LS3 480HP cheaper alternative???
thanks
You can get a bare aluminum block for $1500, rotating assembly for $2000, heads for $1000 and assembly/rest of the parts needed and you will have a 500rwhp bulletproof engine.
Or you can get a low mileage long block for $3000 and do cam + bolt-ons and have a 500 hp engine.
then again.. thats only affordable if you do most of the swap fabrication yourself. if you're relying on a bolt in kit, you dont need to do FI.
that said, no... you're not asking too much..
you're spending extra money that you dont have to, but what you're asking for isnt too difficult. You just cant do it cheaply.
its not the parts that make it so you cant do it cheap, its the fact you want it NEW that makes it not cheap.
You are such a deep thinker....
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. Like the other guys said, there are tons of options out there, but lusting after a brand new engine (with a low budget) quickly limits your options. I know this from first hand experience as I am currently building an engine myself. I too wanted a brand new engine and made a list of what the desired characteristics of the engine should be. I found that the LS 376/480 was the cheapest high powered crate engine that could be found through the typical dealers. I personally like building my own engines though and have greatly exceeded my budget building a large stroker, but hey, back to your more reasonable logic. For background, the 376/480 is just a stock LS3 with a GM Performance hot cam, that is the only considerable difference. The hot cam produces an additional 50 hp which is how they get to 480 hp. This cam produces a very strong torque curve, but certainly not a flat 470 lb-ft curve. With any NA engine it is difficult to get such a FLAT high torque curve without displacement. This is certainly where the LS7 has the advantage. Getting the 500-550 hp number that you are looking for is not a problem, but I think your request for 470 lb-ft of torque across the board is a bit optimistic. My advice would be to go with the 376/480 if you are not comfortable working on engines (And accept being slightly off your expectations). If you don't mind doing some engine work, buy a stock LS3 and get a cam that produces the numbers that you want, plus some custom longtubes. Check out this cam test done by GM High Tech Performance:http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...son/index.html
You can see that the horsepower potential of LS engines is incredible. This will give you a real good idea of what a simple cam swap in an LS3 can do. If you want some real good advice, you're going to have to be more specific about how much you're really willing to spend, what type of driveability you want, any limitations imposed by the e36, etc. That's just my 2cents.
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give you a flatter torque line.
Jim







