Stop building LS Engines in 2025? A response.

[@Calvin-Nelson]

Nice review of the vid. You are very entitled to your opinion. I definitely poked the bear with this vid (that was kind of the point). Good luck with your projects.

[@Kincentc]

Surprised you bothered To reply. Typical JR. If it doesn't cost less than $2 from eBay, it's wrong lol. He's saying you're factually correct, but you're not allowed to have a preference that isn't the lowest $.

[@CadillacWaltz]

@@Kincentc Every decision you make is about cost vs benefits. JR is right, for the overwhelming majority of shadetree mechanics, the benefits of gen 5 are not worth the cost and headaches.

[@TurboLSRanger]

Calvin... Jr seems to dislike anyone that's spends more than $300 on a total swap. Learned alot from him and chipped in on a toolbox for him. Keep up the good work guys. Any content in the budget swap land is good content

[@Kincentc]

@@CadillacWaltz some people are in it for the benefits. And they don't really care about the costs. value oriented jr didn't need to make a disagreement video about it lol.

[@Calvin-Nelson]

Eh. It's all good. The dollar per HP is the world I grew up in. I get it. His review won't stop us from doing what we enjoy. Thanks for the words of encouragement though!

[@FilterYT]

I love both of your content. Thanks to both of you.

[@jeff3175]

Nivlac57 is a drag racer and his viewers know what he's about. I think Calvin is just trying to get the car community to put pressure on the suppliers to provide more parts support for this platform👍

[@thehpw]

Good points as always. The one big thing I like about the GEN five is that there are engines in the trucks are all aluminum block. As a car guy and not a truck guy I appreciate the 100 pound weight difference. But yes, the GEN fives are much more difficult to do.

[@GrandPitoVic]

I was looking around and a L86 6.2 are going around 5500 and up. I built my Ls3 with all new parts and I have 4k in it. The L86's had over 200k on them.

[@wingingittracy8508]

I just picked up a 502 block soon to be a 540 I love big blocks .

[@samuelmcgill-rl3lb]

In the 70s and 80s I was spotted a time or two at several NHRA tracks around the country,I did dodges back then, and am not a engineer,if I wanted to spend that kind of money,I would buy a Keith black hemi.I do have enough sense to know,if it ain't broke , don't fix it . how many of us is putting a 20k engine in a 20 dollar car .Happy New Year JR ,see you on the other side..

[@garrettrauch2430]

I expected his video with the fancy intake thumbnail was going to be along the lines of telling people to leave em alone and put them in,around here the vehicle deteriorates around the still running engine,im not afraid of the oiling system

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

The oil system is definitely not taking them out at a weekend warrior level lol

[@teagreen2220]

Love your vid! I prefer LS over every other class of engine,it is simple and works.

[@Hawxx9194]

LS swaps were expensive at first too. Not a fan of the gen 5 myself ( i have one in my 2014 silverado), but to each his own. Keep on doin what your doin JR.

[@darthinsidious1769]

Been Watching From Louisiana!!

[@Gregoman89]

Oh how I missed the grumpy driveway engineer videos

[@GrandPitoVic]

I reused my rod and main bolts. On my Ls3. They had only been used once. I've seen people use them 2 or 3 times lol.

[@lucysmith4242]

Main bolts can be reused

[@davebarron5939]

LOL! I watched this, I did enjoy the education on the gen 5 LT's. But my LS makes me so happy I cruise with my rose colored glasses on! Damn! I need new tires again!

[@jack-nv3ty]

well as you said I'm poor. I want to have fun and for cheap. I'm 58 and want to build fun stuff and beat on it. I don't need to be super fast just want to do burnouts. I have one 5.3ls swap so fare in a Jeep JK with a ax15 5speed it is very fun. I didn't listen to you the first time and spent to much but I going to do another ls swap in the summer in 1972 skylark with a complete stock 6.0 or 5.3. what do you think would be the best rear gear be 3.42-1 or 3.73?

[@davidreed6070]

I am building one right now for my fox body race car.

[@iaahner]

I agree with both of you. The gen5 is a natural evolution and is "better" I still swap LS into my junk because it is cheap and the aftermarket parts availability is WAY higher. I look forward to the day gen5 has the aftermarket support that gen3/gen4 has, but that day isn't today. Until then, high dollar hero builds might get an LT, but junkyard jesus specials get gen3/gen4.

