LS1 fuel starvation problem??
 

I have a 2nd gen Camaro with a 2002 LS1 and spectra fuel tank with a Walboro fuel pump. The problem is when I go around a sharp turn accelerating through the turn it acts as though it is not getting any fuel even with the tank almost full. I have to take my foot off of the gas pedal to get it going again.Could this be anything other than the fuel tank or pump? I know this probably isn't the best tank available but it was in the car when I bought it.

Thanks, Kevin

spectra pickup?

I am not sure, what pickup is in there, I assume your saying that the Spectra pickup is a POS?
Kevin

Yep, pretty much. Although this is the first I have heard of one that doesn't work well when almost full.

Don

Almost full? How many gallons are in the tank when it happens?

OP, you just happen to have the resident expert on fuel systems jumping in here. Carl will help you out for sure! :thumbsup:

I probably had close to 3/4 of a tank of fuel in it when it started acting up. i am going to fill the tank tommmorow and take it out and I will post my results.

Thanks Kevin :lateral:

I am not sure of the capacity of the tank, probably 16 or 18 gal.

Well I headed to the gas station and just slight turns under acceleration and it was starving for fuel. It took 8 gallons and I tried some turns and it never hesitated. So what do you think? Get rid of the spectra tank or get a better fuel pickup? Any suggestions would be appreciated!:cheers:

Kevin

get a better pick up, something more than a tube. See if Carl knows of a retrofit sock or bladder screen.

If it took 8 gallons to fill then it was only half full or so, and that's common to have starvation issues is some cases. Filling the tank solved the issue, so it's obvious that the problem is related to the pickup and baffling in the tank.

Thats what i assumed after I filled the tank. I think I am going to get rid of this tank and purchase a better quality tank. Any suggestions?
Kevin

The fuel gauge on these cars does not accurately represent the amount of fuel in the tank. The sensor is just a height gauge, but the tank has a lot more volume on the top 1/2 vs. the bottom. Once the gauge says 1/2, there's usually not much left, likely around 4-5 gallons.

You may want to remove the pump assembly from the tank to verify that it is still assembled correctly. Making modifications to the Spectre tank may have mixed results depending on the level of modifications, but adding baffles or in-tank boxes/check valves is not an easy task. Different pickup tubes, i.e. flop tubes, are not practical due to the shape of most tanks and usually don't adapt well without major tank modifications.

Rick's tank with the Vaporworks option is the ultimate tank. For my GTO I used the Spectra tank and added a surge tank with separate internal pump. A messy solution but it seems to work so far. This is generally what the drift cars use. I added an Aeromotive pump controller to keep the pumps cooler under normal driving.

I think Stielow experimented with a surge tank a few years back.

Don

Agreed, that's what I went with. :thumbsup: