How to get a 5.3 to sound good ?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2015
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How to get a 5.3 to sound good ? I have have never heard a good sounding 5.3, I don't know why that is. Possibly the cam set up or because they usually never have a true dual set-up. I love the way most corvettes sound. Is it possible to get a 5.3 to sound that way ? Or does the smaller c.i. And iron block have something to do with it ?
Headers, dual exhaust, no cats, bullet style mufflers dumped, and a healthy sized cam with a decent amount of duration and overlap and there's no reason it shouldn't sound like a similar setup LS1, LS2, etc.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2015
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That's what I thought, however I can't find a vid on YouTube or anything. I wanted to find a corvette with a 5.3 swapped in. However all the ones I found sound terrible, I'm guessing because lack of exhaust.
The problem with finding a 5.3 setup the way you want it to be is that most of the guys running a 5.3 are using it for forced induction, so it won't have headers, true duals, or a cam that's going to provide you with that really mean and aggressive sound. The 5.3 is no different than a 5.7 or 6.0 in terms of making it powerful/sound good in NA form. There are just far fewer heads/cam/intake/bolt-on 5.3's out there.
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I think the LS platform sounds good with a healthy cam and duals, but the sound of a 2v or 4v Mustang does sound much better to me than a LS. That's about the only thing they have going for them though.
the only thing that would noticeably affect sound between a 5.3 and a LS1, LS2, ect is cam profile and compression...so increase both of those and it will sound like any other LS
TECH Addict
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: Monroe,NY
I have a 5.3 222/226 115 cam in 1992 pickup LT headers x pipe and mufflers that look like flowmasters but don't have a name anywhere on them(Exhaust was already on the truck just added headers)and everyone compliments me on how it sounds. I had a 2008 vette with LG LT headers, high flow cats and the npp exhaust always opened and that sounded pretty good but not as good as my truck.
I bet she does sound good. The LSx series of engines doesn't discriminate. I don't care if you have the lonely little 4.8 or a big Billy bad-*** 427, throw some long tubes, dual exhaust, and a healthy cam in her, and she's going to knock your socks off.
A cam changes everything a good bit. The stock cams burble like boats.
Still not going to be quite as good as a 2v if that's the sound you're after. But hey those engines had to be good for something because they are worse in every other measurable regard. But they do sound incredible.
Still not going to be quite as good as a 2v if that's the sound you're after. But hey those engines had to be good for something because they are worse in every other measurable regard. But they do sound incredible.
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I have have never heard a good sounding 5.3, I don't know why that is. Possibly the cam set up or because they usually never have a true dual set-up. I love the way most corvettes sound. Is it possible to get a 5.3 to sound that way ? Or does the smaller c.i. And iron block have something to do with it ?
