{"version":"1.0.0","episode":{"title":"110: Is Ford's Coyote Better Than GM's LS?","url":"http://getcarcurious.com/episodes/110-is-ford-s-coyote-better-than-gm-s-ls","audioUrl":"https://www.buzzsprout.com/1755412/episodes/14680187-110-is-ford-s-coyote-better-than-gm-s-ls.mp3","description":"The Snot Rocket is here! This week on Tuned In, we welcome Brett Lasala, the owner, builder, and driver of 2024’s Sick Week-winning Mustang, Snot Rocket. In this episode, we find out what it takes to secure the outright win at a drive-and-drag competition like Sick Week, how he’s extracted over 3000hp from his Coyote V8, why he prefers Ford machinery, and a whole lot more.Use “BRETT50” to get 50% OFF our HPA Practical Engine Building Course: https://hpcdmy.co/practicalenginebEver since trading an old washing machine for his first car as a teenager, Brett Lasala has been obsessed with making vehicles go faster. This led to a lifelong career in the automotive industry, first learning the ropes through local shops, then becoming an accomplished Mercedes Benz tech specialising in AMG products, to then moving full time into the aftermarket space working with legendary companies like Real Street.Over that time, Brett has absorbed the knowledge of everyone around him, and is now in a position where he’s able to perform much of the work himself — although with that said, the level of success this car has seen is only possible thanks to the wealth of talent found in the other members of the team.In this conversation, we first discuss drive and drag events like Sick Week, and the unique challenges in tuning, engine building, and setup that a brutal day-after-day race and road trip presents. Competing is one thing — but winning outright is a whole different ball game entirely.This brings us to Brett’s well-known ‘Snot Rocket’ bright green Ford Mustang. We dive deep into the build, discussing its beginnings all the way through to its current state as a consistent low six-second pass twin-turbo monster. Powered by Ford’s Coyote motor, the Snot Rocket has allowed Brett to really get to know everything there is to know about the 5.0-litre DOHC V8. In this conversation, Brett is kind enough to share some of that knowledge with us, discussing the motor’s strengths and weaknesses, how to get good results from them, and if they’re actually better than GM’s ubiquitous rival motor, the LS.With conversations around engine and transmission tuning strategies, CO2-regulated boost control, and much more, this episode is jam-packed with quality information!Follow Brett here:IG: @brett_lasalaYT: Brett LasalaWWW: brettlasala.comDon’t forget, you can use “BRETT50” to get 50% OFF our HPA Practical Engine Building Course: https://hpcdmy.co/practicalenginebTimestamps:4:44 How did you develop an interest in cars?9:00 Where did the passion for drag racing come from?10:26 Have you got any formal qualifications?13:03 Spinning spanners on modern vehicles?15:02 Fabrication skills?18:21 What was your position at Real Street?22:05 What is a Drag and Drive event?26:15 Overview of original car29:15 Why did you start from fresh rather than further modifying the original car?32:15 Why turbos over supercharger?33:34 Coyote vs LS3? Pros and cons.34:36 What have you done to the Coyote engine?47:59 What’s your head gasket sealing solution?56:25 Do you think you’ll need to move to a billet block?1:00:01 What is the electronics package in the car?1:08:22 What is DA in Drag Racing?1:11:03 How does your wheelie detection work?1:18:06 How has moving up turbo sizes affected drivability?1:22:25 Are you using traction control?1:27:43 Transmission1:32:20 How much faster would the car be if it was a dedicated drag car?1:36:35 Final 3 questions"},"annotations":[{"startTime":28.876,"endTime":37.493,"type":"car","title":"Ford Mustang","url":"/cars/ford/mustang","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/2024_Ford_Mustang%2C_LaSalle%2C_Ontario%2C_2025-06-28.jpg","quote":"...r and driver of the aptly named Bright Green Ford Mustang Snot Rocket. Brett joins us fresh off the back