Anyone watch the new engine masters?

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slipyoke

slipyoke

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So I am probably going to be "that guy" right now and I apologize.

The latest episode of engine masters on motor trend featured a turbo 5.3 LS (how dare I say those words in these hallowed halls) that was set up sort of for the every man. Was a solid daily driver, mostly stock, that could last 5+ plus years... and was putting out damn near 700 horse. All while fairly affordable.

Yes I know you don't get into mopar to save money and we are sort of our own nitch in the hot rod community. But does any one have a similar...ish build. I mean should I start looking at gen 3 hemi builds?
 
A 3G Hemi would be great for that. I don’t see a problem there. Even a 318 would be fine. The hp issue comes mainly from the heads ability to do the job. Longevity is build quality. Where the power is made is part head, part cam, part tune, part boost.
 
Plenty of build options for turbos. But a stock ls can take tons of boost and create huge numbers for pennies.
 
True. For a LA build.......

Any takers?
 
slipyoke said:
So I am probably going to be "that guy" right now and I apologize.

The latest episode of engine masters on motor trend featured a turbo 5.3 LS (how dare I say those words in these hallowed halls) that was set up sort of for the every man. Was a solid daily driver, mostly stock, that could last 5+ plus years... and was putting out damn near 700 horse. All while fairly affordable.

Yes I know you don't get into mopar to save money and we are sort of our own nitch in the hot rod community. But does any one have a similar...ish build. I mean should I start looking at gen 3 hemi builds?
Click to expand...
You know, I'd like to know where people get this notion that Chevy's small blocks are so much cheaper. Maybe 2nd hand parts wise, but if you look at new prices, they're about the same cost, with some options such as intake manifolds running close to a grand or more. Most parts though, are within 10-15% range of an LA,RB, B series mopar, 3rd gen hemi's are a little more yet but still not a giant difference. So I debate the " much cheaper" build part. Now, they do have a LOT more aftermarket support and product availability. One of the guys in my local car club is running a late model GTO with the LSX i believe it is, I know hes got close to 9,000 in the engine alone, plus the nitrous kit and he's putting down just under 700 on motor, NA.
 
rumblefish360 said:
A 3G Hemi would be great for that. I don’t see a problem there. Even a 318 would be fine. The hp issue comes mainly from the heads ability to do the job. Longevity is build quality. Where the power is made is part head, part cam, part tune, part boost.
Click to expand...

700 hp from a standard small block on boost? I could be wrong but that sounds like a ticking time bomb. I would go with a gen 3 Hemi until someone finally starts making a new Chrysler small block that can handle big numbers.

I am not a fan of the LS simply because they are shoved in everything as an easy way to go fast but I do respect their technology. They are great engines.
 
doogievlg said:
700 hp from a standard small block on boost? I could be wrong but that sounds like a ticking time bomb. I would go with a gen 3 Hemi until someone finally starts making a new Chrysler small block that can handle big numbers.

I am not a fan of the LS simply because they are shoved in everything as an easy way to go fast but I do respect their technology. They are great engines.
Click to expand...

Check out the episode. That's sort of what I thought. To good to be tottaly true. But I mean those guys do it for a living, and have a lot of knowledge.
 
So any of you guys have a line on boosted daily driver build? I have a 5.9 magnum and a 318 sitting around I wouldn't mind trying my hand at.
 
They say chevrolet is the hartbeat of America I can hear the rods knockin away
 
slipyoke said:
So any of you guys have a line on boosted daily driver build? I have a 5.9 magnum and a 318 sitting around I wouldn't mind trying my hand at.
Click to expand...

IIRC, Engine Masters did an episode where they put a blower on an early Gen3 junkyard Hemi. So...not exactly what you're looking for but it's useful general info. I believe they ended up getting ~600hp out of an otherwise stock motor.
 
slipyoke said:
So I am probably going to be "that guy" right now and I apologize.

The latest episode of engine masters on motor trend featured a turbo 5.3 LS (how dare I say those words in these hallowed halls) that was set up sort of for the every man. Was a solid daily driver, mostly stock, that could last 5+ plus years... and was putting out damn near 700 horse. All while fairly affordable.

Yes I know you don't get into mopar to save money and we are sort of our own nitch in the hot rod community. But does any one have a similar...ish build. I mean should I start looking at gen 3 hemi builds?
Click to expand...

