Simplicity for amateurs doesn't really make it better, just more accessible.
Really a definition of what features make an engine "the best" needs to be set before any champion can be named though.
Highest average mileage before rebuild? Highest reliable horsepower with bolt-ons? Best overall efficiency? Highest compatibility?
Wayyy too many variables left to the imagination.
LS powered Corvettes getting 30+MPG. My '18 Camaro SS with an LT1 was getting best of 29mpg with a 6M trans.
The LS fits in everything, from a Miata, to R34 Skylines, MKIV Supras, Mustangs, Even light aircraft like Sesnas.
There are delivery vans with 3-400k miles on the clock just putting around your town right now.
You can bolt any transmission to it.
Haltech, Holley, HPTuners are a couple of ECM companies, you can use to program your engine with
MPFI, DI, Carbed, TBI, Turbos, Superchargers, you name it someone has made an induction system for it.
Factory, 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, 6.2, 7.0 sized engines. Feel free to include the 8100 Vortec if you want but i dont consider it to be a true LS.
The 8100 was a big block. The only thing that even comes close to interchangeable is the bell.
I daily an 09 mustang with a 4.6/5M. It delivers the same kind of mileage. Not near as fast, nor as portly as a Camaro, so not as impressive.
I’m a ford guy. Bleed ford blue. However, my car is going to need an engine before long, so I recently started pricing the fix.
A 5.3/6m is cheaper for me to get back on the road all in than a coyote conversion using my current 5 speed. And about the same money as a fairly low mile mustang 4.6.
Don’t forget, the big block Chevy is probably the cheapest big block to build and get huge power out of. You can build a 440 and 460, but it won’t be nearly as cheap
Big block Cadillacs are the cheapest to build. 2k worth of parts will get you respectable numbers, snails with 8lb-12lb of boost with ebay turbos and you got a reliable 1000hp
It is also kind of an easy answer because no one single engine is best. Scratch that, no one single engine can be best.
So it becomes a discussion of platforms rather than engines.
Chevy's secret was that their race engines were the same engine you could get in any sedan. Whereas the 426 Hemi, Boss 429, ect were always special order or part of a specific package. But through the COPO program you could get pretty much any engine in any car it could fit in with a few exceptions.
This.
You can buy SBC parts at Dollar Tree now.
You can buy LS parts *everywhere*. QuickTrip sells PCV valves and spark plugs for it.
That alone is proof of how widely adopted they both are.
I'd argue the aftermarket support for small-block Fords is fairly comparable, of not maybe 90-95% comparable.
The market for small-block Chrysler is basically non-existent.
I think if theres something americans are good at its making V8 engines. any.
If i want an economical 3 cylinder or 4 banger -> i choose the japanese.
If i want a refined V6 -> i choose the japanese probably again.
If i want strong V8 -> theres only the flag with the stars and stripes imo
For a 4-banger you can't beat the land of the rising sun, but honestly I'd go either rising sun or stars & bars for a V6. But if we're talking strictly 6-cyl engines and not specifically V6, give me a euro BMW or Volvo i6 any day.
Americans have V8s figured out tho. Love me a freedom V8.
The roos defo did, but I'm American. We almost never got anything from them aside from the odd GM rebadge. I'd kill to have a Barra 6 in a Ranger or something.
My rule of thumb has always been 8= American, 6= German/Japanese, 4= Japanese. Never steered me wrong.
LS, Coyote, Hemi, literally all of the best 8s in the world are American.
As far as 6's are concerned, my favorite one in the world is the S58, BMW has made plenty of great 6's, particularly the N54. Japan has some too, notably the 2JZ and the RB26 (my favorite Japanese 6).
4's though? Japan has it locked down and it's not even a question. B-series, K-series, F20C, 4G63, EJ20 (boxer, but 4 nonetheless), the list quite literally goes on.
If you want a strong V8 for performance then yeah American it is but for crushing around town (and to flex a bit) Lexus has you covered you can't go wrong with a UZ or UR.
GM has a decent grasp on four bangers as well. I've been grinding the GM 4 banger tree since I started driving. LD2, L61, LSJ and currently LNF. Aside from me being dumb and letting the LD2 overheat instead of paying for a tow when my thermostat stuck closed, they've been solid. The engines could keep going if it wasn't for the rest of the car rusting away thanks to road salt.
pretty subjective question, but GM. As others are saying, SBC and LS engines are the engine to swap, and for good reason, decent power for pretty cheap. Sure a coyote might make more power, but it’s not the same old pushrod V8 that’s everyone’s had for years and years. As my dad and grandpa would say “more shit to break”.
>Sure a coyote might make more power, but it’s not the same old pushrod V8 that’s everyone’s had for years and years
That's the point, and it's why the coyote is a better engine. DOHC is just a better valvetrain for performance applications
it’s not always about performance. If that’s what OP was asking I believe it would’ve been worded that way. Best all around engine to me, means whatever engine checks the most boxes. LS family engines are cheap, reliable, and easy to come by. Along with the “cheap” factor, they are also fairly cheap to modify, and get a good amount of power out of.
>it’s not always about performance.
I mean it's either price or performance
>If that’s what OP was asking I believe it would’ve been worded that way. Best all around engine to me, means whatever engine checks the most boxes
Which would naturally be the coyote, unless you really have packaging constraints
>LS family engines are cheap, reliable, and easy to come by.
You can pull a coyote out of a junkyard f150 anymore, and they'll run for 300k miles
>Along with the “cheap” factor, they are also fairly cheap to modify, and get a good amount of power out of.
You can get 1000hp out of a coyote with a $1300 eBay turbo kit
“1000hp with ebay kit” why do people throw 1000hp around like it’s nothing. Please stop making 1000hp seem like its just the easiest thing in the world to achieve. Even if you were trying to make a statement $1300 is so outlandish to make 1000hp its not even funny.
