A friend put a 525 engine in his car and doesn't like the driveability of the combo.......we just put a 480 version in Gary's car and it is freak'in "Awsum".....Just my $.02

Ken

I'm different from most here. I went with the stock 430 up version. My car is 100% street and my thinking that with headers, CAI, and a tune it will be a blast to drive and more than enough power for cruising.

We put cams in LS3 430hp crates quite often. I can get you a better driving combo that'll have the same hp as the 525 for the same price. However, it won't have GM's warranty anymore once you open it up.

I agree with Kwhizz's friend, I don't like the 525 driveability, but many people have no problem. Guess it's all about what you're used to.

-Dale

I'm curious, what are the drivability complaints?

I heard the same thing from a few people. I opted to get the 430 and swap out the cam, pushrods, timing set, timing chain tensioner to a LS2 style (I was told the LS3 version was an issue), trunnion upgrade, valve springs, retainers, and locks.

Now it has a nice hot rod sounding idle and made decent power to the wheels (454hp/412tq) when I got it tuned.

Thanks for chiming in, Herb
I think I've changed my mind on the 525hp version, going off of what I've heard from all of you recently. You have a custom ground cam, right?

Yes it's a custom grind. I'm sure there are plenty of off the shelf cams to choose from that are proven and will make good drivable power. :thumbsup:

The LS376/480 crate engine is a really good option. The 525 we have heard issues with driveability as well. The 480 is what we put in our 240SX shop project and we love it. I'd recommend that.

https://www.speartech.com/ProductDet...peartech240lsx

X2, curious as well.

I'm not a motor guy but why is the 525hp crate ls3 causing people to complain about it? I just ordered a 515hp ls3 crate from smc performance and am a little concerned now. I plan on driving my car every where so drivability is important to me. Thx.

Josh