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| Looking at the LS3 chamber you can see the larger quench pad on the exhaust side and the cut out relief area around the intake valve that is designed to increase tumble in the intake charge as the piston travels down from TDC. Exceptional combustion turbulence gives the LS its killer efficiency. |
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| The close to concaveness of this area on the LS3 is more apparent in this picture that shows the vertical orientation of this area. |
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| The LS3 uses a better flowing one piece plastic intake manifold and a larger 90mm drive by wire throttle body. The plastic helps keep the intake charge cool. Larger LS7 injectors are used. |
Here are some of the complete LS3’s specs:
Displacement 376 cubic inches
Bore 4.064-in.
Stroke 3.622-in.
Compression Ratio 10.7:1
Cam duration@.050 lift 204°/211°
Valve Lift .551/.525
Power 422 hp@5900 rpm
Torque 408-lbs/ft@4500 rpm
Rev Limit 6600 rpm
Weight 448 lbs.
Overall the LS3 is a modern and high tech package that provides awesome displacement and power density which easily lends itself to swaps. Even if you don’t care about logic and simply hate domestic engines, the LS still has major advantages in weight and packaging. The huge amount of aftermarket and factory race support with well engineered parts is hard to ignore as well. This makes the LS a hard to refuse proposition if you are into doing serious stuff. The fact that the EROD engine also carries a warranty sweetens the deal even further.
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| New LS3 vs old LS2 power wise. The LS3 is faster, cleaner and more economical than the older LS motors it replaces. |
Having a low stressed, reliable lightweight and compact V8 is starting to look better than a small displacement high strung turbo 4 all the time.
In the next edition of project V8 RX-7 we will be getting into the specifics of the swap. Stay tuned.
Read more about Project V8 RX-7!
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