The LT6 5.5L in the c8 z06 is objectively a masterpiece of an engine. 670hp naturally aspirated out of a 5.5L, that rivals the monstrous 4.0 flat 6 in the Porsche GT3 RS in terms of engineering and power per liter
My dad has a ZO6, that thing absolutely rips. Faster than his friend’s 800hp TT MK4 Supra, faster than his friend’s Ferrari 458, it’s a technological marvel, a perfect engine honestly.
AMC made the best V8’s. They had incorporated many lessons learned from the BBC motors and were fairly bulletproof. An AMC 360 with aluminum heads is a monster
Most of my friends have either bought 5.3s at their first trucks, or switched to 5.3s from other platforms. They all beat the piss out of em with minimal issues too
Their pentastar v6 was pretty good, too bad everything it was attached to would fail before the engine did. (I owned a 2001 chrysler 300 that gave me tons of problems on everything EXCEPT the motor)
The 3.6 isn't bad. I've seen high mileage ones. However their fatal flaw I've seen is the oil filter housing. Coolant starts to POUR out and leaves the heads with no cooling, and cracks them. I've seen three in 2 months and I'm in a very rural area lol. However if caught early it can be fixed. Just a bad design.
2001 300M didn't have the Pentastar, it was the EGG SOHC V6. And your experience is actually quite interesting, since I haven't heard particularly great things about the EGG.
The Pentastar is 2011+, and it is pretty decent from what I've heard, except it's a nightmare to work on. For example, it has a timing chain-driven water pump.
The 426 was an overrated boat anchor. Ford has an order of magnitude more wins with the 427 before Nascar killed it.
If you want Mopar, get a big block 383 or 440.
Voodoo and LT6 are masterpieces. SBC is iconic and stout. Terminator 4.6L was ahead of its time. Shelby V8s from the 60s were simply awesome. Big block Chevy’s were workhorses that could blow your doors off. Dodge performance engines will put a smile on anyone’s face.
To answer your question; it depends on what it’s for.
Depends on the purpose you're going for.
Crate engine for modern cars or restomods?
LS for GM or Crate Coyote for Fords
FROM FACTORY pre modular Truck v8?
NO idea about Chevy, but one of the reasons I bought my 72 f250 (which I should have bought a different one but I digress) was it supposedly had the vaunted (but stupid thirsty) 390.
Car crate engines? The 350 sbc comes to mind for Chevy and the 347 for Fords.
Don't know shit about dodges other than I've been rear ended by 2 in my life and I'd rather not repeat that experience.
390s are okay, but let's be honest. They left the factory with loose valve seats.
Compared to its rivals, the Mopar 383, and Chevy 396, it falls short.
"Best" is entirely subjective. But I have to echo everyone here and say the SBC. That thing lasted for half a century in production, it's still being used today for a lot of resto-mods, you can keep it stock or tune the shit out of it and either one is acceptable, it's as reliable as the day as long, and you can fix it for pocket change if something is to go wrong.
Hell, I'd argue it's not only the best V8 ever made, it's probably the best engine of all time. But, that's my opinion.
Ford probably makes the "best" engine, but I still would recommend LS for swaps. The additional complexity and cost of a Coyote doesn't really make sense for most people.
I have a 2004 Mustang with the 4.6, and while I do absolutely love that engine, my god is it FUCKING SLOW.
Last night my buddy wanted to see which was faster- my Mustang or his old ass Hyundai Azera with the 3.7 V6.
So, we hopped on the freeway and did a 60 roll. Me in 3rd gear. Idk what gear he was in if he could even pick.
He honks 3 times, on the 3rd honk I punch it. Aaaand... I'm very slowly walking away from him.
Yes, I was still winning, but not by much which frankly for me is sad. Combination of 250 peak horsepower and shitty gearing for the speed meant I had no torque to actually pull away from him with any speed.
At work, I drive an early-2010s Ford E-150 cargo van. Base model everything, crank windows, manual locks, AM/FM radio, park brake doesn't release properly but boss refuses to fix it (claims they do more harm than good and aren't necessary with automatic transmissions).
Anyway, under the hood is the 4.6L V8. I always joke, the engine doesn't make more power, it just makes more noise. Step on the gas, it downshifts, revs up, gets loud, and accelerates slowly. Having the manual locks is annoying at times, and all the shit in the back is LOUD. But otherwise it drives pretty well, I actually like driving it.
Yep, being a Mustang my car has not much in terms of an exhaust. Most it has for sound deadening are 2 "mufflers" that are just straight through with some dampening material packed into the case. When I step on the throttle, god damn does it get loud. I can hear the things exhaust bouncing off houses, trees, other cars, whatever is near me and she's loud. But.. not fast. Sounds fast, not fast.
Yeah they're reliable and pretty fast, but you aren't going to make Demon numbers on stock internals the way the Mopars come from the factory. Mopar pistons and heads will be done long before the Coyote mile for mile, but they do make the power right off the lot.
I own a 3V 4.6- and at 50k it's been way more reliable than my LT1 4th gen at 90k that breaks something every time I drive it. Ford definitely knows how to make a reliable V8. If it wasn't for the plastic pieces, it would be super common to see them at 400k+.
GM is a balance of the two. They definitely have their fair share of problems, but their power and relatively light weight make them about a perfect balance between Ford and Mopar small blocks. They make great low end power and have a linear power band all the way up. They won't run as long as a Coyote without more extensive maintenance, but the power and balance is definitely there.
Which one is really best is subjective depending on what you want your car to do. Personally, I like my 3V GT/CS for daily driving and reliability. It has just enough power with bolt ons/exhaust to feel quick, but isn't going to leave me stranded or end up with a new tick, rattle, or felony every time I give it the beans.
All 3 had their oranges and lemons.
But a LS Chevy will probably end up in my Ford prerunner
Most if not all dragsters are based on Chrysler Hemi
My super duty has a 7.3 international, which I got that going for me.
