AK49BWL
GMT400 Forever!
I've been mulling over what to do when my 350 finally tires out. Haven't really bought anything to go either direction with it yet, but for a while I was thinking about building a 383 stroker out of my current engine.
Then I got to looking at LS swaps and how simple they are, with parts readily available to literally rip one engine out and throw in another with little to no real modification. I'm already 0411-swapped, HPTuning, with electric fans, so that's all trivial pretty much no matter which way I go. And I think I've proved my worth here when it comes to wiring...heh
I've kind of narrowed my ideas down to three options...
-- Go ahead with a 383:: I have a good L31 base with 217k miles on it that shows no real signs of giving up. In the next couple weeks I'm going to delete the distributor cap/rotor setup and go coil-near-plug with it. Already have everything I need to do it, nobody's changing my mind at this point because I'm sick to death of having to replace caps every 5000 miles. A 383 wouldn't really change anything cosmetically in the engine bay, so imo this would be the easiest route to go. I already have headers, but other than that and the computer swap/fans, the truck is bone stock. But, will it perform as well, without throwing gobs of money at it to reach the same level of an LS swap? IS an LS swap, truly better? I already have my 350, I'd have to acquire another engine to swap in and then figure out what I want to do with mine when I'm done if I go that route. But, if it's worth it?
-- Swap to LM7 5.3:: Some people tell me that even a built 350 can't really make the numbers that even a stock unbuilt 5.3 can, nor as efficiently (but what about a 383?). In my personal experience between driving my 97 vs my dad's 03 ECSB with the LM7, that has to be a lie, because my truck runs circles around his, both in power and fuel mileage. Same 3.73 gearing, but then his is also a 4L60E vs my NV3500 (both are 4x4). Really tho, I don't see that making the difference I see between our trucks. Sort of leaning away from the 5.3 route based solely on this. Granted: He's 100% factory. Clutch fan, no tune. Soot absolutely coating the tailpipe. I know the fuel and spark mapping on those trucks suck at best, but that bad? How much can it possibly wake up?
-- Swap to LQ9 6.0:: This one had my interest for a bit, until I thought about the not-much-different LQ4 in my dad's 03 Suburban, backed up to a 4L80E and 4.10 gearing. That truck is the dog of all dogs. Tows fairly decent, but just feels to me like it can't get out of its own way empty, and I'm not even gonna say what mileage it doesn't get.. Even my dad said he made a mistake trading the 97 K2500 Suburban (454/4L80/4.10s) for it. Also, bone factory stock with clutch fan, no tune, and sooty exhaust. Sounds good tho lol. So I guess the real question is, how much will these engines wake up with a proper tune alone? And can the 6.0 match the mileage of my 5.7?
I'm sure my personal driving habits will play into this as well, so here goes: I'm not a speed demon by any means. I drive the speed limits for the most part, except on the freeways I'll kind of stick conservatively at 68-70 cruising.... Might run up to 85 on downhills, sometimes
I don't do hard starts, have NEVER dropped the clutch at high RPM, tho I admit a little of that's because I don't trust the G80 10-bolt (which will be replaced no matter what engine I put in) lol but seriously tho. I have spun the tires a good bit on wet pavement for fun a couple times, but again, not the norm... Tho I have chirped 2nd a few times taking off in front of a mob of traffic from a side street. I rarely go over 3500 rpm unless I'm just having fun taking off with it for a bit, or just need to get out of the way.. I do enjoy taking off from time to time just to play, and my truck as it sits right now gives me that enjoyment quite well when desired -- HOWEVER, even so, I think I may have gone over 4800 rpm ONE time, and that was to do the crank relearn when I first started it up with the 0411 lol. I really like my low-end torque. I've towed with this truck maybe 3 times in the 5 years I've had it, and it's not something I'll be doing often, so I'm not really factoring towing performance into this....But, it would be nice to know I'll have a good time of it when I do I emphasize mileage a lot... Mine gets anywhere from 14-16 city, 18-19 highway, and I love that.
Anyway, on to transmissions... Given the above, and given that I will possibly (or probably) be outdoing the input rating on the NV3500 with a new/rebuilt engine's capabilities, would an NV4500 be a better option? Or should I just keep going moderately easy on the NV3500 as I do currently? I hear many pros and cons to both options.. namely the NV3500 can't take it, the NV4500 has wide gear ratios and is a pita.... T56 is kind of out due to my truck being 4x4, but that dual-overdrive sure sounds nice lol. There's only so far I'm willing to go tho as far as fabrication... It's just me here after all for the most part. Autos are not an option for me either -- I like shifting too much. When my 03 Blazer's 4L60E finally dies, and it will because that's what 4L60Es do, I'm 100% dropping a T56 in it. But it's a 2wd, it can do that
Budget? ... I probably shouldn't even say. I would like to stay under $6000, but I know just about anything engine-build related is gonna throw me. But what the hell. It's not like I'm on a time schedule or anything.
