- Before we even get into it, if you just want to drop a comment below and just let us know if you
think that this is a good idea, and just say yes or no. I just feel like it'd be really exciting, before we even get into
talking about LS swaps because this is a good one. A long time ago in a land far, far away, we made a video of boat
engine swapping your car. I had different color
hair, different glasses, and the world wasn't entirely in shambles. But hey, we still have cool cars so, that's a plus, kind of. Either way, there was a
very particular kind of swap that was lightly touched
on, but not too much. A little sprinkle, sprankle of the salt, but not actually a full meal. A swap that inherently changed the world. I'm Alex. Alex dot Fi on Instagram. And today we're going to be
talking about an engine swap that changed the way water flows. An engine swap that showed the world, it can do whatever the (beep) it wants to, without anyone judging them. An engine swap that makes purists cry and Americans over the age
of 40, very, very happy. Ladies and gentlemen, we're gonna be talking about
you wanting to LS swap, your car. Woo. (upbeat music) (car tires squealing) And if you're just jumping
into Fitmen Industries video, Hola, como estas? Don't forget to subscribe so we can keep making
lovely videos like this. And if you're interested in
wheels, tires, or suspension. That's us. We do that. That's the thing that we
say. We say that a lot. Fitmen Industries dot com. Or you could literally have everything your little heart could possibly desire, including we got some
new SSR wheels on there. They're pretty sweet, okay. They slap and we're happy. Anyways, jumping into the heresy, that is LS swapping your car, we need to go back a couple
few, two, three years. Okay. The small block Chevy LS
motor started way back, when you're looking at that
specific generation in 1997. It came out of the gate
swinging, all right. It was a 5.7 liter. It came in the Corvette, right
with about 345 horsepower. This engine would eventually
make it into the Camaro and the Firebird, okay. You could do some gnarly burnouts. You could straight pipe it. You could piss off your neighbors, who were scared Y2K was
actually going to be a very real thing. And once we survived
the clock striking one, one slash zero, zero; this was actually a big deal by the way, way back when, I remember
people were scared. Anyways, Chevy would move
towards introducing the LS1 into the Camaro SS and WS6, which would have right
around 325 horsepower. 2001 would be when the LS1 would really get the good ole update with the z06 motor and an LS6. It was a different variant; if you can find, you've hit gold. Congratulations. 346 cubic inches of American
freedom at 385 horsepower. The gen threes LS is like, a perfect motor to find at a junkyard and swap one out, if you can. It's just exciting, okay. It had all the good stuff. It had the new technology
that was desperately needed. Now, could we talk about like,
the LR4 and like, the LM7 and the LQ4, the LQ9? Sure. Can you swap those into your car and still party with a
mullet and some Bush Light? Also, sure, you could. You can. It's an option. Do you want to? Yes. I mean, no, no you don't. You can, but you shouldn't. You have to remember that a
lot of things with the LS, is the fact that it's an aluminum block and a lot of those other truck
motors are an iron blocks; weigh about a hundred pounds more, depending on which variant you get. You want to try and stay
around the LS series with the aluminum, because of
the weight savings is huge. It provides just a more well
balanced, power increase, if you are swapping your
car motor, you know. It makes a big deal. Weight's a big deal, all right. However, the LS1s, the sixes
and all that good stuff, are likely to be a little bit
more expensive to pick up, which is why sometimes people do end up swapping their iron block
variants into their Datsun 240z. Anyway, sorry. Grab your milk, we're
jumping back into the story. As we enter into the mid 2000s, you would see the LM4 enter the world, which would ultimately become
a 5.3 liter aluminum block. With a little, a hair under 300 horsepower and 325 cubic inches; it was
kind of weird little thing. But regardless the motor was made to try and find a happy medium between the actual iron blocks of trucks, with the performance
range of the aluminum LS1s and the sixes. Because GM just loves trying to make everything universally fit, okay. You see the good old
SSR actually rock these and some mid-range SUVs,
like the ole trailblazer SS. Which by the way, if you
have a built SSR, I love you. We need more weird platforms
like that in the world. The LS1s would leak into pretty much all platforms of the GM world, including the wide and sleepy Pontiac GTO, the parallelogram looking CTSV, and the best looking generation Corvettes, you could possibly imagine. The new ones are just funky, all right. Reminds me of demolition, man,
all the buttons on the side, I just don't know how I feel. We'd see the gen five version of the LS finally hit the world in 2005, which would finally see
the retirement of the LS1, and now we get to talk about the LS2. You'd see the LM4 go to the
LS3, but we're gonna try and keep our acronyms to a minimum here. All you have to know, is
as LS continued to grow up into being its own big strong boy, it got smarter and it
got a little bit lighter, and then it also got more efficient. You know, all you really need to know, is a GM cross-platform the LS series, as much as humanly possible. And because that's why you see so many LS swaps in the world. LS swaps are number one because
there's so many of them. The LS2 is almost pretty
much two times better. It had 400 horsepower,
better LS6 243 heads, it had a new intake, bigger
bore, lighter manifold. It had a bunch of other stuff, okay. Had things like AFM, VVT, and good ole LS started to
look a little bit younger. A little bit of plastic
surgery, if you will. And if you jump in go further
down the lineage of 2000s, you have gen fours, and gen three engines, starting to really intermingle
