I am just curious as to what you guys think. If you had a choice between having either a 396 or 383 LT1 which would you choose. Ive have also heard that 396's are not good with either S/C ers or Nitrous yet Ive seen a lot of videos and what not of 396's that have one or the other.

 

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Try it, you'll like it.

 

Can you afford to do either one of em the CORRECT way? What heads and intake do you plan on using to feed the motor and to what RPM do you want to spin it and what are your power goals. Last but not least how will it be used? There is ALOT to consider to do it right.

 

I was looking at an LT4 Intake and a set of AFR 180cc or 195cc Head If I go 383 and the AFR 210cc's if I build a 396. all forged internals and some sort of power adder, either nitrous or an ATI Procharger. Im looking for a street/strip application. I do have the money for it ive been researching for it and saving for a while.Im looking for around 400-500 HP N/A. I was just unsure of whether I wanted a 396 or 383 and I wanted to know what every body elses opinions were on them.

I would have posted this in the Advanced section but I wasnt really asking for any tech help just opinions.

 

This subject has been beat to death on this board. There is all kind of info to cover the do's and don'ts of bothe engines.

Please do a search.

 

IMO the power difference between a 383 and a 396 is negligable. I know I'am having a tough time deciding what to put in my car once its paid off next month. Oh and all that about 383's and 396's being less reliable than a 355 with N20 or boost is BS too IMO. If your going 4340 and its done right, they all will be as reliable as the next.

 

power aint much but torque is where they differ and with some of these solid roller guys the hp is starting to pull away

 

If your building a NA motor, you could realiably build a 396. It does make the cylinder walls a little thinner though, which would be less than ideal for an boosted or sprayed motor.

Actually, if you have a great enough conditioned motor, you can use stock sized pistons without any boring ( Or if you pick up a new block somewhere). Just honig it out by a reputable engine builder.

At any rate though, basically the bigger you go(Bore Size), the worse it is for high temp/pressure ( & High RPM use ). If you plan to superchrage or turbo it, I for sure owuld be building a 383. NOT a 396. If you want to go the NA route with maybe a Small shot on top of it, then I could see a 396. See though, not really recomend.

 

396 with large shot = hardblock and mine cools so much better now that its half filled

 

I thought the bore was 30 over for 396's and 383's. are 396's 60 over?

 

40 over

 

I also was under the impression that a 355, 383, and a 396 are all 30 over.
Isn't a 357, 385, and a 398 all 40 over? I think we need someone to clairify.

 

NO

396 = 3.875" stroke
383 = 3.75" stroke

Both with a 4.030" bore

or

Bore x Bore x Stroke x cylinders x .7854


SEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND ON THIS TOPIC, WE MUST TALK ABOUT IT ONCE A WEEK OR SO.

Bret

 

well guess i got a 398 better fix my sigs

 

If you have to order a custom piston, and not use an off the shelf part number, go with the smallest overbore that will clean up the cylinder. I only went .010 over with a 3.875 stroke, which I think comes out to 392. I dont see the reason to go .030 right away, especially when my block cleared .010 no problem, and Im sure most other LT1 blocks would too. Considering there are no aftermarket LT1 blocks out there, I want to be able to clean this block up a few times before the bore is to big and becomes scrap.


Nick