of...","canonicalId":"car:ford:mustang","priority":0.7,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Crisco 1492 (CC BY-SA 4.0)"}},{"startTime":286.61,"endTime":301.202,"type":"car","title":"Chevrolet Monte Carlo","url":"/cars/chevrolet/monte-carlo","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/1972_Chevrolet_C3_Corvette_Convertible_%2831871343342%29.jpg","quote":"...actually had since he was in high school the 1970 Monte Carlo SS with a 454, it was a big four door car, it was...","canonicalId":"car:chevrolet:monte carlo","priority":0.5,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0"}},{"startTime":334.244,"endTime":345.304,"type":"car","title":"Chevrolet Camaro","url":"/cars/chevrolet/camaro","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/%2716_Chevrolet_Camaro_Convertible_%28MIAS_%2716%29.jpg","quote":"...nse, naturally because you had to. There was a 77 Camaro parked down the street from us which was like in ...","canonicalId":"car:chevrolet:camaro","priority":0.7,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Bull-Doser (Public domain)"}},{"startTime":410.709,"endTime":417.556,"type":"car","title":"Mustang Fox Body","url":"/cars/ford/mustang","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/2024_Ford_Mustang%2C_LaSalle%2C_Ontario%2C_2025-06-28.jpg","quote":"...alated from that point on. In high school I got a Fox body Mustang and that was my first switch over to the ...","canonicalId":"car:mustang:","priority":0.5,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Crisco 1492 (CC BY-SA 4.0)"}},{"startTime":479.745,"endTime":487.074,"type":"car","title":"Ford Mustang Gt","url":"/cars/ford/mustang-gtd","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Australian_spec_Ford_Mustang_S650.jpg","quote":"...he same time my next door neighbor, he had a 1990 Ford Mustang GT. You know he was the original owner of it and he ...","canonicalId":"car:ford:mustang gtd","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.967741935483871,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Edncars (CC BY 4.0)"}},{"startTime":708.142,"endTime":710.992,"type":"car","title":"Master Tech","url":"/cars/renault/master","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/DiePost_Paketzustellfahrzeug_Renault_Master_III%2C_Modell_2010.jpg","quote":"...was and I worked my way up with Mercedes. I was a master tech, cdt team leader. The amount of new technology th...","canonicalId":"car:master:","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9565217391304348,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"JoachimKohler-HB (CC BY-SA 4.0)"}},{"startTime":2088.189,"endTime":2089.791,"type":"car","title":"Shelby GT500","url":"/cars/shelby/gt500","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/2019_Ford_Bullitt_Mustang_%2833574531518%29.jpg","quote":"...they call the predator block. It's offered in the GT500. So we start with that block.","canonicalId":"car:shelby:gt500","priority":0.5,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0"}},{"startTime":2091.917,"endTime":2096.061,"type":"car","title":"Ford Gt350","url":"/cars/shelby/gt350","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/1965_Shelby_Mustang_GT350_%2820984175008%29.jpg","quote":"...tart with that block. We start with a set of just Ford GT350 cylinder heads. The block is then a sleeve with t...","canonicalId":"car:ford:gt350","priority":0.7,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0"}},{"startTime":5343.065,"endTime":5361.298,"type":"car","title":"Nissan Gtr","url":"/cars/nissan/gt-r","image":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/2009_Nissan_GT-R%28front%29.JPG","quote":"...larly if you want to go fast and something like a Nissan GTR, for example. With this, though, the torque conve...","canonicalId":"car:nissan:gt-r","priority":0.5,"confidence":1.0,"source":"fuzzy","data":{"imageAttribution":"Stande99 (CC BY-SA 3.0)"}}],"speakers":[{"id":"s1","name":"High Performance Academy","role":"host"}],"transcripts":[{"url":"http://getcarcurious.com/episodes/110-is-ford-s-coyote-better-than-gm-s-ls/transcript.vtt","type":"text/vtt"}]}