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The first day of PRI 2014 brought a visit to ERL Performance‘s Andres Vivanco, where we learned about the company’s Superdeck package for the GM LS platform. The Superdeck is designed to take an aluminum LS block and turn it into a piece of machinery that can handle all of the horsepower a customer might want to throw at it.
“We machine OEM 4th Gen blocks to make them bulletproof, and we cater to the racers all the way from naturally-aspirated combinations to racers using twin 88mm turbochargers and looking for 2,600-plus horsepower,” he says. “We like to use the aluminum block, because it allows the racer to take about 130 pounds off the front end of the car and place ballast where they need it.”
Left - Note the trusses installed between the cylinders for strength. Most of the truss is hidden from view except where they contact the cylinder; rest assured they are there and add a ton of load strength to the block. Right - The company also attaches mounting points for six-bolt cylinder heads.
The 4th-gen LS blocks are completely modified from top to bottom; the company re-sleeves the block with thicker, longer, more durable ductile iron sleeves that help to control piston rock at the bottom of the bore, especially in long-stroke applications. They also make a number of other modifications including adding the ability to use a six-bolt cylinder head, and builds in aluminum trusses that are welded in and reinforce the cylinder from going egg-shaped under high boost and high cylinder pressure applications.
In this cutaway, on the left is the flimsy factory sleeve – not the thickness of the ERL Performance sleeve on the right.
The block is tapped for half-inch head studs, and the trusses are drilled to enhance upper cylinder cooling, while tying the block’s main saddles to the deck surface, greatly increasing strength by changing the load path.
In addition, the windows in the upper half of the block are modified to permit lifter service without cylinder head removal, improving the process of maintenance at the track when required. Doweled billet main caps are installed to prevent cap walk, and can be used with the company’s girdle to improve strength even more.
“All of the machining operations are done in-house; we can keep the quality where we need it in order to provide consistency and performance to the customer,” says Vivanco.
