Forged 370 for torque and boost
I was thinking a forged 370 would be ideal for my application: a 6,000 lb truck, that will have a Radix bolted on top, with a mild torque cam, that can pass CA smog. Other options (I guess) would be another 5.3L, or perhaps an LS1, but I would want to do either of those with forged internals as well.
The reason I was thinking 370 is because I really like the off-idle torque characteristics of the Radix blower, and it seems that the ideal volume for the MP112 is 6.0L. Any higher than that (i.e. 402/408) and the Radix seems to be more restrictive than helpful.
Other considerations would be longevity, maintainability, and decent gas mileage. I realize mileage with a brick such as mine is elusive, but when I had 3.73's instead of 4.10's, I actually got 19.7 MPG on the freeway. If I could generate a little more torque with a different motor, I might go back to 3.73's so I could get the magic 1900 RPM on the freeway once again.
I've heard that a forged 370 can be more expensive than a 402/408, simply because there are a number of rotating assemblies already packaged and available for 40x motors, whereas with a 370, they would have to be assembled, matched, balanced, etc., ad hoc, which takes time and money. Is this true?
Would love some input on this.






