Ok guys,
I swapped in the 6.0 LQ9 in place of my 5.3 liter in my 2003 Chevrolet Silverado 4x4. My current mods beside the engine swap include edelbrock ceramic shorty headers, corsa dual cat back, aem brute force, ls1 e-fans, ported/polished throttle body, and I have hp tuners. I used the stock 5.3 injectors and I am currently running a stock tune minus torque management. My 5.3 ran around 180 degrees with the 160 degree thermostat. With the 6.0 I'm running around 210 degrees with the same 160 degree thermostat. My dad mentioned the possibility of running hotter due to the engine running lean. My questions are, is the 5.3 liter injectors big enough for the 6.0 with my current mods, and with the tune, will my engine run back around the 180 degree mark? Besides this, the engine runs great and the swap was easy. Has anybody tried Nelson, pcmforless, or wait4me with a 6.0 swap for computer tuning?

 

My 6.0 ran much hotter than the 5.3L and mine was not lean.. The 5.3 used a 28" rad and the 6.0 uses a 32" (or 34" ot sure) plus the 6.o as a oil cooler. Injectors are the same size for the 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0. (26 pounders I believe.)

 

My 6.0 always ran the same temp as the 5.3.And still today after a million miles and while towing behond max loads.

 

Mine runs about 210 stock.

 

The injectors are the same, the PCM should just be tuned for the extra cubes. Plus, as mentioned above, the 6.0's use a 34" rad as opposed to the 27" rad for the 4.8's and 5.3's. I would think that the increased compression ratio of the LQ9 might bring the temps up a bit due to increased cylinder pressure and temps.

 

Gonna need that 34" raddy. The thermal capabilities of the 28" I dont think are gonna cut it with more cubes and higher CR. www.car-part.com can be your friend if you want to find a radiator.

 

Ok, I talked to the people at street and performance and they said that the ls1 style engines like to run a little hotter than the generation II small blocks. They recommended that I go back to a 180 degree thermostat for naturally aspirated applications for better fuel economy and they said I would not see a decrease in power. I guess now the next step will be for me to drop in a 34" radiator. For all these people who have done the swap, what tune did you go with and how did it work? I am seriously thinking about wait4me since I am strapped for money. Durn that doctorate tuition.

 

I have the wait4me tune. A buddy has a LQ9 he swapped in for a 4.8. The difference between teh stock 4.8 tune and my wait4me 5.3 tune was night and day. he got the wait4me tune for the LQ9, but he's out of town, so I don't know how he likes it yet. Judging from the difference the 5.3 tune made, I'm sure you would be happy with it.

 

[QUOTE=99Silver5.3]Gonna need that 34" raddy. The thermal capabilities of the 28" I dont think are gonna cut it with more cubes and higher CR. www.car-part.com can be your friend if you want to find a radiator.[/QUOTe/]

should run abou $ 215.00

 

Since you have HP tuners, why not copy stock LQ9 engine file values into the PCM. Can this be done? I dont have HP tuners yet.