[HWYSTR455]

One thing on newer performance engine is that the engine management 'manages' the 'tune' in relation to perceived det by the sensors. Yes, they have higher SCRs, but that doesn't mean they run an aggressive 'tune' to take advantage of available performance. Most of the time, they don't. Some of that is for advertising, the number provided by manufacturers, and means very little in real life situations.

Thing with SCR isn't really that you make more power, but that they operate more efficiently at lower RPMs with higher SCR. That's the big advantage. And that you can use a more efficient cam profile. As an example of the effect of HP on increase of SCR, going from 10:1 to 11:1 gains you a meager 1.5% HP. On a 500HP engine, that 7.5hp. Is that worth the risk of dancing with det? Maybe, because the total gain of HP is only part of the story, but it still is a basis for calculating risk.

General rule of thumb for SCR when adding/using aluminum heads is there is a theoretical loss of SCR by 1 point. It's not a loss of SCR, technically it's a loss of thermal dynamics, you make up for it by going an additional point. So when you look at a new car's engine and say it has 10.7 SCR, that's comparable to an iron head engine of 9.7 (theoretically). So really, there is no 'running higher SCRs' in new engines.

I was planning my current build a few years ago, seriously looked at going the LS route, and wanted to. Couldn't afford to do it the way I wanted, so dropped back and punted with refreshing the engine that was in it (461) and added some stuff like port EFI, etc. Looked at crate LSs, and building one the way I wanted, both were too expensive for my blood. I would have done the LS specific ECU/ECM from Holley, Dominator LS I think it was called at the time, had trans control was the biggest reason.

VVT is cool, but it really limits you to OE programming, and increases the cost of the build in parts. Heat management is a good thing, but the cost of returns makes it difficult to justify in a 'hobby car' engine build.

Thermal coatings on piston tops & skirts, rods, and other areas is not cheap. And what will that provide you? A few HP yes, but better efficiency is the real benefit. To recoup the costs, you would have to drive the car like 50k miles probably.

Anyway, point is that it's a good thing to apply modern tech to 'hobby cars' up to a point, after that, it's really just a wow-factor, and throwing money away.

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