6.6 Gas L8T Engine Swap in 2015 Suburban

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Tremek

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Hey gents, great thread. I’m currently planning to do something similar to my (thankfully still running perfectly well) 2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4WD currently at 124k miles, but with more forced induction!

Being the Denali trim my truck currently has the 6.2L L86 with AFM & DOD, but I’m either hearing lifters at idle or an exhaust leak, so it’s likely getting to be the time to dig into this thing before something mechanically unfortunate happens that leaves me stranded somewhere.

I’m also going to stay with the 8L90e; while I can appreciate the 6L90e (I had a 2012 CTS-V wagon for years) I prefer the driving dynamics of the 8 speed versus the 6.

There’s a few reasons I’m going to go likely with a supercharger; I live at elevation and despite naturally aspirated motors being inherently less complex, there’s no replacement for displacement AND boost!

My goals are a reliable ~700hp at the crank and that being transmitted reliably through the 8L90e (need some input on who builds ‘built’/stage-whatever 8 speeds?) as well as through the transfer cases and diffs. I like the Denali’s ability to either go into 4H/L or function as AWD, so I have no illusions as to the necessity of both dropping the L8T + boost agent in it as well as refreshing the rest of the driveline including reinforced driveshafts as I gather none of these trucks’ OEM drivelines appreciate either turning 75% more torque than factory or rotational speeds that come from a quarter mile.

Speaking of, not intending to do actual drag racing with the truck, but I want at my altitude something like high 12s and 110mph.

Anyway - anyone have any input on these new power adders intended for the L8T? Tempted to go with the 3.0L Whipple. I do tow on occasion and my goal is for the beast to be resilient enough to take any duty cycle I throw at it.

Here’s a pic of the truck as it sits. I put the 6-pot front Brembo RPO kit on it when I got it last year, the TE37 wheels, and a lowering kit to drop it a couple inches. Rides great (Magneride/magnetorheological shocks are my favorite thing GM does next to LS motors) and drives great.

dJC8oxu.jpeg
 
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Tonyrodz

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Hey gents, great thread. I’m currently planning to do something similar to my (thankfully still running perfectly well) 2016 GMC Yukon XL Denali 4WD currently at 124k miles, but with more forced induction!

Being the Denali trim my truck currently has the 6.2L L86 with AFM & DOD, but I’m either hearing lifters at idle or an exhaust leak, so it’s likely getting to be the time to dig into this thing before something mechanically unfortunate happens that leaves me stranded somewhere.

I’m also going to stay with the 8L90e; while I can appreciate the 6L90e (I had a 2012 CTS-V wagon for years) I prefer the driving dynamics of the 8 speed versus the 6.

There’s a few reasons I’m going to go likely with a supercharger; I live at elevation and despite naturally aspirated motors being inherently less complex, there’s no replacement for displacement AND boost!

My goals are a reliable ~700hp at the crank and that being transmitted reliably through the 8L90e (need some input on who builds ‘built’/stage-whatever 8 speeds?) as well as through the transfer cases and diffs. I like the Denali’s ability to either go into 4H/L or function as AWD, so I have no illusions as to the necessity of both dropping the L8T + boost agent in it as well as refreshing the rest of the driveline including reinforced driveshafts as I gather none of these trucks’ OEM drivelines appreciate either turning 75% more torque than factory or rotational speeds that come from a quarter mile.

Speaking of, not intending to do actual drag racing with the truck, but I want at my altitude something like high 12s and 110mph.

Anyway - anyone have any input on these new power adders intended for the L8T? Tempted to go with the 3.0L Whipple. I do tow on occasion and my goal is for the beast to be resilient enough to take any duty cycle I throw at it.

Here’s a pic of the truck as it sits. I put the 6-pot front Brembo RPO kit on it when I got it last year, the TE37 wheels, and a lowering kit to drop it a couple inches. Rides great (Magneride/magnetorheological shocks are my favorite thing GM does next to LS motors) and drives great.

dJC8oxu.jpeg
I like your rims. They look like declads.
 

Tremek

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I like your rims. They look like declads.
Thanks! They’re RAYS/Volk Racing 20x9.5 +0 offset 6x139.7 TE37 Ultra Large forged wheels intended for Toyotas (same bolt pattern) but using hub-centric aluminum spacers to take the intended-for-Toyota 112mm center hub bore down to the 78.1mm hub these trucks have.

Using the hub centric spacers means I haven’t figured out a good way to affix the center caps yet but I’ll get there.
 

Tremek

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Oh wow, I didn’t know about this being an option! We have what, a good 5+ years now of the 10L90e being used in high-power applications like the ZL1?

… With that said I know Ford has had a bunch of issues with their 10 speeds, and I understand GM and Ford collaborated on the design… Anyone know how well (or not well) GM’s version is holding up in heavy duty use?
 

buckwild27

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That guy seems to be having good luck with them. If and when I do this 10 speed conversion I will have the transmission rebuilt and beefed up.
 

Tremek

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What's wrong with the 6L90?
NOT the 6L80E, the 6L90E - I thought that they did reasonably well behind the LGH DuraMax?

Not that it’s bad, but the 6L90e is a bit coarse compared to either the 8L90e or 10L90e; gear ratios are far more spread apart by comparison gear-to-gear and the 6L90e shifts substantially slower than either the 8 or 10 too, and I believe the overall ratio is narrower on the 6.
 

Marky Dissod

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Not that it’s bad, but the 6L90E is a bit coarse compared to either the 8L90E or 10L90E;
gear ratios are far more spread apart by comparison gear-to-gear
and the 6L90e shifts substantially slower than either the 8 or 10 too,
and I believe the overall ratio is narrower on the 6.
An awfully imprecise representation of what you just said:

10L80: ... 4.69 ... 2.99 ... 2.15 ... 1.77 ... 1.52 ... 1.28 ... 1.000 ... 0.85 ... 0.69 ... 0.64 (7.32 Spread)
8L90E: ... 4.56 ... 2.97 .... 2.08 .... 1.69 . . . . . . . 1.27 ... 1.000 ... 0.85 . . . . . . . 0.65 (7.01 SPread)
6L90E: . . . . 4.03 . . . . 2.36 . . . . . . . . . 1.53 . . . . 1.15 . . . . . . . 0.85 . . . . . 0.67 (6.01 Spread)
4L60E: . . . . . . . 3.06 . . . . . . . . . . 1.63 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.000 . . . . . . . . 0.69 (4.43 Spread)

As important as highway MpG has always been, clearly improving city MpG was even more important.

But it doesn't seem like there's any more MpG to be found in the next transmission ...
 
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