Help with LS1 v8 conversion

[Sailor]

Why settle for one?
http://thecarsmagazine.com/2016/05/31/w ... 8-rat-rod/

[Engineer]

I know this is an old thread...however I was bored...so

To the OP,

1) Flyinmiata, V8 Roadsters and Monster Miata in the US all sell kits to do V8 conversions
2) It will cost you $50K so be prepared
3) You essentially modify almost everything in the car...literally every subsystem in the car needs to be modified fir this to work. It will take a lot of time and is NOT for the faint hearted. There are some great online YouTube videos of what is needed in the way of mods (Toms Turbo Garage Thunderbolt and Stacey David Gearz Banshee build).
4) Registration in Australia will be extremely difficult (so be very very prepared to be rejected) . ICV route is very difficult, but john Pitt in Vic had created some cars that got registered. I would advise working with a VASS engineer before even attempting such an exercise
5) Lexus 4 Lt (i.e. boat anchor) is not the only V8 engine option for a car which is to attempt legal registration. It is a smooth running engine but tops out at about 300hp atmo..needs a supercharger to get over 400hp...which then makes it not registrable as you cant have a supercharged engine of this capacity. Its a lot of trouble for a 300hp MX5.
6)Weight will increase by about 120kg (LS1 + T56 + 8.8 diff + other stuff) but power and torque is upped too to compensate for the weight gain
7) The car handles slightly differently with the added weight, purists on here will argue against a V8 as it spoils the "perfect" mx5 balanced handling they are used to, but the handling is still pretty good even with the V8. An MX5 is more a fun car as opposed to a serious car
9) Using Turbo power to get the same performance is indeed possible, but turbo cars just don't sound or cruise as as nice as a V8.
10) You cant be at 1000rpm in 5th doing a lazy and cruisy 50km/h in a turbo mx5...or go around roundabouts in 4th

I concur that the whole point of the V8 MX5 is not outright speed....its "theatre".

And if you like theatre, then there are few better acts than turning a key in an mx5 and hearing a lumpy cam and an 8 cylinder rumble...

[legume]

Start with this, and end with this.

[rascal]

Start with this, and end with this.

Pah, auto.

[Engineer]

Auto = Not a real car
No roof = You almost never drive it, either too hot, too wet, too cold and you cant park it anywhere.

[legume]

Engineer, I am quite keen on seeing a few pics of yours.
How did you go about engineering it.

[Engineer]

Also another tact or alternative is..

A Porsche Boxster S with an LS3 conversion...conversion cost will be similar...but much better car in the end. Also well within legality for Australian registration as 6.3L LS3 is legal for 1295kg Porsche Boxster S. (from vsb 14 - 5 x 1295kg = 6.475L)

With a Boxster S its only an engine change as the transaxle is maintained. LS engine is almost same weight as original engine. B

With a 525 HP crate LS3 in a you end up with a power to weight ratio of 400hp per tonne...its a good number

I would like to build one some day, when I get tired of the MX5...maybe one day...my wife will kill me...but its worth it LOL

[bruce]

Hoovies Garage on YouTube put an LS into a 911. He didn't like it as it was costly and difficult. I think it blew up in the end.

[Engineer]

Hoovies Garage on YouTube put an LS into a 911. He didn't like it as it was costly and difficult. I think it blew up in the end.

Yes it did blow up (lost oil pressure on its first track day outing)...but why?

Ans: It blew because Hoovie disobeyed the golden rule of engine transplants...which is use all new stuff almost everywhere. Using high km junkyard engines for transplanting into a track day car is not a smart move. Engine's with unknown histories and no service records wont last long.

If he had of spent another $1000 (according to Hoovie) he would have had a brand new crate engine and that engine would have lasted for a very very long time before giving any issues.

Yes you are 100% correct, these conversions are very difficult, costly, consume huge amounts of time and are a psychological strain if you are doing it yourself without the resources of a fabricator, workshop or sponsor behind you. The effort to strip out engines, make modifications, rewire everything takes a very very long time, so you only want to go in there once. That's why everything really needs to be new for it to succeed, and even then there will be some thing (likely a lot of things) that will need "tuning" or rework. Silly things like cables getting to hot because of exhaust heat, knocking noises because something is not rubber mounted or braced properly...and the list goes on. But get to the end of that long ..and it is a long list and the car then can be a lot of fun.

The Hoovie car sounded great down the straights at full throttle and pulled right away from the corvette on the video at the track day. Imagine if he had a new LS3 525hp crate engine in it...instead of the crappy high km LS2....his verdict I suspect would have been different. Not to mention that he should have used a better car that didn't have the life belted out of it to begin with 268K Miles I think.

Rule 2 of major conversions: Use the best car you can afford. A better car delivers a better outcome.

Check out Gas Monkey's LS3 996 Porsche https://www.drivingline.com/articles/gas-monkey-garages-ls-swapped-porsche-996-not-just-a-rednecks-ride/

Leaving the body kit aside to personal taste, it shows how it should be done...and its a very solid and well documented conversion too. I have met Scott Mann from Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas, who does more LS Porsche conversions than anyone and he took me for a ride in his LS converted Boxster fishtailing and drifting through the back streets of Las Vegas... It was pretty cool I think a V8 Porsche is a good thing myself

[StuwieP]

Worth noting engineers can go outside the VSB14 engine-size guidelines if they feel they can demonstrate it's still satisfactory.

The preface to the entire bulletin says "advice for... the execution of modifications"

The table itself even says "recommended maximum"

[bruce]

I wonder if the OP competed the car. I know the poster is long gone.

[Engineer]

Worth noting engineers can go outside the VSB14 engine-size guidelines if they feel they can demonstrate it's still satisfactory.

The preface to the entire bulletin says "advice for... the execution of modifications"

The table itself even says "recommended maximum"

This is correct, thats why you have engineers..otherwise you can write an AI bot to perform binary logic and make decisions on engineering modifications to vehicles.

For the OP Ls1 in an MX5 is outside of the vsb14 guidelines for maximum engine size..also depends on which model of MX5 you have they are all differ in TARE weight. If under 1100kg TARE its is 4 x TARE kg = MAx engine cc . If over 1100 kg its 5 x TARE kg = max end cc.

Now why the laws of physics and engineering change for the RMS at exactly 1100kg is not explainable... ROFL

If they had even thought about how absurd the model is, they would have realised that a it it should be a a sliding scale of engine size vs TARE kg...as the TARE weight increases the engine size can increase in proportion. A simple liner graph would have done it...i.e. find your TARE kg on the X axis and then go up until you hit the line to get your Maximum Engine size in CC...simple...that would have been nice.

By the RMS model and logic, a car that comes in at 1099kg TARE can have a 4.4L engine and one at 1101kg can have 5.5L...go figure

So that's why the certifier has some discretion...well hopefully...

[AndyT]

A workshop here in Melbourne, MKAL Automotive has succesfully installed and engineered an LS1 into a BMW Z3 Roadster. Having seen and heard it, it's pretty cool. From memory around $15K plus components, drive in drive out.

Might be a more viable option than an MX5

[Engineer]

Yeah, a BMW Z3 or Z4 is easy from a compliance perspective as its a 1350kg car. So no issue with engine swap up to 6.5L. An LS3 in a BMW Z3 or Z4 is a good thing It will end up being almost 1500kg when converted, so you kind of lose the light weight car - big engine setup ratio...but its a hell of a lot better than the standard BMW setup, and there are kits available to do it

[bootz]

Still think a small V8 is the way to suit the MX-5