lsx vs sb you decide

[71RS/SS396]

I vote LS the prices are getting very affordable, I just purchased a complete LS-7 w/ all the accy. and oil lines for the dry sump and 7400 miles on it for $6500. off of one of the corvette forums I think it would be hard to match the power level of an LS-7 w a sbc for that much money. The weight of the LS motors is another advantage for handling and straight line performance, you don't need to make as much power if you're lighter to achieve the same performance level. I will have to disagree with Rodger about being able to match the torque of a BBC I have an iron ls motor w/ a Harrop blower that is making 750 lb/ft of torque peak and it makes 650 lb/ft @2300 rpm, most forced induction set-ups are going to make boat loads of torque.

[The T-man]

SBC if I listen to my heart
LSx if I listen to my brain

BTW-
I'm building a DART LittleM 406 w/ EFi so I am biased

[E.rodz]

everyones going with the ls motors because the gm finaly took care of all the issues that all of the had.pull one apart and you will see why everyones doing it.myself personaly after just opening one up I sold all my old big and small block stuff.price out building the small block with the fuel injection and all new accesories on the front of the motor.alum heads ,oh and lets not forget the roller cam,and the roller rockers.how can you argue with 400 rearwheel hp.@only 4 lbs of boost out of a 5.3 and still 20mpgs.dollar for dollar you just can't beat the ls motor.

[deuce_454]

Originally Posted by E.rodz

everyones going with the ls motors because the gm finaly took care of all the issues that all of the had.pull one apart and you will see why everyones doing it.myself personaly after just opening one up I sold all my old big and small block stuff.price out building the small block with the fuel injection and all new accesories on the front of the motor.alum heads ,oh and lets not forget the roller cam,and the roller rockers.how can you argue with 400 rearwheel hp.@only 4 lbs of boost out of a 5.3 and still 20mpgs.dollar for dollar you just can't beat the ls motor.

what the heck is that awefull plastic injection stack look alike you have on top of your engine... it just looks wrong... the picture just screams to heaven that either the blower, or the stacs are FAKE..

[Steve1968LS2]

Originally Posted by anthony 69

if you had a choice which would you pic. an lsx motor great motors but every body is doing it these days. or 400 sb with a fuel injected magncharger a little differant. hp and about the same. ls with better idle, 400 chopper muscle car idle. i wish i knew how to take a poll. thanks anthony

The blown SBC will cost more.. make less power and get worse mileage.. and weigh more.

Other than that though... lol

Just kidding.. but seriously, the factory EFI stuff is a snap compared to the aftermarket and replacement parts are easy to find, even i the middle of nowhere.

[sacarguy]

Originally Posted by scherp69

Everyone's doing a LSX conversion because of the better driveability, fuel economy, etc. The heads have better flow numbers and easy to upgrade hp numbers with tuning. Go with LSX.

starting from scratch you can make as much power as much driveability and as much fuel economy from a SBC but unless you are building a serious engine its just easier and cheaper to do the el es jaun ..

the statement you made is ONLY true when comparing a stock style vs stock style setup

yes a carbed sbc vs a efi ls1 is going to lose out

but when building with aftermarket heads ... aftermarket cams aftermarket efi etc you can do anything with a sbc you can with a ls1

the ls1 has the advantage on milder combos where you are not going to change out the heads going to leave the stock efi etc

But if you are looking to build something wilder 400 + cubes aftermarket efi turbo or supercharged etc 550 + horsepower then he sbc can hold its own all day long with the aftermarket parts that are available out there.

the only reason the el es jaun in my opinion wins out is for a driver with mild performance upgrades you can buy 5.3 drop outs complete with auto transmission and the efi for around 900-1400 bucks all day long if you look and by time you add everything you need to install it etc your sitting around 3 k for a late model efi drive train ..

[sacarguy]

Originally Posted by 71RS/SS396

I vote LS the prices are getting very affordable, I just purchased a complete LS-7 w/ all the accy. and oil lines for the dry sump and 7400 miles on it for $6500. off of one of the corvette forums I think it would be hard to match the power level of an LS-7 w a sbc for that much money. The weight of the LS motors is another advantage for handling and straight line performance, you don't need to make as much power if you're lighter to achieve the same performance level. I will have to disagree with Rodger about being able to match the torque of a BBC I have an iron ls motor w/ a Harrop blower that is making 750 lb/ft of torque peak and it makes 650 lb/ft @2300 rpm, most forced induction set-ups are going to make boat loads of torque.

with forced induction but stick a blower on that bbc and you now got 1000 pound feet of torque

[steinepstein]

I'd like to see some kind of equal comparison(s) on a couple different levels.

Check out airflowresearch.

383 makes 500 hp at 5500rpm

stock ls makes 530hp at 6500rpm.

I'd take the 383, better torque and would beat that ls all day long.

LS better technology, all around, no doubt.

[steinepstein]

I realized that I typed that last one and have not even considered proper displacement. I was thinking off the top of my head that I could get a 383 with roller cam and afr heads for an ls1 with afr heads?

Would this be an equivalent price to price setup?

Open up the LSA on the 383 cam setup to rev to 6500 like the afr setup and you are making 550+ easy and the tq curve would be so much juicier.

[70rs]

The small block may make more power or torque but the LS will almost always be more efficient. I don't know this to be true in all cases but I think if you compare the cost of each HP per dollar I believe the LS will be cheaper in the long run because of the edge it has with efficiency. It is just a better design overall. But that is not to say there are not plenty of high HP small blocks out there. It is a proven design and has been a staple in hot rodding for decades. No one will dispute how well it can do. But back to the HP per $ and the LS may come out on top.
If you are going by just displacement then how do you compare? Stock VS stock? Say a 327 VS a 5.3 LS because they are close in size. Or a LS6 VS a LT1 350, the LS6 was factory rated at 405 HP in stock form out of the ZO6. The LT1 was never rated that high. Throw a cam and good set of heads at the LT1 and you will get there, but do the same thing to the LS6 and it will beat the LT again. So how do we do an equal comparison?
One way would be to use all factory parts, even the GMPP heads and cams. The LS will still come out on top.
I am not an engine builder or expert by any stretch of the imagination. So if I am wrong here please go easy on me.