ls3 power cap?
 

i just drove a gt 500 and the 500 hp was nice. can the ls3 handle a blower? i want to know if and how much power can be added without changing anything except adding a blower?

there are plenty of blown LS3 vettes. Best bet would probably be to check out some vette forums for actual numbers.

how many miles are you looking for the engine to last?

No problems with a blower designed for the car. If you modify it and run more boost, then you will be asking for trouble.

From what I have read, the Tremec Tranny of the 2SS can handle 700lbs of torque. So I imagine that the rest of the drive train is inline with a few tweeks maybe.:chevy:

Absolutely! There are plenty of blown LS motors out there! Lots in the corvettes and dont forget the GTO's and G8's. These engines make big increases with bolt on parts. A blower like a magnuson with 4-5 lbs of boost will be in the 550HP range.:chevy:

I've checked out a few web sites for companies that do after market mods for cars. They all basically offer a supercharger package for the LS3 vettes. I see the numbers range from 550 hp to 650 hp in the $8K to $14K range.

The GT500 will pale in comparison to a blown LS3... You'll love it.

Agreed, that 5.4 LOVES boost. Now, I would like to see a blown LS3 with a fully forged bottom end vs. upgraded blower GT500. Hey I can dream right...

I know a guy that put an $8,000 procharger on his LS2 '07 Vette and he's pushing somehwere around 538hp to the wheels...

From Evils post, I just got that the 5.4 comes with a built engine from the factory and you can boost it much higher because of this which will result in bigger HP / TQ ..... You would have to do a lot more to the LS3 to match the HP you can make with stock internals 5.4 engine in the Gt500 ...

I think all of the above would be fact and not speculation ..

I think Evil was also not replying to the OP . he was replying to the post from HOOY that says:

"The GT500 will pale in comparison to a blown LS3... You'll love it. "

Crowley

Forged bottom end ls3 = ls9

No problem. Just wanted to know what LS3 data there was. I agree that the 5.4 is a great motor. I will rephrase it since I am not trying to be negative - does anyone have factual data on how far an LS3 can be pushed yet?

Well, the facts are, and this is not really up for debate, a stock LS3 motor can only support a certain level of power before it breaks or becomes unreliable. We can debate all day what that number might be, but you cannot debate that the stock 5.4L engine that comes in the GT500 will support much more power before it reaches a similar breaking point.

Yes, absolutely you can build a LS3 with forged internals that will support as much, if not more, than the stock 5.4L engine, but there is a cost associated with doing so. Could you have a SS Camaro making more horsepower than a GT500 with a total cost (price to get into the vehicle, parts, labor, dyno time for tuning, tune cost, etc.) than what it would cost you to buy a 2010 GT500? Sure, but I would hazard to say the difference would be much less than you think it would once everything was added up.

I know a guy who put a $5800 Kenne Bell on his otherwise bone-stock GT500 and made over 650rwhp on 93 octane and the largest pulley (i.e. the least boost) that comes with the kit. (3.25", for the record). ;) In fact, I know many who have done the same with equal or better results.

I would agree with that assumption.

Hmmmm...I make more than that at the wheels on my stock injectors and I'm nowhere close to their max duty cycle. I know there are GT500's making over 800rwhp on the stock injectors, too.