5.3 ls motor potential

[rccktmn2]

5.3's are great motors, on the positive side the ls parts will bolt right up and there are a ton of these things in junk yards, msd also makes and ignition box so you can put a carb and regular intake on it. Later versions of the 5.3 blocks are also all aluminum, a little research on car-part.com and you can easily find a 5.3 cast iron block version for under 500. Whipple also makes a supercharger for it and you can get ported aluminum heads ready to bolt on from edelbrock. IMO these things have become the new small block of the chevy world and the parts are still coming. Good luck!

 

[Conan-64]

5.3 is a VERY inexpensive way to get some great HP and also not kill your pockets. i would really suggest you stick with the F.I. its not that hard to wire up and reliability is also good to have. $500 sounds really good to me. i spent closer to $1000 for mine (although it only had 34K mi on motor). If you do decide to pick up the 5.3 you will definetly love it!!!! And later on down the road you do also have the turbo option 8)

 

[FE3X CLONE]

I've been fiddling with the 5.3L in my '08 Sierra. It's definitely a great engine although I personally would keep it fuel injected. Thats part of what makes these new engines so great. You can get ridiculous amounts of power out of them and yet they still stay very docile on the street.

I've had a custom tune done to mine through using a Diablo Predator and it's amazing how much power was in that engine just from the tune. Not so sure the GMPP CAI kit didn't much other than make the truck growl more. :lol:

I had been looking into Magnuson supercharger for mine and have seen alot of trucks making 530rwhp with one. 😉

 

[japc74]

Ill be sure to keep in mind the fuel injected side of it. Also i will be sure to get the complete wiring harness and whatever else is useful to my set up. Im not yet sure as to what i will put it in but of course a gbody is the first thought. Any clearance issues in installing them? Thanks again guys!!!

 

[custom442]

I've seen them with 600hp+ & turbo with them, but that's having some work done. You should get 500-550 off a stock engine well tuned with fuel injection.

Problem with this engine is you're going to have to put a LOT in it to get that power. Stock they have what 315tq? And on an old tired junkyard one you may not have 300hp at the crank. It's a crappy deal for the amount of time/money/work to swap just a stock 5.3 in a gbody. You'd be better off building up a stock 350 it'd be about the same $ for more power. A good built 383 would be a little more in the end, as well as a mild big block. And you could have 450tq instead of 310 :wink:

It'll cost you 400$ (nitrous) to get to 450tq off the 5.3. If you want it reliably you're looking at another 3-4K$ forced induction.

Works great in a gm truck with ls engine already, the swap is simple. The main webbing, cooling system, fuel injection, ignition etc can make big power. In a gbody it's not worth it. At least thats my opinion.

...after reading all these you people over estimate the 5.3. It needs forced induction to get moving. It is a DOG in stock form in a truck, it would be like having a stock 350 in our cars. Ask anyone with any truck besides a GM, they will tell you 5.3 blows.

...story - theres a guy a few blocks away from me that swears by 5.3's. I see him on the street and have stopped by a few times when he was workin. He has aftermarket heads/cam/intake/throttle body/headers/exhaust/dyno tuned the whole deal. His truck weighs a few hundred lbs more than my v6 gearings about the same his 3.73 and my 3.90. I have about 2K$ in s/c and crap parts for my little 4.3 with a muffler. It destroys his truck at any roll/speed. It's embarassing for me even cuz I know how much money he put into it at least twice what I have in mine just in bolt ons. Now a 6.0 or 6.2 you're talkin about a real engine. And if you're doing this for mileage then get a 3.8 s/c or turbo.

 

[81cutlass]

There was a guy in town that put a 6.0 and 4L80E into his T type. Had 675 HP at the wheels with a borg worner 76MM turbo at fairly low boost. Conservitive tune. Daily drivable.

Not to mention theres a $250 whipple LS suppercharger kit on my local CL that I would be all over if I had an LS swap.

