engine combo for street/strip

[elkmaine1]

Would a 396 be a good choice for the street, as far as longevity goes

[SSlowBoat]

Thin Pistons. Eh. If it's built right. What's wrong with a forged 355 and spray or a stout 383?

[NightTrain66]

yep, 355 or 383 is all you need.

If using a LT1 intake, TB, MAF, typical headers and heads that are available for LTx engines you cant really feed a 396 properluya nd will never see any benefit overa 383.


A 355 or 383 is a better choice.

Lloyd

[SSlowBoat]

just remember, its not just about the motor, the total package comes into play. trans, stall, gears, etc all have a factor.

[elkmaine1]

Thank's guy's 355 or 383 it will be

[bufmatmuslepants]

396 has the same wall thickness as a 355 or 383, just a 3.875" stroke instead of 3.48 or 3.75. Like Lloyd said 396 needs more air, but with a PCM limit of 7100 and the fact that a 3.875" crank is the same cost about as 3.75, the 396 would need less rpm with the same heads. Personally I'd do a 396 and enjoy the little more torque and be different.

[Catmaigne]

There's more side loading on the cylinder walls with a lower rod length/stroke ratio and the acceleration of the pistons/rods will be much greater. Your bottom end will see a lot more stress per given RPM but that can be countered with using lighter parts. A good 4340 crank, short/lightweight pistons, and the longest rod you can fit that is strong but not too heavy will make a beastly 396 motor you can turn to 7k safely. At that point it would be a good to ditch the LT1 intake for a single plane like a converted super vic. If you're not going to spray a 383 then I don't see any reason not to go all the way with a 396. You're going to be buying all new parts anyway.

[97firehawk]

I've had pretty good luck with my forged 355 it has 6 inch rods . It definitely surprises people .

[bufmatmuslepants]

Like catmainge said, if you are not going to spray too much go 396, if you are spraying you want a bigger top of the piston, so you need shorter rods, a 5.85 or 6" rod will leave the top of the piston on a 396 pretty thin, so a 5.7 rod 383 or a 6" rod 355 is better for big spray, but if you are NA it's not as big of a deal. Longer rods decrease piston acceleration and side loading. Since you are already buying everything, I'd go 396. And like I said a 396 uses more air so with the same cam and heads the power would be at a lower rpm than a 383, and more of it.