Chevrolet Malibu Forums banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Engine swap?

10K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  adrian13 
#1 ·
Hi everyone, I am wanting to know what a good engine would be to swap out a LX9 with? I currently have that with about 131,000 on it. I have been trying to get a good turbo kit set up for it but I think that with that amount of miles on the car that the turbo would just break the motor or transmission.

I have contacted andysautosport.com and one of the people recomended the STS turbo kit. After seeing it on G6s it didnt look that bad, just kinda scared since their kit can be mounted under the rear of the car and it is open to people stealing it and the weather.

One thing that I had been thinking about for awhile was swapping a Impala SS 5.3 motor in but I have no idea if that would be possible without having to widen or lengthen the engine bay. Let alone bringing with the transmission for it and then all the electrical and what not. Basically I would be gutting both cars and putting everything from the SS in my Malibu. That was just an idea though.

Other then that I have no idea what a good motor would be for my car, does anyone have an idea what a good swap would be for this car?
 
#2 ·
Carroll Shelby started a whole business by stuffing a big honkin' engine in an itty bitty car. If that's your dream, go for it!
 
#3 ·
Any high powered engine like the LS4 from the Impala SS is going to require a transmission as well, which will skyrocket the budget and you'd be better off buying a different car.

Look for a 3.5 LZ4 from the 2007+ Malibu, Aura, and G6. It's a bit more powerful and efficient than the LX9 because it has variable valve timing.

You could also try the 3.9L LZ9 from the 06-07 Malibu SS as well as the 06-11 Impala LTZ. It had 240 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque, but should still be within your transmission's power tolerance.
 
#4 ·
It is too much fabrication in my opinion to swap a different motor from a non N-body. It would be best to overhaul both your motor and tranny. A tranny that can handle lots of boost is the 4t65e or 4t65hd. These with custom fabricated mounts are at milzymotorsports.com. The turbo kit is offered through milzy as well. All this is very costly, just a warning. The motor, turbo kit, and tranny could cost as much as $7,000- $20,000 depending on how highly modified you want to go. An alternative is through wot-tech. Also, don't forget about tuning the pcm through HP Tuners another $500-$700 for the software plus more for a dyno tune. Next, some gauges, fuel pump and injectors, and etc...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top