The fourth season of Horsepower Wars kicks off with LS vs Coyote 3. The engine dyno shootout series that pits GM fan boys’ favorite pushrod V8 against the pony boys’ performance V8. In the past, we’ve done a $10k naturally aspirated engine build shootout and again with a tight budget and some boost. This time, we substituted the Gen IV LS for the more modern Gen V LT with a smaller displacement, but the ending will be the same: whoever makes the most horsepower on the engine dyno, wins.

We all know that if you wanted, you could push a stock 5.3-liter LT bottom-end to 1,000 horsepower. But in true stock-versus-stock form, the Coyote can reach that power level easier than the entry-level truck LT. But for Horsepower Wars Season 4, we aren’t dealing with bone-stock engines or just 1,000-horsepower; we’re aiming for much more than that, and the mods that come with it. Dollar-for-dollar, this is where the LT will come out on top.

The move from a 6.2 LS to a 5.3 LT for this season’s shootout might seem like a downgrade, but the LT blocks are stronger and the 5.3 liter displacement is closer to the Coyote’s.

The 8-Cylinder Game Plan

Instead of a 6.2 LS versus the 5.0 Coyote with a fixed budget, we’re pitting the Coyote against the 5.3 Gen V LT with a parts restriction instead of a budget restriction. Something about the LS coming stock with more displacement and being cheaper to buy and modify the Blue Oval crowd saw as an unfair advantage. How those two things can be a “bad” thing is beyond us.

Part of the rules for Horsepower Wars in this dyno shootout includes using only stock block and cylinder head castings (porting allowed) and only stock displacement. This keeps the GM side from doing the obvious and stroking the LT for more displacement or benefiting from the vast market of aftermarket cylinder head options. Also, both teams must use only off-the-shelf components that are commonly available and offered by popular mail-order or retail companies, such as Summit Racing. Custom-order pistons and camshafts are allowed, since those can be easily ordered and obtained.

The goal? to see which engine makes the most horsepower on the engine dyno. For that, neither engine is running their stock rotating assembly.

Rules like this keep each engine build more realistic, as anyone with an unlimited budget could fund billet blocks and custom parts to make as much horsepower as they want. Another set of rules we put in place to keep things an apples-to-apples comparison is that both engines will run identical HPT 76mm billet turbos and be tuned on E85 using a Holley Dominator EFI system with a Tick Performance air-to-water intercooler. These rules keep the competition down to what matters: which is a better overall design? The LT or Coyote?

Both engines will be running identical HPT 76mm billet turbos.

King Of The Dyno

What is our money on? The 5.3-liter LT, of course! Horsepower Wars is set to prove which platform is best for modern muscle hot rodders looking to make big power, and this is where the GM’s late-model small-block comes out on top. The LT is easier to build and doesn’t need four cams and timing chains the length of a garden hose to make big power, just a simple pushrod design that is as tough as nails and offers big power potential. Stay tuned as we release new episodes every Thursday!