5.3 Dyno Pull

[TXBlazer]

Saturday night at a fundraiser that was put on by Houston Performance Drivers at Late Model Racecraft, they had a drive in Dyno Pull for anyone interested. $50 for 2 pulls and all the money went to a local charity. Awesome turnout, and there were HPD Officers there to make sure nothing got out of hand and to keep the event Ricer Free.

I got in line and at midnight my truck rolled onto the Dyno.

My mods are, LS2 cam w/ DOD disabled, Efans, 160 Tstat, CAI, NGK TR6 Plugs, Stainless Works LT headers, Catless Y pipe, Magnaflow 3" in/out w/3" pipe to the rear. I'm sure there is something else I missed, but I can add that later.

Ended up at 304 RWHP @ 308ft# torque, not bad for a motor that is 302 Flywheel HP from the factory.

 

[Boricua SS]

awesome numbers man... surely to give a stock SS a run for its money

 

[MAY03LT]

Like I said before, I had no idea the 5.3s could be done up like that....BOSS!!!!!

 

[jrSS]

Like said b4 in another thread. The 5.3's are the same size block as the 6.0's. All u'd hafta do is bore out the 5.3's and u could have the 6.0.

 

[saabotage]

I am interested in what all was involved in the LS2 cam swap and disabling the DOD. I have an 08 5.3 9-7x, all I have for mods is an airraid intake but my build plan for the truck is......

CAI
Long tube headers with catless y-pipe
pcm4less e-fans
pcm4less Tune

I havent done a lot of research on putting a cam in the truck but i would love to do it. If you can give me some insight on this and disabling the dod i would really like to hear about it. Also, i hadnt thought about the thermostat until reading your build, is this important? Thanks

-Will

 

[C-ya]

I can't get the video to play. I'd love to hear what she sounds like!

ETA: Old post, but the vid is still in Photobucket...

 

[tblazerdude]

needs a little forced induction...

HPE450 Performance Upgrade | 5.3L GM Truck / SUV | Hennessey Performance
you have done most everything hennessey did, except,
you need the TVS1900

 

[TXBlazer]

I am interested in what all was involved in the LS2 cam swap and disabling the DOD. I have an 08 5.3 9-7x, all I have for mods is an airraid intake but my build plan for the truck is......

CAI
Long tube headers with catless y-pipe
pcm4less e-fans
pcm4less Tune

I havent done a lot of research on putting a cam in the truck but i would love to do it. If you can give me some insight on this and disabling the dod i would really like to hear about it. Also, i hadnt thought about the thermostat until reading your build, is this important? Thanks

-Will

This build was done quickly (13.5 hrs, one full Saturday)

The following list was all used parts, all parts had 12k miles on them
LS2 cam
LS2 Lifters
LS2 yellow Beehive Valve Springs
LS2 Lifter Trays
LS2 Pushrods

New parts
Head, Water pump & Timing cover Gaskets
Head Bolt Kit
Crankshaft Pulley & Camshaft Sprocket Bolt

I had previously installed:
Headers w/ 3" exhaust
160 degree thermostat
Efans
CAI
NGK TR6 plugs

Custom tune by Speedmaster747,,,,,we disabled the DOD in the tune.

I'm sure there are a few things I'm forgetting, but that's the basics. I snagged the LS2 parts from some of the guys who were going with custom grinds on their TBSS' so they were pretty much giving things away. I spent almost the same on the new parts as I did the used parts.

I can't get the video to play. I'd love to hear what she sounds like!

ETA: Old post, but the vid is still in Photobucket...

I just checked the Vid out, it still worked for me. PM me your email...I'll send it to you.

needs a little forced induction...

HPE450 Performance Upgrade | 5.3L GM Truck / SUV | Hennessey Performance
you have done most everything hennessey did, except,
you need the TVS1900

No forced induction for me....I'm sticking with the basics on this truck, the next one will be forced induction.

 

[C-ya]

I just checked the Vid out, it still worked for me. PM me your email...I'll send it to you.

I checked the video on my computer at home and it worked. Not sure why it isn't working at work. Neither FF nor IE will play it. Every other video I try works...

Thanks for the offer to email.

Man, that thing sounds sweet!

 

[TXBlazer]

A couple of pics during the build

 

[texas81camaro]

I just noticed in your pictures you didn't swap over to the ls3 valley tray. Im new to this ls stuff and am currently rebuilding my 5.3 and doing a dod delete, do you not have to swap the valley cover and if so why does everybody do it?

 

[chicagotransam]

I just noticed in your pictures you didn't swap over to the ls3 valley tray. Im new to this ls stuff and am currently rebuilding my 5.3 and doing a dod delete, do you not have to swap the valley cover and if so why does everybody do it?

Yes you do, my guess is that the pictures were taken out of order. If you don't want to do the leg work, Texas Speed has a complete DOD delete kit. You will need a non DOD cam and exhaust manifold gaskets to finish though.

A few people have used DOD cams, but the success rate is low.

