110: Is Ford's Coyote Better Than GM's LS?

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.

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Use “BRETT50” to get 50% OFF our HPA Practical Engine Building Course: https://hpcdmy.co/practicalengineb

Ever 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 discussions 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_lasala
YT: Brett Lasala
WWW: brettlasala.com

Don’t forget, you can use “BRETT50” to get 50% OFF our HPA Practical Engine Building Course: https://hpcdmy.co/practicalengineb