Why The LS Engine Swap is So Popular

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One of the most common engine swaps of all time is the LS, but why? What is it about this engine that makes it so popular? This 944 racing team built the perfect example of a good LS3 swap—and Jalopnik’s biggest LS skeptic finally gets why people love these cars so much.

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Doubling or tripling the horsepower of a car with minimal weight gain, plus a massive aftermarket and they can be found everywhere for cheap. I think its pretty self explanatory why the LS is so popular.

basedjorts

I ran a 944T in the SCCA for 7 seasons. With minimal mods - cam, chip, bigger turbo, injectors, intercooler - was able to get 375 to the rear wheels at 16lbs of boost. Car was very reliable. 404 HP at 19 lbs of boost, still reliable. If I was going to do the LS swap, it would need to be at least 450Hp at RW HP to make it worthwhile!

mrthunder

Why? Because they run forever and are easy to find, cheap to buy, cheap and easy to fix, cheap and easy to hop up, aftermarket support is virtually limitless, they make great power, they sound AWESOME, and most importantly small and light (for V8s that can make the kind of power they can) enough to be adaptable to almost any chassis. Yeah, everyone does it and it's boring, but damned if I'm not putting an aluminum 5.3 in my El Camino when the Edelbrock injected 327 in it now blows up. Sure, it'd be way cooler to do a big block or a hot rodded straight six or, well, damn near anything, but for a regular guy with regular tools, regular abilities, and a regular paycheck, nothing else can remotely compete. I LOVE when people build hot rods, racecars, Jeeps, trucks, whatever with cool and original engine choices, but I FULLY understand why LSs go in like 70% of builds. They're kinda perfect, not unlike their small-block Chevy ancestor and the Ford flathead before that.

The_sinner_Jim_Whitney

Somebody should put LS in a Ferrari to make it more reliable

gsh

I love how this car still looks like a 944. It was a beautiful car and I am glad they kept it's good looks.

aaronesau

944 with a V8 conversion? Sure, I think it's the perfect marriage!

glennoropeza

Wow Van Svenson! I've watched all of his 944 videos back in the day. Great to see him still tinkering with them!

BrianHenshaw

hate the LS swap cause it's basic? Basic is every engine that gets swapped out, they are basic because they just don't cut it. In the HP world the LS is never basic. I think the word you were looking for is common. LS's are common because they are that good. Small package, easy to modify, cheap. I'm sure they are "icky" to the bespoke crowd, but I don't think you're gonna find a lot of support for that kind of thinking in this kind of Car enthusiast. They think of going Fast above anything.

jputtrexx

Why did the world drop SBC in everything for 30 years? Inexpensive, reliable, small dimensions, able to make power. Same with an LS. After all, it's the next generation SBC. Oh, and did I mention decent gas mileage?

markarnold

I want an LS swapped "rally cross-play" 944, IOW, a "fake" Safari Porsche, like the heavy duty trucks you see at Kohls, or the plethora of Jeep-thing Jeeps I see around the burbs, lightbars and all. More specifically, I want a "cyberpunk" 944. Inspired by the cars in the live action Ghost in the Shell, which I believe were Lotuses.

EdwardViaTomato

"mmm hmm", "mmm hmm"

crocosnz

I'm going to do this soon... mine will be an LS6 car, and I bet I get it done (caged, painted, race suspension, tires) for 6k or less... stay tuned!

Bigsky

I had a 86 944. Wish I still had it. Was a fun car to drive very balanced.

jamespurvis

Because they're physically relatively small (especially considering potentially 6+ L displacement), light, and have the ability to make 450+ HP to the wheels with some minimal mods. The LS3s in particular are essentially begging for a more aggressive cam, which with today's cam technology can be very streetable/usable. Even leaving the stock LS3 heads (which flow VERY well) and adding just a cam, longtubes, better air intake, and a tune can net you 530+ to the crank.

ScottO