They're hotter than OEM by 1. They do seem to be giving more power. I could smell unburnt fuel at idle. With the somewhat aggressive cam profile, larger injectors, better heads, and ported intake and LS3 throttle body, I think the stock plugs weren't keeping up with the fuel mixture. Just a theory after seeing similar posts on LS1tech and I'm trying it out. I also fouled 2 sets of plugs before this and the tune is pretty rich still.
More miles, more smiles. Changing the oil today and have a plan to add the crossover tube next week with a local shop. If I don't like the outcome of the sound with the crossover, I'll probably cut out these Dr. Gas mufflers and start fresh with a set of Black Widow Venom mufflers. I had a Venon 250 on my TJ with the 5.3 LS and it sounded incredible.
Crossover installed. This took a lot longer to install, about 10 hours due to amount of TIG welding and hand coping the tube. I also had to find another spot for O2 sensor and check out the shop I was working in.
If you’re in Bellevue WA, check out Amaxi Autosport. They’re doing custom Porsche, BMW, and LS builds, standalone race harnesses and race cars, and fiberglass and carbon vacuum molding.
Here’s the turnout of the crossover. It did change the exhaust note a bit. It sounds more exotic, especially at higher rpm. I’ll make some videos soon, might take a little over a week though. These mufflers just aren’t cutting it, so I’m already planning to change them out. I also have some oil escaping from the crank and balancer area. I’ve already replaced the oil pan gasket, and the leak is more prevalent when I’m doing high rpm wot pulls. I imagine the crankcase is still over pressured even though I have the big breather on the valve cover. I’ll keep digging into that - I guess I’ll have to keep banging through gears to figure it out.
