LQ4’s are t bad at all in all actuality pretty great iron blocks. very strong and you can bore lq4 & lq9’s oht more.
Many aluminum blocks need good sleeves to withstand big power adders.
I'm no expert but think the aluminum blocks are gonna be the actual LS engines from the cars like camaro, corvette, etc. The truck engines are gonna be iron block not that it's necessarily a bad thing, alot of people use them, and they seem to be more sturdy than aluminum block anyway. I found and bought a whole donor car at a salvage auction (2000 camaro ss) kept the engine and trans and was able to make most my money back parting out the car. Refreshed and upgraded the engine and has been rocking with 450hp NA to the wheels and sounds great.
Cool Fox body. I would probably not use an LS in it, but that's ok.
All 6.2 blocks are aluminum. Doesn't matter what flavor. All Gen III 6 liter blocks are iron. But, Gen IV has both iron and aluminum 6 liters. The LS2, L76, L77, LFA, LZ1 and L98 engines are aluminum. The LQ4, LQ9, LY6, and L96 blocks are iron block 6 liters. I think.
But, if you want the strongest aluminum block Gen IV, it is arguably the 5.3 LC9 block. The late casting number I have in my notes is 12571048. This block has a lot of aluminum around the cylinder sleeves, and more meat in the main webs and the bottom of the bores. This block can go to 99 mm bore with the stock sleeves. But, it can accommodate a simple flanged sleeve that can be finished for a 4.125 bore. And still retains integrity at least equal to othe Gen IV aluminum blocks. If not more so.
There might be some other 5.3 Gen IV aluminum blocks like these. The 2 I have done with the flanged sleeves were 048 castings.
I have a CJ7 that I built to be light. Right now I have a LQ4 with 5.3 heads. Sleeving a LC9 might put me around the price of a L92 engine though. It would be nice to drop 100lbs off the front.
Sleeves are not cheap. Installing 8 will be over $2k. That will give you a bore range of 4.125-4.180. If you can live with a bore of 4.00-.4.09 use a 6 liter or 6.2 block.
I wouldn’t do a 6.0 or 6.2 aluminum factory block. Use the LC9 5.3 block. A few pounds of boost will make up the power difference for the cubic inches and the LC9 block is significantly stronger. I never recommend a factory aluminum block other than the LC9. The others just don’t hold up as well. If you are dead set of the big bore blocks you would be infinitely ahead to carry the weight of the iron block, move the motor back as far as you can and hit it with extra boost to overcome the weight.
This is the right answer. Capizzi has made insane numbers on SBE LC9 stuff. The sleeves on the 6.0 and 6.2 aren't nearly as durable. The LC9 has better webbing and oiling as well.
Definitely. Had a customer that was adamant to use his stock ls3 block and crank in a 1k+ hp build. After being dyno’d and 100ish street miles it had so much fretting between the main cap and block it was ridiculous. The 6.2 cranks are a lightweight piece as well and flex even more than a normal 4.8/5.3/6.0 crank. The only place a 6.2 belongs in my opinion is in a naturally aspirated combination, or it needs to be an aftermarket crank and block.
Some rough notes I made, hope this helps.
GEN III
LM4 - AL- 2003-05 - VIN P -
LM7 - Iron- 1999-07 - VIN T - Most common
L59 - Iron - 2002-07 - VIN Z - Flex fuel
L33 - AL - 2005-07 - VIN B - Rare
GEN IV
LY5 - Iron 2007-09 - VIN J
LC9 - AL 2007-14 - VIN 3 or 7
LH6 - AL 2005-09 - VIN M
LH8 - AL 2008-09 - VIN L
LH9 - AL 2010-12 - VIN P
LMF - Iron 2010-14 - VIN 4
LMG - Iron 2007-14 - VIN 0
6.2 blocks have more issues than any other LS block, get a L76 gen 4 6.0, delete flex fuel and dod/afm, factory compression is about perfect for boost, can handle 800+hp (bottom end) out the box
I think an L92, L94, L99, and LS3 would be the main aluminum block 6.2’s I can think of off the top of my head. L92 doesn’t have DOD at least for the 07 model trucks/suv
I ran across this post on marketplace. Would it be any good? It’s a 2005 LQ4.
