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got a spare 15k? lol.

Not even, got a ls3 here that came with an aftermarket cam and clutch brand new (straight from GM apart from cam and clutch) for 6k. Made 330rwkw straight out of the crate. Pick up a second hand gearbox, sort a few custom mounts and you'll be killing RB's everywhere in no time. They may be "dinosaurs" as far as technology goes but bang for buck, not much beats them.

No there are no conversion kits for this.

Engine mounts and gearbox mounts are easy.

Exhaust headers are hard as the RHS doesnt clear the rack/steering colum too well.

Getting it legal in SA would be a PITA. Is it for track use?

Not even, got a ls3 here that came with an aftermarket cam and clutch brand new (straight from GM apart from cam and clutch) for 6k. Made 330rwkw straight out of the crate. Pick up a second hand gearbox, sort a few custom mounts and you'll be killing RB's everywhere in no time. They may be "dinosaurs" as far as technology goes but bang for buck, not much beats them.

No need to preach to me about LS awesomeness ;) you will find that an LS7 mentioned is about 13.5k$USD and upwards, they are hand built and have titanium / forged components.

No need to preach to me about LS awesomeness ;) you will find that an LS7 mentioned is about 13.5k$USD and upwards, they are hand built and have titanium / forged components.

Yer but my main point was you don't even need an ls7 to easily make more than enough power for the street without losing any driveability. A LS3 with a cam, exhaust and tune in something lighter than a commodore will destroy anything RB powered on the street, except for a very well set up GTR.

for a more modern twist try a VH45DE, still have that awesome V8 sound and well as OHC and 4 valves per cylinder, not any more hassle than fitting a LS1/cheaper to buy/putting a nissan motor into a nissan, fits into a 31 with ease as ive seen one in a HR31 coupe

for a more modern twist try a VH45DE, still have that awesome V8 sound and well as OHC and 4 valves per cylinder, not any more hassle than fitting a LS1/cheaper to buy/putting a nissan motor into a nissan, fits into a 31 with ease as ive seen one in a HR31 coupe

Imo not as good an engine, plus they have massive ass heads that take up heaps of room.

Motor isn't really much cheaper either, considering how many aftermarket parts there are for the LS1 and how much power/torque they make standard I'd go the LS1 route.

The vh45 is meant to be easier to fit though.

Not even, got a ls3 here that came with an aftermarket cam and clutch brand new (straight from GM apart from cam and clutch) for 6k. Made 330rwkw straight out of the crate. Pick up a second hand gearbox, sort a few custom mounts and you'll be killing RB's everywhere in no time. They may be "dinosaurs" as far as technology goes but bang for buck, not much beats them.

Wow must have been a good one that's about 30-40kw more than most make!!

Wow must have been a good one that's about 30-40kw more than most make!!

That's with an aftermarket cam remember, not 100% standard.

Brothers old LS1 had aftermarket valve springs that were supposed to be the ducks nuts, 10k kms later one of them broke and the valve had sexy time with the piston, stocker holden springs FTW!

haha standard FTW :D

I've just picked up a VY SS, so going to be playing around with LS1s a bit over the next few years... 230-240rwkw with just a tune/exhaust/intake. Pretty cheap really.

The LS3s can get close to 300rwkw depending on the cam choice pretty easily as two friends of mine are well into the LS world with both making 380rwkw. One N/A and one blown on LS1s, one is a tuner of them.

It's amazing what a beating these engines take. One has been 380rwkw blown, for 80,000kms now (160,000 total)... Runs 10s and the only thing its broken was it blew the auto apart. Motor is still running fine!

I don't underestimate the ls engines but I just don't see the power that most do. STD Ls2's on our dyno are regularly in the 215-225rwkw mark on the autos another 10-15 rwkw with a manual. I've also seen two standard ls7 only make 310-320rwkw. How does this compare to other peoples dyno's?

depends if you're talking Mainline kw or Dyno Dynamics kw :P

Realistically, your average LS1 should pull ~215-220rwkw on an accurate dyno with bolt ons from what I have seen.

Cam choice is also a LOT more variable than I had previously thought; something that works great in the cathedral port heads (LS1/2/6) (like a Comp 222 224 112LSA) is crap for anything with L92 rectangular port heads (L76/LS3/L98), and its fairly easy to get it wrong and end up with a peak power pig rather than something with a fat curve (kinda like turbos I guess!)

LS3 can make over 300rwkw with cam and stock heads, GM Motorsports "Turbo Killer" cam springs to mind (237/242 112 lol)

It is also possible to get a cam that has too much lift than what the springs are rated to; hence there being several various type of spring types.

VH45DE swap is really dependent on how keen you are on sourcing rare-ish parts IMO. Cool conversion as well.

Ash: I never thought I'd see the day lol, sick of boost? :P

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