Are we going about it all wrong?

[JoshH]

I knew the gen III Chevy small block was capable of producing big power, but I read this article in Hot Rod a couple of days ago and was absolutely amazed. You should read the whole article, but to sum it up, they took what they thought was a 5.3 engine from a wrecking yard, opened up the gap on the top ring, put some upgraded heads, a bigger cam, and some bigger injectors in it. They also bolted on a couple of turbos and put down over 1200 HP on an engine dyno. This was on a completely stock bottom end! I found it very interesting.

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/hrdp_1109_stock_gm_ls_engine_big_bang_theory/

I'm not getting rid of my truck anytime soon or anything. I was just really impressed with what they were able to do with the motor. BTW, the motor turned out to be a 4.8 instead of a 5.3 like they thought it was.

 

[Burn Down]

Im a huge fan of the gen III. Some variation of that engine will go into my 67' Camaro. I have been reading about it for awhile now and it is so impressive.

 

[whitetrash21]

i read that article... then had to re-read it/ Blew my mind. Stock bottom end and it never gave out.... ran into some tuning issues iirc. Amazing what the lsx series can take as far as abuse.

 

[GeneralTJI]

Though I'm sure that smallblock made pretty solid torque with that turbo setup...It's the massive torque of the Diesel that cleans our clocks IMO.... everything from the crank itself to the trans, and the rest of the driveline suffers from such massive torque numbers....yes it helps get our heavy trucks up and moving, and it's essential with towing etc. But it puts a lot of stress on everything...

 

[DuramaxPowered]

Go to theturboforums.com ........read for days

 

[THEREDDEVIL]

I keep debating on selling my 3 first gen motors and doing a 5.3 swap with a single gt45. I don't have much room in the little vega engine bay or it would b twins. Unbelievable what some guys r doing with these things. Nitrous, blowers, turbos and huge power! That 1200 hp would b unreal in a 2500lb car.

 

[DuramaxPowered]

genIII, twin turbos, E85...........GAME OVER :thumb:

 

[duratothemax]

Ive been saying for years...dmax guys need to take off their diesel blinders. Yeah the diesel torque is fun. Anyone who says "oh duramax's are awesome, so easy to get power out of!!!" has never worked on a Gen III/IV V8......

Those engines blow the dmax out of the water as far as hp-to-dollar value, and what you can do with stock parts. Not to mention you can pick up a complete junkyard 4.8/5.3 for the price of two duramax injectors.

Anyone who says "gassers drool and diesels rule!" is just being ignorant, IMO. The cost of breaking parts on a duramax gets kinda old and takes the fun out of it.

 

[DuramaxPowered]

which is exactly why I haven't dropped any coin to start building a DMAX motor..............Seriously considering building a 1500 truck with turbo 4.8/5.3/6.0..

 

[PAT]

Hmmmmm

 

['03duramax]

When I got into diesels back in '05, I was hooked, and just ignored my Camaro. Now 7yrs later I've sold the 408 and just let the car sit. Sad, I definitely miss the LS cars, but the online community of LS owners is part of what drove me away. Though there are some pretty annoying Dmax sites now too, haha.

 

[JoshH]

Though I'm sure that smallblock made pretty solid torque with that turbo setup...It's the massive torque of the Diesel that cleans our clocks IMO.... everything from the crank itself to the trans, and the rest of the driveline suffers from such massive torque numbers....yes it helps get our heavy trucks up and moving, and it's essential with towing etc. But it puts a lot of stress on everything...

I agree. It is one of the things I have been concerned about with my upcoming race van project. I'm afraid to scatter the engine by running too much RPM, but I'm tempted to see just how high you can spin one of these motors totally stock before something comes apart. I'm betting it has valve train problems before a rod comes apart.

 

[MarkBroviak]

I agree. It is one of the things I have been concerned about with my upcoming race van project. I'm afraid to scatter the engine by running too much RPM, but I'm tempted to see just how high you can spin one of these motors totally stock before something comes apart. I'm betting it has valve train problems before a rod comes apart.

Cough, 5250rpms is where my hardlimit is set and still going...:spit: I'm with you, I am waiting for a valvetrain failure in mine, not worried about the lowerend failing. Wondering where the valves are going to float...

 

[JoshH]

Cough, 5250rpms is where my hardlimit is set and still going...:spit: I'm with you, I am waiting for a valvetrain failure in mine, not worried about the lowerend failing. Wondering where the valves are going to float...

For real? You've ran that much RPM on your LBZ? Do you still have a completely stock valve train?

 

[Poltergeist]

The one big problem is tuning for a gas motor is a lot more difficult then for diesel. But I do like the LS1 in my Camaro.

 

[McRat]

While I love the LSx family of engines (we have 2), it's kind of like apples to oranges. Our Duramaxes are amazing because a HD 4x4 tow truck can be made to haul ass fairly easy, even though they are the size and weight of a barn. And somehow get good mileage in the process.

Things to note:

1200HP on an engine dyno normally translates to 900-1000rwhp.
A 600rwhp diesel in a 7000LB truck will outperform a 600rwhp gas engine in the same truck. Diesels have much flatter HP curves, ie - more average HP.

Race gas is $7.50 gallon and rarer than diesel fuel is.

Minor tuning errors in turbo gas engines are expensive.

 

[justin_08]

which is exactly why I haven't dropped any coin to start building a DMAX motor..............Seriously considering building a 1500 truck with turbo 4.8/5.3/6.0..

A guy I knew had a turbo 5.3 with a built 4l80e and that thing was bad ass!!

 

[mckey73]

And everyone was giving me a hard time about swapping my lb7 for a lq4, sheesh. How many ls2 aftermarket parts are just lying around peoples garages? I can get a whole donor truck for about $400 to $800 less than new injectors - of course that doesn't include the $3k to build a n.a. 6.0 and tune it.

 

[PAT]

Sooooo... Selling the truck now!

 

[Iceman56]

While I love the LSx family of engines (we have 2), it's kind of like apples to oranges. Our Duramaxes are amazing because a HD 4x4 tow truck can be made to haul ass fairly easy, even though they are the size and weight of a barn. And somehow get good mileage in the process.

Things to note:

1200HP on an engine dyno normally translates to 900-1000rwhp.
A 600rwhp diesel in a 7000LB truck will outperform a 600rwhp gas engine in the same truck. Diesels have much flatter HP curves, ie - more average HP.

Race gas is $7.50 gallon and rarer than diesel fuel is.

Minor tuning errors in turbo gas engines are expensive.

E85 is like a $1.50 though and is at about as many pumps as diesel is around here. E85 blown motors seem to be the new thing on the street and it sounds like there pretty awesome.