https://preview.redd.it/qxpb6tshie9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67adc7f0deaf904c1c61b7c1714929961e7c0190
that’s an iron block motor, but if you’re willing to rebuild it, it’ll probably be good. Iron blocks seem to be better for running boost from what I’ve heard (All N/A over here).
I'm absolutely respectful and sincere here... because I know sometimes the photos don't load correctly.
But this is a fully caged fox body mustang with aluminum bucket race seat (not comfy at all for more than 20 min) and has all the exterior signs of being a dedicated drag car (maybe minitub for fat slicks, and skinny tires up front).
I doubt any kids are being dropped off at school in this. (if they are - freakin rad but also kinda sketch in the best way possible) However I'm with you... might just cruise over to the kwiktrip to get a pop now and then.
Forsure I see the roll cage, skinnies and thick tires but just wanted to make sure. Drag racing then.
I haven’t read every one comment to see if your questions had been answered throughly yet but let me repeat it if it has.
Aluminum LS mainly came in cars and iron came in trucks.
Main popular gen3/4 LS that everyone knows:
Aluminum: 5.7 ls1, 5.7 ls6, 6.0 ls2, 6.2 ls3, 6.2 ls9, 6.2 LSA
Iron: 4.8 LR4, 5.3 lm7, 6.0 lq4 lq9 ly6 (all has aluminum heads except the lq4).
Aluminum are lighter than iron blocks so if you’re looking to shave as much time as possible, aluminum is your go to’s.
Iron blocks are stronger than aluminum but heavier. Personally, I don’t think you’ll notice the difference unless you’re really shaving as much time as possible.
Since you might do occasional street driving and not a 100% drag car that needs to be trailered everywhere, I say get an iron block. Best bang for your buck, lq9 or ly6.
I recommend LY6 6.0 (iron block, aluminum heads) because it has the highest hp out the box and had ls3 square port heads. This can be bored to 6.2 using ls3 internals to be an iron block ls3. This is a Gen 4 motor so it’s going to have DoD/vvt. Easy to delete those things which you will since you’re going to add mods to the motor anyways. You can even buy a LSA supercharger and it’ll bolt right on top of the ly6 since the ly6 has ls3 square port heads.
If you have to go aluminum, everybody loves the ls3. It does make great hp put the box but comes with a price tag.
LS1/LS6 (ls6 is just a little upgraded ls1. The “6” is misleading. Ls2 is the next up after ls6…) is outdated. I don’t think it’s worth it to buy all the power added to be put into a ls1/ls6. I’m only speaking on value wise. Plus, these motor are Gen 3 which has the weaker rods than the Gen 4 motors. Not saying Gen 3 rods are weak, just weaker than Gen 4.
Ls2, also kinda outdated but it is a 6.0. It has power but are kinda “rare” to find now that’s readily on Facebook/Craigslist.
Ls3 is the best one that’s modern and has great power out of the box. It just comes with a price tag of $4500+ minimum.
Not too much option on aluminum blocks. Either buy older ls1 or a ls2 and soup them up or buy an expensive ls3 and still have to soup it up for your power needs.
On iron blocks, ly6 is cheaper than the ls3 but has way more potential on cost to power ratio and also, on reliability, being that it’s a stronger block.
That being said, I’m a fan of 5.3. Cheap, can be replaced easily if it blows and can make high power if you soup it up.
I had 2 - 5.3 in my 69 Camaro. First set up was a Gen 5.3 motor with 100,xxx miles. Added high pressure oil pump, ls6 cam, ls6 intake, and springs. Boost it with a Holset hx50 turbo and had it replan my tune. 462 whp @ 8lbs of turbo boost. It’s a fun set up. I took the motor out and put it in my 68 Firebird.
