redfishsc
Tired of fixing lousy engineering.
Hey guys, is it generally good, or detrimental, to do some intentional WOT on these old Vortecs? I have a 99 Suburban, 210K miles, and the only "performance" mod I've done is swapping the rear gears to 4.10's. Oil is Penz Platinum 5W30, trans fluid and filter is fairly new (Valv max life), tires are 31X10.5. 2WD, C1500. Oil stays clean for a very long time, really never turns black even after 7K miles. Coolant is brand new, well flushed, green stuff.
Back story.
I used to have an 03 Deville with the Northstar. Utterly different motor than the 5.7 Vortec obviously, but that motor absolutely demanded some WOT treatment or it would burn oil like crazy and smoke a little (blue). If only my wife drove it (mild foot), it smoked. If I drove it for a week, it didn't, because I'd give it plenty of WOT. In fact, the guys over Cadillacforums.com pointed me out to a good WOT treatment (2nd gear, WOT going from 55mph to redline allowing the engine to slow it back down to 55, repeat 3 to 5 times).
With all seriousness, doing that was the best thing for that Northstar. When it was totaled by a guy that pulled out in front of me last year, it had 173K miles on it and it ran like a brand new car. It had more power at 173K than it did when I first got it at 90K (was not driven hard at all, used a lot of oil, sticky rings).
I know the 5.7 Vortec has very little similarities with the Northstar, other than being a GM V8. But is it beneficial on these Vortecs to do some WOT once or twice a week, intentionally, or am I asking for a blown head gasket at this late in the game at 210K miles?
Back story.
I used to have an 03 Deville with the Northstar. Utterly different motor than the 5.7 Vortec obviously, but that motor absolutely demanded some WOT treatment or it would burn oil like crazy and smoke a little (blue). If only my wife drove it (mild foot), it smoked. If I drove it for a week, it didn't, because I'd give it plenty of WOT. In fact, the guys over Cadillacforums.com pointed me out to a good WOT treatment (2nd gear, WOT going from 55mph to redline allowing the engine to slow it back down to 55, repeat 3 to 5 times).
With all seriousness, doing that was the best thing for that Northstar. When it was totaled by a guy that pulled out in front of me last year, it had 173K miles on it and it ran like a brand new car. It had more power at 173K than it did when I first got it at 90K (was not driven hard at all, used a lot of oil, sticky rings).
I know the 5.7 Vortec has very little similarities with the Northstar, other than being a GM V8. But is it beneficial on these Vortecs to do some WOT once or twice a week, intentionally, or am I asking for a blown head gasket at this late in the game at 210K miles?