Opinion's on this new ls3 crate?

[BigChevyFTW]

the LS3 with a killer set of cnc ported heads and you'll far surpass the LS7's 525 hp and have extra money to spare

[1HTBRRD]

you could always get a used truck motor 5.3/ 6.0 and boost it now, easily hit your hp goals and then some...and still be under $6k

[cspecken]

Tried to get pricing from my local GM shop but they do not have the details yet. Looks like Pace has them listed on their site. Might have to consider this for my GTO project, was looking at going with the ls3/480 but things may have changed!!!

Still need to look into other LS3 builders like Mass, Turn Key, and Katech. Just curious if anyone has done comparisons $ for $, hp to hp and warranty to warranty with these builders and GMPP. If so I would be interested in your findings.


Thanks in advance, Chris

[John510]

Originally Posted by 1HTBRRD

you could always get a used truck motor 5.3/ 6.0 and boost it now, easily hit your hp goals and then some...and still be under $6k

Where are you going to get a motor plus boost for under 6k?

[Nessumsar]

The engine you could make with the money for the crate engine would be insane. I don't understand it...

Originally Posted by John510

Where are you going to get a motor plus boost for under 6k?

You could easily make a 500+whp 5.3 for under $3000. All you need is a low milage 5.3, valve springs, rod bolts, injectors, T70 turbo, IC, and misc piping.

[cspecken]

Sounds great, and I would like to save money so I can use it elsewhere on my build. I would assume for many people including myself, building the engine is just another thing most people are not knowledgeable or have skills in doing this. I am all for learning and doing stuff myself, but somethings are best left for the professionals.

The crate motors available today are point,click, drag and drop. And your up and running. Building out the motor takes some skill and knowledge on which parts combination are going to get you to the HP mark you are seeking. Of course there are great vendors who will sell you all of the parts you need, but then there is the assembly issue.

[John510]

Originally Posted by Nessumsar

You could easily make a 500+whp 5.3 for under $3000. All you need is a low milage 5.3, valve springs, rod bolts, injectors, T70 turbo, IC, and misc piping.

OK so where are the 3000$ turbos or superchargers? Id like one

[Blake Foster]

I also just ordered one for a project we are working on, I think the descission comes down to what you are going to do with he car, I see no advantage of using a LS7 over this motor, the LS7 will cost you 3-4 k more by the time you find an oil pan that will work , and buy all the drysump stuff needed to have 20 less HP???
We are also looking at building a motor fo our other project, but we want 650-680 NA Hp we are actually looking at starting with the LS7 bare block,to cet the larger bore with out sleeving the block L92 CNC ported heads and a 441 stroker . but on the LS7 block we will NOT use the dry sump oil pump just the standard pump and front cover.this will end up being about a 10k combination.

[1HTBRRD]

Originally Posted by John510

Where are you going to get a motor plus boost for under 6k?

Hot Rod magazine did a build about 6 months ago with a 5.3 that made some crazy hp number like 1,200hp and spent less than 5 grand if I remember correctly.

[1HTBRRD]

Here it is:

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/h...g_bang_theory/