If you count Chevy Performance LSX engines, then the biggest available LS engine would be the LSX 454 (7.4L). Another popular stroker size is a 383ci LS1 stroker. The LS7 can be pretty expensive, but you can always buy a stroker 427 ci kit for your LS3. The rise of stroker kits has also increased the number of displacement options. There are also options when deciding if you want an iron or aluminum block.
Car engines came in 5.3L, 5.7L, 6.0L, 6.2L and 7.0L size engines, some configured for front-wheel-drive. Chevy trucks came with iron-block 4.8L and 5.3L they also came with all-aluminum 6.0L and 6.2L engines. Since the LS engine came in a variety of automobiles, General Motors needed to develop different size engines for different uses. Although some performance parts can be expensive, replacement parts are generally dirt cheap compared to high-performance Japanese engines. The main reason is that Chevrolet is one of the largest manufacturers in the US, and many companies make parts for Chevy products.
Replacement performance parts are also very cheap, and this is due to a number of reasons. You can walk into any junkyard and find an LS engine within a few minutes. This has kept prices fairly low, and with the rising popularity of LS swaps the prices have dropped further. Since they were put in so many cars, there is a slight overabundance of them. This minimizes cylinder bore distortion and variation in the head bolt torque spec.Ĭhevrolet Performance has produced the LS engine since 1997, and they came in everything rear-wheel drive. Chevy designed the block to take extra long head bolts that thread deep into the block. Chevrolet took it a step further by not just designing an incredibly strong bottom end, but also a strong top end. This design provides great crankshaft and block rigidity. This is what GM engineers call snap-fit cross-bolting. Four bolts are facing vertically, and two bolts horizontally that clamp the block wall to the main cap. The Y-block design allows them to use 6 bolt main caps on the crankshaft. Previous small blocks didn’t have this design. The Y-block design helps increase rigidity in the main cap area. Let’s start with the block design. General Motors designed the Gen III (LS) block as a “Y” block. What would a good engine be without a solid foundation? Chevrolet knew that the strength of the block was extremely important when they developed the LS V8 engine. Includes cylinder heads, camshaft and components needed to complete the job.Top Six Reasons Why the Chevrolet LS V8 Engine Family are just so Damn Good 6. This kit fits other LS-family engines with at least 4.000" bores.
The high-lift LS7 camshaft makes the most of the heads' generous airflow attributes, holding the big valves open so the engine can process more air. Developed by Chevrolet Performance engineers as a direct replacement for the factory-installed heads and camshaft (tuning required), the kit includes our CNC-ported LS3 cylinder heads, which flow more than 350 cfm (intake side), with 276cc intake runners and 2.165"/1.590" valves. Increase the power of the LS3 engine in your Corvette or Camaro SS by 40 horsepower with Chevrolet Performance’s high-performance heads-and-cam kit.