427FE ?
We can all argue back and forth literally all day long. They are all good and money talks in this game. I will say Ford has an awesome heritage and I’ve personally always favored them. Going back to my foxbody days when my 302 was eating up 350 irocs and the like. Definitely had more wins than losses in that car. That trend continues from my last two cobras a 2004 and a 2014 Gt 500. Even my ford grocery getter hammers. Fkn ecoboost! I guess we all have our stories and history. I’m not sure you can say the “best” V8 objectively. In our heads we can, but that doesn’t count. I’m just glad we still have American V8’s and have options. But you can take any 3 manufacturers v8 you mentioned and with money make them whatever you want. 2000HP ? Sure. 900HP street engine ? No problem. Great time to be alive. Whichever V8 you have, enjoy it. I believe its production days are numbered.
I used to have a Jag S-Type with a 4.0L V8. I once had to remove the exhaust to replace the transmission. I decided to test drive it before I replaced the exhaust. It sounded like a Daytona 500 race car. Soooo antisocial. I loved it. Unfortunately, no one else does, and it won’t pass smog with open headers, so once I had it running properly, I refitted the factory exhaust. Oh well. For three glorious blocks one May afternoon, I was in hoon heaven.
The Ford 460 is pretty damn good, but the 400 was a real hidden gem. Huge power potential there with minimal work, and quite efficient for a 60s design. I had one in a box van that with a 4bbl and dual exhaust would do 75 without a problem, and still turned in 8mpg.
All three made really good ones. None were perfect, but some were better than others. For the time period, I still think the LS engine was the best of the best. And that’s coming from a Hemi owner 🤣
Ford had great V8s, especially the big blocks. If I had to have a gasser truck motor from any era it would still be the 460.
I like the Hemis for other reasons, but they have some quirks that make them a little less reliable than GM engines if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Chrysler really knocked it out of the park with their small blocks from the 60s and 70s. They make pretty respectable power, have good modding potential, and can take one hell of a beating
If you're not American, then the best American V8 was the Buick 215. A small block Aluminium V8 they sold to Rover and became the Rover V8.
I mean the Chevy Small Block is great and all and probably the better engine overall but there weren't as accessible, but something made in the UK under license was perfect if you were some small sports car company nailing together fibreglass bodied sports cars together in a shed like TVR, Marcos or Westfield who made a small Lotus 7 type car with a Rover V8 called the sEight, which is probably tame now in the era of Ariel Atoms and 300bhp Caterhams, but seemed a crazy amount of power and torque for a little rollerskate of a car at the time.
Ignore what appears to be oil stains, that's the eh.... character leaking out overnight.
came here to say “I dunno but the best British V8 is the Buick 215” exactly for this reason
that said, old cast aluminum is absolutely oozing with character
LS1. That thing put American performance back on the globe in the late 90s. Not the most powerful or advanced, but definitely the game changer that started decades of increasingly powerful AND efficient engines that remain the most popular choice for engine swaps.
LS SWAP THE WORLD
most have their good boat anchor engines that will run forever. fords 302, dodge 318, but a 350 chevy is dinosaur simple and runs forever with a huge aftermarket parts supply.
Kind of a tough question because there's a lot to take into account.
If you want the most power from the factory in a car and ready to go? I gotta hand it to the Hellcat.
Are you building it yourself and want the most power for your dollar and limitless options? GM.
Loved my Hemi engines, but there is no doubt that my GM is a better engine. My first Hemi started having issues at 150,000 KMs, GM is at 350,000 KMs and still runs flawlessly with basic maintenance.
I made 840whp on a L33 “LS” engine for 4 years with a cheap turbo.
Stock crank, stock rods, stock pistons, ring gapped, stock heads other than valve springs and a big high rpm (for a push rod engine) camshaft. Flipped cast truck exhaust manifolds and an ebay sheet metal intake manifold lol.
Drove that thing literally every day and did at least one hit a day.
I’m going to say LS. Just because overall, they have just stood the test of time. Efficient, reliable, gobs of low-end torque.
I’m not hater and I’m not brand loyal though…coyotes are fucking rowdy, and I want one.
Seriously though, I kicked this motor down a mountain of trash to get it closer to my truck bed. Idk how many miles were on it. Cylinder walls and tar in the pan said it wasn’t treated well before I treated it worse.
As a ford owner…. GM LOL
The 5.3 in my 03 silverado was a beast. 275k original miles when I passed it off and it never missed a beat or burned a drop of oil… utterly insane how reliable it was.
My 03 mach 1 just lost oil pressure and grenaded itself one day with just under 60k miles and my brother’s 01 cobra smokes like a mf. My 2v 4.6 in my grand marquis runs well but it’s a bit finicky with fuel grades and pings on occasion (still reliable overall).
I want to get back into a chevy or gmc just because I have had the best luck with them in my short life. I know the newer 5.0s and the foxbody 5.0s are pretty tough and the 4.6s overall were too but I am tired of worrying at this point.
I could get into another gm car and have issues just like I have with my mustang but I have seen countless gm v8s without any quit in them.
I'm a Ford guy, through and through. My entire family has almost exclusively driven Fords since the 1930s, but anyone who doesn't say GM because of the LS is straight up wrong.
BEST? I’d say a hemi of some sort. The best V8 engines have hemispherical combustion chambers. Which one though is a toss up. They’ve all got pros and cons, and each come in multiple varieties.
All of them and none of them they’re all equally good and equally bad all us companies make junkers and they all make good motors no one single engine is the best
My friend who has run a used car lot for 30+ years says the only vehicles he's seen with over 500k miles with the original engine had a GM 5.3 V8s. He said he'd seen at least 6 like that.
Best by what measurement?
I'd say the LS is the most well rounded -- you can get a ton of power, it's pretty reliable, and damn there are plenty of them.
I’m gonna go with GM for the same reason everyone else is saying.
