Though they have performed...
Though they have performed flawlessly to this point, the stock injectors and fuel rail were pulled to make room for the MSD and Nasty parts.
The Internet is littered with "E85 Conversion Kits." Be wary of these, as they generally do not supply the components required to do the conversion correctly. You should also be aware that like so many other performance-enhancing modifications, the EPA has not given approval to any conversion process or kit. That means you shouldn't be driving your clean-burning E85 Cornvette on the street. Got it?
Getting Down to Business
For D6C's conversion, I turned to HiTech Motorsport, in Elk River, Minnesota. As the name implies, HiTech specializes in late-model fuel-injected mills, but the shop also has an extensive racing background ranging from Trans Am to NHRA Super Stock. The folks at HiTech have been performing high-performance E85 conversions for a couple of years now, and that experience taught them everything they needed to know in order to extract maximum power from my little LS2.
Nasty supplies all the hardware...
Nasty supplies all the hardware needed to bolt the fuel rail up to the FAST intake manifold. One nice side benefit is that it eliminates the need for the FAST injector spacers, reducing the amount of clutter in the intake area.
If you've been following D6C's progress, you will notice a rather large discrepancy between the dyno numbers recorded in our last installment and this story's baseline figures. After the FAST intake install, the car produced 451 horsepower and 430 lb-ft of torque on the LG Motorsports Dynojet. When strapped down to HiTech Motorsports' Dynojet, D6C made only 420/405. Eyebrows around the room went up. There had been no hint of detonation or knock retard when the car was last dyno-tested at LG, but a look at the data log from the HiTech pull showed 10 to 12 degrees of knock retard, resulting in a super-rich air/fuel ratio of 10:1. Not good.
Before we could diagnose the problem, it was discovered that the car's PCM was locked from the previous tune, meaning we were dead in the water. The PCM had to be sent out for the tuning-software manufacturer to unlock, so I used the downtime to tear into the car. I pulled the plugs and found them to be clean. Off came the valve covers for a visual inspection of the valvesprings and push rods. No issues. Much head-scratching ensued.
A factory-style quick-release...
A factory-style quick-release fitting is supplied to mate with the stock supply line. The braided-stainless line is then routed over the back of the manifold and plumbed to the rear of the passenger-side rail.
Upon return of the now unlocked PCM, I returned to HiTech for another try. Just as on the original visit, D6C made 420/405, again with massive knock retard and an obnoxiously rich AFR. This time, however, HiTech's tuning-wiz service manager Casey Wittmer was able to access the tune with his trusty EFI Live. After a little tweaking, the numbers were brought a little closer together, up to 431/412. Further work likely could have netted a few more horses, but that was not the focus of our efforts. It was time to start the conversion process.
As mentioned earlier, converting a late-model Corvette is pretty easy. You'll need larger injectors to deliver the additional fuel volume, along with a recalibrated PCM. In most cases, that's it. The LS2's stock 34-pounders have done an acceptable job thus far, but would quickly fall behind with the increased volume of E85 required to make the same amount of power.
A crossover is routed just...
A crossover is routed just behind the throttle body at the front end of the rails.
MSD Ignition is beginning a big push into the EFI market, and one of the company's newest products is a set of Jammer 60 lb/hr injectors that are compatible with both low- and high-impedance fuel systems. MSD promises excellent throttle response and idle-two traits not often associated with large injectors. The only downside to using them on the LS2 is that they employ a traditional Bosch harness connector. This is easily overcome, however, with a set of injector-adapter harnesses.
Since the top side of the fuel system was coming apart, I also took the opportunity to install a Nasty Performance billet-aluminum fuel-rail kit. Nasty's polished rails are milled from solid aluminum and accept 3/8-inch pipe fittings-enough to support 2,000 hp, according to Nasty proprietor Nate Bonham. These fittings, plus a quick-release adapter for the factory supply line, a length of -10 braided line, and a fuel-pressure gauge are also included in the kit.
 Teflon sealant is your friend...  Teflon sealant is your friend when dealing with aluminum AN fittings. It serves as both a lubricant and a sealant to prevent thread galling and subsequent leaks. |  A large bolt cutter is definitely...  A large bolt cutter is definitely the hot ticket for cutting braided-stainless lines. A hacksaw will work, but more often than not, it frays the braid. |  The driver-side fuel rail...  The driver-side fuel rail receives an adapter fitting tapped and threaded for this fuel-pressure gauge. |