**The LS Swap: A Cliche, But Why It's Still a Good Idea**

It's a cliche at this point: "Dude, cool project, got any plans for it?" "Ah Dude, LS swap, throw a cam in there, put the LS6 heads on it, it's gonna be sick!" "Oh, cool." Yeah, LS Swaps are a little played out. But I wanted to find out why more people are doing them than ever before.

From muscle cars, to drifters, to this Delorean, welcome to WheelHouse. In the early 90s, GM knew that time was limited for their small block V8. Foreign competitors were selling cars with less power but much better fuel economy. But GM was like "Nah dude, we're good," and got to work redesigning their workhorse small block.

The LS1 debuted in 1997 with the release of the new C5 Corvette. The block was made of aluminum, which was lighter and stronger than its predecessor. It had two valves per cylinder, just like your grandma's old Buick Special. But despite these conventional design elements, the LS1 was a game-changer.

The LS still has its cam in-block with two valves per cylinder, but that didn't stop it from being one of the best breathing engines ever made. Conventional wisdom says that overhead cam engines should easily outperform in-block cam engines because they can put more air into the cylinders. But more air is no good if it has a hard time getting into the cylinder.

So Chevy decided to focus their energy on airflow, and that's why the LS is one of the best breathing engines ever made. It just breathes really, really well. And that's its main advantage. So, it has a physical size advantage, stellar airflow, and keeps the conventional V8 displacement. This makes it the perfect candidate for swapping into oddball cars like the Miata, Delorean, and that GTI.

**Choosing the Right LS**

Going back to the 240SX, a built LS will be the same size and sometimes lighter than the stock turbocharged four-cylinder engine. And there's no turbo lag. You might be like me, thinking about which car you would swap an LS into. You might have something in your driveway right now that would make a perfect project.

But how do you choose which LS to get? It can be pretty challenging; there are so many options out there. Well, if you're on a shoestring budget, you should look for a 5.3-liter Vortec. Remember, these are LS engines but they're made of cast iron, so they're about 100 pounds heavier than the aluminum ones. BUT, they're everywhere, and that means they're cheap.

A lot of magazines say you can find these things for like $500. Not a bad place to start. Maybe you want to turbo a V8? You should go look for a 4.8-liter Vortec. It's another cast iron engine, and it's the smallest of the LS's, but smaller displacement means more meat on the cylinder walls, and that means you can run a ton of boost without worrying about cracking the block.

The 4.8 is a great option for people looking for budget boost. But what if you want to be completely insane and build an LS-swapped Honda? Well, you can do that too. The LS4 was designed with front-wheel drive cars in mind like the Impala SS. I found this build online by Ryan Standke, where he transplanted an LS4 into his Aruca RSX and boosted it. This thing is insane.

**The Limitless Potential of the LS Swap**

As you can see, there's limitless potential for the LS swap. And yeah, it's a popular thing to do right now, but for good reason. I'll admit I was a hipster about this LS swap thing before I looked into it. I'm not even a Chevy guy, but who doesn't love the sound of a V8? (Righteous V8 noises) Who doesn't want that power in their car? (More righteous V8 noise)

It's a no-brainer. And the only limit is your own creativity. Do you have an LS swap in your car? I'd love to see it, post it down in the comments! The LS is nowhere close to being the first engine, but if you want to know what the first car was, go back to last week's episode right here.

If you like the Corvette, check out the up-to-speed on the Corvette. If my Mustang ever dies, I would definitely think about LS swapping it, I think that would be hilarious. Ford, Chevy guys go fight in the comments. Thanks for watching, bye!

