Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications 3.0L Duratec what makes the LS 3.0 so great?

i'm trying to choose a long block. Terry previously stated that the LS block is more "tunable", but that it takes 3-4 times the amount of work required for the Taurus 3L.

what is it about the LS block justifies investing 3-4 times more? it's still 89mm x 79.5mm, right? the internals aren't improved over the taurus, are they?

btw, BAT quoted me $5000 for the ST220 long block. guess i won't be going that route. i'm looking for close to 200 fwhp. i hope this can be done by a "straight-forward" 3.0 swap, eManage, SVT IM, intake, exhaust, and maybe a differential. am i unrealistic?

The heads are better. Direct cam on valve action - no rocker arms. Higher RPM potential. Less weight. All good. :p

will LS heads fit on a Taurus block????

because they are onnly about $250 each - instead of $900 for the SVT ones

According to Terry, they will fit...except it will take some extensive work to make them work. He also said it's probably not worth it unless your eventually going to put in the LS shortblock.

--Matt

"extensive work" to make them align or fit the IM or clear the hood or ? i want to know what i'm getting into if i go with the LS. if the work required to make the LS feasible is made public [hint, hint], i think more people would consider having a pro do the work.

If Terry told you what it takes to make the 3L LS fit for free, then he would be out hours and hours of R&D...and remember time is money. Giving away services for free, what kind of business practice would that be?

I hope you can understand where I am coming from here...Terry works on Contours for a living, this is not just a hobby to him. If he gives all of his intellectual property away for free he would put himself out of business.

Truly, if you want to build up an LS yourself to save money, do the research yourself and figure out what needs to be done. Not so easy, I know, I tried. Not saying you can't do it, but you'll see really quickly how much work it takes to actually make an LS fit...it takes a lot more than just moving a couple of bolts.

That's why Terry can do what he does, he's one of the few people around that really understands the Duratec engine inside and out...it's a competitive advantage and there is no reason he should give it away for free.

This is not an attack, I just think it's a little unreasonable to ask that Terry give away all of his hard work for free...you don't work for free, do you?

Regards,

My thoughts...please correct me if I am wrong
The LS with direct acting buckets may give higher RPM capacity BUT....

this is only useful if you plan a full 8000+RPM build up with rods, new cams etc. The LS heads cannot use the ONLY easily available upgrade cams (the SVT cams) which IMO are a big advantage for the taurus heads. The SVT valvetrain is race proven to 8000 RPM and 7500 is about all that would be useful with SVT cams. Over 7000-7500 RPM is going to risk accelerated rod/bearing issues probably even with the DMD. I think the basic Taurus swap with SVT cams, a little cleanup porting to the head, extrude hone the SVT upper to 35mm, remove the 35mm lower butterflies (now its 35mmUIM to valve), precat gut, 65mm 4.6 t.body, DMD, and an EEC-V tuner tweak would be big bang for buck..

you bring up a good point: a business shouldn't work toward putting itself out of business.

nevertheless, a business won't have much business if it does not inform the public of the services it offers and create a demand for those services.

i'm too ignorant to know what could be done with an LS motor that could not be done with a Taurus motor. if nobody enlightens me as to why to go with a motor that requires 3x more effort to make it fit, then i have little incentive to choose it, don't i?

1) An LS is a 'de tuned' Jaguar 2)BUY A CD and compare the engines for yourself ,Taurus Vs LS/Jag.....3)Invest in your own LS engine and LOOK at the two engines next to each other...We do custom work here.Ryan is correct I spend many hours doing reasearch into the conversion & aftermarket, unlike some on this board we a not a part-time outfit and dispite being new we do know this vehicle better than most,if you object to this I suggest you do your own research.We will no longer give ours away for 'free'....

Terry, i'm neither questioning your competency, nor asking for a how-to. so far, i haven't had much success at finding comparisons between the lincoln v6 and the taurus v6. i recall you saying that the LS/Jag engines were stroked. public sources list the same dimensions as the taurus, though. perhaps the ford shop CD will help.

anyways, i've found info comparing the lincoln v6 to the jag v6:

Popular Mechanics list the following features of the Jag V6:

* 3-stage intake (which they list as 2-stage)
* Variable Valve Timing
* "precision" engine cooling

At AutoZine , they compare the LS to the Jag:

* LS has 2-stage intake vs. Jag 3-stage intake
* LS lacks VVT

they also say that the Lincoln V8 has cast iron liners, but that the Jag V8 has a Nikasil coating, allowing for about 40cc more displacement. i dunno if the sleeves are different on the V6 as well...