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What big can you stroke an LS2??

18K views 31 replies 18 participants last post by  GregRexAdams 
#1 ·
I often see 402ci and 408ci. With just a stroker kit, can u attain 427CI or 440CI? If you can go larger, why not go larger? i know there is probably a point where u get risky or diminishing returns, but what would that be?
 
#2 ·
Instead of a stroker kit, I would install a LS7 and sell the ls2 on EBAY
 
#3 ·
LOL. that is one way to do it. But that is alot of cheddar is whip out to pick up 105hp. I dont know if that would be the most economic means of doing it. What do u think?
 
#4 ·
I like the old saying "There is no substitute for cubic inches". If you can make about 1.5 HP per cubic inch with a 346, and with a 364, and with a 427, then why not a 440? Once you open the engine and start changing parts, I think you should go as big as you can.

The main thing I have against the LS7 crate engine conversion is all the work involved to make the dry sump work (not to mention the 56X crank sensor). If you say to hell with it and put the wet sump parts on, then who will buy the dry sump pan and pump?

CARTEK, one of the site sponsors, can go even bigger using "wet sleeves" in the original LS2 block. I have not seen any info on how well those perform, especially durability wise, but wet sleeves have been used for a long time.
 
#6 ·
I like the old saying "There is no substitute for cubic inches". If you can make about 1.5 HP per cubic inch with a 346, and with a 364, and with a 427, then why not a 440? Once you open the engine and start changing parts, I think you should go as big as you can.

The main thing I have against the LS7 crate engine conversion is all the work involved to make the dry sump work (not to mention the 56X crank sensor). If you say to hell with it and put the wet sump parts on, then who will buy the dry sump pan and pump?

CARTEK, one of the site sponsors, can go even bigger using "wet sleeves" in the original LS2 block. I have not seen any info on how well those perform, especially durability wise, but wet sleeves have been used for a long time.
"There is no replacement for displacement"
 
#5 ·
So you can go 440ci?

i like the way you think.... bigger is better. If i do forge the bottom on this thing, why not stroke it big as possible?
 
#7 ·
Johny GTO's horsepower prayer....

"Lord please, let my engine make more H.P's,
roast my tires at a thousand degrees.
And Lord please, let me run lower E.T's,
'cause i'm never quite happy with these."
 
#9 ·
i thought you could stroke them farther?
 
#11 ·
Going over 4 inch stroke gets a little tricky. There are 4.125 cranks out there, but you can't do that with just any piston / rod combo. IMHO you're entering the area of diminishing returns, especially if you're doing it with an LS2 block. For bigger cube N/A, I'd go LSX or Warhawk and call it a day.

Oh, and there is a replacement for displacement. It's called "compression on demand" LOL.
 
#12 ·
Do shops do that kind of swap? For instance, installing a LSx (454 or something) and buying your LS2? What would the cost be for something like this?
 
#13 ·
lots of shops will install the motor but I dont know many that will take the ls2 some may, best thing to do is sell it on here or ebay....whats you local may talk to site sponsers in your area
 
#15 ·
I've seen a thread where it was claimed the MID ( ? ) sleeves were the longest ; longer than any of the readily available blocks by...enough to allow 471 at max dimensions. Anybody done it ?
 
#17 ·
455ci?? that would rock.
 
#18 ·
Still waiting for someone to make a tall deck 511 LSX like GMPP claimed....* crickets *
 
#19 ·
to stroke the motor, do u need to change the pistons, rods, etc? Or do u only need to change the crank?

sorry for my newbie questions.
 
#31 ·
I do not think there will ever be a sleaved aluminum LSx racing block that will be worth using... the cylinder walls on My LSx 440 are already less than 1/4 inch in thickness in between if you go more its just too thin for head gaskets to hold much against any kind of boost in my opinion.
 
#21 ·
EDC, do you think it makes economical sense to buy heads,cam, stroker kit for the LS2? Or would buying a larger cube motor and selling the LS2 be a better value?

i ask because a stroker kit is around 3k, heads and cam another 2k, and installing it all is gonna run another 2-3k probably. Thats 7k about.
 
#22 ·
We had a neat discussion over at HardcoreLS1.com about the best "value" engine build up for a strong running street car. Nothing that would break the bank and would actually get finished. We all came up with something that would be a strong runner and would allow the project to be finished, instead of dying in the driveway, waiting for the wallet to recover.

Through it all, a very good idea was to start with the L92 block and couple it with a 4.00 crankshaft and piston package. The block chosen because it has a bigger bore than the LS2 and adds a few more inches for not much more money than a new LS2 block.

Stroker kits are stroker kits and they don't care which block they go in. Buy good quality parts and be done with it. The only caveat was to avoid crap econo-kits that you see on Ebay and such.

The heads and valvetrain was the stickler. I preferred the spider/carb intake with a four barrel TB on top but others like the long runner intakes. Some liked the L92 heads and others the LS7 heads. No matter what, they have to be big since this is about 415 inches and not a 362 incher.

For a camshaft, I was thinking smaller than most but that's always been my credo. Better heads and a smaller camshaft. Others felt "go big or go home". It's all good since the guys tossing in the suggestions were engine builders and not some ill informed E-commerce shops. These guys have real world experience to back up their philosophies.

All in all... WTF did this discussion accomplish? The engine builder MUST build this with more cubic inches but keep the build within the customer's budget. Not everyone has a six figure allowance to build their car so choose the parts carefully. I thought is was a great exercise in engine building...

Ed
 
#24 ·
Sounds like a great convo ed. Got a link to it? To gain more cubes in a stroker, do you need to replace the pistons, rods, etc... or can u just switch the crank?
 
#25 ·
#27 ·
As others have said, LS2 block finds a limit at about 402. Your best bet is to take the weight penalty of the LS7/LSX block. I don't know what the difference between these two blocks is, but the most I've heard of on an LS7 block is 440, and I think an LSX can go 464.

If you have any doubts about being able to sell your LS2, it should be a piece of cake if you head over to v8rx7forum.com. ;)
 
#29 ·
I'm sure it's alot easier than puting a 502 in an S10...you could build a 540+ ci, around 700hp, keep the cr below 11-1, run 93 octane, turn it about 6200rpm or less and it would be DEAD reliable...you'd get 6mpg too...ok maybe 10 if you stay off it completly :)...oh and then you can add a plate on it, with a big read button that says "go baby" :)
 
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