[Lonnie P]

I acquired my '02 S10 Xtreme in June of this past year with the intent of doing an LS swap.
This vehicle was never driven in the snow & rarely even in the rain.

Tonight I started with the front suspension. I started buying parts a few months back.
I have a UMI kit with tubular upper & lower control arms, extended ball joints & coil overs.

I am matching this kit with a set of Belltech blazer dropped spindles to get rid of the front hub protrusion which will allow for a more modern wheel selection.

Here is what I collected so far...

 

[Lonnie P]

My first venture is getting the frame cleaned & the front suspension installed before I start pulling the engine apart.

First, I got some weights for comparison. Truck is 3499 lb. with 1/4 tank of gas. 2042 lb. is on the front wheels.

As I removed the front suspension, I got some weights for comparison.

Factory Aftermarket
Springs/Shocks 14 9
Lower control Arms 15 12
Upper control arms 9 8
Spindles & Brakes 42 61

Yes I still gained 10 lb per side over stock, but at least it will be safe trying to stop a 560 hp vehicle.

Here is a brake comparison.

 

[Harley]

What are you using for caliper brackets? I know we chatted about most of these things at length, but apparently my memory isn't what I'd like it to be.

 

[dime-dozen]

what diameter are the rotors?

 

[Lonnie P]

They are 14" front rotors & I got Kore3 brackets made for the Belltech dropped spindle.

 

[Lonnie P]

Started some frame cleanup before putting the control arms back on.

After taking some lacquer thinner to it, it's cleaning up pretty well.

I still have a ways to go, but hopefully after today it will be ready for some paint.

 

[sensiScott]

This is going to be sick!!

 

[98Sonosls]

LS3 swap, nice! What PCM are you using? DBW or DBC? Crank trigger signal converter to 24x or running with 58x?

What camshaft do you have planned?

 

[Lonnie P]

Doing a 92mm FAST cable throttle body, using the factory S10 PCM with a Lingenfelter 58 to 24 tooth converter box.

I already have the engine & trans in my Firebird with a custom Comp cam. 219/232 .600 lift.
Since the S10 weighs almost the same, I know what to expect out of it.

 

[98Sonosls]

Doing a 92mm FAST cable throttle body, using the factory S10 PCM with a Lingenfelter 58 to 24 tooth converter box.

I already have the engine & trans in my Firebird with a custom Comp cam. 219/232 .600 lift.
Since the S10 weighs almost the same, I know what to expect out of it.

Nice, I run a 92mm Nick Williams cable TB myself, with a 220/228 .600 lift 112+2 LSA cam.

You may run into a problem with the knock sensors. People have not had much luck using the 4.3 flat response knock tables with the LS2/LS3 swaps, either too sensitive detecting knock all the time, or not sensitive at all and not detecting knock. Others have tried using LS1 resonant sensors tapped into the sides of the block with varying degrees of success. Many just delete the sensors all together.

It was the reason I went with a blue/green p059 PCM with DBC from an 06 savannah van as the blue greens have better support for both sensor types in both configurations.

Let me know how it works out for you.

 

[98Sonosls]

What are the specs on those Viking coil overs I see there?

 

[Lonnie P]

I have the LS1 sensors tapped into the side of the block & am currently running it with a 411 PCM.
I also converted it to a LS3 style mass air flow sensor so I could run 4" inlet tubing.

My cam is on a 114+2 as I originally intended to add a Procharger at a later date. It allowed more exhaust duration while retaining a reasonable idle quality, although there is no hiding the fact it has a cam in it.

My only other thought is to possibly have the heads CNC ported while I do the engine swap... as they say you can never have too much power.

The Vikings are the Crusader series double adjustable with 650# springs that I got from UMI as part of their suspension package.

 

[98Sonosls]

Very nice, the engine is running on the 0411 with the LS1 sensors & LS3 maf sensor? I'd love to take a peak at the scaling tables and values used, any chance I can get a copy of the tune file at some point?

Nice C/O's. Not a fan of C/O's in S10's for a few reasons buuuutt, if I was doing C/O I'd definitely get those Vikings .

 

[Lonnie P]

I chose the coil overs for the weight savings as well as the easy height adjustment.

I also went with a true coil over to eliminate the odd angles I've seen with the hybrid coil over type springs.

As for the MAF tables, I can share them with you... but keep in mind they are finicky & will not likely work for you.
It will require a lot of data logging/tuning & watching your fuel trims to make it happy. I'm personally thinking of just doing a speed density tune instead.

 

[98Sonosls]

Oh for sure I know they won't work for me I use the older style MAF, but its more a curiosity deal to see what your tables end up looking like with the same engine size and a very similar cam. I've had my truck on the dyno a few times, and I really enjoy how it runs now . FWIW, I am Speed Density tuned. Works great!

 

[98Sonosls]

Heck you could probably use my tune file to copy a number of my tables over to yours if you plan to go speed density. Use stock LS3 injectors and you'd be a lot closer out of the gate I'd think.

 

[Lonnie P]

Awesome... I would like a copy. I'm using LS3 injectors also with 58 psi fuel pressure.
Are you using EFI Live or HP Tuners? I use EFI Live, but have access to HP Tuners if necessary.

 

[Lonnie P]

Made some more progress today...

Ready to hang some suspension tomorrow

 

[Lonnie P]

I have the suspension fitted now. Brakes are indeed rather massive.

Still debating on the color, but I am considering blue calipers to match the truck, with possibly the rotor being charcoal to contrast the wheels with a brushed aluminum center.

 

[manbearpig]

Nice choice on the UMI control arms. Totally worth it in my opinion. Do you have the lowers as well?