You're really asking if you should do a small block Mopar, 318 - 360, like what EM did with a 5.3 LS? No. The GM LS platforms are the better engineered than a LA engine and can take that abuse, for a while, not forever. The 3G Hemi is great, but limited aftermarket and more expensive to do that to. But if you want to do that to your Mopar car, try and find a cheap Hemi, not a LA engine.

And don't apologize. As a car guy, you should appreciate quality and great engineering, regardless who makes it. Unless its Ford, then its always crap.
 
General Disarray said:
You're really asking if you should do a small block Mopar, 318 - 360, like what EM did with a 5.3 LS? No. The GM LS platforms are the better engineered than a LA engine and can take that abuse, for a while, not forever. The 3G Hemi is great, but limited aftermarket and more expensive to do that to. But if you want to do that to your Mopar car, try and find a cheap Hemi, not a LA engine.

And don't apologize. As a car guy, you should appreciate quality and great engineering, regardless who makes it. Unless its Ford, then its always crap.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the honest answer. I was just so blown away with what I saw I really wanted to apply it to my own situation.
 
slipyoke said:
Thanks for the honest answer. I was just so blown away with what I saw I really wanted to apply it to my own situation.
Click to expand...

Sadly you will need to get an LS then.

You can run boost on a stock bottom end LA block but you better keep it very low and not go much higher than 500 hp. If you get a race block then throw a forged rotating assembly in it and boost its eyes out. Just make sure you got deep pockets.
 
Cody put twin turbos on his stock 5.7 2011 Challenger. He kept it really mild (8 lbs boost) with only injector changes to the stock engine. The rev limiter was still set at 5,600 rpm. 497 Rear Wheel HP and 485 Rear Wheel TQ. We took it on a 1,300 mile trip and got 28 mpg.
 
LS IS the competition.
The car guys on my boat are all Chevy guys, devout LS fans.
There are multiple LS aftermarket websites.
THe gospel on the street is that the engines are still good to get or run even with 150K miles on them (rings???).
One guy on my boat just stripped a 150K mile Chevy TAhoe for the 5.3 LS, 4L60E, aluminum drive shaft and wiring harness for $700. His friends thought he stole it.
It replaces his blown 355 and turbo 350 three seed automatic.
These (LOW BUDGET )guys on a budget don't stroke these engines, simply install the set up.
They look for older LS engines and buy the 6.0 or greater LS engine' cylinderheads and swap those onto their engines - FOR THE SAME (or less) PRICE IT TAKES TO BUILD A 6.0 367" LA.
6.0 (aluminum) with a 4L80 heavy duty four speed automatics sometimes list for less than $2300.
I disagree with the first part of:
dukeboy_318 said:
You know, I'd like to know where people get this notion that Chevy's small blocks are so much cheaper. Maybe 2nd hand parts wise, but if you look at new prices, they're about the same cost, with some options such as intake manifolds running close to a grand or more. Most parts though, are within 10-15% range of an LA,RB, B series mopar, 3rd gen hemi's are a little more yet but still not a giant difference. So I debate the " much cheaper" build part. Now, they do have a LOT more aftermarket support and product availability. One of the guys in my local car club is running a late model GTO with the LSX i believe it is, I know hes got close to 9,000 in the engine alone, plus the nitrous kit and he's putting down just under 700 on motor, NA.
Click to expand...
-Because of the exceptions dukeboy_318 writes about. @dukeboy_318
There will be more of these LS's than 350's.

My question is how does a cheap 383 or 400 BBM compare against six liters and another gear?
 
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I have a 5.9 in my Dakota done to a 408. With a D1sc Procharger, Edelbrock heads and pump gas it makes 570 to the wheels. It is super reliable and has nothing super trick in it. Makes 11psi, I shift it at 6000 and it runs 10.80s. Other than me messing around trying to find a little more power the engine has had no reason to come apart. The LS is a good motor but it's not the only good motor.
 
I have a '65 Chevelle flipper project coming up. I did a bunch of pricing to see what I'd have to do to both LS swap it (EFI, 4L80E trans) and a 454/700r4 combination. Between buying everything to get it bolted in the car the cost was close to $14K. The 454 was $6K. In comparison a Gen3 swap I looked into a couple years ago was $17K, give or take. I'm sure these numbers can be beaten buy careful sourcing and some dedicated engineering that I wasn't taking into account on any of them. But with prices of an LA based driveline of similar output (this is say 400-500hp) being under $10K I can't see much savings if you have nothing to start with. The LS is s great engine. IMO better than the G3, but the parts are expensive for either option. At least by my definition.
 
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