2011 SSV 6.0 Swap

[Trc54]

Hey guys it's been awhile since I've posted but I would like to give an update on the hoe. Back in the beginning of July we got some pretty heavy rain here. I was driving the Tahoe when I came upon a road that had sitting water on it. Long story short the 5.3 sucked up water and locked itself up. I'm basically looking for specifics on what the 6.0 swap entails. My understanding is the ly6 would be the best option as far as motors go but I am more than open to being educated. I also did not know if my factory computer will be able to run/disable the vvt? Any parts of tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Trc54]

Just an update, I'm working with a local shop to complete the swap. I got a killer deal on a low mileage ly6 with awesome specs and warranty. Everything I've read points to it being a mechanically identical swap with all the gen4 motors having a 58 tooth reluctor wheel. The only hurdle will be flashing the current ecm from afm and dod to a vvt motor. I originally planned on doing an ls3 cam and vvt delete but as funds aren't there that will be a project for another day.

 

[swathdiver]

Hey guys it's been awhile since I've posted but I would like to give an update on the hoe. Back in the beginning of July we got some pretty heavy rain here. I was driving the Tahoe when I came upon a road that had sitting water on it. Long story short the 5.3 sucked up water and locked itself up. I'm basically looking for specifics on what the 6.0 swap entails. My understanding is the ly6 would be the best option as far as motors go but I am more than open to being educated. I also did not know if my factory computer will be able to run/disable the vvt? Any parts of tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Tyler, welcome back! Your current truck has VVT too. By switching the the LY6 the only downside is the loss of FlexFuel capability, the ability to run cheap E85 if it's available in your area. The L96 is the Flex Fuel version of the LY6. Do you have access to the donor's computer? Did you ever get a BlackBear tune previously?

 

[Trc54]

Hi Tyler, welcome back! Your current truck has VVT too. By switching the the LY6 the only downside is the loss of FlexFuel capability, the ability to run cheap E85 if it's available in your area. The L96 is the Flex Fuel version of the LY6. Do you have access to the donor's computer? Did you ever get a BlackBear tune previously?

No, I do not believe the computer will be coming with the motor. I never ran e85 as it is so that's not really an issue. I was not tuned by blackbear.

 

[swathdiver]

No, I do not believe the computer will be coming with the motor. I never ran e85 as it is so that's not really an issue. I was not tuned by blackbear.

Is it your intention to delete the VVT system on the donor engine for some reason? Not sure I understood your OP.

 

[Trc54]

Is it your intention to delete the VVT system on the donor engine for some reason? Not sure I understood your OP.

I had planned on deleting it and using an ls3 cam but with budget and time constraints I will be holding off.

 

[swathdiver]

I had planned on deleting it and using an ls3 cam but with budget and time constraints I will be holding off.

Good, because you would have lost a lot of bottom end torque with that camshaft.

 

[Trc54]

My goal with the truck is to run a low 13 second 1/4. I figured the 6.0 would get me closer easier so that was my reasoning for the ls3 cam.

 

[swathdiver]

My goal with the truck is to run a low 13 second 1/4. I figured the 6.0 would get me closer easier so that was my reasoning for the ls3 cam.

Well, with the LS3 cam you're moving the powerband north, losing bottom end and gaining it back up higher in the rpm band. Not good for everyday driving but would help if you're having traction issues at launch. A higher stall converter would probably be necessary.

You'll need about 500 rear wheel horsepower to run those times.

Talk to this guy: @randeez

 

[randeez]

i have not figured out the secret to low 13s yet

mine is pretty fbo with a cam something seems to be holding me up atm, I'm thinking I may have damaged the converter. trying to track down a little bit of vibration which may actually be from the converter but I'm ruling out a few other things before I dive into swapping it.

started with cam/headers/stall ran a 13.6 was all done at the same time, not sure if converter is any better than stock as far as 1/4 mile times - although it feels like i gets off the line better the extra slip sometimes leads to a wash in et

changed out intake to cone/shield, ls3 throttle body, flex fuel sensor and e85 tuning, changed out heavy all terrains, 4.11 gears and only picked up a tenth at the same mph


couple things - the LY6(9.6) is down on compression from the LS3(10.7) and L92(10.5). would be better to bump the compression up if you plan on sticking to cam only. my cams (218/228 .600/.600 lift) quite a bit bigger than the LS3 cam and i do not know if it'll get me deep into the 13s. best comparison ive found is mostly 4 door crew cab trucks with larger cams and fbo have ran 12.8-12.9.

 

[Trc54]

Any idea what the ly6 puts down compared to the lmg? It would be interesting to see a side by side dyno sheet.

 

[Trc54]

So the ly6 is delivered and the lmg is disassembled. Both rear pistons were completely shattered along with the rods. Does anyone who has done this swap have any hang ups to look out for? I'm going to be using hp tuners to load a base file for the ly6, my only concern as of right now is the ly6 and the 6l80 playing nice together. From my research the combo wasn't ever factory coupled.

 

[swathdiver]

The LY6 was rated for 352 HP @ 5400 RPMS and 383 Ft Lbs of Torque @ 4300 RPMs.

Your LMG was a Flex Fuel engine, the LY6 is not. The LY6s replacement, the L96 is a Flex Fuel Engine. The only difference between them are the injectors, the tables for E85 in the tune, and possibly the fuel pump/pressure regulator.

I think the L96 will work fine with the 6L80, it's the little brother to the 6L90 and not that much different, I think!

 

[Trc54]

Just an update, got the ly6 in the truck and fired up! The two major things I had to fix/change was the motor mounts and I had to repin the MAF as the ly6 was slightly different than the lmg maf. I have my local tuner working on a tune for it this weekend as the stock ly6 tune I tried to flash onto the stock pcm wouldn't take so I basically needed a whole tune written from scratch. He should be done with it on Monday

 

[Trc54]

I got the truck back from the tuner this evening and wow what a difference in torque. He basically wrote a whole tune that was decently aggressive. Ran the truck through its paces and am really happy with the outcome. The truck did go into limp mode but that is a maf issue that he had already remedied in the tune (I will go back tomorrow and he will reflash it) overall I would highly recommend the swap as a solution to deleting the afm and dod. I will keep the thread updated with mpgs and any other notable differences down the road.