UTG -The Mighty 318

318willrun said

I don't think UTG's point was how "tough" and how much HP the stock block can handle. I think it was bore to bore, stroke to stroke, the 5.2 and 5.3 are very close. Folks LS 5.3 swap, but without turbos or major upgrades, they don't perform exceptionally well but people are happy about it. So why not the 318 if big HP isn't the goal... I think that was UTG's point

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If big HP is not the goal a 318 is a great engine and like any other engine properly built will make good power.

I guess I look at things differently because if I were building a stock stroke performance engine on a budget it would be a 360. They're cheap, rings, bearings, gaskets and machine work will cost the same. I haven't looked but I'd think that a 360 has a better piston selection too. For me the benefit of the extra torque would be worth the extra few dollars a 360 core would cost.

I think Tony chose the wrong word "architecture" when he was talking about the similarities in valve sizes between the 318 and the 5.3 LS. The dimensions of the valves are similar but the architecture of the heads (and blocks) are vastly different. Todays engines are designed to be more efficient than the engines from the 60-70's, so they make more power while using less fuel. The 5.7 in my 2014 Ram is a perfect example, 395 hp and 405 ft pounds of torque and is 348".

Not hating on the 318, they are great engines. Tony is right, they suffer from the same perception as the 360 as not being a performance engine. Just because they weren't offered as a performance engine from the factory doesn't mean they can't be.