The Ford BA XR6 was a better car than the ZB

[87VLCALAIS]

Just buying a LS conversion kit (used engine, gearbox and wiring loom etc) is hideously expensive compared to rebuilding the Barra and you don’t even get a “new engine” You pay probably around $3000 just for a long LS engine and then you’ve got to rebuild it into something better

Not bagging the Barra. I don't know much about it, everyone speaks well of it, but the rebuild cost is just the start. Getting it fitted in the engine bay and then mated up with a gearbox etc involves a fair amount of engineering and cost.

The Holden/Nissan RB30 is another good choice but then again needs a fair amount of engineering work to get it fitted up and running.

Or you could go the twin turbo route with the turbo version of the LFX engine in the VF. This would keep the weight distribution in line with the original car.

LF3

The 3.6 L twin-turbocharged version for the 2014 Cadillac CTS and 2014 Cadillac XTS was announced at the 2013 NYAS.

The engine is rated at 420 hp (313 kW; 426 PS) of power at 5750 rpm and 430 lb⋅ft (583 N⋅m) of torque at 3500-4500 rpm (with 90% of torque being available at 2500-5500 rpm) and helps the CTS achieve 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) time of 4.6 seconds with an 8-speed automatic transmission.

In essence, the twin-turbo 3.6L V6 is the forced-induction variant of the popular LFX V6 found in the Cadillac ATS, XTS, and SRX, among many other GM models.

Other GM models includes the VF.

Using an engine that already fits in the chassis has a fair bit of appeal to me.

Red Bull did the twin turbo V6 Sandman. Not sure which model/size engine they used.

 

[J_D 2.0]

Not bagging the Barra. I don't know much about it, everyone speaks well of it, but the rebuild cost is just the start. Getting it fitted in the engine bay and then mated up with a gearbox etc involves a fair amount of engineering and cost.

The Holden/Nissan RB30 is another good choice but then again needs a fair amount of engineering work to get it fitted up and running.

Or you could go the twin turbo route with the turbo version of the LFX engine in the VF. This would keep the weight distribution in line with the original car.

Other GM models includes the VF.

Using an engine that already fits in the chassis has a fair bit of appeal to me.

Red Bull did the twin turbo V6 Sandman. Not sure which model/size engine they used.

Assuming you were road registering the vehicle you wouldn’t be allowed to fit and RB30 to a VE/VF Commodore as it’s probably too old to meet modern emissions standards.

If I had say a hot rod or something old that I was going to do a modern engine conversion on I would seriously find it hard to go past the Barra (provided it would fit of course) as it will make 600+ hp all day long without having to spend a heap of money to get it there.

Of course any modern car your always better keeping what it came with as the electronics/computers are always a **** fight. If I had unlimited money tho I’d be all over putting a Barra in a VE just for the WTF value!

 

[mpower]

If the name of the ZB is its biggest fault, I guess that's very high praise indeed coming from some of the parochial posters on here.

ah no, i said biggest, not only

 

[Immortality]

Not better than a boosted 6.0 but a darn sight cheaper! I might be a Holden man but the Barra is the best bang for your buck money can buy. You could buy a N/A Barra from a clapped out taxi and rebuild it as a turbo for less money than it costs to buy a clapped out 6.0 with a quarter of a million kilometres on the clock.

Big differences Internally between a factory turbo Barra and its n/a and LPG brethren. Just ask scotty @ Carnage. He's been blowing up LPG Barra's left right and centre trying to get their turbo taxi into the 10's. The boys at nugget Garage got a VS ecotec into the 10's with a turbo kit, small shot of NOS and trans swap. Been that that ecotec was stock other than some ARP head studs does it make the ecotec better than a Barra?

 

[87VLCALAIS]

ah no, i said biggest, not only

Yep, I got that from the start.

To a normal person the wrong name is a pretty minor fault in the big scheme of things. Hence my post.

 

[87VLCALAIS]

Big differences Internally between a factory turbo Barra and its n/a and LPG brethren. Just ask scotty @ Carnage. He's been blowing up LPG Barra's left right and centre trying to get their turbo taxi into the 10's. The boys at nugget Garage got a VS ecotec into the 10's with a turbo kit, small shot of NOS and trans swap. Been that that ecotec was stock other than some ARP head studs does it make the ecotec better than a Barra?

Yep, the Ecotec is a way under rated engine. It might not be a sexy as some other engines and certainly not as smooth as some but it's pretty bullet proof and can deliver good power.

 

[Immortality]

The poor exhaust really gave it a bad rep....

 

[J_D 2.0]

Big differences Internally between a factory turbo Barra and its n/a and LPG brethren. Just ask scotty @ Carnage. He's been blowing up LPG Barra's left right and centre trying to get their turbo taxi into the 10's. The boys at nugget Garage got a VS ecotec into the 10's with a turbo kit, small shot of NOS and trans swap. Been that that ecotec was stock other than some ARP head studs does it make the ecotec better than a Barra?

I doubt the Ecotec could put out 600hp all day long with no problems unless you threw the kitchen sink at it.

Like I said before, in the Falcodore stables the Barra actually goes up against the LS on a power (without it being a grenade) basis and a second hand LS will set you back about $3000 before you even put a spanner on it whereas the N/A Barra can be had for a few hundred bucks so you can spend about $2000-$2500 upgrading the motor before you even get up to the cost of a second hand LS engine.

Put some mods on the second hand LS engine and add a turbo and your easily up over $5000-$6000 to get the same power out of it as a hypothetically rebuilt Barra turbo. The mods cost is most likely the same or slightly cheaper for the Barra but the big difference is in the base cost of the engine.

When I bought my SSV I thought I would just go buy myself a clapped out old LS motor to rebuild myself so I can have something to tinker around with. Needless to say that plan got scrapped really fast when I saw how much people want for second hand LS motors. It would nearly be cheaper to buy an LS motor from the states and get it shipped over here as you can get LS engines for SFA in the states compared to here.

 

[Immortality]

Turbo barra's are a bit more expensive than the run of the mill n/a or LPG barra. The n/a barra has weak rods and is not boost happy, the LPG version has better rods but it's still not the ducks guts so to speak.

Yes barra's can make big power, turbo barra's with a few upgrades but big power comes with expensive upgrades if you want it to live a happy life just like any motor. Have a look at what Nugget garage did with a Barra on the cheap in an older falcon. It wasn't great, slower that the VS with ecotec...

The old GN1 3800 V6 can do 600hp all day long, the big daddy to our 3800 V6 motors and it's wee grandchild the ecotec.

 

[stooge]

check out mcm/bennys cresta, 9.9 sec 1/4, barra in a toyota cresta(cressida).
they did a good job with it.