Hello yall just purchased a c6 ls3 and I plan on keeping it for long as I can . Eventually I would like to mod for performance and my question is what’s the long term reliability with the ls3 with mods including cams heads and a tune? I don’t plan on tracking the car just spirited driving. Thanks in advance!

 

In general, the LS3 has very good reliability, even when modded. These things are well known to take abuse and keep going for a long time. Now come the caveats. When doing something like a cam swap, a lot of reliability can come down to the specific cam selection and supporting mods. As in, if you get a big nasty, High ramp rate cam, you will want to make sure to do some really good valve springs, retainers etc and be meticulous with verifying pushrod length and coil heights etc. While in there, use good quality parts for the gaskets and replace anything that seems worn, like lifter trays, timing chain and beyond. Then you should be able to keep it reliable for a long time. Now with a big cam you definitely want to keep a closer eye on things like spring life.

A mild cam should have zero impact to reliability generally. Just keep up with oil changes, make sure the oil and coolant temps dont get too hot and you should be good.

An oil Catch can will probably help keep the engine happy as well. And if you are really trying to keep a close eye on things you can have your oil go in for analysis (BlackStone labs), as they can see if there is metal in there.

These things are honestly tanks compared to other high performance engines. yes people do have the occasional failure, but its low. Lucky for C6s, they dont have the Cylinder deactivation or direct injection (which can be nice as well) which have been the bigger areas of failure on most late model GM v8's.

 

very good info I will put it in my pocket

 

Honestly, it doesn’t get much more reliable than the venerable Ls3. Esp the dry sump ones.
All LS are damn near bulletproof. Rest assured, you got a keeper with good maintenance

 

Cam only full bolt on build here, 150k miles 80k of that modded and abuse filled. Very few issues that weren't self-induced. Just spend good money on linked lifters when you get to the cam portion. It really doesn't get much better than the LS3 for reliability

 

It will be as reliable as the work done, and the extremity of the mods done.
Many here will disagree with me, but I'm speaking only from my experience and my opinion.
The bigger the cam and other mods, the shorter the life of an engine. While the LS isn't your grandfather's small block chevy, it is at its heart a pushrod V8. So, the same principles apply.

 

I agree with that to an extent. The more radical you go the more that window decreases but as long as you spend good money on good parts and do things the right way these things are pretty bullet proof. Not even just the LS3, just LS motors in general. I've seen a 300k mile stock bottom end 5.3 take 30lbs of boost for a year with nothing more than a china special head stud... we couldn't kill it despite giving it our best effort. LS motors are a lot of things but fragile they are not. Mild bolt on street cars with mild mannered cams are pretty safe as long as you build around it to support it (good lifters, good pushrods, trunion upgrades, the right springs).

 

The other thing that will affect longer term reliability is preventative maintenance. Regular inspections and catching little problems before they become bigger problems.

 

Stay below a .600 lift on the cam and you should have a long, happy life with proper oil and air filter changes.

 

Would you be willing to tell me what set up would be great? Including cams headers brands and accessories to support those mods for best reliability and performance

 

For cams, I prefer Cam Motion for their lobe design but there are many brands like TSP, BTR, Comp, etc. Opinions will vary greatly, but I would stick to a stage 1 in any of those vendors. Here is a link to Cam Motion. I would call them and tell them your power goals, and they will recommend a good profile. They will also recommend the proper springs since you will want to upgrade your stock springs. I presume they will recommend a set of beehive springs for your goals.

LS Camshafts - Mild Performance LS Camshafts - Cam Motion

Headers - I personally use LG but any major brand is fine.

Lifters - Johson J2116LSR (gets rid of the janky OEM lifters and trays for reliability)

Trunnion Kit - CHE (this gets rid of the problematic needle bearings in the rocker arms that are prone to failure)

I would also recommend going ahead and pinning the crank during the cam install. There won't be any additional labor, and it will allow you to go supercharger later down the road should you choose to do so. If you never go S/C, your only out the cost of a pin kit which is approx. $100-$125. As long as you stay with a mild cam NA it will work fine with a S/C. If you go with an aggressive N/A cam it will not be optimal with a S/C.

I hope this helps

 

I see you've never owned an LS7 with defective heads!!

 

A cam, headers, rockers, lifters, pushrods, tune, etc. will cost you just as much as a supercharger setup. The supercharger will give you more HP and better driveability.

No doubt the cam upgrade has a "cool" factor at idle but you do lose some drivability with an aggressive cam. A good tune goes a long way but aggressive cams will always shake the car more at idle, be louder, have a surge/buck to it while stopped, lose fuel efficiency. A supercharger will retain the stock driveability. It will idle and drive like stock until you get into the boost and then the beast comes alive.

I've had both (cam and supercharger) and hands-down, I will always go supercharger for mods. It will always make more power than a cam setup and everyone making big power #'s today is running either a turbo or supercharger. Nobody is running on engine power alone.

Most say keeping the HP levels at the crank below 700HP is best for long-term reliability on a stock LS3 bottom end. Some people go higher but with that comes the potential for problems in long term reliability. To be honest, most people have a hard time utilizing the 430HP of a stock LS3. Once you get into the 600+ HP levels, traction on the street will become a problem. Unless you are drag racing on a track, one will never truly utilize such HP levels on the street.

 

sounds good thanks for the great info my goal really is to be around 500-550 hp

 

As mentioned above, a S/C is the easiest and cheapest path to meet those goals.

 

If you cam it, spend the extra on new lifters, preferably link bar Johnson. Wish I would have. Good luck and enjoy!