Brian Reese, COMP Cams
"Advanced Performance Design and Custom Tuning of LS Intake Manifolds"
Director of Engineering and Business Development for the COMP Performance Group, Brian Reese is a proud grad of Ohio State University with a Master's in Mechanical Engineering and Automotive Business Management. Reese also holds an Associates in Automotive Technology from Columbus State University, and a Master ASE Technician certificate. As an LS1 enthusiast and hot rodder at heart, Brian was all too happy to discuss the new FAST LSXR intake manifold and RHS LS1 block.
Starting with the intake manifold, Brian broke down the development of this trick piece starting off with the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling, which simulates flow and sees if airflow is happy--smooth funnels, he said, move quickly. Flow can be affected by: turning air, short side, separation, distribution in the plenum, packaging limitations, upstream and downstream, etc. Reese stated that when tuning the manifold one must consider: wave tuning, inlet shape and orientation, runner length, taper, area, shape, packaging limits, plenum volume, and engine variations. Unequal length intake runners were used to smooth torque curves. Brian says they hoped to make the plenum as big as possible (this is debatable as it can affect throttle response). On a flow bench there may be only 5.5 percent difference, but a big difference could be seen on the dyno-stressing the need for accurate and consistent dyno testing.
Moving on to the RHS aluminum race block, Reese said the raised cam design accommodates a 4.6-inch stroke and with no grinding necessary, it is a bolt-in 502cid LS1 motor. Its obvious this block is the love-child of a long-time LS1 enthusiast like Reese, with its spun cast liner (Siamese parent bore) designed to be as long as possible so the pistons are not dangling below. This method was said to be far superior to a coated aluminum design. Cast-in oil squirter provisions, priority oiling, and tie-bar style lifters (no plastic guides) improve greatly over the factory design. Weight is said to be a slender 115-lbs. Metric fasteners are used to maximize surface area on bolt head instead of using 0.5-inch studs for better clamping. There is also an LSX-style six head bolt design, oversized lifter access, and accommodations for Gen III and IV knock sensors as well as dry sump oiling.
Greg Banish, Calibrated Success, Inc.
"Advanced Tuning of Factory LSx PCMs-Unlocking the Mysteries"
Greg Banish, like several other speakers, has an OEM background. The mechanical engineer graduated from GMI Engineering & Management Institute (Kettering University), and has since been doing factory calibration by day and professional engine tuning by night at his performance shop, Calibrated Success. In addition to tuning himself, Greg also does his best to share his knowledge as a consultant and as the author of Engine Management: Advanced Tuning.
As an expert on OEM operating systems, it's no surprise that was the focus of Greg's presentation. In his introduction "base maps" were discussed including Mass Air Flow, which measures molecules of air going past, and the VE Table is Grams of Air based on MAP and engine speed. As load increases, there is a need to change the spark. Unfortunately there is no VE Table on new computers--just a series of tables, though it still uses GMVE units, a "virtual VE" equation is needed to calculate it. Powerful equipment is needed to do so, which is difficult for an individual but easy for computer, and in turn it makes the PCM faster. Unfortunately injectors are not fast in reacting (getting the pintle off the seat takes time), which makes it difficult getting idle quality correct. Pressure builds up in the injector and sprays out further when it first releases (near idle). Equating proper air mass and fuel mass, is the reason for drivability problems. As a staunch proponent to EFI, it comes as no surprise when Greg compared carburetion to urination when discussing fuel atomization.
Greg stressed the need for tuning using a high inertia dyno to put the engine under load. WOT tuning on a loaded dyno allows better tuning as the PCM tries to match what it will see on the road or track. The temperatures, for one, are different, and the tuner can better determine spark to avoid knock. Though, no dyno can match airflow at even 40 mph, safety and legal constraints give dyno tuning an obvious advantage, which is why Greg is such a great proponent.