 

[Ryda55555]

You can also turn off DOD/AFM with a tune.
It'll keep everything factory but will run 8 cylinders all the time
Also heard it helps to prevent oil consumption which is typical in the 5.3s with DOD/AFM

 

[chicagotransam]

I'd like to see the papers.... My current setup (below) netted me 268/291 with SAE smoothing at 5 .... temp 62°F

5.3L with a knockoff Magnaflow long muffler, resonator delete. CAI from Volant NGK TR6 plugs, and DOD delete

Cam Specs:
Intake Duration: 214 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift.
Intake Lift: .600" with 1.7 rockers.
Exhaust Duration 220 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift
Exhaust Lift .564" with 1.7 rockers.
115 Degree LSA
Double Springs and LS7 lifters

The tune seems good, so the only difference I can see is I have a different cam and lack of long tubes. I can't see headers adding 40+ hp though?

 

[BoldAdventure]

I'd like to see the papers.... My current setup (below) netted me 268/291 with SAE smoothing at 5 .... temp 62°F

5.3L with a knockoff Magnaflow long muffler, resonator delete. CAI from Volant NGK TR6 plugs, and DOD delete

Cam Specs:
Intake Duration: 214 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift.
Intake Lift: .600" with 1.7 rockers.
Exhaust Duration 220 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift
Exhaust Lift .564" with 1.7 rockers.
115 Degree LSA
Double Springs and LS7 lifters

The tune seems good, so the only difference I can see is I have a different cam and lack of long tubes. I can't see headers adding 40+ hp though?

Yes LT's really can free up that much HP. I saw a 38rwhp jump when I installed mine on my LS3 before tune. shorties not so much, long tubes, yes!

 

[Ryda55555]

I'd like to see the papers.... My current setup (below) netted me 268/291 with SAE smoothing at 5 .... temp 62°F

5.3L with a knockoff Magnaflow long muffler, resonator delete. CAI from Volant NGK TR6 plugs, and DOD delete

Cam Specs:
Intake Duration: 214 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift.
Intake Lift: .600" with 1.7 rockers.
Exhaust Duration 220 Degrees at .050" Tappet Lift
Exhaust Lift .564" with 1.7 rockers.
115 Degree LSA
Double Springs and LS7 lifters

The tune seems good, so the only difference I can see is I have a different cam and lack of long tubes. I can't see headers adding 40+ hp though?

With Efans, headers and a cam and a proper tune after it'll get the 40 or so HP
According to pcmofNC
Efans are good for 12-18RWHP
Stealth cam is good for 53RWHP
And then whatever the headers are good for

 

[chicagotransam]

With Efans, headers and a cam and a proper tune after it'll get the 40 or so HP
According to pcmofNC
Efans are good for 12-18RWHP
Stealth cam is good for 53RWHP
And then whatever the headers are good for

I didn't know Efans added quite that much. So, I guess between the fans and headers, that's where the extra 40 comes from.

Now, I just need to find someone with 4WD that can confirm 100% that they have found a set of headers that'll work.

 

[TXBlazer]

I just noticed in your pictures you didn't swap over to the ls3 valley tray. Im new to this ls stuff and am currently rebuilding my 5.3 and doing a dod delete, do you not have to swap the valley cover and if so why does everybody do it?

I just threw the old valley cover on when I reinstalled the heads to keep anything from falling in and so I had somewhere to throw tools while I was torquing the heads. I put the LS2 cover on it after I buffed it to a mirror shine, alot of work so, you can only see the front 2 inches, but I was bored while waiting on parts.

The only con of the longtubes, is you lose a little bit of low end torques, but the tradeoff is well worth the HP gain and the overall end result.

PM me if you have any questions.

 

[timg]

Those are great numbers.

My 5.3 was 225 hp and 275 ft-lb at the wheels on a Dyno Dynamics. At the time, my mods were Magnaflow exhaust and IEATSRT8 intake. After the LS2 swap with the same mods + e-fans, the dyno numbers jumped to around 330 whp if I remember correctly (don't have that dyno sheet in front of me).

The good news is that if you ever want/need more, the 5.3 block is a great candidate for dry sleeving (some like it better than the LS2 and LS3). Combined with a 4" crank, you would then have a 427...

Tim

 

[saabotage]

Its awesome to see a 5.3 guy that has done the LS2 swap. Another SAAB at that! Sounds like the swap wasnt too bad for our trucks? Running most of the stock 5.3 equipment from what I can see? I am pretty torn on doing a swap or building my 5.3. Labor is very cheap for me because I work at a large chevy dealer here in Lansing MI.

 

[timg]

Its awesome to see a 5.3 guy that has done the LS2 swap. Another SAAB at that! Sounds like the swap wasnt too bad for our trucks? Running most of the stock 5.3 equipment from what I can see? I am pretty torn on doing a swap or building my 5.3. Labor is very cheap for me because I work at a large chevy dealer here in Lansing MI.

The swap took a lot of time, but is relatively easy. I had a new motor that was destined for the production line but was never used, so it came with the coils, intake, throttle body, and other bits and pieces. Even if it didn't come with those, it would have been a direct swap. The 5.3 and LS2 are identical externally with the exception of the DOD wiring.

If I was looking at a complete LS2 crate motor today, I wouldn't do it. The price on those is 3x more than I paid and they come with less. For under $6k, you can have a sleeved and forged 427 short block built by ERL. Use your stock cylinder heads and accessories. Replace the cam and valve springs, and you have over 500 horsepower for the price of a stock LS2 crate motor.

Tim

 

[warriorpluto]

I see in the pictures it looks like you didn't have to disconnect the ac. So you just worked around it? I have rocker chatter and was wondering how hard it would be to take the valve cover off.