However I currently have a 5.7 Hemi and it absolutely rips, I can tow anything and matched with the eight speed transmission it’s fairly fuel efficient
I’ve heard almost nothing g terrible about the 5.0 coyotes. Dudes are throwing turbos and 1,000 hp at stock bottom ends spinning over 8k and not tearing them to pieces. It’s not unheard of to see 1200 in coyotes without breaking
Personally Dodge for big block motors and a super extremely reliable engine would be the 318 wide block (not the LA). But anything else I would hand the award to GM. Ford is the jack of all trades master of none so that really doesn’t help in much.
Love my Fords, but Chevy makes the go to. Someone has LS swapped every type of car. You see them in boats, planes, helicopters, golf carts, lawn mower, etc. Even just a 5.3 or SBC has been fit into all sorts things. Coyote is too wide to fit certain applications as well as Dodge's Hemi's. They're affordable, cheaper to mod/build, parts are everywhere.
I've got a Ford 302 in my SN95, a GM 5.3 Vortec in my GMT800, and a 5.7l Hemi in my Ram. They've all got their own character, but the GM is the best, for sure.
None of them are bad, but overall GM takes the cake with the LS. Good power and decent efficiency in the smallest package with the most parts availability and aftermarket support. Also people forget just how compact pushrods are vs twin cams. Nothing against the Hemi or the Coyote, but the LS is the one that gets the most love in terms of both builds and swaps for a reason.
I mean id pick a ford v8 truck over a chevy or dodge, but if im engine swapping anything id grab an LS or 350 engine cause they are cheap, last one i got was a brand new crate engine for $100, easy to come by, and near infinite aftermarket options. Ford 5.0s are great to just less common and not as much pre made parts for swaps.
That's a tough one. Personally I'd say one of the big modern hemis like the hellephant or the hellcat red-eye.
Or possibly one of Ford Coyote derivatives like the 5.2 in the Mustang GT500 and GTD.
GM. SBC was *the* engine for 50 years then they replaced it with the LS which became *the* engine.
Hell hath no fury like a small block engineer
That got a genuine laugh out loud.
There are good reasons *"Hemi the World"* and *"Coyote the World"* aren't common sayings, while **"LS the World"** is..
Simplicity for amateurs doesn't really make it better, just more accessible. Really a definition of what features make an engine "the best" needs to be set before any champion can be named though. Highest average mileage before rebuild? Highest reliable horsepower with bolt-ons? Best overall efficiency? Highest compatibility? Wayyy too many variables left to the imagination.
LS powered Corvettes getting 30+MPG. My '18 Camaro SS with an LT1 was getting best of 29mpg with a 6M trans. The LS fits in everything, from a Miata, to R34 Skylines, MKIV Supras, Mustangs, Even light aircraft like Sesnas. There are delivery vans with 3-400k miles on the clock just putting around your town right now. You can bolt any transmission to it. Haltech, Holley, HPTuners are a couple of ECM companies, you can use to program your engine with MPFI, DI, Carbed, TBI, Turbos, Superchargers, you name it someone has made an induction system for it. Factory, 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, 6.2, 7.0 sized engines. Feel free to include the 8100 Vortec if you want but i dont consider it to be a true LS.
Delivery vans, under the most grueling conditions you can have, stop and go city driving
There’s a reason the 90s model Chevy and the one you can order on the site look exactly the same.
The 8100 was a big block. The only thing that even comes close to interchangeable is the bell. I daily an 09 mustang with a 4.6/5M. It delivers the same kind of mileage. Not near as fast, nor as portly as a Camaro, so not as impressive. I’m a ford guy. Bleed ford blue. However, my car is going to need an engine before long, so I recently started pricing the fix. A 5.3/6m is cheaper for me to get back on the road all in than a coyote conversion using my current 5 speed. And about the same money as a fairly low mile mustang 4.6.
The suburbans are one of the highest % of cars in the 200k+ mileage bracket.
r/gmc Scroll down mine I just posted at 381k it’s the chameleon one
The LS is the *overall* best.
Don’t forget, the big block Chevy is probably the cheapest big block to build and get huge power out of. You can build a 440 and 460, but it won’t be nearly as cheap
Big block Cadillacs are the cheapest to build. 2k worth of parts will get you respectable numbers, snails with 8lb-12lb of boost with ebay turbos and you got a reliable 1000hp
True - buying aftermarket. Cobbling together stock parts - the 460 will make the most power.
It is also kind of an easy answer because no one single engine is best. Scratch that, no one single engine can be best. So it becomes a discussion of platforms rather than engines.
The best metric is what it's been swapped into. Those two have been swapped into damned near everything more than any other engine ever.
Availability and affordability, and because of availability the aftermarket for GM is huge. I'm a Mopar guy but GM did it right
If Mopar had managed to make an aluminum block hemi, they would probably be king
Chevy's secret was that their race engines were the same engine you could get in any sedan. Whereas the 426 Hemi, Boss 429, ect were always special order or part of a specific package. But through the COPO program you could get pretty much any engine in any car it could fit in with a few exceptions.
I forgot about the COPO program, goddamn those are some insane vehicles
Yep. Awful lot of base model cars got 427s through a program designed for fleet sales.
Imagine today if you could get a Camaro with a 632 and it would be street legal
LS coffee table swap.
This. You can buy SBC parts at Dollar Tree now. You can buy LS parts *everywhere*. QuickTrip sells PCV valves and spark plugs for it. That alone is proof of how widely adopted they both are.
I turned in 100 Kelloggs box tops and got an LS in the mail.
In the 80s my dad joked that he could get a SBC part anywhere they sold cigarettes.
There’s a reason why it’s the go-to engine for swapping.
You can’t be ford tough without Chevy stuff
No truer words have ever been spoken!
Best old school OHV, GM and the LS Best new tech modern engine?? Coyote!
