Growing up doesn't have to suck

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pwtr02ss

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Tough to beat a BTR or TSP Stage 1 for that. Just about anything over stock will induce at least a tiny bit of chop, but it's nothing some good tuning won't fix.

I'm glad my documenting could help! I'm beyond ready to get back at it. It's just been one thing after the other for weeks now- waiting on parts, working late during the week, weekends on call for work, family obligations, unexpected weekend out of town for a family death, etc. This past weekend I was out of town for Jenn's birthday. Will be out of town next weekend for a funeral then back on call for work the following weekend. Maybe I'll get back in the garage sometime in June?

I'm leaning toward this very strongly. BTR Stage 2 paired with LS-6 springs...

btr-camshaft-truck-stage-2-single-bolt-btr11218110.html

Thoughts?
 

pwtr02ss

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Hey @iamdub I was was talking to my brother earlier about what parts he had laying around and what not, he builds a lot of LS engines. He said to not reuse that factory timing chain tensioner thing. He told me to either not but one back in there or use a LS3 style. Its just solid plastic. He said he's seen a ton of motors have that plastic guide come loose and get hung in the chain and make them jump timing.
 

Dantheman1540

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I've pretty much made my mind up. I think with stock exhaust it will hide what little sound it has. It seems to make good torque down low and carry the power through the higher RPM.

I think that cam will be perfect for what your wanting. No sacrifice all gains. Better post a video when its done too!
 

pwtr02ss

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I wanna install it, and see how she sounds with the Longtubes... muaaahahaaa!

I’ll do a sound clip. Mine will be stock exhaust though. I’m not wanting any kind of chop. I have the camaro for that and it gets old after a while. Lol

I think that cam will be perfect for what your wanting. No sacrifice all gains. Better post a video when its done too!

Glad to hear I’m making a good choice.

Sorry to semi Jack your thread Dub
 

PG01

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I’ll do a sound clip. Mine will be stock exhaust though. I’m not wanting any kind of chop. I have the camaro for that and it gets old after a while. Lol



Glad to hear I’m making a good choice.

Sorry to semi Jack your thread Dub
Semi jack.... hehe
 
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iamdub

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Condolences Chris.

Sorry to hear about the death. Never anything good to say about that type of situation. Condolences.

Condolences. We’ve had way too many of those ourselves this year. 2020 will not be remembered fondly.

Thanks, guys. It was Jenn's grandma. She was more than ready to go and happy to do so. That trip to Alabama was really more for us all to say our farewells and see her off to her afterlife. More celebratory than anything, really. She was a cool ol' chick. Supposed to be headed back this weekend for the burial ceremony.
 
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iamdub

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I'm leaning toward this very strongly. BTR Stage 2 paired with LS-6 springs...

btr-camshaft-truck-stage-2-single-bolt-btr11218110.html

Thoughts?


Almost identical to my TSP Stage2. The BTR is only .003" more lift and has a 111° LSA. TSP's version offers 112° and 114° LSAs. Mine is the 114°. I would've preferred the tighter one to shift the curve a little more towards the low end and induce a hair more chop. But, this one was almost new and I got it for $100. All of them are great cams for a "stock+" setup.
 
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iamdub

iamdub

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I've pretty much made my mind up. I think with stock exhaust it will hide what little sound it has. It seems to make good torque down low and carry the power through the higher RPM.

It'll be easy to hide. You can tune out most the idle chop, too, if you want.
 
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iamdub

iamdub

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Hey @iamdub I was was talking to my brother earlier about what parts he had laying around and what not, he builds a lot of LS engines. He said to not reuse that factory timing chain tensioner thing. He told me to either not but one back in there or use a LS3 style. Its just solid plastic. He said he's seen a ton of motors have that plastic guide come loose and get hung in the chain and make them jump timing.

I planned on installing the LS3 style damper and even bought one. Once I tore into mine and saw the original tensioner was still in (surprisingly) great shape, I decided to keep it since I like the constant tension idea. I would like to have gotten a new one, but I wanted to get the motor buttoned back up. With how little I drive it, it should last a long time. If it fails, well, then I'll just be forced to swap in that 6.0 or 6.2 sooner than expected.
 
