Don Terrill’s Speed-Talk

I added the dampener. I drilled the holes in the block to add it. I figured it would reduce chain slap and help it last longer. But I was just guessing on that. I was afraid of the tensioner because of the added complexity,

I have a gen3 lq4 block. It doesn't have any type of tensioner. Will adding a ls2 chain block make a difference? I read a brief mention about preventing excessive sprocket wrap but not sure if that's a real issue. Will the ls2 chain block provide any benefits?

Thanks for the input. I am going to run the gen 3 truck intake. I looked into the gen4 intake and it did make more power up top. But the gen 3 makes more torque below 3k rpm so I kept the gen 3. I'm guessing the smaller throttle body gives more velocity at lower rpms. Here is the link... https://m.f...

I ordered up a set of comp cams trunnions. I noticed years past a lot of people complaining about them. Some say they have been redesigned since. Should I return them? Are they total junk?

I was looking at that break in oil earlier. Thanks for verification that its good to use. For my top ring gap with my 4.030 bore I chose .018 on the top ring and .20 on the 2nd. Does this seem right for a truck that will be towing up mountain passes from time to time in Colorado? I noticed in the ch...

Getting closer on getting the Lq4 together. Filing the Rings supplied with the wiseco pistons has taken me a while. I've read some info on break in oils. Is a break in oil necessary since the Lq4 has a roller cam? Another question as far as ring seating, should I drive it to break in the Rings befor...

Thank you mt-engines. I do have some tootsies

So what kind of radius should I go for when removing the sharp edge from the combustion chamber? Something very slight or something bigger like a 1/8" radius?

Quick question about my cylinder heads. The machine shop did a light deck on the heads for a nice gasket surface. I noticed the edge of the combustion chamber is pretty sharp. Should I knock down the sharp edge with a file or sandpaper roll or something?

I’m puzzled by your choice of a stage 2 cam for an application requiring torque. Have you looked at the dyno charts on their website? Your chosen cam (on a 5.3) makes minimal improvement below 4500, do you plan on sustained towing above 4500? A stage 1 seems like a more suitable choice, IMHO. I wat...

I just watched the Richard Holdner video again. The stage 1 did not lose any torque down low over the stock lq4 cam. The stage 2 lost 6 or 7 ftlbs below 3500 but sustained the torque curve significantly further before dropping compared to the stage 1. Its been a while since I bought the cam, but it ...

I’m puzzled by your choice of a stage 2 cam for an application requiring torque. Have you looked at the dyno charts on their website? Your chosen cam (on a 5.3) makes minimal improvement below 4500, do you plan on sustained towing above 4500? A stage 1 seems like a more suitable choice, IMHO. I wat...

Ok thanks.

Thanks. I did read that thread and copied it in cleaning up the intake ports. Just seemed strange to leave a 1/8" step in the middle of the port after taking time smoothing out the bowl area and other spots that thread mentions.

So I thought I would see what the factory gasket looks like in regards to intake port match. The Mahler gasket mates up with the truck intake fine I think. I bolted the intake, gasket, and head together on the bench. Traced the gasket od on the head, pulled it apart, put the gasket itself to the hea...