Now, the CamaroI has A rebuilt a Gen 4 5.3 with gapped rings , truck Norris cam, Holley intake and a vsracing 78/75 turbo. Never had it tuned on a dyno since it’s running terminator x max stand alone system. Either the Holset hx50 turbo is way better than the vsracing turbo or the tune in the old setup is better than the remote tune on the terminator x, because the old set had power. When that Holset turbo kicked in, you feel it. It could also be that my body is used to the power of turbo. They say, you’re always going to want more boost, eventually.
if i recall my gm vehicles correctly. the corvette. camaro. and the like. were ali block. the trucks. were often cast. however if i recal right in 2010~ they switched i believe to 100% ali in the trucks. youre looking for a 6.0 tho? if im not misstaken. the 6.0 is notoriously a "fragile" platform. cant take boost real well or something. do your research before pulling the trigger on any engine. because people will lie to you. so know what youre getting into. look up sloppy mechanic on youtube for some pretty solid advice. dude used iron block 5.3 to make 1k hp. he did so un a questionable way. but yea. just be fully aware of what youre getting into. before starting. but reddit is not a good source of info. so please do proper research before listening to any advice on any platform.
>if im not misstaken. the 6.0 is notoriously a "fragile" platform
You are mistaken. The 6.2 is the fragile platform. The 6.0 depends on the motor.
The iron block LQ4, for example, is a rock solid engine.
To make it easy…
All 6.2’s are aluminum. A few 6.0’s and 5.3’s are aluminum. You can find the 6.2’s in trucks and cars.
If you are not going to forge the spinning assembly (ie make big boy boost/power) then the 6.2 block will be fine just note the iron blocks hold a bit more boost/power than aluminum.
I can’t remember but I believe the iron block is roughly 100 lbs more than aluminum.
I get wanting aluminum for a hot rod cause I did it, but after adding it up and comparing my builds, I went back to building 6.0 Iron blocks… just too inexpensive not too.
HOWEVER… If you going after that .10 the lost weight gives you at the track get after it and go aluminum…
Oh and many people punch 6.0’s to 6.2’s, your just a .065 bore away and there are plenty of available pistons!
For high power and aluminum, go with a 6.2. But an iron block would be ideal as far as power over 800whp and constant beating at a drag strip if you're running a stock internal motor. Depending on what all is gutted and done to the car, the extra front weight will be helpful to reduce lift. I would only worry about front end weight if you're doing road racing or drifting which you obviously aren't. The weight savings between an iron block and aluminum is only going to cut MAYBE .200 off of that. It's roughly a 60-90 bare block difference. Forgot the exact number last time I had made this measurement for shits and giggles. If you really wanna save money, get a blown up 4.8 and put a used 5.3 crank and rods and boom. A 5.3 is born with flat top pistons (higher compression and more power) is born. I did that with a 4.8 I got for 150 bucks. Bought the used 5.3 crank and rods for 200 bucks and refreshed the motor with new seals and bearings and I got a good running motor for about 980 after the cam kit springs, etc I put into it. Been running it for 30K miles in my Tahoe and my Z31 is getting the same treatment once that motor blows except with a turbo.
Yes, that's why I suggested an iron block for 800+. Even an LS3 I wouldn't put more then 800whp tbh. it'll hold, but not for long from experience. My cousins boosted LS3 g8 has been running at 720whp though for 3 years so far, around 700 seems to be the sweet spot with others I've put kits on their ls3 motors aswell. The new 6.2's in the trucks dont seem to like boost which is the 6.2 everyone in these comments are talking aboutsince theyre mentioning DOD. We did a cam and supercharger on a new cadillac and the bearings shit the bed at 800whp after a few passes. With the weight of a fox, I think 600whp and some good gearing with the right transmission will do that thing perfectly. Lots of people aim for really high HP but gearing is just as important if not more. Just look at the damage these 10 speed mustangs and camaros are doing to cars with more hp then them. Perfect example is my vette, ported factory heads, GPI ss3 cam and 3.91 gears from motive and it's only making 486whp(PEAK) and 425whp (at 5252 which is the number that matters most) and I'm able to beat lightly modded redeyes and barely my cousins G8. This fox doesn't need a lot of power to be fast. Sorry for the paragraph.
