1988 Chrysler Conquest TSI Swap. 4.8 vs 5.3?
05-22-2014, 09:32 PM
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1988 Chrysler Conquest TSI Swap. 4.8 vs 5.3? Ok, guys and gals I am at a precipice. I am doing a V8 swap on my little Conquest. She is such a beautiful little ride and was way ahead of it's time in 88'. Here is my issue. I have got the old 2.6 turbo and tranny out of it (Which is for sale btw) and am having trouble deciding what to do. Before having everything out it was a no-brainer. I was going with the 4.8 LR4 LS based engine. Now that I am close to doing the actual swap my mind is splitting hairs. I am having the devils own job of trying to decide between the 4.8 and the 5.3. I have tried reading up and deciphering the differences but am not having much luck in making my decision. I am hoping there are a few GM V8 Gurus floating around this evening to help me out. Could a few of you give me your opinions of which you would choose and why? I am going to start out with a F.A.S.T. LSXRT intake, have the heads reworked, .590 lift cam, headers and exhaust. According to Super Chevy Mag this should produce 476hp with the 4.8 and near 500hp with the 5.3. The output shafts and rear differential are supposedly good up to 650hp. Now, here is where it gets tricky. In the future when budget allows I will be adding a turbo charger system to either the 4.8 or the 5.3 so I would really like to keep the end product less than 600hp at the flywheel. As stupid as it sounds I want to keep the :"TSI", "Turbo Sport Intercooled" in the car name true. Now all that being said if you were going to do the swap which engine would you choose and what reason would you choose that one? FYI I wanted to stay under 5.7 liters to keep the car unusual, they are both a LOT of bang for the buck, and also hopefully make for more room under the hood (I know it wont amount to much realistically). Thanks guys and I look forward to your opinions. 
05-23-2014, 12:18 AM
#2
Have you seen this article?
594 hp Turbo 5.3
Other than that, the best thing I can say is look through all of the posts and find the titles that grab your eye that are related to the motor you want. There is also a forced induction forum if you haven't seen it yet, but there are a lot of 4.8 and 5.3 builds there.
BTW, I love the conquest, I remember seeing the Mitsubishi version of it in The Cannon Ball Run II and thinking it was a cool car.
594 hp Turbo 5.3
Other than that, the best thing I can say is look through all of the posts and find the titles that grab your eye that are related to the motor you want. There is also a forced induction forum if you haven't seen it yet, but there are a lot of 4.8 and 5.3 builds there.
BTW, I love the conquest, I remember seeing the Mitsubishi version of it in The Cannon Ball Run II and thinking it was a cool car.
05-25-2014, 01:38 PM
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Thanks Thanks for the info Sprech. I will certainly read through that. I have loved this car since I was 17 in 88'. I think the one in Cannon Ball Run was the one Jackie Chan drove if memory serves me correctly and it was a "Flatty"(Non-Flared fenders, staggered wheel set ect...). Mine is the Rio Red "Fatty" which is my fav of the two. I agree auto. The problem is the car is in such nice shape I hatted to start swapping parts as Motorweek's article seems to think that these will be the first JDM cars to hold any REAL value as collectors. That being said the 2.6 4 banger in it (Which is quite large for a 4 cyl.) is a royal pain in the ****! It is seriously like dating a supermodel. She's high maintenance, expensive as hell, and complains all the time. Best solution ever? GM V8 of course! I cant wait to get her done. Being I am going to have to do what I'm doing I'll go all out. Oust the back seat, completely change instrument cluster, matching Rio Red roll cage etc, etc, etc... She'll be a looker when done.
05-25-2014, 03:22 PM
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FAST LSX intake becomes a waste of $1000 as soon as boost hits your intake. There are guys running 8s in the quarter on The LS1 intake, the LS6 intake, the stock truck intake.... etc. If you plan to go turbo, don't bother wasting money on heads/intake. This will hold true for either the 4.8 or the 5.7. Both can produce astronomical horsepower figures with very little work involved.
If you plan on under 600 flywheel, I'd pick up an On3 70mm for $300 and run it on a stock 4.8 with a fairly small cam. You can hit 600 flywheel on a budget with this setup and it be very very nice and driveable.
If you plan on under 600 flywheel, I'd pick up an On3 70mm for $300 and run it on a stock 4.8 with a fairly small cam. You can hit 600 flywheel on a budget with this setup and it be very very nice and driveable.
05-27-2014, 07:00 PM
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Wow! FAST LSX intake becomes a waste of $1000 as soon as boost hits your intake. There are guys running 8s in the quarter on The LS1 intake, the LS6 intake, the stock truck intake.... etc. If you plan to go turbo, don't bother wasting money on heads/intake. This will hold true for either the 4.8 or the 5.7. Both can produce astronomical horsepower figures with very little work involved.
If you plan on under 600 flywheel, I'd pick up an On3 70mm for $300 and run it on a stock 4.8 with a fairly small cam. You can hit 600 flywheel on a budget with this setup and it be very very nice and driveable.
If you plan on under 600 flywheel, I'd pick up an On3 70mm for $300 and run it on a stock 4.8 with a fairly small cam. You can hit 600 flywheel on a budget with this setup and it be very very nice and driveable.