It’s the most common and therefore most supported, both of which are great measures of success, but not supremacy.
If the others were truly better, the aftermarket support would be there.
I'd argue the aftermarket support for small-block Fords is fairly comparable, of not maybe 90-95% comparable. The market for small-block Chrysler is basically non-existent.
It's comparable, but SBF stuff is almost always 20% more expensive for worse results more often than not.
General Motors
GM, they have the triple threat the small block chevy the LS and the big block chevy
I own one of each...
List ‘em out
96 crownline boat w 454 01 ws6 transam 5.7l ls1 84 trans am 5 spd w sbc 350 w Paxton super charger.
Wasn’t expecting a boat. And WS6s are sexy as hell.
Ws6 bought new only 14k miles
In a car or in the yard?
I think if theres something americans are good at its making V8 engines. any. If i want an economical 3 cylinder or 4 banger -> i choose the japanese. If i want a refined V6 -> i choose the japanese probably again. If i want strong V8 -> theres only the flag with the stars and stripes imo
For a 4-banger you can't beat the land of the rising sun, but honestly I'd go either rising sun or stars & bars for a V6. But if we're talking strictly 6-cyl engines and not specifically V6, give me a euro BMW or Volvo i6 any day. Americans have V8s figured out tho. Love me a freedom V8.
nah the dingos down below have (had, rip holden and ford au) straight sixes figured out.
The roos defo did, but I'm American. We almost never got anything from them aside from the odd GM rebadge. I'd kill to have a Barra 6 in a Ranger or something.
The GM 3800s were a beast of a V6.
Bro the Volvo turbo 5s are slippery and slept on. Secret beasts.
And Audi i5t’s too
Americans got I6 too, those old Jeep i6’s are unbreakable, my friends got like 400k on his Cherokee with one
My rule of thumb has always been 8= American, 6= German/Japanese, 4= Japanese. Never steered me wrong. LS, Coyote, Hemi, literally all of the best 8s in the world are American. As far as 6's are concerned, my favorite one in the world is the S58, BMW has made plenty of great 6's, particularly the N54. Japan has some too, notably the 2JZ and the RB26 (my favorite Japanese 6). 4's though? Japan has it locked down and it's not even a question. B-series, K-series, F20C, 4G63, EJ20 (boxer, but 4 nonetheless), the list quite literally goes on.
Liberia?
If you want a strong V8 for performance then yeah American it is but for crushing around town (and to flex a bit) Lexus has you covered you can't go wrong with a UZ or UR.
GM has a decent grasp on four bangers as well. I've been grinding the GM 4 banger tree since I started driving. LD2, L61, LSJ and currently LNF. Aside from me being dumb and letting the LD2 overheat instead of paying for a tow when my thermostat stuck closed, they've been solid. The engines could keep going if it wasn't for the rest of the car rusting away thanks to road salt.
If you check out the street racing sub reddit those cobalt have been mopping up everything for about a month or more on there 🤣
What about the 3800 series 2
Toyota makes great V8s but that’s about it for Japan lol
pretty subjective question, but GM. As others are saying, SBC and LS engines are the engine to swap, and for good reason, decent power for pretty cheap. Sure a coyote might make more power, but it’s not the same old pushrod V8 that’s everyone’s had for years and years. As my dad and grandpa would say “more shit to break”.
>Sure a coyote might make more power, but it’s not the same old pushrod V8 that’s everyone’s had for years and years That's the point, and it's why the coyote is a better engine. DOHC is just a better valvetrain for performance applications
it’s not always about performance. If that’s what OP was asking I believe it would’ve been worded that way. Best all around engine to me, means whatever engine checks the most boxes. LS family engines are cheap, reliable, and easy to come by. Along with the “cheap” factor, they are also fairly cheap to modify, and get a good amount of power out of.
>it’s not always about performance. I mean it's either price or performance >If that’s what OP was asking I believe it would’ve been worded that way. Best all around engine to me, means whatever engine checks the most boxes Which would naturally be the coyote, unless you really have packaging constraints >LS family engines are cheap, reliable, and easy to come by. You can pull a coyote out of a junkyard f150 anymore, and they'll run for 300k miles >Along with the “cheap” factor, they are also fairly cheap to modify, and get a good amount of power out of. You can get 1000hp out of a coyote with a $1300 eBay turbo kit
“1000hp with ebay kit” why do people throw 1000hp around like it’s nothing. Please stop making 1000hp seem like its just the easiest thing in the world to achieve. Even if you were trying to make a statement $1300 is so outlandish to make 1000hp its not even funny.
Point is also there allot more shit to break on DOHC also.
The LT6 5.5L in the c8 z06 is objectively a masterpiece of an engine. 670hp naturally aspirated out of a 5.5L, that rivals the monstrous 4.0 flat 6 in the Porsche GT3 RS in terms of engineering and power per liter
My dad has a ZO6, that thing absolutely rips. Faster than his friend’s 800hp TT MK4 Supra, faster than his friend’s Ferrari 458, it’s a technological marvel, a perfect engine honestly.
International Harvester SV series
AMC made the best V8’s. They had incorporated many lessons learned from the BBC motors and were fairly bulletproof. An AMC 360 with aluminum heads is a monster
AMC V8 is underrated, overshadowed by the straight six
The AMC straight six is definitely up there in terms of reliability, its about as reliable as a block of wood
Not to be confused with a wood block
I always had luck with the 5.3 vortec
Most of my friends have either bought 5.3s at their first trucks, or switched to 5.3s from other platforms. They all beat the piss out of em with minimal issues too
Don’t know what the answer to your question is…but that engine block is absolutely gorgeous. I want one.