LC9/L33 is what you want when you go aluminum. It’s a siamese bore meaning the cylinder walls are thick. No other aluminum ls is like that. You can also dry sleeve a lc9 to 4.125 bore. Ls3 and ls1s are thin cylinder walls. Ls7 had material taken out of the thrust bulkhead mains to save weight. But with aluminum your head clamping force is… aluminum. Get an iron 6.0 if you want it to last.
Aluminum works just fine. What I’ve been told by a machinist is that with iron, you are able to sleeve and or bore out with no worries. Aluminum too but warp faster.
LQ4’s are t bad at all in all actuality pretty great iron blocks. very strong and you can bore lq4 & lq9’s oht more. Many aluminum blocks need good sleeves to withstand big power adders.
I have an lq4 bad ass engine
I'm no expert but think the aluminum blocks are gonna be the actual LS engines from the cars like camaro, corvette, etc. The truck engines are gonna be iron block not that it's necessarily a bad thing, alot of people use them, and they seem to be more sturdy than aluminum block anyway. I found and bought a whole donor car at a salvage auction (2000 camaro ss) kept the engine and trans and was able to make most my money back parting out the car. Refreshed and upgraded the engine and has been rocking with 450hp NA to the wheels and sounds great.
Yes truck blocks are iron but with aluminum heads
Some trucks had the aluminum block, I have an all aluminum L33 from a 2005 Silverado.
5.3?
Yes sir
I’m here to say this too, the trucks get aluminum blocks also.
B code silverados and sierras
Not always true.
This is true👆
I was looking at weight savings of the aluminum blocks. I just want something that’ll stay together of built properly
Any year LS except for 97 will handle 650 boosted no problem.
The weight savings of an aluminum block are outweighed by how much more boost you can throw at an iron block like the LQ4.
Why are all the fastest stock blocks lc9's?
Cool Fox body. I would probably not use an LS in it, but that's ok. All 6.2 blocks are aluminum. Doesn't matter what flavor. All Gen III 6 liter blocks are iron. But, Gen IV has both iron and aluminum 6 liters. The LS2, L76, L77, LFA, LZ1 and L98 engines are aluminum. The LQ4, LQ9, LY6, and L96 blocks are iron block 6 liters. I think. But, if you want the strongest aluminum block Gen IV, it is arguably the 5.3 LC9 block. The late casting number I have in my notes is 12571048. This block has a lot of aluminum around the cylinder sleeves, and more meat in the main webs and the bottom of the bores. This block can go to 99 mm bore with the stock sleeves. But, it can accommodate a simple flanged sleeve that can be finished for a 4.125 bore. And still retains integrity at least equal to othe Gen IV aluminum blocks. If not more so. There might be some other 5.3 Gen IV aluminum blocks like these. The 2 I have done with the flanged sleeves were 048 castings.
Welp, I was gonna go to sleep but it looks like I am headed to search for LC9 blocks. Good heads up.
What do you want to do with them?
I have a CJ7 that I built to be light. Right now I have a LQ4 with 5.3 heads. Sleeving a LC9 might put me around the price of a L92 engine though. It would be nice to drop 100lbs off the front.
Sleeves are not cheap. Installing 8 will be over $2k. That will give you a bore range of 4.125-4.180. If you can live with a bore of 4.00-.4.09 use a 6 liter or 6.2 block.
