Full External Boltons + Tune 5.3L motor, how much power?
12-03-2009, 01:51 AM
#1
Full External Boltons + Tune 5.3L motor, how much power? I am doing an LSX swap on my Firebird and I can get a 5.3L motor VERY cheap and the labor done cheap as well because the shop owns the motor. I want to know what power range would I be looking at with the following mods?
Full Exhaust
--Longtubes
--Hi Flow Cats
--True Duals
Intake
--LS6 or Typhoon Intake
--LID
Tune
Full Exhaust
--Longtubes
--Hi Flow Cats
--True Duals
Intake
--LS6 or Typhoon Intake
--LID
Tune
Trending Topics
12-03-2009, 08:19 PM
#9
Well, I can't afford a Turbo kit on top of the motor swap. I CAN however turbo my V6 in the car currently and make an easy 400 HP with some supporting motor mods but that would mean I'd also need to rebuild my motor and Im not sure if I want to invest that much in my 3.8L V6.
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
12-04-2009, 09:36 AM
#10
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Odenville, AL
Posts: 62
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Well, I can't afford a Turbo kit on top of the motor swap. I CAN however turbo my V6 in the car currently and make an easy 400 HP with some supporting motor mods but that would mean I'd also need to rebuild my motor and Im not sure if I want to invest that much in my 3.8L V6.
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
12-04-2009, 11:52 AM
#11
You might want to do some more research. Standard L92 heads won't fit on a smaller than 4" bore (LS1 = 3.898, 5.3L = 3.78).
The engine price isn't great but isn't terrible. I think you're going to spend more than you think at that shop unless they start eating parts/labor.
I made over 400 RWHP with a heads/cam/bolt ons 5.3L but my heads cost more than your total budget.
The engine price isn't great but isn't terrible. I think you're going to spend more than you think at that shop unless they start eating parts/labor.
I made over 400 RWHP with a heads/cam/bolt ons 5.3L but my heads cost more than your total budget.
12-04-2009, 01:23 PM
#13
Well, I can't afford a Turbo kit on top of the motor swap. I CAN however turbo my V6 in the car currently and make an easy 400 HP with some supporting motor mods but that would mean I'd also need to rebuild my motor and Im not sure if I want to invest that much in my 3.8L V6.
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
If I do the motor swap, its ganna stay just like it is the day I drop it in for a good few years because I can't have a car monopolizing all my money, too many other things I have to do. Sooo I gatta have the perfect build up front...
Here's my situation
The LM7 5.3L motor belongs to the shop. He will discount me on labor and plus install the PCM/Wiring Harness for free, coming to about $650 to install the motor and $900 for the actual engine... Everything else will go as a normal LSX swap would, with the radiator, oil pan, front accessories, which he's also giving me a discount on. Basically I'm looking at the whole job complete somewhere between $2,500 and $3,000 .. Also his motor has $43k miles and he will warranty it for six months...
If I go this route, I wanna slap on a heads/cam package... -- for $800 more he will also bore it to a 5.7L so it will be like an Iron block LS1...
ON THE OTHER HAND...
There's an LQ4 6.0L motor in Florida, 50k miles and it costs $850 -- If I purchase from there, I will get the PCM and Wiring Harness $75 off but the labor to install the motor will jump up to $900 in labor... which still honestly isnt bad... again, everything will go as with a normal motor swap, he will also still discount me on the accessories, oil pan, and other stuff... The motor does come with a warranty, but not from the shop, so if I go 50 miles down the road and it dies on me then I come out of pocket to pull the motor back out and have it repaired...
If I go this route, slap on some L92 Heads and a Cam rated to .550 lift and I can have a wild little machine, at least 450 HP with a tune... but I might also be forced to upgrade a lot of drive train stuff, including my rear axel which Im not quite ready to do yet.
which way would you go?
12-04-2009, 05:15 PM
#15
You might want to do some more research. Standard L92 heads won't fit on a smaller than 4" bore (LS1 = 3.898, 5.3L = 3.78).
The engine price isn't great but isn't terrible. I think you're going to spend more than you think at that shop unless they start eating parts/labor.
I made over 400 RWHP with a heads/cam/bolt ons 5.3L but my heads cost more than your total budget.
The engine price isn't great but isn't terrible. I think you're going to spend more than you think at that shop unless they start eating parts/labor.
I made over 400 RWHP with a heads/cam/bolt ons 5.3L but my heads cost more than your total budget.
----------------
As for the 5.3L @ $900 ... I do think it IS a little high but realistically I'm not going to get one cheaper easily. Even at LKQ motors they're priced at $450, $500...but I still have to pay $250 for shipping and those motors have much more mileage than this one... The MAIN reason I'm going with this motor is because if something should go wrong, the shop will fix it without charging me...
----------------
As for the engine, turbo, heads, cam setup... can you give me all the prices you're paying to bring that up to $3,800? and also is your setup going to be intercooled? A rear mount STS kit alone costs about that much and it's the only feasible turbo system for the LSX Camaro as its hard to do a front mount...
12-04-2009, 05:27 PM
#16
this is front mount
short block 5.3 motor 250
manifolds 50
317 heads 150
hop side pipes 200
gasket 120
cold side piping 150
cam zo6 150
turbo 1000
bov+wg 250
fuel pump 100
injectors 390
intercooler 150
ls6 intake 350
springs 100
and lil **** here and there 300
short block 5.3 motor 250
manifolds 50
317 heads 150
hop side pipes 200
gasket 120
cold side piping 150
cam zo6 150
turbo 1000
bov+wg 250
fuel pump 100
injectors 390
intercooler 150
ls6 intake 350
springs 100
and lil **** here and there 300
12-04-2009, 05:40 PM
#17
What kind of manifolds are you using btw? I'm guessing ones from an LS4???
What type of turbo?
12-04-2009, 06:48 PM
#18
Teching In
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NJ
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Pull the heads on the 3.8L a little clean up work, thicker head gasket and boost the **** out of it.....
To this day there isn't many cars I have been in that'll plant you in the seat like a 3.8 turbo motor.
It's a series II and not an LC2, but would make good reliable power nonetheless.........
To this day there isn't many cars I have been in that'll plant you in the seat like a 3.8 turbo motor.
It's a series II and not an LC2, but would make good reliable power nonetheless.........
12-05-2009, 12:37 AM
#19
Pull the heads on the 3.8L a little clean up work, thicker head gasket and boost the **** out of it.....
To this day there isn't many cars I have been in that'll plant you in the seat like a 3.8 turbo motor.
It's a series II and not an LC2, but would make good reliable power nonetheless.........
To this day there isn't many cars I have been in that'll plant you in the seat like a 3.8 turbo motor.
It's a series II and not an LC2, but would make good reliable power nonetheless.........
03-28-2010, 12:13 PM
#20
Teching In
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NJ
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You shouldn't worry so much about a gauge reading as opposed to the amount of power you make. You may see 11psi on a stock pulley-ed 3800 supercharged motor.
Port the intake and heads and at the same supercharger speed you may see 7psi. It's all in the tune.
Pull the heads look at the cylinders, pull the caps and look at the bearings. If everything looks good. reassemble it and have fun. Thats what I di with my 5.3L. Added cnc'd heads and a cam and run it to death. Shortblocks are cheap.........
And labor is free............
Port the intake and heads and at the same supercharger speed you may see 7psi. It's all in the tune.
Pull the heads look at the cylinders, pull the caps and look at the bearings. If everything looks good. reassemble it and have fun. Thats what I di with my 5.3L. Added cnc'd heads and a cam and run it to death. Shortblocks are cheap.........
And labor is free............