Inside Concept Performance's Aluminum LSR Block

The next step in shoring up big LS horsepower

- Peter Murphy

Unless you lurk around the local IHOP on certain days of the year, there ain’t nothing in this world for free. That’s particularly true when it comes to building horsepower—and as the world of LS performance continues to reach new heights via more boost than there are bleeped-out swear words on an episode of Street Outlaws, the price for drag strip domination is often more than the cost of pistons and rods.

It comes from picking up the remnants of those pistons and rods after they’ve blown through the 5.3L boneyard block crammed with 20+ psi of boost or a last, fatal hit of nitrous. There have been a number of aftermarket high-performance cylinder blocks over the years, as well as Chevrolet’s own LSX iron block, but Indianapolis-based Concept Performance’s new LSR cylinder block appears to offer the next step up the ladder in building a strong power adder foundation.