The 100 Horsepower Upgrade: Cam Only 5.3L Test

What’s a cam swap really worth?

Despite being introduced way back in the 1990’s (1999 to be exact), and being replaced by the new Gen V LT engine family, the LS engine still reigns supreme. One need only look at the popularity of the LS for all manner of performance, including its use for engine swaps. If market sales are any indication, the popularity of LS should continue for at least another decade. For the uninitiated, let’s examine what makes the LS so popular.

Right off the bat we have the fact that, when introduced, the Gen III LS offered substantial power gains over the previous small block. Like it predecessor, the LS also responded well to modifications, in fact, a case can be made that it responded even better than the original, especially to cam swaps. The reason for this is (unlike the original small block), the LS was blessed with an overabundance of cylinder-head flow. Toss insufficient displacement, compression and an efficient intake manifold, and the LS was just begging for aggressive cam timing.