Truck intake vs LS1/LS6 intake for a budget swap: which is shorter and which makes more power?
Shorter: the car intake. Vortec truck engines use taller "truck intake" manifolds with longer runners.
Last updated
Power: the truck intake's long runners are there to build torque for heavy trucks. The LS6 and TBSS factory intakes do well on car-style builds; they have limits once you add heads and a cam, where an aftermarket intake pays off.
For a swap: check hood clearance — the taller truck intake is the one to measure against your hood. Match the intake's port shape to your heads, and plan for the throttle body and throttle cable: the stock LS1 throttle cable often won't work in a swap, so a universal cable is common.
What we recommend
The truck intake flows as well as or better than the LS1 intake, but it's about 7.5 inches taller from crank center to the top and won't fit under most car hoods. For a budget car swap, our go-to is an LS6 intake, which made the LS1 intake obsolete; Dorman now makes a near-LS6-spec replacement. To ID them: the truck intake is very tall, LS4/LS2 intakes have 4-bolt throttle bodies, LS3 intakes have rectangular ports, and the LS1 has an EGR port behind the throttle body while the LS6 doesn't.
Check this first:
Measure hood clearance: about 23 inches crank-to-top with a truck intake versus about 15.5 inches with an LS1 intake
Match the intake port shape to your heads (rectangular LS3 intakes are for rectangular-port heads)
Based on what we've seen work across our own builds, our friends' builds and the wider LS community, reviewed by our lead shop tuner (over 20 years of LS and LT tuning experience). Every combination is different, so use at your own risk and check our safe tuning limits before any wide-open pass.
Go deeper
Check this first
Measure hood clearance: about 23 inches crank-to-top with a truck intake versus about 15.5 inches with an LS1 intake
Match the intake port shape to your heads (rectangular LS3 intakes are for rectangular-port heads)
Try this, then this
Truck intake if the hood clears
LS6 or Dorman LS6 for a budget car swap
FAST for a max-effort build
How you know it's fixed
Intake clears the hood with the engine at ride height
Still not fixed?
If the truck intake won't clear, the LS6 (or Dorman LS6-spec) intake is the budget car intake
Time and cost: The truck intake is free (it came with the engine); a used LS6 is the cheap car-intake step
Related fixes we recommend
What is needed to put an LS car intake on a truck motor, and is it worth it?
What we recommend
You do not need to convert to car-style accessories to run an LS car intake on a truck engine; car intakes work with truck brackets. In the builds we've seen, an LS1/LS3 car intake on truck brackets has gone 8,000+ miles with no issues, and an LS3 intake with truck brackets plus a pulley relocator also works. The main fitment problem is that a drive-by-wire throttle body can hit the water neck on the newer truck water pump. One working fix is truck brackets with a Dirty Dingo idler relocation bracket, an L92 water pump (its neck angles differently than earlier truck pumps) and the LS1 intake, and a Dayco 5060745 belt has been proven on this type of setup. Pumps differ as well: a 4th-gen Camaro water pump pulley has a different offset (usable with a truck pulley swapped on), while Gen 5 Camaro pump pulley spacing matches truck accessories. Whether it's worth it is mostly about looks, because the truck intake makes more torque.
Check this first:
Check throttle body to water-neck clearance on your water pump
Confirm pulley alignment for your water pump and bracket combination
Verify alternator fit before committing to car-style accessories
Check this first
Mock up the car intake on the truck motor and find the actual interference point before buying relocation parts.
Verify belt routing and water-pump outlet clearance with the new belt length.
Try this, then this
Relocate the idler to clear the car intake.
Fit the correct-length belt and verify tracking.
Road test and watch temperature and belt wear.
How you know it's fixed
Car intake clears the accessories, belt tracks straight, no overheating.
Still not fixed?
Belt throw or squeal: recheck pulley alignment after the idler move.
Every option we know of
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Maker / product
Part #
Fits
Price
Where
Status / notes
Kwik Performance Bracket with idler relocation for car-intake clearance
K10611
Truck-accessory LS with car intake
about $200-$300 (approximate)
kwikperf.com
In production
Dayco Serpentine belt (recommendation names 5060745; not independently sourced)
Prices are approximate as of September 2026. We list every option we know of, including small shops and used parts we can't link to. Confirm fitment with the seller.
Time and cost: $25-$300 depending on bracket vs belt-only approach; an afternoon.
