Blue Lady Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 Hello all! I'm currently planning a s30 build with an ls and t56 dropped in. My biggest question is what conversion kit would yall suggest? I'm planning on doing it on a budget so price is a huge factor but reliability and sturdiness are also very important. Thank you in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackzpeed Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 There is no best. There are many pros and cons to each kit. It’s not cheap to do it right IMO however some have done it for less than others. Research everything...... a good overview place to start is LS swap facts not opinions thread. I’m using Cxracing..... since my swap, there are things I would do different but I’m happy with what I’ve done. There is a wealth of information on this site to be had if your willing to look. My experience is that once I got started the help became more available....... just my .02. Best of luck. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MECH-E Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Do you have access to a welder? That can determine a lot as well. I used the Hawks engine and trans mounts. I like the engine mount, not a fan of the trans mount. But both require significant welding so keep that in mind. Also header fitment became a huge issue, took me months of modifying headers to finally fit. Going with shorties might of made it easier. I haven't looked into any of the more recent kits, but if I had to do it all again I don't think I'd go with Hawks. Maybe just the engine mount, but even still it would require significant header massaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
30 ounce Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) Hoke Performance but it’s not cheap. That’s what I used with Hawks Headers and I wouldn’t change a thing. Edited July 26, 2018 by 30 ounce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 The only thing about the Hoke kit is if you ever want to use the apex engineered cross member, I think you'd be out of luck. Or if for some reason you wreck your crossmember and his goes NLA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLave Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 HybridZ THER IS NO BEST I really like Hokes kit. I ended up building my own for some reason... It seemed like a good idea at the time. I enjoyed the challenge and freedom, but really if I did it again I would just buy his kit. Hah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 (edited) JCI's kit is tried and tested. No welding, all bolt-in, and there are numerous installs using it. I don't believe that the JCI kit allows the use of the recent long tube headers, but unless you are at the point where you are chasing EVERY LAST HORSEPOWER, the shorties from JTR are more than fine. With that said, the Hybridz mantra is still in effect......there is no best. Edited July 26, 2018 by ktm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Oben Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 I used the complete CX Racing kit. ALL of it. There were no instructions but everything worked. There are a lot of little details that need to be attended to. I found it well worth the money, but it looks like based on other posts it only works for 6 speed cars. I can't say enough READ, READ, READ, this forum. Days and weeks of research will save you hours of time and tons of dollars. These LS swaps have been around a while and all the mistakes and triumphs have been made before. Sure there are multiple ways of doing anything but the stuff that works is used over and over again. HTH, Richard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 (edited) On 7/26/2018 at 9:41 AM, LLave said: HybridZ THER IS NO BEST I really like Hokes kit. I ended up building my own for some reason... It seemed like a good idea at the time. I enjoyed the challenge and freedom, but really if I did it again I would just buy his kit. Hah. Funny...I bought the Hoke kit but ended up just using a small part of it. Not that there is anything wrong with it...I just found myself going in other directions and needing to fab a lot of my own stuff. Edited August 3, 2018 by Ironhead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironhead Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 On 7/26/2018 at 6:59 AM, socorob said: The only thing about the Hoke kit is if you ever want to use the apex engineered cross member, I think you'd be out of luck. Or if for some reason you wreck your crossmember and his goes NLA. I'm using the Apex cross member with the Hoke engine mounts, but I had to greatly modify the Apex cross-member to work with them (weld on mount bases similar to the Hoke ones). I hope that is what you meant...or I have an unpleasant surprise ahead of me....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
socorob Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Thats what I meant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackzpeed Posted August 3, 2018 Share Posted August 3, 2018 Anybody just realize the op has never responded to his own questions ?..... lol. Good info though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nurgleton Posted August 22, 2018 Share Posted August 22, 2018 On 7/26/2018 at 9:59 AM, socorob said: The only thing about the Hoke kit is if you ever want to use the apex engineered cross member, I think you'd be out of luck. Or if for some reason you wreck your crossmember and his goes NLA. I spoke with Apex and they are going to be releasing an LS specific mounts for their cross members. I guess we will see what they come up with soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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