LS Newb from Chitown
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Mar 2016
Posts: 0
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From: Naperville, IL
LS Newb from Chitown I've been lurking on Ls1tech for a while so I figured it was time to "make the plunge" and actually join. I've been a gearhead since my older brother first took me to the old US 30 dragstrip in NW Indiana in the late 60s. I had a couple of SBF Fomco cars in the early 70s (65 Falcon Sprint, 71 Maverick..both with the same home-built 289 with T&C Toploader 4speed and '57 Ford 9" rearend). After college, I tried to shake the "gearhead" bug and did the job/family/normal car thing for years for never lost the itch. I've had an early Miata (1990) with a small 8psi turbo as toy since 1998 (as well as an EVO9 for about 5 years) but the turbo 4s just don't have the same appeal as the roar of a healthy V8. There's a ton of support for V8 swaps into the Miata but the only swap that is easy, makes silly power and is relatively affordable (I'm on a limited budget but have access to a nice shop with a 2 post lift, welder, 3N1 machine and all the usual hand & air tools) is an LS/T56 combination.
Given that I have a LOT more time than money, my initial goal is to swap a 4.8L or 5.3L Gen3 motor vs. the more expensive aluminum block or 6.0 iron block motors. Complete budget 4.8/5.3 junkyard motor with all accessories, engine wiring harness & GM PCM and then put on an LS-6 intake (truck intake won't clear Miata hood), Summit rocker arm trunion upgrade, and moderate hydraulic roller cam (LS-2 type specs?) with properly matched valve springs & pushrods. I'm going to poop can the factory air conditioning (the condensor takes up way too much space in front of stock small radiator and the compressor is a PITA to work around on, even on a 4 banger...so I'm not going to have any AC with the LS swamp. Still undecided if I want to delete the PS as well...a lot of guys who open track turbo 4 and V8 Miatas do the PS delete but I'm thinking it might be a PITA to have no PS with the slightly heavier LS motor.
Still need to figure out if I want to go with LS-1 edit, HP-Tuner, or another tuning program for the stock PCM (I've been able to tune the finicky EEC-IV on my brother's 95 Mustang with a swapped 4R70W auto and the stock EVO9 computer on my old EVO so I don't think the learning curve will be that rough on the GM PCM). I'm hoping to learn a lot more about the Gen3 and Gen4 motors and I swear, I've sworn off SBFs and am going forward with LS power!
Given that I have a LOT more time than money, my initial goal is to swap a 4.8L or 5.3L Gen3 motor vs. the more expensive aluminum block or 6.0 iron block motors. Complete budget 4.8/5.3 junkyard motor with all accessories, engine wiring harness & GM PCM and then put on an LS-6 intake (truck intake won't clear Miata hood), Summit rocker arm trunion upgrade, and moderate hydraulic roller cam (LS-2 type specs?) with properly matched valve springs & pushrods. I'm going to poop can the factory air conditioning (the condensor takes up way too much space in front of stock small radiator and the compressor is a PITA to work around on, even on a 4 banger...so I'm not going to have any AC with the LS swamp. Still undecided if I want to delete the PS as well...a lot of guys who open track turbo 4 and V8 Miatas do the PS delete but I'm thinking it might be a PITA to have no PS with the slightly heavier LS motor.
Still need to figure out if I want to go with LS-1 edit, HP-Tuner, or another tuning program for the stock PCM (I've been able to tune the finicky EEC-IV on my brother's 95 Mustang with a swapped 4R70W auto and the stock EVO9 computer on my old EVO so I don't think the learning curve will be that rough on the GM PCM). I'm hoping to learn a lot more about the Gen3 and Gen4 motors and I swear, I've sworn off SBFs and am going forward with LS power!
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