[@WrenchBender]

If i was 20 in this current "hot rodding" times, I could see my younger, dummer, self drooling over all this hi tech, faster than lightining and twice as expensive aluminum b.s. For example the best I could lay out a Mastercard for was a chrome 750 Holley and polished Edelbrock intake. I paid a shit ton of interest charges and had a cool and fast ride for less time than I paid on the total charges for it. When you're young not everything that should be considered is. Now I pay cash for my junk so when it blows up or gets wrecked I don't have the remmaining interest payments as a reminder of bad lesson not learned. Not to mention but also working with the older gen LS with tons of aftermarket and swap meet support I'm able to finish builds and run them vs buying a bunch of hi tech shit and the project is stuck on jackstands for years because it takes more money, or more parts, or needs aftermaerket support thats not as available.

[@Thumper68]

My old man has a 2012 5.3 with 175k miles and it runs just as strong as it did day one. AFM doesn’t matter if you do 3k oil changes and don’t live in the city doing city driving it’s never in v4 mode anyways. And if you do live in the city just drive it in manual mode and it doesn’t ever go into v4 mode.

[@hammerhead2558]

I can see your point but unneeded video. He's a good dude

[@Thumper68]

Calvin is just trying to get aftermarket support for the engine he knows the ls is good and way cheaper but just like he’s done for the 4200 getting it more aftermarket support hopefully he does same for this makes ls cheaper for us poor guys and lt cheaper as well and more support.

[@sinistersilverado965]

Yeah, I saw the video, but ignored it, because I knew it was lunacy

[@LSX427]

My problem with the LT swaps, Lt' platforms dont have power steering accessories. Yes you can buy aftermarket accessories but that is huge money. Currently LS is just the best bang for the buck hands down. I will take a few less horsepower and reliability over complex and expensive swaps all day.

[@LSX427]

Also I am running a junk yard ls 6.0 making 431whp spinning 7k rpm's in a dirt track stock car....haven't pulled a valve cover in 3 seasons now.

[@lucysmith4242]

There's a time and a place for everything I heard people say the same shit about the LS's 10 years ago. "They're too complicated, my SBC with double hump heads, 3/4 race cam, and double pumper can do that" To which we respond, knock control and fuel injection is cool. It's gotten cheaper. LS's are now easier to find and cheaper than the gen 1 and 2 stuff. It's going to be the same deal with gen 5 stuff. If I was building an NA car I'd be inclined to look at the gen 5 also. Not saying I would but def something to compare to on the excel sheets

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

Twenty years ago, I wasn't touching an LS, for all the same reasons. Ten year's ago, I was swapping them, all this had been figured out. The main key is that you can literally just add a fuel pump to a junkyard LS and it will run, all DIY, all free tools. That's never going to be a thing with the Gen V

[@EGGINFOOLS]

I want him to make the LT popular. That way the LS is wven cheaper because people are lemmings

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

I don't think they're going to get much cheaper than they are now lol

[@billrowe4r]

Cam swapping a 4.great right now going in my shitbox gmc

[@TRNSTR8]

Love you brother. If it spins it wins put the junk in your car and go do burnouts. That's what we did thanks to you. Over at TRNSTR8 . We have 2,300 in the entire swap that includes the $400 Holley intank fuel pump and the $300 drive shaft and the buy two for 1500.00 donor vehicles. Just hooked up the cruise control in our L59 swapped 1979 Trans Am the souLS79. Will it run on flex fuel, hell yeah it will. Will it do burnouts? What do you think LOL 😅

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

That's what it's all about, getting those LS swaps out on the road, even if it's just for a burnout!

[@williamjones1059]

I'm just a normal guy that likes hot rodding, it's more practical for me to grab a ls an make decent HP without taking out a second mortgage lol

[@markprice961]

The whole point of his video was why build a ls based engine when a lt is better. All you speak about is doing a cheap swap. When both engines are built engines for racing the lt is a better platform.

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

And my whole point is cost. Money is a thing. If you're not making hundreds of thousands of dollars "racing" the better part, is insignificant.

