im thinking about doing the ls1 style engine for my malibu instead of a big block.which engine would be best to use for a street/ strip car? also price wise which engine would be easier to make around 500-550 horsepower n/a?
ls1 engine questions
- Thread starter elcaminoss84
- Start date
6.0 LQ9 or LQ4 would be the easiest to reach your NA HP goal. I have an LQ9 in my 73 Camaro its a stock long block with a cam, Fast 92 intake, throttle body, And the heads had .020 milled off to bump compression. It uses stock computer, and wire harness. Best time so far is a 11.60 @118, and thats all steel, full interior street car. The LQ9 is a little better as it comes with flat top pistons with higher compression from the factory. The 5.3's are cheaper to get, and there are more of them out there. It would be hard to get 500HP outta one NA without some aftermarket parts or a shot of N2O.
My combo hit 11.83 @115 with a 1.71 60' and on 245 Nitto DR's on my ZQ8 wheels. 378rwhp daily driven full interior and runs 11's.
Big solid cam, ported stock heads or aftermarket pieces. IMO if your heart is set on 500 NA the cheapest route would be to find a 6.0 add a cam & intake. I would only consider the 5.3 if It was gonna be blown application were using a smaller displacement can be made up for easier.elcaminoss84 said:
Definately a custom grind cam. Either aftermarket or CNC'd stock heads, mill the heads on a 6.0 to bump the compression up, flat top pistons, intake preferrably a FAST 92 or 102 with matching TB. What kind of budget do you have? A dyno tune is an absolute must when shooting for power levels like these
i have been doing some thinking and hunting and was able to find a few engines. the ls1 5.7's with complete drive setup and harness is $2000 or complete with t56 six speed setup are $3900 in my area or 6.0 lq4 / lq9 with complete harness and drive setup are $2500. are these good prices or should i keep looking?
I guess it's a decent price if that's all that is around you. I'd personally keep looking though. Around here you can buy a totalled LS1 F-body for that and then part whatever's good out to get some money back. But you have to figure that price includes everything, harness, front accessories, engine, trans. All that little stuff adds up really quick when doing this swap
