ls crate engine choice

[Alongfortheride]

Looking for some opinions or advice I am interested in a 480hp gm crate engine However after several discussions I have heard there harness is junk or there ecm will not run well etc. What have you guys seen I am building a 67 Camaro I want an ls engine with 6speed/ I do not want to use a pull out engine. I am willing to spend a reasonable amont of money however I do not need 600hp I believe a 480hp or 430hp motor will run fine for a nice street driven car that might go to an autocross Your advice would be greatly appreciated

[mikeextrafast]

I brought a ls3 from Jegs and then had a cam installed and brought a harness and computer

[Mkelcy]

Just like a bumble bee isn't supposed to be able to fly, I guess the LS376/480 with the factory harness and ECU in my '68 Camaro isn't supposed to run. It does - 440 RWHP on a Mustang dyno through full exhaust, a T56 and Ford 9" 4.11 rear, giving me 23-24 mpg on the highway. Too bad "they" weren't there to steer me in the right direction. I guess I'll just have to try to get by. Seriously, there's some extra length in a number of the wiring runs - injectors, sensors, etc. - that I'll be trimming out this winter, and the factory tune is a bit rich. But even before I got it tuned it ran really well, got 20+ mpg on the highway and pulled hard. There was also little roughness at low speeds - 25 mph in town sort of thing - but the tuner took care of that. The nice thing about the LS376/480 is that if you get it and pop it into the car promptly, you've got a 24 month warranty - not so much when you re-cam a 430 hp LS3.

[Alongfortheride]

That is the feedback I was looking for Who did your tune?

[Mkelcy]

That is the feedback I was looking for Who did your tune?

Tommy Wong at Wong's Performance in Vancouver, WA. I got the recommendation from LS1Tech. Great guy, took all the time we needed as we chased gremlins on a new build. As a bonus, a really pretty drive from WW to Vancouver along the Columbia River.

[andrewb70]

I don't have a crate engine but I put together a poor man LS3 starting from a L92. I am using a LS7 cam and got the GMPP harness with the LS7 tune. Worked great out of the box and made 418rwph through a Richmond 6spd and 12 bolt rear. That power was made without a tune. Had my tune tweaked by Mike Norris and it's probably making more power now.

Andrew

[mikeextrafast]

Yeah, the GMPP cams are junk , i got a custom ground cam and springs,push rods etc...installed sounds really good and super smooth.... Good luck with any warranty claims,,,

[andrewb70]

Yeah, the GMPP cams are junk , i got a custom ground cam and springs,push rods etc...installed sounds really good and super smooth.... Good luck with any warranty claims,,,

By what criteria are you judging the cams to be "junk?" Specifically, please...

Andrew

[Mkelcy]

Yeah, the GMPP cams are junk , i got a custom ground cam and springs,push rods etc...installed sounds really good and super smooth.... Good luck with any warranty claims,,,

I'm with andrewb70 on this - back up your claim with data - otherwise you're just a guy with 27 posts and an opinion, and you know what they say about that (the opinion part).

I've detailed the results I've gotten with the relatively mild GMPP Hot Cam in terms of power and efficiency. Perhaps you could detail your results so we can compare.

Also, on what basis do you imply that GM won't honor the warranty on their crate engines?

Please, enlighten us.

[EFI69Cam]

Tommy Wong at Wong's Performance in Vancouver, WA. I got the recommendation from LS1Tech. Great guy, took all the time we needed as we chased gremlins on a new build. As a bonus, a really pretty drive from WW to Vancouver along the Columbia River.

I talked to Tommy Wong on the phone about doing some tuning on my car. He determined he probably could not make much progress without the car in front of him, but if I lived closer I'd not hesitate to take my car to him. Super nice guy who knows his stuff.

[mikeextrafast]

Yeah only 27 post. More time spent working on car not increasing post count ,,Good luck with your build

[72BBSwinger]

Took a friend's ls3/480 to dyno last week and got 420/400 after tuning on 91 octane. Mustang dyno as well.

[Mkelcy]

Yeah only 27 post. More time spent working on car not increasing post count ,,Good luck with your build

You'll find that there are a lot of people here who not only work on their cars, but also have time to post. "Working on the car" isn't really much of an excuse for not backing up your claim.

If you have anything to back up your statements, bring it. We're all big boys here and won't melt if someone shows us that something we've thought turns out not to be quite correct.

As it is, "sounds really good and super smooth" doesn't quite do it as compared to actual dyno numbers or mileage figures.

FWIW, my car also "sounds really good and super smooth."

[69L48Z27]

I opted for the GMPP LS3 480 hp with their kit for the harness and computer. Just got it fired up for the first time the other week. Could not be happier. No regrets so far. 68 Camaro with T56 from 4th gen.

Doe seem rich, I was hoping to avoid getting it tuned. Guess I will once it's on the road.

[brgarris]

I went with the GMPP LS3 525 HP fuel injected engine and no complaints here. Plug and play on the harness, turn the key and smile. Not sure where the "junk" harnesses came from. And the GMPP guys were great at answering any questions I had.

[blznnp]

I have a GMPP 480hp in my 68, just did 426 hp and 413 ft lbs on the dyno. Bought it like this but previous owner didn't have any problems with the computer. I ran into one problem at high altitude but that was the only time. Need to take it up high again with a scanner this time to seeing a code happens. Love the power though. T56 and 3.90 gears