Cheapest / Best way to 400 HP?
08-10-2016, 01:34 PM
#1
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Cheapest / Best way to 400 HP? I'm starting with a 4.8 liter Gen3 truck engine. I know, shoulda bought a 6.0.
So, I figure -
I can put a cam and valve springs and tune in the 4.8, maybe get there
Buy a 5.3 and cam that one,
Buy a 5.3 and punch it out to 5.7 liters with flat top pistons, etc,
Buy a 6.0 and with a tune, probably get close enough, or cam it & go way past 400 HP
I don't want to give up tons and tons of low end power but obviously, with a cam, there's going to be some trade off & I'm OK with that. Engine is in a 3,900 lb truck that gets used like a truck, though no heavy towing.
Which way would you go and why?
So, I figure -
I can put a cam and valve springs and tune in the 4.8, maybe get there
Buy a 5.3 and cam that one,
Buy a 5.3 and punch it out to 5.7 liters with flat top pistons, etc,
Buy a 6.0 and with a tune, probably get close enough, or cam it & go way past 400 HP
I don't want to give up tons and tons of low end power but obviously, with a cam, there's going to be some trade off & I'm OK with that. Engine is in a 3,900 lb truck that gets used like a truck, though no heavy towing.
Which way would you go and why?
08-10-2016, 06:20 PM
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Nitrous isn't going to give me what I want - this isn't a 1/4 mile queen.
Kingtal0n, I don't know if I follow what you mean. Are you saying "quit over thinking this and just buy a 6.0" ?
Kingtal0n, I don't know if I follow what you mean. Are you saying "quit over thinking this and just buy a 6.0" ?
08-10-2016, 06:34 PM
#6
IMHO shooting for horsepower numbers doesn't make sense. All it gives you is bragging rights. Decide what you want the car for. You already said you don't want a 1/4 mile queen so don't build for et.
I would guess you want a fun strong running daily driver.
I would guess you want a fun strong running daily driver.
08-10-2016, 11:17 PM
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I think what I actually want to do is put an IFS in the truck, see if I can use the power I already have without scaring the **** out of myself like I do currently, and go from there.
Don't mind me.
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08-11-2016, 07:40 AM
#9
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OP, you haven't given us a budget yet.
Honestly if you want to stay with the usual, get some 799/243 heads, new style intake, long tubes, and a healthy cam, and you will get ~350-375whp for ~$1000-1200.
08-11-2016, 05:07 PM
#10
it depends on who is doing the work. Are you doing the work yourself? If so, are you an experienced mechanic with several other vehicles 'under the belt' and know how to use a torque wrench, know how gaskets seal best on what surfaces, how to be clean and use the proper sequence, how to read the Factory Service Manual?
If you are even thinking of opening an engine, and this is your only vehicle i.e. a single daily driver, then you need to basically have a clean master mechanic do the work or else it could be the filthy/contamination oil clogging disaster I am imagining for first timers trying to open their first engine. The motor inside is similar to a human body, with tiny orifices and very very clean smooth surfaces, the tiny bit of grit or sand or dirt, even what is left behind from a human fingerprint, can spell disaster.
To avoid all of that; spend the $$ on the tune up, and drivetrain. Buy a real transmission/converter and get some gearing setup for the kind of driving you do. Get the suspension the way it needs to be. Opening your only engine in your only vehicle/daily driver is a bad idea.
To put this entire post into another perspective for you: the stock 4.X and 5.X liter 'LSx' engines will easily support 400-500rwhp without being opened at all, if you simply add forced induction. I would plan my car around forced induction, to avoid opening my only engine at all, the benefit will be greater and there is much less chance of mechanical oil related failure. It depends what kind of risks you are willing to take. I consider myself a great mechanic, but I would still rather have a stack of un-opened 5.XL engines on the side knowing they came from good running vehicles, and swap in one per every couple of years for my 500 rwhp daily driver as I needed them. As opposed to dropping thousands on a single engine with the prayer that it doesn't get a bit of dirt in it or have some other factory flaw completely unrelated which causes it to spit a cam bearing or other lubricative disaster.
If you are even thinking of opening an engine, and this is your only vehicle i.e. a single daily driver, then you need to basically have a clean master mechanic do the work or else it could be the filthy/contamination oil clogging disaster I am imagining for first timers trying to open their first engine. The motor inside is similar to a human body, with tiny orifices and very very clean smooth surfaces, the tiny bit of grit or sand or dirt, even what is left behind from a human fingerprint, can spell disaster.
To avoid all of that; spend the $$ on the tune up, and drivetrain. Buy a real transmission/converter and get some gearing setup for the kind of driving you do. Get the suspension the way it needs to be. Opening your only engine in your only vehicle/daily driver is a bad idea.
To put this entire post into another perspective for you: the stock 4.X and 5.X liter 'LSx' engines will easily support 400-500rwhp without being opened at all, if you simply add forced induction. I would plan my car around forced induction, to avoid opening my only engine at all, the benefit will be greater and there is much less chance of mechanical oil related failure. It depends what kind of risks you are willing to take. I consider myself a great mechanic, but I would still rather have a stack of un-opened 5.XL engines on the side knowing they came from good running vehicles, and swap in one per every couple of years for my 500 rwhp daily driver as I needed them. As opposed to dropping thousands on a single engine with the prayer that it doesn't get a bit of dirt in it or have some other factory flaw completely unrelated which causes it to spit a cam bearing or other lubricative disaster.
Last edited by kingtal0n; 08-11-2016 at 05:13 PM.
08-21-2016, 12:31 PM
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it depends on who is doing the work. Are you doing the work yourself?...
...spend the $$ on the tune up, and drivetrain. Buy a real transmission/converter and get some gearing setup for the kind of driving you do. Get the suspension the way it needs to be...
To put this entire post into another perspective for you: the stock 4.X and 5.X liter 'LSx' engines will easily support 400-500rwhp without being opened at all, if you simply add forced induction. ....
...spend the $$ on the tune up, and drivetrain. Buy a real transmission/converter and get some gearing setup for the kind of driving you do. Get the suspension the way it needs to be...
To put this entire post into another perspective for you: the stock 4.X and 5.X liter 'LSx' engines will easily support 400-500rwhp without being opened at all, if you simply add forced induction. ....
I thought about it a while and that's exactly the right move in my situation. I have a handful of ASE certs to suggest I'm a competent or at least knowledgable mechanic but I absolutely don't have the time or space to build an engine. Hell, if we're talking strokers, I don't have the budget either.
As far as the truck - I'm going
Front end / IFS swap
Move engine as far astern as I can slam it, open up space up front
Rear end - 12 bolt posi 3.73s
and then once it's handling right, maybe then go with a Sloppy Mechanics type turbo setup.
But honestly, building an engine would be a bad call at this point in life. All my free time tends to be after the kid is asleep at 930 and that's not a great time to be fitting bearings and ****.