[@chrishansen7004]

I wanna see Hemi swaps get more popular in 2025, i feel like they get an unfair amount of hate nowadays. Dodges 8 speed just from my own experiences has been nothing but a rock solid transmission and paired with a 5.7 Hemi its been nothing but a blast too drive in my durango and i can still get 25mpgs on the highway. Obviously the bottom end isn't as strong as stuff like the coyote and ls's but you can gap the piston rings and still throw tons of power at them, Richard holdner made 1300hp out of a stock bottom end 5.7 before blowing it up if I remember correctly.

[@EGGINFOOLS]

Those 8spds made a huge difference paired with the same 5.7. The rcsb trucks really got much faster

[@chrishansen7004]

​@@EGGINFOOLS I can tell you that for free, my mother used to have a rcsb with 3.92 gears and god damn was that sucker ever fun, I tried to find one again but it was impossible in my area of Canada anyways, so I ended up with a Durango rt.

[@TallGarage]

I like Calvin and all but i like junk and while i would like a 1200 intakes i can do a lot of cool junk yard stuff with 1200$.

[@fantaseahorse4696]

I feel like recommending the Atlas 4200 for racing is way more of an issue than claiming the L83 is better than the LM7. The 4200's are lost foam castings and quite literally the most problematic engine blocks ever produced by a major manufacturer.

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

I don't even want to go into all the reasons the Atlas engines suck lol

[@cobyfield9237]

Yeah, wish they used 4200s instead of the 4.3 V6 in 2001 onwards. Barras here in Aus are really good daily driver, light utility/tow vehicle engines on LPG and petrol, and of course performance wise they're great too. Yet people here still piss and moan about the thought of knocking the pistons and rods out for H beams, just being miserable lol

[@fantaseahorse4696]

@@cobyfield9237 Dude, the Barra and the 4200 are not even in the same ballpark. The Barra block is iron and beautifully designed with all the gusseting. The 4200 is LOST FOAM cast aluminum. It was a manufacturing experiment by GM that failed miserably. They are the dead least durable engines ever produced by a major manufacturer. They literally have less than .001" of rod and main clearance cold because the lost foam block experiences massive thermal expansion. This guy Calvin is bullshitter. How does nobody realize how every 4200 car of his has exploded. One exploded engine caused a wreck that almost killed his dad, yet they keep praising the worst engine of all time.

[@Thumper68]

@@fantaseahorse4696dude he’s pushing 4200 to the limits and because of him it’s finally getting some proper aftermarket support finally. The 4200 blocks are actually pretty robust and the fact he gotten 700+ out of a stock bottom end is pretty damn good. And his dads accident was just the that an accident we all know the risk when we race. He also lived because of the good work they did on the cage etc. it really sucked because that car was going to come around quickly.

[@randallmason9687]

My sister put 350,000+ miles on a Trailblazer. Zero engine issues with questionable maintenance.

[@hogheadv2]

Reality is a harsh bitch to many 😂

[@Knard35]

Dam 🤣😂🤣😂

[@scotthultin7769]

First 👍 's up DWE thank you for sharing 🤗

[@TurboLSRanger]

Reaction vidoes are super lame

[@farncoisbisson7737]

No power steering pump.. 😂😂😂 dude go electric!!!! How many scrap 14' and up silverado or sierra that got their steering rack taking out? Youl get them for nothing.. s2000 also electric power steering.. dodge ram.. also electric power steering. Why would want hydrolique power steering in 2024/5... you really like to run old technology arent ya? No progress whats so ever? Im in canada and find these LT for absolutely dirt cheap. Getting to 600hp with a l83 is still much cheaper than with a l33. Thats a fact.

[@TheDrivewayEngineer]

I checked your channel, didn't see any 600 hp builds.

[@farncoisbisson7737]

@TheDrivewayEngineer 2016 silverado l83 with truck norris cam and supercharger. Don't need to post my life online. 250k km on stock engine 30k km since it's been built and tune at davenport motorsports. Ohh and that up in calgary alberta way up in altitude.. id bring to the coast at sea levels and bust some real dyno numbers for ya.

[@farncoisbisson7737]

And by built... I only slap ls7 lifters and the cam. Absolutely nothing else was done. Stock fuel pump.. stock injectors. 93 but canadian shitty gasoline of the Westcoast. I get that people don't want to shop the bargains.. but the truth is.. these engines are out there and some are letting them go for dirt cheap. And it ahead of a gen 3 or gen 4. Those are just facts. If you started from the same price for the base engine. Its definitely a win win situation to go LT vs Ls.