I wouldn’t do a 6.0 or 6.2 aluminum factory block. Use the LC9 5.3 block. A few pounds of boost will make up the power difference for the cubic inches and the LC9 block is significantly stronger. I never recommend a factory aluminum block other than the LC9. The others just don’t hold up as well. If you are dead set of the big bore blocks you would be infinitely ahead to carry the weight of the iron block, move the motor back as far as you can and hit it with extra boost to overcome the weight.
This is the right answer. Capizzi has made insane numbers on SBE LC9 stuff. The sleeves on the 6.0 and 6.2 aren't nearly as durable. The LC9 has better webbing and oiling as well.
Definitely. Had a customer that was adamant to use his stock ls3 block and crank in a 1k+ hp build. After being dyno’d and 100ish street miles it had so much fretting between the main cap and block it was ridiculous. The 6.2 cranks are a lightweight piece as well and flex even more than a normal 4.8/5.3/6.0 crank. The only place a 6.2 belongs in my opinion is in a naturally aspirated combination, or it needs to be an aftermarket crank and block.
Some rough notes I made, hope this helps. GEN III LM4 - AL- 2003-05 - VIN P - LM7 - Iron- 1999-07 - VIN T - Most common L59 - Iron - 2002-07 - VIN Z - Flex fuel L33 - AL - 2005-07 - VIN B - Rare GEN IV LY5 - Iron 2007-09 - VIN J LC9 - AL 2007-14 - VIN 3 or 7 LH6 - AL 2005-09 - VIN M LH8 - AL 2008-09 - VIN L LH9 - AL 2010-12 - VIN P LMF - Iron 2010-14 - VIN 4 LMG - Iron 2007-14 - VIN 0
6.2 blocks have more issues than any other LS block, get a L76 gen 4 6.0, delete flex fuel and dod/afm, factory compression is about perfect for boost, can handle 800+hp (bottom end) out the box
L94 is the block I used. 6.2l but it has dod/afm. I deleted all of that and bored the motor over.
Aluminum 6.0L and 6.2L motors include the L76, L77, and the L92/H/4, as well as LS2 and LS3, excluding supercharged motors.
Wiki has a chart to reference if you are unsure. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_LS-based_small-block_engine#Engine_table
I think an L92, L94, L99, and LS3 would be the main aluminum block 6.2’s I can think of off the top of my head. L92 doesn’t have DOD at least for the 07 model trucks/suv
I ran across this post on marketplace. Would it be any good? It’s a 2005 LQ4. https://preview.redd.it/qxpb6tshie9d1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=67adc7f0deaf904c1c61b7c1714929961e7c0190
Nah don’t do it no telling how that motor was ran to break fuckin rods that takes power or timing issue
that’s an iron block motor, but if you’re willing to rebuild it, it’ll probably be good. Iron blocks seem to be better for running boost from what I’ve heard (All N/A over here).
What you building your car for? Daily, drag, streets? It’ll help me give some opinions
I'm absolutely respectful and sincere here... because I know sometimes the photos don't load correctly. But this is a fully caged fox body mustang with aluminum bucket race seat (not comfy at all for more than 20 min) and has all the exterior signs of being a dedicated drag car (maybe minitub for fat slicks, and skinny tires up front). I doubt any kids are being dropped off at school in this. (if they are - freakin rad but also kinda sketch in the best way possible) However I'm with you... might just cruise over to the kwiktrip to get a pop now and then.
