I am not a fan of the LS engine. The oil pickup screen O-ring shrinking (causing the engine to suck air instead of oil), the roller lifters coming apart eating camshafts, and valve covers sucking oil into the intakes. It seams like (to me) stock LS engines self-destruct around 80-100k miles. I don’t fully understand why the factory made it, so you must remove the cylinder heads to replace a lifter (or camshaft). There are so many ways I could think this could be done without having to remove the cylinder heads. OK, rant over.
With that said, things could also be said about the new Hemi’s (not the same problems, though) and with other engine families.
A person could build any engine to run very well - but it always takes $$$. For some reason it takes less $ to build a Cheby engine.
I was talking to a person who builds 1200+ HP Pro-Charger engines. He said the Pro-Charger kits cost less money for LS’s than other engine families and the parts to build engines (pistons, rods, gaskets, etc.) also cost less $. He said of the engines they have built, 8.5 of every 10 engines are LS based. The other 1.5 are new Hemi’s, or others. With electronics and everything else used in his builds, the HP is all about the same, on the popular engine families – however the cost is not. His 1200 HP LS build’s cost about $12k (depending on options) out the door. His 3-G Hemi build is about $13k (US). A Chrysler big block (non-Hemi) is about 14.5k but it can make even more HP but also takes more parts/labor to get it there (crank position sensors and other parts to get electronics to work).
I don’t see the need for that much HP. If I did, I wouldn’t use a LS. The LS isn’t the issue, though. It is the supercharger and electronics and the skill to get it working together. It just happens to be the LS is the most cost-effective means to get there.
Oddly, he recommends to his clients with 3-G Hemi’s for Pro-Charger setups, to add his parts to the stock engine - but to obtain a spare engine. He said stock pistons are OK but not the best and the thin piston rings won’t hold up long term. He recommends building the replacement engine up while driving the car with modified original engine, so when it gives up, it is an easy swap to get back on the road.
I thought his advice was a bit odd, for I would rather stick the original numbers matching engine under the bench and build up a replacement engine to stick in the car (to play with). That said, I don’t have any experience with Hemi’s nor with racing them – so I can’t say much.
BudW