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Is my LS1 a dead end power wise?It has a mild cam, exhaust and a tune. Makes 381rwhp.
I want to get my track car up to 450rwhp because my car is too slow on corner exits and on the straights.
But I can't put together a parts list that make any sense price wise.Dyno Tune:$800CNC 243 heads:$1,300 (or similar heads)Head gaskets:$100Camshaft:$400Fuel rails:$200injectors:$400So around $3,300
I've gotten a few $4,500 offers for my LS1.Would it make sense to sell the LS1 and start with something else?$7,800 seems like L92/L94 money to me.A 24x/1x swap and I could use a gen4 LS.
Surely a single Turbo setup for target 7psi would be more cost effective for you?
This would be for a road race car.
Turbos are not a good option for track use.
Weight, complexity, power band, and cooling would be a huge issue.
I guess I should have specified I'm looking at an all-motor build though.
It just seems like the LS3 guys have a really easy time making 450-500rwhp.
I spoke with Texas Speed a few days ago and they said LS3 blocks have been on backorder for over a year, he said all they have are iron Dart blocks right now. I don't think he'd lie to me, but something to think about.
I spoke with Texas Speed a few days ago and they said LS3 blocks have been on backorder for over a year, he said all they have are iron Dart blocks right now. I don't think he'd lie to me, but something to think about.
My local junkyards have a bunch of L92/L94/L9H 6.2L are around $2,000 for a junkyard take out.
That'd likely be my avenue for avoiding the 4x LS3 mark price up.
Although avoid ghetto driven engines might be hard.
Lotta L92s in crashed Cadillac escalades ha ha.
I spoke with Texas Speed a few days ago and they said LS3 blocks have been on backorder for over a year, he said all they have are iron Dart blocks right now. I don't think he'd lie to me, but something to think about.
They are not coming back. Discontinued by GM. The last few LS3 crates are out there, but after they’re gone, that ship has sailed also.
I was thinking the same thing, although everything today is crazy expensive….just paid over $9 for a pound of ground Chuck earlier today. Geeeesh.
That also included the standalone harness, the ECU, and the tune inside.
So that's about $1,500 for those 3 alone
So $3,000 for a running LS1 that makes ok ish power is a pretty good deal.
Junkyard LS1 takeouts up here are $2750+ unfortunately.
Find a good truck core 6.2, clean up the heads, decent size cam, freshen/rebuild the bottom end and it should be around 475 to the tire.give or take depending on how much cam you want.
To answer your question, no. You can achieve your goals with the LS1 easily. LS3 is a solid upgrade but you don’t need it with the goals you’ve stated.
Find a good truck core 6.2, clean up the heads, decent size cam, freshen/rebuild the bottom end and it should be around 475 to the tire.give or take depending on how much cam you want.
I've heard the truck rectangular port heads like to drop valve seats.
Is that still a thing?
Or overblown like 'LS7' lifters failing.
I've heard the truck rectangular port heads like to drop valve seats.
Is that still a thing?
Or overblown like 'LS7' lifters failing.
Not a thing. Has it happened? Yes. But stuff happens. NASA lost a couple shuttles, but it wasn’t a thing. You’re far more likely to have a cam bearing issue than a valve seat issue. Letting the harness and ECM go with the ls1 makes the deal make sense now. Actually that’s a pretty good deal for the entire combo, ready to drop in and go without issue.
5.7 can make 550whp easy enough. Mine made 548whp 444wtq with old gmpp 243s and a used cam. Would a 6.0 or 6.2 make more.....yup. atleast if you apply the same thought process on the build.
Meeting op's goals can be done with stock nearly ****.
5.7 can make 550whp easy enough. Mine made 548whp 444wtq with old gmpp 243s and a used cam. Would a 6.0 or 6.2 make more.....yup. atleast if you apply the same thought process on the build.
Meeting op's goals can be done with stock nearly ****.
Eh, making 1.92 horsepower per cubic inch with a LS1 is unrealistic.
Unless you have some crazy build on race gas.
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Dead end LS1? Build or Sell? 