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enIt’s a cliche at this point: “Dude, coolproject, got any plans for it?”“Ah Dude, LS swap, throw a cam in there,put the LS6 heads on it, it’s gonna be sick!”“Oh, cool”.Yeah, LS Swaps are a little played out.But I wanted to find out why more people aredoing them than ever before.From muscle cars, to drifters, to this Delorean.Welcome to WheelHouse.In the early 90s, GM knew that time was limitedfor their small block V8.Foreign competitors were selling cars withless power but much better fuel economy.But GM was like “Nah dude, we’re good”, Andgot to work redesigning their workhorse smallblock.The LS1 debuted in 1997 with the release ofthe new C5 Corvette.The block was made of aluminumwhich was super light, and the 5.7 liter enginemade 345 horsepower and 350 pounds of torque.Drivers and critics werelike, yo, this LS thing is sick.Then in 1999, Chevy released a cast Iron versionfor use in trucks and SUVs, which they’vesince branded “Vortec”.In 2001, Chevy updated the LS1's design with therelease of the LS6.It was stronger, better flowing, and had highercompression.But why’d Chevy go from LS1 to LS6?Well, the LS6 was used in the 2001 CorvetteZ06.So you have LS6, and Z06, I guess that makessense.Anyway, the LS1, LS6 and every other LS allshare a common architecture.Ultimately, this means that parts betweenengines are stupid interchangeable as longas you do some research.I can’t tell you who the first person wasto LS swap their car- BECAUSE THEY’RE DEAD.But I can tell that whoever they are, igniteda trend that swept the US.People will LS Swap literally anything.Muscle cars make up a large majority of LSusage.For decades the go-to small block for musclecars was the Chevy 350, I mean I had one inmy Trans Am, but people when people startedseeing the benefits of fuel injection, theystarted putting the LS in their project carsinstead.But what if you don’t want muscle car?The Nissan 240SX is a prime example, withtons of Formula Drift competitors using theLS in their race cars.The Miata is another good option.Who wouldn’t want a lightweight roadsterwith a V8 up front?That’s what the Shelby Cobra was!But Nolan, the 240 and Miata are so predictable,everyone and their mom does LS Swaps on thosecars.I hear you.Here are some of the craziest swaps we wereable to find.This is a 1936 Cord Westchester, notable,for being one of the world’s first frontwheel drive cars That’s right, this quirkylooking pre-war sedan has a Corvette enginesending power through a Porschetransmission to the front wheels.It’s nuts.But that’s nothing!This guy, Connor Hofford, stuffed an LS intohis 1984 VW GTI.His car debuted at last year’s SEMA show,and blew people away with it’s custom tubechassis, that was pretty much all hand built.Thing is just insane.Connor, if you’re watching, let’s hangout dude.Bring the car by the office, we would loveto see it.And it doesn’t end there.This Delorean has an LS in the back!It’s finally as fast as it looks!Okay so we know a little bit of the LS’sHistory, and why it’s a good engine, andthat a lot of people have put them in a widevariety of cars that aren’t Chevy’s.But none of that really tells us why theydo.Luckily, there’s a pretty simple answer.The LS is small.And I’m not talking displacement.When someone says that an engine is big likea 427 cubic inch, they’re not talking aboutthe engine’s physical size.Engines are basically air pumps, and displacementrefers to the amount of air that passes throughan engine when each piston goes from top tobottom dead center..So if we use the LS1 as an example, its a5.7 liter engine.It’s got 8 cylinders, a stroke of 3.62 inches,and a bore of 3.898.We take those measurements and put them intothis equation, and we get 347 cubic inches.Convertthat to metric and our engine breathers5.7 liters of air.So the LS keeps a typical V8 displacement,while being physically smaller than its competitors.How?well most new engines use overhead camshafts whichallow for more aggressive valve lift at higherRPMs and the use of more than two valves percylinder.Chevy didn’t bother doing that that.The LS still has it’s cam in- block withtwo valves per cylinder, just like your grandma’sold Buick Special.And since the cams aren’t hanging out inthe cylinder heads, the engine is shorterin height and skinner too.Conventional wisdom says that overhead camengines should easily outperform in-blockcam engines because they can put more airinto the cylinders.But more air is no good if it has a hard timegetting into the cylinder.So Chevy decided to focus their energy onairflow.And that’s why, despite having fewer valves,the LS is one of the best breathing enginesever made.It just breathes really, really well.And that’s it’s main advantage.So, it has a physical size advantage, stellarairflow, and keeps the conventional V8 displacement.This makes it the perfect candidate for swappinginto oddball cars like the Miata, Deloreanand that GTI.It all comes down to size.Going back the 240SX, a built LS will be thesame size and sometimes lighter than the stockturbocharged four cylinder engine.And there’s no turbo lag.You might be like me, thinking about whichcar you would swap an LS into.You might have something in your drivewayright now that would make a perfect project.But how do you choose which LS to get?It can be pretty challenging there’s like...a lotof them.Well if you’re on a shoestring you shouldlook for a 5.3 liter Vortec.Remember these are LS engines but they’re made ofcast iron so they’re about 100 pounds heavierthan the aluminum ones.BUT, they’re everywhere, and that meansthey’re cheap.a lot of magazines say you can find thesethings for like 500 bucks.Not a bad place to start.Maybe you want to turbo a V8.You should go look for a 4.8L Vortec.It’s another cast iron engine, and it’sthe smallest of the LS's, but smaller displacementmeans more meat on the cylinder walls, andthat means you can run a ton of boost withoutworrying about cracking the block.The 4.8 is a great option for people lookingfor budget boost.But what if you want to be completely insaneand build an LS swapped Honda?Well you can do that too.The LS4 was designed with front wheel drivecars in mind like the Impala SS.I found this build online by Ryan Standke,where he transplanted an LS4 into his ArucaRSX AND boosted it.This thing is insane.And I think of all the builds we’ve talkedabout today it’s my favorite, because it’sso wrong but so right.So as you can see, there’s limitless potentialfor the LS swap.And yeah, it’s a popular thing to do rightnow but for good reason.I’ll admit I was a hipster about this LSSwap thing before I looked into it.I’m not even a Chevy guy but who doesn’tlove the sound of a V8?(Righteous V8 noises)Who doesn’t want that power in their car?(More righteous V8 noise)It’s a no brainer.And the only limit is your own creativity.(dat good good V8 rumble)Do you have an LS swap in your car?I’d love to see it, post it down in thecomments!The LS is nowhere close to being the firstengine but if you want to know what the firstcar was go back to last week’s episode righthere.If you like the Corvette, check out the upto Speed on the Corvette.If my Mustang ever dies, i would definitelythink about LS swapping it, I think that wouldbe hilarious.Ford, Chevy guys go fight in the comments.Thanks for watching, bye :)