5.3 or 6.0

[ncdmax03]

Iam going to do an ls swap on my 95 hoe but not sure on which motor I wanna use. which one would be better? 95 Tahoe 4x4 going to put 4 or 6" lift on it and drive it daily. would like to have some power and still be able to get a lil fuel millage. but the way iam thinking id rather have the power. I even thought bout boosting it not real sure yet on that. so which one would be my better choice

[darnie1987]

6.0.... no replacement for displacement. If your plan on boost hope you know what your doing......

[Blasphemy]

I wouldn't run a boosted motor in a 4WD personally because you'll never be drag racing anybody at high rpms. If you want low end torque to move big tires and a heavy vehicle, I would definitely plan on getting the 6.0 but if don't mind doing the extra work of putting in a cam with a matched valve train, than a 5.3 could get you where you need to be. I have the LQ9 and its a huge amount of power over the 350 even in stock form. Running boost can be really pricey and ultimately shorten the life of an already reliable engine. If I put an LS2 cam, valve springs and intake on my engine (plus a beefy tune) I could get my hp numbers into the 400s

[darnie1987]

I wouldn't run a boosted motor in a 4WD personally because you'll never be drag racing anybody at high rpms. If you want low end torque to move big tires and a heavy vehicle, I would definitely plan on getting the 6.0 but if don't mind doing the extra work of putting in a cam with a matched valve train, than a 5.3 could get you where you need to be. I have the LQ9 and its a huge amount of power over the 350 even in stock form. Running boost can be really pricey and ultimately shorten the life of an already reliable engine. If I put an LS2 cam, valve springs and intake on my engine (plus a beefy tune) I could get my hp numbers into the 400s

I guess im the dummy who boosts a 4x4.. o well fun pulling on vettes

and idk about hitting 400HP with a ls2 cam. mid 300's sure but its gunna take a good head/cam combo to tackle the 400 mark.

[ncdmax03]

So I guess I am gonna hunt a 6.0 would ya run a super charger on it I would like to have something different but ill have it off road a bit so turbo might be out of the question

[ncdmax03]

I plan on doing a bit to the motor before I can install it

[darnie1987]

Alot depends on your budget, alot of people like SC because the instant torque and usally turbos have lag. But now adays turbo lag is next to nothing. A proper spec'd set up will do about anything you want turbo or SC. Turbo set ups are more in depth and have more components. if you run low boost on eaith you will make good power and be very street friendly. Most of its with your tune. I DD my truck and it has small issues here and there but nothing that wasnt a quick fix. you should be 375-420 HP ish with Full bolts ons a proper speced cam and heads in a 6.0 it wont be cheap tho.

heres my turbo lag at 60 just crusing

[Blasphemy]

I guess im the dummy who boosts a 4x4.. o well fun pulling on vettes

and idk about hitting 400HP with a ls2 cam. mid 300's sure but its gunna take a good head/cam combo to tackle the 400 mark.

I guess it all depends on personal preference. I would boost the shit out of a 6.0 or 5.3 with a set of twins if it was in a single cab shortbed 2WD truck, which I plan to do someday. But why spend $5K-$7K on a boosted setup when you can build a badass long block for that price with all forged internals? A supercharger would be a good middle ground because it makes good reliable power in the earlier RPM ranges and it doesn't require an engineering degree to install like a turbo setup!

[ncdmax03]

I would like to go through the motor and do a mild build before it goes in. What trans would you use behind the 6.0? And keep in mind I'd like to have 450 to 500 hp range and be some what reliable

[Blasphemy]

I would like to go through the motor and do a mild build before it goes in. What trans would you use behind the 6.0? And keep in mind I'd like to have 450 to 500 hp range and be some what reliable

Most people will tell you to put a 4L80E in because they are heavy duty and handle a ton of horsepower. But here's the thing, a properly built 4L60E will handle numbers in that range you mentioned and the install will be somewhat seemless as opposed to the 80 where you have to mod your driveshafts and crossmember, and in some cases get a new input shaft for your transfer case. If you want reliability and the extra mileage you get with an overdrive trans, then go with a built 60E. If you don't mind modifying a bunch of things, then get the 80E. Either way, you're gonna want to have a fresh trans to put behind the 6.0 because you're prob gonna be a lead foot for the first month or so with all that new found power and you want it to hold up.