LZ9 guys please chime in here.

[ericjon262]

can a non VVT timing cover and cam be put on/in an LZ9 to make it non VVT? instead of disabling the VVT and leaving the hardware there.

[Fieroghini]

you could just leave it and not do anything but power will drop off early. Best bet would be to degree the cam and install some spacers to lock the cam.

[bob442]

i think theres cam size differences

[Nightingale]

TCE motorsports makes cam bearing spacers to run a 3100 camshaft. You do have to use the lz9 timing cover because of the coolant crossover setup.

[ericjon262]

TCE motorsports makes cam bearing spacers to run a 3100 camshaft. You do have to use the lz9 timing cover because of the coolant crossover setup.

do you have any pictures to show the differences between the crossovers?

[ericjon262]

I found a pic of an LZ9 block front, does anyone have a pic of a non VVT engine block front?

[ftp-tuning]

i know im chiming in a little late here but why would you want to disable the vct/vvt? thats the heart and sole of the lz9 is that cam and the variable intake manifold runners. if you just want a higher performance cam, then look them up. there are companies who make high performance vct cams.

[ericjon262]

everything I've read seems to point towards the VVT aspect being more emissions related than performance, I'm not wnting to remove it to delete emissions, but more because I'd be running an obd1 ecm which isn't capable of VVT.

[ftp-tuning]

why dont you run a obd2 ecu and tune the vvt for performance. i tune with hp tuners. and i also have the variable cam in my g6 coupe. there is so many options with vct. if you want i can shoot a quick screen vid of the options available for tuning the cam

[ericjon262]

well, my plan is to swap an LX9 into my fiero (non VVT motor). and drive it for a while, and then, get an LZ9, P&P the heads, get a bumpstick, and trade it out with the LX9, so if the VVT motor can be converted to non VVT, by running the LX9 timing cover, I'd rather do that because it'd be easier to package, and wouldn't require me to re-wire the car (again!)

[ftp-tuning]

hmm. idk seems almost easier to just do the lz9 right of the bat. but yes the wiring is a very time consuming process. my body work guy is all about fieros, hes actually swappingthe 5.3 into his this summer. but honestly the lz9 is a good motor in my opinion its almost like a mini vett motor lol. im twin truboing mine this summer so ill post the process up on here eentually. if your using a f40 transmission you should be loooking at some speeds like this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ3oIrzHhV4 or maybe faster cause my g6 weighs 3610 with me in it.

[ericjon262]

I'm realy just looking to make a reliable daily out of my fiero, the LZ9 may come into play, but I don't really want to mess with VVT, like I said, everything I've read seems to point towards VCT being more for emmisions than power, and it makes things more complicated than I want them.

[Nightingale]

Doing the coversion to a gen 3 cam would be a better idea for ease. The general consensus is there really isn't much benefit to the vvt on these engines or the varible intake runners. The biggest draw of the motor is the awesome head flow and larger displacement. Plus the forged crank, pm rods, piston squirters, and u-flow cooling all add up to a potentially potent performance package when massaged.

[jmgtp]

I'm realy just looking to make a reliable daily out of my fiero.

Why not just call it a day with the LX9 then. I did the same thing with my Grand Prix - wanted a reliable daily driver and went with a stock down to the paper air filter LX9, mechanically its great, just still working out the ecm tune. Wiring sucks! Coming from the dohc motor the wire harness needed to be modded A LOT.

Even with a stock LX9 ~200+ hp in a Fiero is going be a fun car, thats something like a 50-60% increase in power.

[Joseph Upson]

The general consensus is there really isn't much benefit to the vvt on these engines

With one exception, the engine can be run with its stock cam in the full advanced position just fine. In my experience running it that way will net you excellent fuel economy as opposed to the happy medium VVT elimination modification. I noticed it took quite a bit of driving before the fuel gauge started to show fuel usage compared to what I was used to with the 3100 while the cam was advanced.

The neat trick here is that limiting the VVT to proper cam install is not difficult at all, as I demonstrated in my thread, tap and thread a hole in the phaser, insert a screw with a jam nut and adjust the cam stop for proper cam angle and use a simple on off 12 volt supply to retard the cam at high rpm.

I don't believe it's worth the effort of developing a system to vary the cam in the manner it was intended, but with gas prices I think it's worth every bit of the simple on off function perhaps by using the shift light/TCC logic. It wouldn't need to be retarded until about 4000 rpm.