Id say LS motors are actually probably easier than doing a 3.8 to SBC swap. The initial cost is more, but the installation is idiot proof. Everything is labeled when you buy a harness and thay make big power with not much work. Not to mention its the perfect motor for a G body. Power that can be driven every day. A G body is a fun car that you can drive every day and not feel guilty that your destroying the value. Or at least thats how I see it. Id go with the 6.0 first even though its more expensive. You get another 43 cubes. A 383 gets you 33 over a 350. Plus you can use the 4L80E which is pricey again, but handles a ton of HP in stock form, just an overdrive TH 400.

And it sorta kills me when I see a carbed LS. I know its easier in the traditional hot rod way, but the point of an LS is that you get EFI and can tune it the way you cant tune a carb car. You can start it on a -10 morning without plugging it in, I can not do that with my carbed car. Even with a correctly set choke.

An LS 6.0 or 5.3 or a supercharged 3800 in a wagon will be my next G body project unless I find a rusty HO or 442 to rebody.

 

[megaladon6]

stock 5.3 power wise, not bad. reflash the ECU and you just gained 50hp. throw in a cam and another 50hp. do the math! BUT KEEP THE EFI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the LS absolutely requires an ECU for the timing (no distributor) and the EFI will make more power, more reliable, more of the time. besides, it's alread there and the LS injection system is one of the best and support quite a bit of power stock. the truly great thing about the 5.3? when you have money for a 6.0/6.3l engine, it's a drop in. there is nothing to lose. (it would cost the same to build a 350 to the same power as it is for the mods to install an LS)

 

[japc74]

Thanks for the last three comments. I understand that the 5.3 isn't a desirable as the 6.0/6.2 but I heard that in the latest hotrod mag they took a 5.3 Turbo set up and 3200 dollars and got some serious power. Idk if 700 hp was correct but that's what I heard. I'm no expert at ls motors or no ls small blocks but that sounds like a lot of bang for your buck. Keep the post coming guys this is a great thread. Thanks again!!

 

[custom442]

This depends mostly on what you want. I don't think you're buying it for gas mileage so... if bang for the buck is what you want why not just build a tough big block, whatever heads and goodies, nitrous cam and juice it? It's time as much as anything with a 5.3 swap.

People have different opinions, I personally don't have the turbo appeal anymore as I used to. I guess some people like that, seems like a waste of time to me.

... think about it this way, there's a lot of cars and trucks running at the drags and I've yet to see a 5.3ls run a real fast time all motor. Mostly because they came in trucks, but still. It's not worth it. Even if the engine is 500$. You can find a big block for a little over 500$. Or a good running 350. For the amount of money it would take to swap that 5.3, you can have that bb running pretty good, or make the 350 really strong. For the amount of money it would take to turbo and make 700hp off the 5.3 for 5k$ +. You can build that bb up and hit it with nitrous for 900hp. And yes I'm just throwing numbers out here but you get the idea. And if you wanted to buy a 6.0/6.2L later then you'd have to start again with the computer and harness and fitment etc etc. It's not as easy as it sounds. Especially in a car not made for it (i.e. not a GM truck frame)

Theres a reason why 5.3's go for so cheap, just like 350s. Theres a reason why you gotta pay extra for a 6.0, or 383, or 400, bb, etc

I like to think of the 5.3 as the ls engine's equivalent of the 350. They're everywhere and it does its job and lasts a long time. When in a car it does well and can make some serious power. But the problem here is your car isn't made for it. Why would you spend all that time and money to have the exact same power as a 350. It won't get that much better mileage. Turbo and 5 grand in a 350 can make 700hp too.

 

[japc74]

You raise a very good point. I haunt is all the research that some ohers have done. I just thought that 5.3 would b a nice inexpensive set up. Thanks again 442cutlass. I honestly don't see the point of even getting a 6.0 for that matter. If you can make the power with a big block for not as much money what's the point. I understand they are lighter. I guess it's what you prefer. I'm partial to the old school BBC/sbc because that's all I know. I'm sure in years to come the ls will take over but for now I'm sticking with what I know. Thanks again