Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

I have a 4th gen bird but this question is for my 98 chevy 1500 truck. It has a 4.3 vortec but I am gonna put a different engine in it. It will mainly be used for towing horse trailer but I want something with good torque and good mileage. The options I have are
1. 350 carbed
2. 350 tpi setup
3. 350 lt1 setup
4. 350 LS1 setup.
what do you guys think would yeild the best torque and mileage too? I'm shooting for about 450ft/lbs of torque

Bo185

Get a 6.0L or 5.3L. It'll get good mileage vs 1-3 and have tons more power!

Read this it'll help http://www.hotrodlane.cc/PDFFILES/Lisa%20Tahoe.pdf

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

I'm in a similar position, except that my Chevy truck is a bit older than '98. In addition, I'm looking to have it tow my 3400-lb GTA over the Rocky Mountains on a car trailer to the Bonneville salt flats while carrying a pop-up camper in the bed at the same time.

Personally, I'm going with an LQ4 6.0L engine, fortified with headers & (probably) an RV cam (and a few cooling modifications of course). It may not be exactly quick, but it should provide some fairly serious torque, as well as a reasonable degree of efficiency.

If you're dead-set on having some type of 350, the TPI setup really provides pretty good torque, although it runs out of breath at around 4750 rpms... (I always thought it would be a really good truck engine...)

Good luck.

Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

Ok cool I was kind of leaning towards the carb though since they are cheap and make good power. Now if I got a 6.0 do they have carb setups for that engine? I really don't want to spend the $1000 so I can **** with the computer and tuning. I'm assuming the new LS and 6.0 blocks are different too? Like if I got a 5.7 older block, can you put LS heads on them?

Pavetim

iTrader: (15)

Ok nevermind I found my answer on the carbed LS it would be like $1000 for the conversion. i would be better getting a 6.0 or just an LS1 and get hptuners, and innovate wideband. Just wondered about the LS series engines, i've had them before and kind of thought they were more for higher rpm power and not good for low end torque, is this true? I don't care about revving to 7000rpm I just want low rpm torque but love the LS engines. If I can make an LS1 get good low end torque i'll probably just go that route.

carykard

Try here: http://www.mccartyauto.com/
Real close to Valdosta. This is where I get my engines.

V8Rumble

iTrader: (9)

A large part of that is going to depend on the cam & the tune. Since an LS-series engine is still basically just an air pump (like earlier engines), then the same mods will largely have the same effects as they will on the earlier engines. So you can still pick camshafts that are designed to increase torque/power at different RPMs, it's just that these engines are significantly more efficient.

Short answer - yes, you can build an LS-series engine for torque.

68Hybrid

Check this out:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...mparision.html

This post helped me pick my engine / cam.
I haven't read thru it in a while, but despite not having to spin accessories or a trans / rear end combo, there are some good numbers here.

As far as i know, (dont take my word for it, read thru the above post) the test mule long block is stock + headers. That being said, 373 ft-lbs. at 3000 rpm is some pretty good low end. Replace the LS1 in this comparo with a LQ4 or other GM comparable truck motor, and I bet you get even more low end. And as far as my hunting has found, LQ's are much cheaper than LS's. I picked up my 30k mile LQ4 for about 1.5k, and another 1k got me a 4L80E

That's my 2 cents, but i'm no expert :]

Paul57

To maximize your torque, a 6.0 LQ9 will be your best bet (380 ft lbs, stock)...it has 10 ft lbs more than an LQ4 because of the added compression. For maximum low rpm torque, add an Edelbrock Performer RPM (dual plane) intake and 600 cfm vacuum carb along with a modest cam. There are some nice, torque friendly, low rpm cams listed here... http://www.vincihiperformance.com/ca...s%20truck.html . I have the 043 but the 080 may be a better choice for your application.

Paul57

Also, a large exhaust header/pipe diameter will lose low rpm torque. For your torque needs, I think it would be wise not to go over 2" (dual) exhaust pipes.