Duramax???

[rsk68]

are you the Kid I met at the Plesanton show a few weeks ago?

[Camaromax]

First off thanks for the input.

XcYZ - Yes I seriously want to put a Duramax in a Camaro and not just for the wow factor. The Duramax will put down loads of torque and I believe that I have seen a few in the diesel truck forums getting right near 600hp with no work on the internals of the engine. Now while that is not a huge amount of horsepower it would be a really dependable powerplant that also gets great mileage vs gas engines with similar power.

Ketzer - Thanks for info. Yeah I don't like doing much by the book either and most the car guys I hang around with here all think I am crazy also. I am planning on keeping things fairly simple as far as the engine goes. My main concern is dependability and driveability as I do plan on driving this car quite a bit once it is done. I am thinking about just getting a low mileage engine and trying to use the factory wiring and computer. Then just doing some of the upgrades to it that are available to the truck guys. I still need to do some research on the truck boards and see what product will be the best way to reach my goal. I am planning on aiming somewhere between 500 and 600 horsepower but if I get a little more I won't be upset. But hopefully that will keep engine cost to a minimum.

CraigMorrison - is there anywhere I can find some info on the 57 Caddy that was mentioned? I have not seen that one yet.

Thanks Again Everyone

[Camaromax]

Oops I forgot one

rsk68 - No I am afraid I am not that Kid. I live in Illinois and have never made it out to California yet. But maybe someday.

[deuce_454]

id strongly suggest looking into european Diesels..... i can think of a couple off hand

merdedes 400CDI, which makes 350 Hp with no other mods than a ecu flash
th VW Thuraeg 5L V10 diesel will do 500+ Hp with upgraded turbos and a tune.
if you ar emade of money.. banks is offering a duramax crate engine thate 750+ Hp... but i think it is so expensive that you need to be an ex enron CEO to buy it...

[fesler]

You can do this, you will have to run a large cowl hood to get the engine up a little. The oil pan is going to be your problem as they hang down on the engine, you may have to rebuild it to fit. Not a big deal but a small problem.

The engine and tranny with exhaust, intake and some PPE programming will get you about 600HP and 800-900FT so this thing will fly. HP is cool but you feel TQ and that is what will make the car fast.

I have a few of these engines in trucks that are beefed up and my 10-inch 2008 lifted Chevy on 38s will hang with vettes all day. It is super fast and will weight alot more than a Camaro so you are going to fly. I have a ton of info I can get you for the performance side so you can get it right the first time.

look up PPE and use them for the computer and all programming, they do these engines in boats and sand vehicles and they work hand in hand with GM so they have the best programming and eq you can get. They also build the tranny to handle the weight but you wont need that. We do it in the trucks because of how heavy they are.

Start a post on this when you start it because this is going to be very cool. there will be a lot of guys who hate it but who cares be different. Good luck

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by Camaromax

The Duramax will put down loads of torque and I believe that I have seen a few in the diesel truck forums getting right near 600hp with no work on the internals of the engine. Now while that is not a huge amount of horsepower it would be a really dependable powerplant that also gets great mileage vs gas engines with similar power.

and at 550-575 rwhp it'll be making about 1100 rwtq. I do my own tuning with Efi Live and my 7000 lb truck went 12.75 at 108.5 mph full weight and no track mods at all; stock engine/turbo, just tuning, exhaust, and water injection. It should go mid to low 12's with the t-bars and tire pressure lowered so it doesn't wheel hop. Oh, and it gets 22-23 mpg on the freeway, and no worse than 16 or so around town. Imagine what it would do in something lighter than 7000 lbs???!!

Although it would be a blast to drive, just realize you'll also receive a fair amount of smack for this swap. If you can live with that, then do it.

Jody

[slownova]

id wait and see what GM was going to do with the 4.5 duramax, before i tried to stuff a 6.6 in a car. the 4.5 is going to be a wicked little motor with a huge aftermarket, and it looks to be the size of a sbc?

[Camaromax]

Thanks fesler and camcojb for the input and advice

yeah I realize there are going to be a lot of people who do not like it but they do not realize it does not take rpm to make huge power. The only difference between this and a gas engine of the same power is that the power band of the diesel is right off idle and the gas engines have to wait till about 3000 rpm till they start making power. Also like camcojb said he gets 23 mpg in a 7000lb truck and he also runs in the 12s so even with those very easily done modifications to the engine looks like a Camaro, that should weigh in at I am hoping around 4000 lbs if that, should do better on fuel and be quicker in the quarter while still maintaining that reliability of the Duramax.

Also thanks to all who have suggested European diesels but I think those might be a little to exotic for what I am trying to do. I am also thinking about sticking with a GM theme.

The car will probably mostly be to be a driver and also for those occasional times I might go to the track.

fesler- any info on the performance end is much appreciated as I have not compiled much information on that yet. Like I said I am wanting mostly reliability and driveability. I would also like to stick with using a Duramax with mostly stock internals. I wouldn't mind taking the heads off and working on them and maybe adding thicker head gaskets to lower the compression so I can run more boost but I really do not want to get into the bottom end of this engine.

So what power level do you think would be reliable on a Stock Bottom End???

Thanks Again

[camcojb]

Originally Posted by Camaromax

fesler- any info on the performance end is much appreciated as I have not compiled much information on that yet. Like I said I am wanting mostly reliability and driveability. I would also like to stick with using a Duramax with mostly stock internals. I wouldn't mind taking the heads off and working on them and maybe adding thicker head gaskets to lower the compression so I can run more boost but I really do not want to get into the bottom end of this engine.

So what power level do you think would be reliable on a Stock Bottom End???

Thanks Again

no reason to drop the compression (think it's at 17:1 or thereabouts on the new LMM's). Guys are running 40-45 psi without issue with aftermarket turbos or twins on the stock engines. Above that head studs are recommended, and the stock lower end still is fine. The stock turbo is claimed to be done by 32 psi, but on my truck 36-38 psi is faster than 32 psi even with the stock turbo.

Where the bottom end (rods usually) starts having problems is when you start running big pulse widths, lots of fuel. Twin CP3 fuel pumps and a big amount of fuel will bend the stock rods. Thing is you can run 3300-3400 pulse with stock pump, an add-on lift pump, and make enough power to put the trucks in the 11's with more air (bigger turbo or twins). Where would that put a car that's 3000 pounds lighter??????????

[Camaromax]

thanks for the input again

camcojb - sounds like your the guy to be talking to on here about these diesels. So if you were to build an engine for this car with a target of around 600hp how would you go about it? Would you just add head studs, Do the above fuel mods you mentioned, and some programming?

I was looking at PPE's site and they show programers adding 425hp has anyone tested these? If so what were the result and what other mods were done with the programming?

Also camcojb they say that every 10lbs is 1hp so in a car weighing 300lbs less than a truck that 3000 lbs would be like adding 300hp. I am sure that is just an estimate but I would think that 3000lb difference would at least put the car in low 11s if the truck is in the 11s at all, possible high 10s. All while getting 23+++ mpg.