block is only on par with a base-
model, 5.3L LM truck motor (the
motor that has quietly become
the modern small block of
choice). Any comparison to the
more performance-oriented
versions like the modern LS1,
LS2 or LS3 would be pointless,
to say nothing of the likes of the
7.0L LS7 or supercharged LS9.
As good as the LS engine
family is in stock trim, they
wouldn't hold a candle to
the original if they didn't also
respond well to performance
upgrades. Like any internal
combustion engine, the LS V8
will respond well to changes
made to cylinder heads,
camshaft, and intake upgrades.
Though receptive to all three,
the change that offers the most
bang for the buck with any LS
(from the lowly 4.8L LR4 all the
way up to the 7.0L LS7) is the
camshaft. Nothing wakes up and
LS motor like swapping out the
stock cam (and valve springs) for
a more performance-oriented
profile. This is especially true
of the milder truck motors
(LR4 4.8L, LM7 5.3L and LQ4
6.0L), but even LS2, LS3 and
LS7 motors will respond well
to a cam swap. To prove the
point, we ran several dyno tests
on the popular 5.3L LM7 and
6.2L LS3 engines, to see how
much power a cam swap is
THE NUMBER ONE
MODIFICATION FOR ANY LS
MOTOR IS A CAMSHAFT SWAP.
SINCE THE STOCK MOTORS
ALREADY HAVE SUFFICIENT
DISPLACEMENT, CYLINDER
HEAD, AND INTAKE FLOW
(ESPECIALLY THE LS3), ALL THEY
NEED IS A MORE AGGRESSIVE
CAM PROFILE.
AFTER A CAM SWAP, YOU SHOULD START LOOKING
AT THE CYLINDER HEAD FLOW, ESPECIALLY ON
A CATHEDRAL-PORT APPLICATION. SINCE THE
RECTANGULAR-PORT, LS3 AND LS7 HEADS ALREADY
FLOW ENOUGH TO SUPPORT 650 HP, PORTED HEADS
OFFER SMALLER POWER GAINS ON ALL BUT WILD
STROKER APPLICATIONS.
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