster struck in the final qualifying session.
The 2011 Pacific Street Car Association tour heads to Fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada this weekend for the second round of the season, and the first appearance of the Pro Street class in competition this year. We will be bringing you all the heads-up racing action from The Strip all weekend long.
It is the first race of the PSCA season right here in sunny southern California. The initial season opener was suppose to happen in Las Vegas, though it was canceled due to weather. This race will not have the Pro Street class in attendance as local noise ordinance laws has forced Fontana to build a sound wall.
Engine Building Tips Part II: Block Prep, Head Studs, and Valve Lash
Posted by
Paul Huizenga
on 03/10/11
In this installment, we’re going to take a look at prepping the block itself, the proper way to install head studs, and how to set valve lash, and once again we’ve got Dart’s Jack McInnis as our sherpa as we climb higher.
Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center Wants To Pay Your LSX Challenge Entry
Posted by
Paul Huizenga
on 01/31/11
If you’re planning on heading down to sunny Bradenton, Florida in mid-March for the first round of the LSX Challenge Series, we’ve got some good news for you, and if you were on the fence, this may convince you to go – Scoggin-Dickey Parts Center is offering to pay your race entry fees (worth up to $150).
Engine Building Part 3: Cam Degreeing, Piston Clearance, Tolerances
Posted by
Paul Huizenga
on 01/10/11
We’re back with Part III of our Dart University series, in which we learn the ins and outs of putting together anything from a hot street engine to a full race motor. This time around, we’ll be looking at how to degree a cam, checking piston-to-valve clearance, and how manufacturing tolerances affect your build.
The LSX Shootout has been expanded for 2011 to a series-within-a-series at three select NMCA events, plus a round at the Holley LS Fest. The GM Performance Parts LSX Challenge Series features five different competition classes plus a championship points system, making 2011 an exciting year for LS drag racers.
Just because they practically invented the commercial nitrous kit, you might think that Nitrous Oxide Systems is old-school and content to coast on their substantial and well-earned reputation. Then again, when have you ever known nitrous guys to be happy just coasting?
You know VP Racing, sure. You know they’re a leading supplier of race fuel for pretty much every form of motorsports. You might even know that they’ve even got a new fuel specifically formulated for small engines. But do you know the difference between C16 and Q16?
Using your laptop, their software, and their interface box, you have complete control over parameters such as spark, fuel, RPM limits, fan activation temperatures, automatic transmission shift points and pressures, speedometer settings, and more.
Is it a big small block, or a small big block Chevy? Whichever way you look at it, the new 4.840 bore spacing block from PBM Performance Products combines the ability to take standard big block heads with the ability to accept standard small block parts.
Connecting rods are important – ask anyone who’s broken one! But there’s no one-size-fits all solution for all builds, and Lunati recognizes that with their selection of I- and H-beam rods for small block Ford, small and big block Chevy, and Chevy LS applications.
Holley’s new HP Series fuel systems are designed to take the guesswork out of plumbing a carbureted car – they’ve got a plan for everything you need from tank to float bowl.
Weld Racing’s Kyle Fickler is a man who pays attention to detail – when we caught up with him at this year’s PRI show, we got a little bit of an education on just how important those details can be when it comes to making a wheel for the street or strip.
These low-compression pistons for the LS7 are perfect for supercharged or turbocharged applications, and they’re packing some impressive engineering chops.
America’s best-known name in racing tires, Goodyear, is renewing their commitment to drag racing at all levels from sportsman to Top Fuel, and a couple of good examples are their Eagle Dragway Radials specially commissioned for use with the Cobra Jet Mustang and Drag Pak Challenger in Super Stock racing.
Currie’s F9 and F9-HD housings take everything they’ve learned about making the Ford nine indestructable and put it together in one package. The F9 is constructed of 50,000 PSI yield Hi-Form 50 steel, with a 3/16-inch thick body and 3/8-inch third member mounting face.
Advanced Clutch Technology has been working hard to expand their line of twin-disc clutches – Once strictly a race part, these clutches have been tamed for the street without losing any of their strength.