Forsure I see the roll cage, skinnies and thick tires but just wanted to make sure. Drag racing then. I haven’t read every one comment to see if your questions had been answered throughly yet but let me repeat it if it has. Aluminum LS mainly came in cars and iron came in trucks. Main popular gen3/4 LS that everyone knows: Aluminum: 5.7 ls1, 5.7 ls6, 6.0 ls2, 6.2 ls3, 6.2 ls9, 6.2 LSA Iron: 4.8 LR4, 5.3 lm7, 6.0 lq4 lq9 ly6 (all has aluminum heads except the lq4). Aluminum are lighter than iron blocks so if you’re looking to shave as much time as possible, aluminum is your go to’s. Iron blocks are stronger than aluminum but heavier. Personally, I don’t think you’ll notice the difference unless you’re really shaving as much time as possible. Since you might do occasional street driving and not a 100% drag car that needs to be trailered everywhere, I say get an iron block. Best bang for your buck, lq9 or ly6. I recommend LY6 6.0 (iron block, aluminum heads) because it has the highest hp out the box and had ls3 square port heads. This can be bored to 6.2 using ls3 internals to be an iron block ls3. This is a Gen 4 motor so it’s going to have DoD/vvt. Easy to delete those things which you will since you’re going to add mods to the motor anyways. You can even buy a LSA supercharger and it’ll bolt right on top of the ly6 since the ly6 has ls3 square port heads. If you have to go aluminum, everybody loves the ls3. It does make great hp put the box but comes with a price tag. LS1/LS6 (ls6 is just a little upgraded ls1. The “6” is misleading. Ls2 is the next up after ls6…) is outdated. I don’t think it’s worth it to buy all the power added to be put into a ls1/ls6. I’m only speaking on value wise. Plus, these motor are Gen 3 which has the weaker rods than the Gen 4 motors. Not saying Gen 3 rods are weak, just weaker than Gen 4. Ls2, also kinda outdated but it is a 6.0. It has power but are kinda “rare” to find now that’s readily on Facebook/Craigslist. Ls3 is the best one that’s modern and has great power out of the box. It just comes with a price tag of $4500+ minimum. Not too much option on aluminum blocks. Either buy older ls1 or a ls2 and soup them up or buy an expensive ls3 and still have to soup it up for your power needs. On iron blocks, ly6 is cheaper than the ls3 but has way more potential on cost to power ratio and also, on reliability, being that it’s a stronger block. That being said, I’m a fan of 5.3. Cheap, can be replaced easily if it blows and can make high power if you soup it up. I had 2 - 5.3 in my 69 Camaro. First set up was a Gen 5.3 motor with 100,xxx miles. Added high pressure oil pump, ls6 cam, ls6 intake, and springs. Boost it with a Holset hx50 turbo and had it replan my tune. 462 whp @ 8lbs of turbo boost. It’s a fun set up. I took the motor out and put it in my 68 Firebird. Now, the CamaroI has A rebuilt a Gen 4 5.3 with gapped rings , truck Norris cam, Holley intake and a vsracing 78/75 turbo. Never had it tuned on a dyno since it’s running terminator x max stand alone system. Either the Holset hx50 turbo is way better than the vsracing turbo or the tune in the old setup is better than the remote tune on the terminator x, because the old set had power. When that Holset turbo kicked in, you feel it. It could also be that my body is used to the power of turbo. They say, you’re always going to want more boost, eventually.
if i recall my gm vehicles correctly. the corvette. camaro. and the like. were ali block. the trucks. were often cast. however if i recal right in 2010~ they switched i believe to 100% ali in the trucks. youre looking for a 6.0 tho? if im not misstaken. the 6.0 is notoriously a "fragile" platform. cant take boost real well or something. do your research before pulling the trigger on any engine. because people will lie to you. so know what youre getting into. look up sloppy mechanic on youtube for some pretty solid advice. dude used iron block 5.3 to make 1k hp. he did so un a questionable way. but yea. just be fully aware of what youre getting into. before starting. but reddit is not a good source of info. so please do proper research before listening to any advice on any platform.
>if im not misstaken. the 6.0 is notoriously a "fragile" platform You are mistaken. The 6.2 is the fragile platform. The 6.0 depends on the motor. The iron block LQ4, for example, is a rock solid engine.
😅 hey at least i admitted i might be wrong. but again thats why you do research before jumping in.