Then I got to looking at LS swaps and how simple they are, with parts readily available to literally rip one engine out and throw in another with little to no real modification. I'm already 0411-swapped, HPTuning, with electric fans, so that's all trivial pretty much no matter which way I go. And I think I've proved my worth here when it comes to wiring...heh
I've kind of narrowed my ideas down to three options...
-- Go ahead with a 383:: I have a good L31 base with 217k miles on it that shows no real signs of giving up. In the next couple weeks I'm going to delete the distributor cap/rotor setup and go coil-near-plug with it. Already have everything I need to do it, nobody's changing my mind at this point because I'm sick to death of having to replace caps every 5000 miles. A 383 wouldn't really change anything cosmetically in the engine bay, so imo this would be the easiest route to go. I already have headers, but other than that and the computer swap/fans, the truck is bone stock. But, will it perform as well, without throwing gobs of money at it to reach the same level of an LS swap? IS an LS swap, truly better? I already have my 350, I'd have to acquire another engine to swap in and then figure out what I want to do with mine when I'm done if I go that route. But, if it's worth it?
-- Swap to LM7 5.3:: Some people tell me that even a built 350 can't really make the numbers that even a stock unbuilt 5.3 can, nor as efficiently (but what about a 383?). In my personal experience between driving my 97 vs my dad's 03 ECSB with the LM7, that has to be a lie, because my truck runs circles around his, both in power and fuel mileage. Same 3.73 gearing, but then his is also a 4L60E vs my NV3500 (both are 4x4). Really tho, I don't see that making the difference I see between our trucks. Sort of leaning away from the 5.3 route based solely on this. Granted: He's 100% factory. Clutch fan, no tune. Soot absolutely coating the tailpipe. I know the fuel and spark mapping on those trucks suck at best, but that bad? How much can it possibly wake up?
-- Swap to LQ9 6.0:: This one had my interest for a bit, until I thought about the not-much-different LQ4 in my dad's 03 Suburban, backed up to a 4L80E and 4.10 gearing. That truck is the dog of all dogs. Tows fairly decent, but just feels to me like it can't get out of its own way empty, and I'm not even gonna say what mileage it doesn't get.. Even my dad said he made a mistake trading the 97 K2500 Suburban (454/4L80/4.10s) for it. Also, bone factory stock with clutch fan, no tune, and sooty exhaust. Sounds good tho lol. So I guess the real question is, how much will these engines wake up with a proper tune alone? And can the 6.0 match the mileage of my 5.7?
I'm sure my personal driving habits will play into this as well, so here goes: I'm not a speed demon by any means. I drive the speed limits for the most part, except on the freeways I'll kind of stick conservatively at 68-70 cruising.... Might run up to 85 on downhills, sometimes
I don't do hard starts, have NEVER dropped the clutch at high RPM, tho I admit a little of that's because I don't trust the G80 10-bolt (which will be replaced no matter what engine I put in) lol but seriously tho. I have spun the tires a good bit on wet pavement for fun a couple times, but again, not the norm... Tho I have chirped 2nd a few times taking off in front of a mob of traffic from a side street. I rarely go over 3500 rpm unless I'm just having fun taking off with it for a bit, or just need to get out of the way.. I do enjoy taking off from time to time just to play, and my truck as it sits right now gives me that enjoyment quite well when desired -- HOWEVER, even so, I think I may have gone over 4800 rpm ONE time, and that was to do the crank relearn when I first started it up with the 0411 lol. I really like my low-end torque. I've towed with this truck maybe 3 times in the 5 years I've had it, and it's not something I'll be doing often, so I'm not really factoring towing performance into this....But, it would be nice to know I'll have a good time of it when I do I emphasize mileage a lot... Mine gets anywhere from 14-16 city, 18-19 highway, and I love that.Anyway, on to transmissions... Given the above, and given that I will possibly (or probably) be outdoing the input rating on the NV3500 with a new/rebuilt engine's capabilities, would an NV4500 be a better option? Or should I just keep going moderately easy on the NV3500 as I do currently? I hear many pros and cons to both options.. namely the NV3500 can't take it, the NV4500 has wide gear ratios and is a pita.... T56 is kind of out due to my truck being 4x4, but that dual-overdrive sure sounds nice lol. There's only so far I'm willing to go tho as far as fabrication... It's just me here after all for the most part. Autos are not an option for me either -- I like shifting too much. When my 03 Blazer's 4L60E finally dies, and it will because that's what 4L60Es do, I'm 100% dropping a T56 in it. But it's a 2wd, it can do that
Budget? ... I probably shouldn't even say. I would like to stay under $6000, but I know just about anything engine-build related is gonna throw me. But what the hell. It's not like I'm on a time schedule or anything.
