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More than meets the eye…
Posted on July 29th, 2012 No commentsI headed-out this morning to get some video footage of the newly rebuilt G8.
Now, more than ever, the G8 really does have a split personally. Someone has even refereed to my G8 as a Transformer, so I wanted to highlight the two-sided nature of the car. Hopefully I got my point across.
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The Six Million Dollar G8
Posted on July 26th, 2012 No commentsSome have refereed to my car as “The Million Dollar G8”. I’ve never been a fan of that title, but I think I’m going to go along with it now…
In April my engine got the flu and went in for service/repair. As the engine was being dismantled I kept thinking to myself: “Gentlemen, we can rebuild it. We have the technology. We can make it better than it was before… Stronger… FASTER!”
After nearly 4 months, and just under six million dollars, my G8 returns to the road!
Previously I added a TVS1900 supercharger, but didn’t open the engine to change any if the internals. Since the top half of the engine was now open to fix the broken part(s), I took advantage of it and replaced parts to make the engine better fit my performance goals.
Cam:
The G8 came from the factory with Displacement on Demand (DOD) that deactivated four of the cylinders to save fuel. I never liked the way this made the car behave, so turned it off during the last round of mods. Since some suggest the DOD hardware is a weak-link with the L76 engine… and I’m not using it anyhow… I had it all removed.The G8 is primarily my daily driver, so I didn’t want to go crazy and install a “donkey dick” cam (yes, that is the industry term) that would kill the drivability of the car. I also didn’t want to be forced to change to a higher RPM stall converter, again affecting daily driving.
Ultimately, I wanted a cam that would give me more power than the stock one… but more importantly, I wanted one that generates more torque at the higher RPMs. With the Magnacharger (roots-type blower) I’ve had more low-end torque than I can put to the ground, but the car tended to “fall on it’s face” over 3200rpms (where I was at peak torque). Shifting the power curve a little should have a dramatic effect on the overall performance of the G8.
Lastly, I have always loved the “sleeper” nature of my car, so I didn’t want to install a cam that would be too obvious while at idle. Many people like the old-school muscle car sound of a really lopey cam, but I’d rather no one know anything is different (until I blow past them at WOT).
With all of this in mind, the cam chosen was a 223/231 0.610/0.610 117LSA
Heads:
Since the heads needed to be removed to access the lifters (the suspected failed part), it made sense to send them out to West Coast Racing for some TLC.Fuel System:
The G8 has a decent fuel system, and can pushed with a Boost-a-Pump, but with this round of mods I wanted to take care of the fuel once and for all.I gave Andy at Squash Performance (a fellow G8 owner) a call and purchased one of his in-tank dual-pump units. With dual 255LPH Walbro pumps this unit can provide more fuel than I could ever use (with this engine block).
The pumps are connected to a Hobbs Switch, which uses the boost from the supercharger to turn-on the second fuel pump when extra fuel is needed. A new fuel pressure regulator and 80lbs injectors were also installed to make sure the engine has a consistent flow of fuel. Everything is installed neatly under the car with the rest of the not-so-stock parts.
Exhaust:
For the longest time I had the goal of keeping my car “CARB friendly”. I ran shorty headers with HF cats, but was really hampering my car’s performance (especially on the top-end). Due to some unfortunate circumstances with a friend’s G8, I obtained a set of Kooks 1-7/8″ Long Tube headers. I’ve held-off installing them for such a long time, but with all the internal engine mods now was the right time. A custom connection pipe (w/HF Cats) was made to bolt the LT’s to my Corsa exhaust.With the long tubes the G8 is definitely louder, but at normal amounts of throttle it’s not too bad. What I love is just how raw the car sounds when I jump on the throttle! The first time (windows down, radio off, next to sound walls) I even scared myself a little. It will be interesting to see if I keep under Laguna Seca’s 92dB sound limit…
Supercharger Pulley:
The stock pulley on the Magnacharger is 3.3″ and was producing ~6psi of boost with the shorty headers. With increased exhaust flow, in order to not loose boost with the LT’s, a 3.0″ pulley was installed… producing just under 9psi at WOT. In the future I could increase the boost (either with a 2.8″ pulley or a rear overdrive pulley), but that will likely require the addition of a water/methanol injection system.Results:
All of this is seems good on paper, but the proof is in the pudding!I’ve never been too concerned with the numbers, but I was pleasantly surprised when I heard my car is putting 537hp and 505tq to the rear wheels (an increase of 21%)!
Drivability of the car is still very good. I’m having to get use to being in the G8 again (I’ve been in an SUV for the past 4 months), but nothing seems unpleasant. The idle is a bit rougher than before and there is more noise, but nothing crazy. Cruising on the freeway or being stuck in stop-and-go traffic is all handled smoothly. The added power is great, and the car feels much stronger at the top-end than before. I’ve only put 75 miles on the G8, but so far I’m very happy with all of the modifications.
Like always, I really have to thank the guys at Synergy Motorsports for putting together such a perfect package.
I still have a few more mods to install, but this is enough for now. I need to get some seat time in to shake-out everything before my annual pilgrimage to The National G8 Meet!