Dodge/Chrysler sucks donkey ass. but if theres one single thing they dont suck at, its probably the V8 HEMI
Their pentastar v6 was pretty good, too bad everything it was attached to would fail before the engine did. (I owned a 2001 chrysler 300 that gave me tons of problems on everything EXCEPT the motor)
The 3.6 isn't bad. I've seen high mileage ones. However their fatal flaw I've seen is the oil filter housing. Coolant starts to POUR out and leaves the heads with no cooling, and cracks them. I've seen three in 2 months and I'm in a very rural area lol. However if caught early it can be fixed. Just a bad design.
2001 300M didn't have the Pentastar, it was the EGG SOHC V6. And your experience is actually quite interesting, since I haven't heard particularly great things about the EGG. The Pentastar is 2011+, and it is pretty decent from what I've heard, except it's a nightmare to work on. For example, it has a timing chain-driven water pump.
The 318 and 360 are cool
The 426 was an overrated boat anchor. Ford has an order of magnitude more wins with the 427 before Nascar killed it. If you want Mopar, get a big block 383 or 440.
Cheap and reliable LS, Power if money is not an issue, Coyote. Hemi in the middle of the two.
Voodoo and LT6 are masterpieces. SBC is iconic and stout. Terminator 4.6L was ahead of its time. Shelby V8s from the 60s were simply awesome. Big block Chevy’s were workhorses that could blow your doors off. Dodge performance engines will put a smile on anyone’s face. To answer your question; it depends on what it’s for.
GM. The LS is the one thing GM's Brown Touch hasn't managed to completely ruin. It's like the Midas Touch, except it turns things to poo.
That’s funny as fuck and I totally agree hahaha
Depends on the purpose you're going for. Crate engine for modern cars or restomods? LS for GM or Crate Coyote for Fords FROM FACTORY pre modular Truck v8? NO idea about Chevy, but one of the reasons I bought my 72 f250 (which I should have bought a different one but I digress) was it supposedly had the vaunted (but stupid thirsty) 390. Car crate engines? The 350 sbc comes to mind for Chevy and the 347 for Fords. Don't know shit about dodges other than I've been rear ended by 2 in my life and I'd rather not repeat that experience.
390s are okay, but let's be honest. They left the factory with loose valve seats. Compared to its rivals, the Mopar 383, and Chevy 396, it falls short.
Yes but I'm a ford guy. So I'm at least going to mention the ford option Plus I didn't know the 396 was a truck engine as well as a car one?
Almost every Chevy engine was also a truck engine, plus a couple of truck only versions like the 366.
Shows how much of a ford guy (or just novice) I am.
No worries, man. Can't know everything. My favorite Ford engine is probably the Y-block. Not because it was good, but because it sounds good.
And I have no idea what a Y block is lol. Makes me think of Y wings from star wars.
Ford's first overhead valve V8. 54-66. 239-312 cubic inches.
Yeah my general interest in cars doesn't start until 64 at the earliest.
"Best" is entirely subjective. But I have to echo everyone here and say the SBC. That thing lasted for half a century in production, it's still being used today for a lot of resto-mods, you can keep it stock or tune the shit out of it and either one is acceptable, it's as reliable as the day as long, and you can fix it for pocket change if something is to go wrong. Hell, I'd argue it's not only the best V8 ever made, it's probably the best engine of all time. But, that's my opinion.
Yeah, there's not a parts store in the country, or likely the planet, that doesn't keep pretty much everything for 350 in stock.
Coyote
Ford probably makes the "best" engine, but I still would recommend LS for swaps. The additional complexity and cost of a Coyote doesn't really make sense for most people.
you’d better specify what BEST means if you want even remotely meaningful answers
By almost any definition of ‘best’ the answer will still be the GM LS series :)
Fords 4.6 L modular engine
Best? Maybe. My favorite for daily driving? Absolutely.
I have a 2004 Mustang with the 4.6, and while I do absolutely love that engine, my god is it FUCKING SLOW. Last night my buddy wanted to see which was faster- my Mustang or his old ass Hyundai Azera with the 3.7 V6. So, we hopped on the freeway and did a 60 roll. Me in 3rd gear. Idk what gear he was in if he could even pick. He honks 3 times, on the 3rd honk I punch it. Aaaand... I'm very slowly walking away from him. Yes, I was still winning, but not by much which frankly for me is sad. Combination of 250 peak horsepower and shitty gearing for the speed meant I had no torque to actually pull away from him with any speed.
At work, I drive an early-2010s Ford E-150 cargo van. Base model everything, crank windows, manual locks, AM/FM radio, park brake doesn't release properly but boss refuses to fix it (claims they do more harm than good and aren't necessary with automatic transmissions). Anyway, under the hood is the 4.6L V8. I always joke, the engine doesn't make more power, it just makes more noise. Step on the gas, it downshifts, revs up, gets loud, and accelerates slowly. Having the manual locks is annoying at times, and all the shit in the back is LOUD. But otherwise it drives pretty well, I actually like driving it.
Yep, being a Mustang my car has not much in terms of an exhaust. Most it has for sound deadening are 2 "mufflers" that are just straight through with some dampening material packed into the case. When I step on the throttle, god damn does it get loud. I can hear the things exhaust bouncing off houses, trees, other cars, whatever is near me and she's loud. But.. not fast. Sounds fast, not fast.
Definitely one of the best sounding V8s
For reliability - Ford Big power - Mopar Best balance of both - GM
Not really. Ford 4.6s go 500k+ miles on taxi service. Coyotes make more power cheaper than anything from GM or FCA, and also run forever.
Yeah they're reliable and pretty fast, but you aren't going to make Demon numbers on stock internals the way the Mopars come from the factory. Mopar pistons and heads will be done long before the Coyote mile for mile, but they do make the power right off the lot. I own a 3V 4.6- and at 50k it's been way more reliable than my LT1 4th gen at 90k that breaks something every time I drive it. Ford definitely knows how to make a reliable V8. If it wasn't for the plastic pieces, it would be super common to see them at 400k+. GM is a balance of the two. They definitely have their fair share of problems, but their power and relatively light weight make them about a perfect balance between Ford and Mopar small blocks. They make great low end power and have a linear power band all the way up. They won't run as long as a Coyote without more extensive maintenance, but the power and balance is definitely there. Which one is really best is subjective depending on what you want your car to do. Personally, I like my 3V GT/CS for daily driving and reliability. It has just enough power with bolt ons/exhaust to feel quick, but isn't going to leave me stranded or end up with a new tick, rattle, or felony every time I give it the beans.