throughout the years. But the most notable additions
to LS would be the LS7, in 2007, which likes to party. It's 505 horsepower, 427 cubic inches. You had seven liters, two 56 transmission. If you can find this one, don't
ask questions, just buy it. 2008, we see the LS3
coming in to the Corvette. 430 horsepower and now it's starting
to bump up a little bit. Just kinda stayed around the 400 horse. If you want naturally aspirated, great value motor, get yourself an LS3. They're like the 350 of the today's world. 2009, you'd see LS9 and the LSA. The LS9 came in the big boys; they are run with way too much horsepower. It came in like 940
horsepower. Actually I lied. It came in like 638, but
it's not as impressive then. And the LSA for the
CTSV at 556 horsepower. Pretty much just didn't, just less. I wish I was done and there
are a lot of acronyms. I get it, and I know
you're not keeping along. You're trying to, but this, it's just how
domestic motors work. The LS engine as a whole, has been involved, or associated, with pretty much anything
you could possibly imagine. They've had variants of blocks and trucks, SUVs, racing, autocross,
experimental classes, and pretty much everything else
you could possibly imagine. But we're not here to talk
about the history of the motor that is most likely to get
ended up in an FD Rx7, okay. We're here to talk about
what it's actually like to swap one of these
bad boys into your car, and if it's worth the
emotional trauma, all right. Grab your 10 mil. Actually, no, grab your half inch. Because we're about to
go (beep) standard, dude. LS swapping your car can be
the best thing you ever do, like it's fantastic, or
it's a burning resentment that people will never let
you down for and here's why. LS swaps most predominantly
exist in older cars. Cars that didn't have a motor when they were even bought them or a motor you just have
some reliability issues with. Datsun's, Rx7s, 350Zs. Pretty notorious for
usually being LS swapped because of poor reliability. Now, LS's are pretty
reliable to come across and you can pretty much
put any junkyard LS and throw it into one of those cars. And you have everything that
you would need to actually swap the whole meal together still. They're usually sitting in
a Corvette that met a tree. They're not only affordable
and easy to find, they also aren't that hard to install. Now, depending on what type of
car you could put that into, might make it a little bit more difficult. But for the most part, it's not terrible. Wiring is simple enough and because it's such
a common engine swap, most aftermarket companies
actually make kits, like specific kits, for the motor mounts and the wiring harnesses
and all that stuff, so you can pretty much
just take that whole thing and throw it in on a weekend. Here's the issue though, going to LS swap your car is
a little bit sacrilegious. All right. It just is. LS swapping your car that
used to have an iconic motor, albeit troublesome motor, is not always welcomed in the world. People don't like it when
you take out their Doritos. You throw one in a 350Z a hundred times and no one blinks an eye, but you throw in an FC, and you may as well just
kick somebody's cat. Don't kick pancakes, please.
He's a very soft boy. Same thing with Datsuns, Mazdas, Nissans, and almost everything
besides older domestics or drift missiles. If you do decide to cut ties with those that may no longer see you as a friend, because they don't like LS swaps. Cause that is something you must decide when you get your first car. They give you a little sheet. They tell you, would
you LS swap an FD Rx7, and you say yes. That actually changes you. It's like the Hunger Games. They put you in a different precinct, because they don't want those
two people intermingling, okay. It's just, it's a thing. You just kind of have to be okay with it. But LS swaps, they are
inherently terrible. It does take some patience,
swaps, take time to finesse. They are easy to swap, but they're hard to nail
out the little gremlins you'll inevitably find, especially, if the swap is pieced
together from different cars, which people have a tendency to do, because we want to all
save a little bit of money. But that does come with problems. Try to stick to the
performance side of LSs and stray away from the truck motor swaps. The weight is tough on most cars and it can throw off the
entire feeling of your car, as if a V8 wouldn't do that anyway. Most swaps are from light, small motors and replacing with a
big iron truck block V8, isn't properly mounted; it's probably gonna
result in you feeling like you're dragging your friend
out of a bar when he's drunk and his feet just randomly finding grip. It's just a really weird feeling. And you start messing with
the balance of the car. It's something to
actually pay attention to if you plan on LS swapping anything. LS swaps have so many
different variations, details, opportunities, issues, anger, love, and everything in between. It's like a relationship. Relation (beep). They provide a fantastic torque curve with a moderate power plant
that doesn't cost you much. Most variants are well-made, with the aftermarket community supporting pretty much
everything you could imagine, from like nuts, bolts, washers, everything you can possibly
want on that motor, somebody probably makes 20
different versions for it. When it comes to doing an engine swap, LS is a great place to start that won't leave you entirely clueless, but you may find yourself a
little bit on fire for what you manage to put that LS into. So, what do you think about the LS swaps? Let us know. And of course, if you're
looking for aftermarket wheels, tires or suspension, be sure to hit us up over
at fitmentindustries.com. We don't sell LS swaps, but we do sell really cool looking wheels for that LS swapped car. Just don't don't get yelled at, you know. Really hope you guys enjoy it. You could do an iron block
if you wanna turbocharge it. L92s are pretty solid by the way, but not many people end up doing that. They usually just go with
a naturally aspirated V8. Anyway, I'll talk to you guys later. We'll see you later. Peace.