Give Granatelli Motorsports a block of billet aluminum, and you never know what you’ll end up with. If it’s a modestly-sized one, they might turn it into one of their new Billet Modular Fluid Management System components. Hand them a particularly big block of aluminum and you might get a billet valve cover…
Successful companies like FAST never leave well enough alone, and they’ve just introduced a 2.0 update to their XFI software. All new XFI units will ship with this improved firmware, while existing XFI owners will be able to upgrade to 2.0′s advantages with their existing hardware.
Even wildly popular engines like Chevy’s LS family have some adherents at the outer limits of sanity, for whom off-the-shelf hardware just won’t cut it. Jesel is the kind of company that goes above and beyond in their catalog offerings, so you can just imagine what the output from their Custom Shop looks like.
Scat Crankshafts is always looking to expand their already-extensive catalog of cranks and rods, and some of the newest additions are 4340 big block Chevy cranks that are made in the USA with forgings from Pacific Drop Forge.
The typical race ‘Glide, even with a perfectly-matched converter, will throw away as much as 15 percent of the power the engine produces at the top end of the track due to slippage, but with the new XP5, racers effectively have a third gear in their transmission.
We’ve just received word that the LSX Shootout, the premiere drag race competition for LS-powered vehicles, will expand from a single event to three rounds in 2011.
Chris Alston’s Chassisworks’ new gear drives are available in single and dual blower configuration for most Vortech and ProCharger head units, with mounts for small block Ford and Chevy, big block Chevy, and LS engines, with more on the way.
At the very top levels of drag racing, there are a lot of things that can kill you quickly, and a few that do it slowly. Simpson’s new CH3NO2 helmet is protection against both.
PRI 2010: LSX454R is GM Performance Parts’ Most Powerful Engine Ever
Posted by
Paul Huizenga
on 12/11/10
It’s official: The new LSX454R from GM Performance Parts is the most powerful crate engine ever offered by the General. Rated at “750+” horsepower by GMPP, the real number is somewhere near 800, and there’s still room for more because the engine was designed with nitrous or boost in mind.
A good rule of thumb is that if it’s insane, and it’s made from beautifully-welded stainless steel, Jack Burns has something to do with it. Over the years, we’ve seen all sorts of innovations in race exhaust technology, design, and materials from Burns Stainless.
With ethanol, MTBE, and heaven knows what else making its way into gasoline nowadays, chemical compatibility is a big deal when it comes time to plumb your car. That’s a job you only want to do once, so Fragola’s 6000-series PTFE-lined braided stainless hose is an excellent choice.
To the average racer, the black art of choosing the right turbocharger for a specific application is something akin to doing algebra with Roman numerals – frustrating, confusing, and full of terms that you simply don’t understand.
There are some people out there who say that the factory LS3 heads just don’t have enough room left in them for improvement to make an aftermarket head worth doing. Those people don’t work at Trick Flow Specialties.
The factory LS7 engine set a new high point for naturally-aspirated LS performance, but even so, there’s room to make a good thing better if you know what you’re doing. Racing Head Service certainly knows exactly how to turn it into something extraordinary.
To say that Holley carburetors are an industry standard is like saying the Yankees have managed to put together a few good seasons, or that the Beatles did OK selling records. It’s hard to overstate just how much of an impact the 4150 has had on the aftermarket over the years.
The Street Car Super Nationals, now in its sixth year, brings the 2010 drag racing season to a close with the biggest doorslammer event West of the Mississippi. The Strip at Las Vegas Motorsports park is playing host this weekend to teams from across the United States this weekend, and we’ve got all the action.
Because this is a serious drag car build – we’re shooting for low nines – we needed to be equally serious about how the engine and transmission mated up to the chassis. Having a ton of power isn’t worth a damn if all it does is rip the motor mounts out, so we turned to Madman & Co. Racing for a motor plate setup.
Over the course of more than a decade of operation, the NMRA has become the world’s foremost doorslammer Mustang racing sanction, outlasted several prominent competitors, and created countless great moments in drag racing. Here are ten of our favorites…