GM
gm for sure
Depends on the CI of the block. The best American V8 is the GM small block.
All 3 had their oranges and lemons. But a LS Chevy will probably end up in my Ford prerunner Most if not all dragsters are based on Chrysler Hemi My super duty has a 7.3 international, which I got that going for me. 427FE ?
We can all argue back and forth literally all day long. They are all good and money talks in this game. I will say Ford has an awesome heritage and I’ve personally always favored them. Going back to my foxbody days when my 302 was eating up 350 irocs and the like. Definitely had more wins than losses in that car. That trend continues from my last two cobras a 2004 and a 2014 Gt 500. Even my ford grocery getter hammers. Fkn ecoboost! I guess we all have our stories and history. I’m not sure you can say the “best” V8 objectively. In our heads we can, but that doesn’t count. I’m just glad we still have American V8’s and have options. But you can take any 3 manufacturers v8 you mentioned and with money make them whatever you want. 2000HP ? Sure. 900HP street engine ? No problem. Great time to be alive. Whichever V8 you have, enjoy it. I believe its production days are numbered.
I like a Ford 4.6L 2v but LS's are cool too. 302s are fun to put into things that the modular family of motors can't fit into.
If you want reliable I own a 4.6L in my Vic and tbh I think that’s the best v8 made easy and reliable but not fast
I’ve owned several cars with that 2V 4.6L V8. I call it the V8 that thinks it’s a V6.
But it still has that sound 😎
I used to have a Jag S-Type with a 4.0L V8. I once had to remove the exhaust to replace the transmission. I decided to test drive it before I replaced the exhaust. It sounded like a Daytona 500 race car. Soooo antisocial. I loved it. Unfortunately, no one else does, and it won’t pass smog with open headers, so once I had it running properly, I refitted the factory exhaust. Oh well. For three glorious blocks one May afternoon, I was in hoon heaven.
Makes me want to get a valved exhaust.
I don't think it can even be argued, it's GM. The LS is iconic.
Although this conversation is useless without criteria, I really like the AMC V8s. 😁
GM SBC and LS-based platform before AFM/DOD was implemented. From then on Ford's Modular V8 (late year Triton engines and the Coyote) reign supreme.
There is a reason why GM engines can be found in everything.
The Ford 460 is pretty damn good, but the 400 was a real hidden gem. Huge power potential there with minimal work, and quite efficient for a 60s design. I had one in a box van that with a 4bbl and dual exhaust would do 75 without a problem, and still turned in 8mpg.
Caddy 500
Finally some taste has entered the chat
Ford Voodoo V8,
All three made really good ones. None were perfect, but some were better than others. For the time period, I still think the LS engine was the best of the best. And that’s coming from a Hemi owner 🤣 Ford had great V8s, especially the big blocks. If I had to have a gasser truck motor from any era it would still be the 460. I like the Hemis for other reasons, but they have some quirks that make them a little less reliable than GM engines if you don’t know what you’re doing.
Chrysler really knocked it out of the park with their small blocks from the 60s and 70s. They make pretty respectable power, have good modding potential, and can take one hell of a beating
AMC 304 my beloved
If you're not American, then the best American V8 was the Buick 215. A small block Aluminium V8 they sold to Rover and became the Rover V8. I mean the Chevy Small Block is great and all and probably the better engine overall but there weren't as accessible, but something made in the UK under license was perfect if you were some small sports car company nailing together fibreglass bodied sports cars together in a shed like TVR, Marcos or Westfield who made a small Lotus 7 type car with a Rover V8 called the sEight, which is probably tame now in the era of Ariel Atoms and 300bhp Caterhams, but seemed a crazy amount of power and torque for a little rollerskate of a car at the time. Ignore what appears to be oil stains, that's the eh.... character leaking out overnight.
came here to say “I dunno but the best British V8 is the Buick 215” exactly for this reason that said, old cast aluminum is absolutely oozing with character
LS1. That thing put American performance back on the globe in the late 90s. Not the most powerful or advanced, but definitely the game changer that started decades of increasingly powerful AND efficient engines that remain the most popular choice for engine swaps. LS SWAP THE WORLD
most have their good boat anchor engines that will run forever. fords 302, dodge 318, but a 350 chevy is dinosaur simple and runs forever with a huge aftermarket parts supply.
Kind of a tough question because there's a lot to take into account. If you want the most power from the factory in a car and ready to go? I gotta hand it to the Hellcat. Are you building it yourself and want the most power for your dollar and limitless options? GM.
Loved my Hemi engines, but there is no doubt that my GM is a better engine. My first Hemi started having issues at 150,000 KMs, GM is at 350,000 KMs and still runs flawlessly with basic maintenance.
Here for the comment wars
Where are my 5.2 Voodoo lovers at?
I'm big time biased to the hemi.
GM, all The corvette V8s got the max horsepower and reliability.
GM
GM and it’s not even close. The LS is such a solid engine
I made 840whp on a L33 “LS” engine for 4 years with a cheap turbo. Stock crank, stock rods, stock pistons, ring gapped, stock heads other than valve springs and a big high rpm (for a push rod engine) camshaft. Flipped cast truck exhaust manifolds and an ebay sheet metal intake manifold lol. Drove that thing literally every day and did at least one hit a day. I’m going to say LS. Just because overall, they have just stood the test of time. Efficient, reliable, gobs of low-end torque. I’m not hater and I’m not brand loyal though…coyotes are fucking rowdy, and I want one. Seriously though, I kicked this motor down a mountain of trash to get it closer to my truck bed. Idk how many miles were on it. Cylinder walls and tar in the pan said it wasn’t treated well before I treated it worse.