[@SweatyFatGuy]

I have issues with direct injection, not so much the complexity and expense of it, but the fact it can only atomize the fuel as there is a VERY short time between the injector firing and the spark plug lighting it. My thing is ethanol, I like to make it, run it, and build engines to take advantage of it, and DI is possibly the worst way to run ethanol. You don't get two of the main benefits from running ethanol, cooling the intake charge and vaporization of the fuel for a more complete burn. I suppose you could heat it in the DI rails, but why bother when DI is merely a band aid to get more static compression from an engine running gasoline in an effort to pick up mileage and a little power? Smokey Yunick did his vapor engine on gasoline, and it required unique parts, pre-chambers, and a freakin turbo to pressurize the system because you need the fuel air charge to exceed 450F to vaporize gasoline. If you want to get abysmal mileage and less power on ethanol DI is the way to do it. Port injection is the next worst way to run ethanol, with the injector pointed at the back side of the intake valve, which is intended to limit the amount of time between gasoline entering the party and the combustion event. The longer gasoline hangs around in the intake tract the more it wants to light off on its own in an engine. PFI and DI are efforts to reduce that time gasoline has to go off on its own. You can do the hot vapor thing with normal operating temps under 210F while running ethanol. I want ethanol introduced farther away from the valve, in a heated intake, maybe even with some EGR to ensure the fuel vaporizes completely. That way it has plenty of time to cool the intake as it turns into a gas rather than a spray. Ethanol allows a lot more static compression, ignition advance can be where the engine wants it rather than what the fuel limits it to, and it runs cooler without the carbon buildup that wears out engines. Why vapor rather than atomization? Well, atomization is droplets, and they burn from the outside in, which is slower than a vapor. Slower means more wasted energy that just makes things hot and provides no power. Smaller droplets burn faster than larger ones, which is why DI picks up a bit of power over MPFI, it allows more compression and advance. Vapor burns fastest and most completely, with far less energy going to waste heat. That is an efficiency difference. Ethanol is roughly twice as efficient as gasoline, according to the US Navy in 1942...80% of gasoline's energy goes to waste heat, while only 60% is wasted as heat with ethanol. 20% efficiency in perfect conditions on gasoline, 40% all the time on ethanol.... that was without heating the fuel to get it to vaporize sooner. Just because something is better for gasoline, doesn't mean its better for everything else too. In the same way trying to make one of my 455s run to 9000 rpm like a sbc is an effort in futility without massively increasing the airflow into the engine and causing it to have minimal torque in the range its designed to make torque, designing a fuel system to benefit gasoline will hamper nearly every other fuel. I guarantee that if you take a 455, put a 250@.050 cam in it, single plane intake, then put 4.56 or deeper gears behind it with a 5000 stall, you will run considerably slower than the same 455 with a 3.08 gear, 232/240 cam, 2400 stall, and a dual plane intake... if the first engine keeps the connecting rods in it while swinging around on that 4.21" stroke. You cannot build a 455 the same way you build a 350 sbc and expect it to be fast. Its designed to make all its power before 6000rpm, not start making power at 4500 like a small chevy. Go 400 Pontiac vs 400 chevy and you will find the same thing, the chevy needs more rpm and will always make less torque than the Pontiac. The difference is the runner length, size, and shape. Pontiacs have a long high velocity runner, while chevys have a short lazy runner and port. That is why Pontiacs like ethanol so much, it fits them and the way they were designed. Most power gain from ethanol is before 4000rpm, but it still makes a bit more than gasoline above that. If I could find enough 455s to put in my trucks, you can bet your pock marked tail bits I would. As it is, LS engines are easy and cheap to find with the entire rusty truck, so my old trucks are getting 6.0s, which make decent power in stock form. Add a hairdryer and bumpstick and you have even more power to play with and pull that trailer up the hill. If I am going to spend $20k on an engine, its not going to only make 700hp, its going to maker 2000+. I can make 700hp for around $6k to $10k with a Pontiac, depending on what I have to start with... and that is 700hp at 5500rpm, NOT at 8500, there is a big difference in those two 700hp engines.