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cheapest forged rods and pistons for a 5.3liter?

40K views 38 replies 15 participants last post by  LinearX 
#1 ·
i finally getn some $$$ money free'd up and im wanting to tear down my fresh 5.3 and bore it/oring block/ and put forged rods and pistons in it capable of carry'n me to 1000hp at some point. any suggestions on what rods and pistons are the cheapest to get r done? its a single 1.1ar s480 blowthru deal.

what im lookin for is decent forged pistons that'll handle a good tuneup with ease, dont have to be high $$$ pistons to do what i wanna do. on the rods i dont wana spend more than i have to either to get r done. i appreciate any suggestions fellas.i was gna try and make 800hp at the crank with stock pistons and rods but ill sure feel better with forged rods/pistons and layin say 20-22lbs to it.
 
#6 · (Edited)
i here ya billy but hell bro i was shooting for 800hp at the crank with basically stock stuff lol figure at least building a semi forged shortblock was better than nothing at all ya know. what i mean is as far as cheap, is like is srp making forged dished pistons? stuff like that, ive seen some sets of ls1 forged dished lunati pistons on ebay alot lately goin for 350 a set new, jus hope'n to find a nice deal like that on some pistons, set of either cheap i beams or hbeams, thinkin i beams since that'd be less weight added to the crank.
 
#7 · (Edited)
from what i hear that leaves the cylinders thin, and since ill be oring my block when having it bored, im gna lay the boost to it if i can:smt067 i think lm7 5.3 compression stock is bout 9.5 to 1 right? i dont bracket race or anything, i jus plain ole dragboat racing from a stop to 1000ft where im from, so he with the most generally wins. in boats, he with the least weight generally does too tho lol
 
#8 ·
It's one of those deals where there isn't a whole lot of companies making forged shelf stock pistons for the 5.3. Granted there are some and probably some I'm not ever aware of. Wiseco makes a nice 3.780" and 3.800" piston for 5.3's..........they also have cranks, rods, etc from K1. Mahle makes forged pistons for 5.3's as well. Seek out Mark O'Neil from Probe here on YB. He may have something of interest to you in both the piston and rod department.
 
#9 ·
I love the mahle product line. but I have seen fialure with them " not just ones I have personally seen either" with them under boost. anybit of missing the tuneup will break them at moderately low hp levels. The power Packs are 4032 alloy. A bit brittle. Great product if your very very very careful.
 
#12 ·
Over all, the Wiseco 5.3 piston mimics the 5.7 piston only smaller in bore size. Compression height, ring pack, taper, etc, etc, all measure the same. They're good for a 200-250 shot easy...........300 with a good tune.
 
#24 ·
Hey guys had great luck the past two seasons runnin the 5.3 with srock bottom end at anywhere from 18-20lbs on pumpgas and 90%meth10%washerfluid mix.my lil tunnel hull is within 2mph of where i want it runnin in the 1000ft.im below the 10.0e.t. no problem and 108mph.now im ready to beat on the motor alil more and i need to go from 6700 to 7k which is gna require 22lbs im sure.if i can get it to 22lbs i can maybe run 8's in the 1000 next season and my kid daughtr lex is my driver for the lucas series dragboat racing we ll do next season.for safety i wanna go forged rod and piston now.
if 5.3 pistons have gtn cheaper which ones? Shld we go ahead and bore to 3.90 and do a 350 deal? Are those pistons still alot cheaper and will they go on stock length 5.3 rods.lastly who has the best deal on ibeam forged 5.3 length rods? Appreciate the help fellas!! Excited about next season and gtn my 16yr old into dragboat racing the right way.
 
#25 ·
Meant we re below the 10 second 1/4 mile et lol lil sumbitch is quikkkk it shld be able to be turned down to run 9 sec 1000ft et but id like it to run 8 1000ft et if i decided to race it a wknd and turn it up.at 6700 on 18lbs 6850 on 20lbs so 22 will get me therr but im not even tryin that till forged pistons n rods r in it
 
#32 ·
Dont need a 4 inch bore to make 1100 whp... 3.80 bore, 2.00 intake valve and a port that will flow 280cfm is more than enough to make that kind of power.
 
#37 · (Edited)
A 5.3, for sure, has thicker cylinder walls than a 6.0 block. Consider a stock 4.8/5.3 has a 3.780 bore and can go 3.898 (stock LS1 bore) and have material left over should be an pretty good indicator of how much extra material is in the cylinder walls of a small bore LS engine. I've not heard of a 6.0 block being able to take a .100 overbore on the stock cylinder walls.
 
#38 ·
Block strength is not an issue, the 6.0 iron block is more than capable of 1100hp. A 5.3 bored to 3.9xx will have less wall thickness than a 6.0. From what I’ve read, GM performance suggests having .100” or more of wall thickness on NA applications. .200+ for nitrous and forced induction depending on power goals. The block would have to be sonic checked because all differ slightly. Some 6.0’s can be bored to 4.125” and still have a .100” wall thickness. Should be around .200” wall thickness even at 4.065-4.070. Plenty of meat on a 6.0.

I’d be more worried about the crank. They start to flex around 1200whp according to the big names (like Kurt Urban) that have pushed many motors to failure. If the OP wants 1100whp, I’d run a full aftermarket rotating assembly. If you have to buy all that, I see no reason to stick with the smaller motor. Cost difference would be negligible. A 6.0 may even cost less since 4” bore pistons are common. Your leaving 30-40ftlbs + and a bunch of low end on the table. Also that additional power will be compounded or each bar of boost you run. A smaller motor makes less sense to me. You have to rev it higher to get the same power. Since block strength isn’t an issue, I see no reason to not go to the larger motor personally.
 
#39 ·
I agree about block strength on all fronts. The blocks, from what I've experienced, aren't the weak link regardless of displacement. Crank and rods, if using stock pieces, are where the weakness exists.

If/when we crater our 5.3, we're really on the fence about what to do for a replacement. We've talked about doing an iron block 5.3. with forged internals and we've talked about doing a big bore 380-390" engine.
 
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