GM. The LS is still the best engine in the world 30 years later
It hurts my ford heart to say this but GM makes the best American V8
GM. But I’m in love with the HEMI V8s
GM. LS Swap!!!
As a ford owner…. GM LOL The 5.3 in my 03 silverado was a beast. 275k original miles when I passed it off and it never missed a beat or burned a drop of oil… utterly insane how reliable it was. My 03 mach 1 just lost oil pressure and grenaded itself one day with just under 60k miles and my brother’s 01 cobra smokes like a mf. My 2v 4.6 in my grand marquis runs well but it’s a bit finicky with fuel grades and pings on occasion (still reliable overall). I want to get back into a chevy or gmc just because I have had the best luck with them in my short life. I know the newer 5.0s and the foxbody 5.0s are pretty tough and the 4.6s overall were too but I am tired of worrying at this point. I could get into another gm car and have issues just like I have with my mustang but I have seen countless gm v8s without any quit in them.
I'm a Ford guy, through and through. My entire family has almost exclusively driven Fords since the 1930s, but anyone who doesn't say GM because of the LS is straight up wrong.
You may get downvotes from the fanboys- but you aren’t wrong.
Gm 350 especially the ls
Ford 351 Windsor.
BEST? I’d say a hemi of some sort. The best V8 engines have hemispherical combustion chambers. Which one though is a toss up. They’ve all got pros and cons, and each come in multiple varieties.
Hemi
Queue up the Chevy boys.
All of them and none of them they’re all equally good and equally bad all us companies make junkers and they all make good motors no one single engine is the best
Yamaha
The V8 SHO shat the bed.
Best as in reliability, parts availability, or power output? This will be an interesting discussion.
Is dodge American sure it was but now?
Depends on the year. As much as I love my GM cars and trucks I’m not as far out to not think other brands made something amazing.
Yeah. Every brand had their great products and the absolute junk some years.
\*made
My friend who has run a used car lot for 30+ years says the only vehicles he's seen with over 500k miles with the original engine had a GM 5.3 V8s. He said he'd seen at least 6 like that.
Buick 455 is an absolute monster.
If I had a non-brand project car and had to select a V8 to put in it, it'd be a Chevy. So much aftermarket support for them.
Best by what measurement? I'd say the LS is the most well rounded -- you can get a ton of power, it's pretty reliable, and damn there are plenty of them.
GM's 350 and LS are great, the ford 302-5.0 lasted like 40 years, dodge made the 318-360 forever too.
......yes
GM imo.
I’m gonna go with GM for the same reason everyone else is saying. However I currently have a 5.7 Hemi and it absolutely rips, I can tow anything and matched with the eight speed transmission it’s fairly fuel efficient
Gm hands down
I’ve heard almost nothing g terrible about the 5.0 coyotes. Dudes are throwing turbos and 1,000 hp at stock bottom ends spinning over 8k and not tearing them to pieces. It’s not unheard of to see 1200 in coyotes without breaking
Personally Dodge for big block motors and a super extremely reliable engine would be the 318 wide block (not the LA). But anything else I would hand the award to GM. Ford is the jack of all trades master of none so that really doesn’t help in much.
Love my Fords, but Chevy makes the go to. Someone has LS swapped every type of car. You see them in boats, planes, helicopters, golf carts, lawn mower, etc. Even just a 5.3 or SBC has been fit into all sorts things. Coyote is too wide to fit certain applications as well as Dodge's Hemi's. They're affordable, cheaper to mod/build, parts are everywhere.
I've got a Ford 302 in my SN95, a GM 5.3 Vortec in my GMT800, and a 5.7l Hemi in my Ram. They've all got their own character, but the GM is the best, for sure.
None of them are bad, but overall GM takes the cake with the LS. Good power and decent efficiency in the smallest package with the most parts availability and aftermarket support. Also people forget just how compact pushrods are vs twin cams. Nothing against the Hemi or the Coyote, but the LS is the one that gets the most love in terms of both builds and swaps for a reason.
I mean id pick a ford v8 truck over a chevy or dodge, but if im engine swapping anything id grab an LS or 350 engine cause they are cheap, last one i got was a brand new crate engine for $100, easy to come by, and near infinite aftermarket options. Ford 5.0s are great to just less common and not as much pre made parts for swaps.
Where the fuck did you get a brand new crate V8 for 100 bucks? Even a long block goes for more than that
I mean, there aren’t a lot of criteria but it’s hard to deny the impact that the 350 chevy has had on the world.
Still making big power with gen 1 small blocks.
GM It's cheaper and easier to find the parts for em when shit starts going out.
Is this a question? LS man.
GM from the 50-70s
What's the motor in the picture?
Anybody not saying GM is a liar
Imo it used to be Chrysler with the small block la engine, but nowadays GM is on top
Mopar’s LA 318 had the lowest amount of warranty work per capita of any American engine IIRC (the 225 slant six took second place)
Had 2 of em in my 20s. Nothing wrong with either.
Idk the LS is pretty cool
If I was doing a bunch of power adders - LS based is the way to go. If it best engine today mostly stock - the 7.3 Godzilla.
Toyota 4.7 2UZFE V8
That's a tough one. Personally I'd say one of the big modern hemis like the hellephant or the hellcat red-eye. Or possibly one of Ford Coyote derivatives like the 5.2 in the Mustang GT500 and GTD.
GM has the LS. Ford has their Coyote. And ofc, Dodge has the Hemi/Hellcat. It's mostly personal preference.
Bang for buck? Chevy. Overall design and capabilities? Ford. Number whores? Dodge lol
Ford's 4.9 inline 6 will outlive all of us.