Ls vs. sbc

[Chadly B]

So, I'm considering building or purchasing a motor while waiting for an s10 to show up in my price range.....I can pick up a complete 5.3 for $350 at the junkyard here, but in the long run, converting an ls to carb seems expensive, but converting a first gen to ls efi seems expensive too......thoughts?

[lxtasy]

It is really not expensive as you may think. You can get a standalone harness made, or make it yourself. Put an intank walbro 255 in and that is really it. Get a mail order tune, or a custom dyno tune and you will be set. It is all the "while I am here" that becomes expensive.

[wikd]

the edelbrock intake and the msd box run 689.95 on summits sight... then you just need the carb and all the swap parts... so yeah it will be more expensive than a regular sbc into a dime...

but then you are ahead of the game as the rotating assembly can take quite a lot in the way of power... so the amount you save in not having to buy a forged rotating assembly keeps you ahead of the game...

to me its just about the same amount either way... 6 of one half dozen of the other...

[lxtasy]

Cheaper to stay fuel injected especially if you get intake and all. It is mainly just getting the harness correct. Currentperformance isn't that bad. And herron performance on this board is a vendor for them. I personally like the ease of fuel injection with reliability. Less stuff for me to really have to worry about. I don't have to make sure the carb is the right size, don't have to worry about jetting etc etc

[thumpn]

I have built both motors and any way you look at it you are going to spend less to build an Ls than a SBC. Like wikd said the ls has a lot stronger bottom end. the only thing I changed in the bottom end was cam, oil pump, timing set and rod bolts to ARP bolts. as far as top end in the heads I changed valve springs and push rods. And with those changes I have put together a motor that would hold up to over 900 hp w/boost! All those changes I did cost me around $550.
then you ad the intake,carb and MSD box , you will be about $1500 total on a very strong motor that will last you a long time. make sure to check out the LS section of the board, there is a lot of helpful info there on parts. also you can Pm me about parts and I can tell you where to get the best deals.

[jameskirk1]

So, I'm considering building or purchasing a motor while waiting for an s10 to show up in my price range.....I can pick up a complete 5.3 for $350 at the junkyard here, but in the long run, converting an ls to carb seems expensive, but converting a first gen to ls efi seems expensive too......thoughts?

What's your goals?

If it's a street/strip "budget" ride (like so many of us start with) do the LS and keep it injected that's my .02 :)

[01XtremeLT1]

I'd just say LS fuel injected. You can modify the 5.3 harness for less than $50 and use the PCM from the motor. www.lt1swap.com has the information on stand alone harness's. If your not using an electronic controlled tranny then there is a bunch of wires not needed and can be stripped out of the engine harness.

[sevenseven]

LS heads are the shizzo too!

[sbctols1]

I have a carbed 6.0. I have a total of two aftermarket parts inside the motor. Cam and valve springs. It makes 551hp at 6800 rpms at the crank. This is with no machine work to the block. What would it take to do that with a sbc? Big cubes with a huge roller cam and big dollar cylinder heads? Not to mention a ton of compression. My junk runs on 87 octane. My sbc's never made this kind of power for the money.

[ron406]

ok guys so when you do the carbed ls motor what all wiring is the besides the normal? alternator, starter, msd to each coil and msd itself. what else? My cousin would like to do one in his monte carlo with a 350 trans.

[ron406]

sbctols1 what cam are you runnig if you dont mind me asking? have you ranit at the track at all?

[sbctols1]

No track time yet. Its a Comp Cams XR281HR
571/.573
228/230
112 LSA

[Chadly B]

so does that thing have a pretty lumpy idle? 6.0's aren't hard to come by around here, but they are typically 500.00 higher than 5.3's would that cam be a bit big? it sounds like a combination!

[lxtasy]

That cam is not at all too big for a 6.0. Actually pretty conservative. That is a good sounding cam that probably has pretty good street manners to it actually

[Chadly B]

how well do you think it would work in a 5.3?

[lxtasy]

it should do pretty good.

cam in a 5.3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNdwOJXVtLI

open headers with same cam in a iroc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI9yk-COLHw

[Chadly B]

Sounds great to me, thanks lxtasy! I'll try to start looking on YouTube, I always forget about that.....

[sbctols1]

so does that thing have a pretty lumpy idle? 6.0's aren't hard to come by around here, but they are typically 500.00 higher than 5.3's would that cam be a bit big? it sounds like a combination!

See thread...http://www.s10racer.com/board/showthread.php?t=6217