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iamdub

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I kinda have an update!

I raised the Tahoe the other day to incinerate the cobwebs and spiders. That was all.



Oh, and I stumbled upon a deal too good to pass. I now have a set of these on the way:

1046420600x400p1010012.jpg
 

Sam Harris

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I kinda have an update!

I raised the Tahoe the other day to incinerate the cobwebs and spiders. That was all.



Oh, and I stumbled upon a deal too good to pass. I now have a set of these on the way:

1046420600x400p1010012.jpg
Oh yeah!! What are the specs!?
 

pwtr02ss

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Whats springs did you buy (GM ls-6 or those BTR LS-6?) and which circle d convereter, stall wise? I'm pretty sure the avalanche has a 3.42 gear so I'm not sure I even want to mess with a stall. I quickly looked at that $599 (cheapest one with a billet cover) that was 1800-2k stall. I can buy a stock reman for like $150 though. Not sure I want to even **** with it.

One more thing, gaskets, you get GM or like fel-pro? I'm being lazy and I know you spend hours researching....lol

Edit: Ordered the 278mm Circle D last night with the 2600-2800 stall speed. Thats what they recommended. I hope its feels "stock" like they said it would. 4 week lead time:(
 
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iamdub

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Oh yeah!! What are the specs!?

Doug Thorley Tri-Ys! They're a 4-2-1 design to build low- and mid-range power with no loss on the top end. Ceramic coated 14 gauge carbon steel. 1 5/8" primaries into 2.5" Y-pipe. Lifetime warranty. Supposed to bolt up to the factory cat-back, but I don't see how that ball socket at the end of the Y-pipe does that. I'm not very concerned about it. I have a welder and spare exhaust tubing and parts. It comes with a U-bolt clamp for the crossover-to-Y-pipe connection, but I ordered a band clamp from Amazon.

Model #THY-310Y-1-C
 
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iamdub

iamdub

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Whats springs did you buy (GM ls-6 or those BTR LS-6?) and which circle d convereter, stall wise? I'm pretty sure the avalanche has a 3.42 gear so I'm not sure I even want to mess with a stall. I quickly looked at that $599 (cheapest one with a billet cover) that was 1800-2k stall. I can buy a stock reman for like $150 though. Not sure I want to even **** with it.

One more thing, gaskets, you get GM or like fel-pro? I'm being lazy and I know you spend hours researching....lol

Edit: Ordered the 278mm Circle D last night with the 2600-2800 stall speed. Thats what they recommended. I hope its feels "stock" like they said it would. 4 week lead time:(

I had some 20K-mile LS6 springs (yellow) from some Z06 heads I had for a past project.

I got the 2600-2800 converter. I think it's the famed I-6 Trailblazer converter, but with an upgraded clutch and slightly higher stall. The rep said my Tahoe should still roll if I idled in gear with my foot off the brake. Should be perfect for my setup. Mine has a 3.73. I was considering a stock reman for the price, but I decided I wanted known quality internals. Circle D's upgrade clutch and reputation sold me. I didn't wanna do all this work and have a failure cuz I wanted to cheap out on a converter reman'ed with unknown parts by an unknown company with unknown quality control. Getting stranded on the side of the road with a loaded trailer due to a crappy converter would make the cost of the Circle D converter a deal.

For gaskets, I wanna say I used Mahle, Fel-Pro and GM (ACDelco). I stuck to GM gaskets where it mattered, such as for head gaskets and/or where their price was better than or close enough to the aftermarket gasket prices. Now that I'm thinking about it, I can only say for sure that I got GM for the head gaskets. And I'm not even using them since I decided to go with thinner Cometics. Most of the gaskets are Fel-Pro and I think the intake and exhaust manifold gaskets are Mahle. The Fel-Pros look and feel virtually identical to the OEM ones and they come in kits (front seal kit, rear seal kit, etc.), making shopping easier.


Edit: Sounds like you got the exact one I did. This was before the peak of the COVID-19 stuff, but they told me three weeks. I wanna say I had it in two. It comes with a really nice shirt, pen, and koozie. Oh, bolts and shims, too.
 

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