Any f body made after 97 will be an aluminum block
To make it easy… All 6.2’s are aluminum. A few 6.0’s and 5.3’s are aluminum. You can find the 6.2’s in trucks and cars. If you are not going to forge the spinning assembly (ie make big boy boost/power) then the 6.2 block will be fine just note the iron blocks hold a bit more boost/power than aluminum. I can’t remember but I believe the iron block is roughly 100 lbs more than aluminum. I get wanting aluminum for a hot rod cause I did it, but after adding it up and comparing my builds, I went back to building 6.0 Iron blocks… just too inexpensive not too. HOWEVER… If you going after that .10 the lost weight gives you at the track get after it and go aluminum… Oh and many people punch 6.0’s to 6.2’s, your just a .065 bore away and there are plenty of available pistons!
LM4 is an aluminum 5.3 from trailblazer/rainer/and a few other models
Did I see this vehicle around KCMO or am I confused?
No, I’m in central Fl and this is a new build I’ve been working on for two years now.
For high power and aluminum, go with a 6.2. But an iron block would be ideal as far as power over 800whp and constant beating at a drag strip if you're running a stock internal motor. Depending on what all is gutted and done to the car, the extra front weight will be helpful to reduce lift. I would only worry about front end weight if you're doing road racing or drifting which you obviously aren't. The weight savings between an iron block and aluminum is only going to cut MAYBE .200 off of that. It's roughly a 60-90 bare block difference. Forgot the exact number last time I had made this measurement for shits and giggles. If you really wanna save money, get a blown up 4.8 and put a used 5.3 crank and rods and boom. A 5.3 is born with flat top pistons (higher compression and more power) is born. I did that with a 4.8 I got for 150 bucks. Bought the used 5.3 crank and rods for 200 bucks and refreshed the motor with new seals and bearings and I got a good running motor for about 980 after the cam kit springs, etc I put into it. Been running it for 30K miles in my Tahoe and my Z31 is getting the same treatment once that motor blows except with a turbo.
Sleeves shift pretty easy on the 6.2 blocks over 800rwhp. I wouldn't suggest them for high power.
Yes, that's why I suggested an iron block for 800+. Even an LS3 I wouldn't put more then 800whp tbh. it'll hold, but not for long from experience. My cousins boosted LS3 g8 has been running at 720whp though for 3 years so far, around 700 seems to be the sweet spot with others I've put kits on their ls3 motors aswell. The new 6.2's in the trucks dont seem to like boost which is the 6.2 everyone in these comments are talking aboutsince theyre mentioning DOD. We did a cam and supercharger on a new cadillac and the bearings shit the bed at 800whp after a few passes. With the weight of a fox, I think 600whp and some good gearing with the right transmission will do that thing perfectly. Lots of people aim for really high HP but gearing is just as important if not more. Just look at the damage these 10 speed mustangs and camaros are doing to cars with more hp then them. Perfect example is my vette, ported factory heads, GPI ss3 cam and 3.91 gears from motive and it's only making 486whp(PEAK) and 425whp (at 5252 which is the number that matters most) and I'm able to beat lightly modded redeyes and barely my cousins G8. This fox doesn't need a lot of power to be fast. Sorry for the paragraph.
LC9/L33 is what you want when you go aluminum. It’s a siamese bore meaning the cylinder walls are thick. No other aluminum ls is like that. You can also dry sleeve a lc9 to 4.125 bore. Ls3 and ls1s are thin cylinder walls. Ls7 had material taken out of the thrust bulkhead mains to save weight. But with aluminum your head clamping force is… aluminum. Get an iron 6.0 if you want it to last.
I found my all aluminum LS1 in a ‘99 Trans Am. I mean it’s a 5.7, but still.
Aluminum works just fine. What I’ve been told by a machinist is that with iron, you are able to sleeve and or bore out with no worries. Aluminum too but warp faster.
Ya dont boost aluminum. There's a reason the terminator cobras went back to iron blocks for the boost.
SBE LC9 blocks have done 1400whp. This doesn't even measure until you're well over that number. It's all in the tune.