With the first episode of Horsepower Wars Season 4 presented by Summit Racing online, the series begins by laying out the rules for the LS vs. Coyote 3 competition. As much as we’d love to see a no-holds-barred cage match, some regulations make the fight more fair, and this time they are probably even than the previous installments.

That said, you can only even things out so much, and each platform has its advantages. The archaic Brand X engine has displacement, and the Coyote has airflow.

You can’t argue with airflow. The LT’s two-valve, pushrod heads are stuck in the past — like showing up to a drag race with a rusty old ride while your opponent pulls up in a fully prepped modern supercar. The Coyote’s Four-Valve DOHC heads give it a monstrous airflow advantage, and Fast Forward Race Engines knows exactly how to leverage this advantage.

Four Beats Two

The Horsepower Wars rules force both engines to run the same HPT 76mm billet turbo and E85, so max power depends on who moves the most air efficiently. The Coyote’s two intake and two exhaust valves per cylinder open the door for more volume and velocity, which is airflow gold. Plus, the heads are simply enhanced factory castings that don’t require exotic tricks or race-only components.

The LT is forced to chase airflow with costly modifications and valves that barely fit in the cylinder bores to compensate for their limited valve area. Even then, they can’t match the Coyote’s flow without pushing more boost, which only adds heat and risk. That means they’re stuck with a weaker midrange and a higher likelihood of parts fatigue.

The Coyote’s superior breathing is paired with cams that keep torque strong across the rev range while letting the engine scream at high RPM, squeezing every ounce of power from the boost without killing drivability or reliability. The LT’s single camshaft and pushrod valvetrain means eschewing driveability in favor of more aggressive lobes.

Rugged & Ready

And on the dyno, the free-breathing, high-revving Coyote ingests airflow in and out of those four valves like a champ without expensive race parts, unruly driveability, or valve float at high RPM. The Coyote is ready to party across the powerband, but it’s all business at the top of the tach without an armory of high-dollar gear.

Now, it’s not as if the Coyote will be stock. Sure, many of the foundational parts are from the factory, but as you’ll see in the show, the crew at FFRE knows how to optimize this engine platform. The shop is expert at sleeving the factory block for extra strength, and carefully selecting the right internals and upgrades to sustain record-setting power with boost.

With a rugged and resilient foundation, the Coyote 5.0-liter can leverage its Four-Valve advantage when the boost swells. It will inhale as much boost as that 76mm turbo can deliver, and if it keeps pumping the pounds at the top of the tach, the deep-breathing Blue Oval engine should easily slay the Brand X bully.

We will see how the builds unfold over the coming weeks as a new Horsepower Wars Season 4, presented by Summit Racing, content drops every Thursday, but the Coyote’s deep-breathing nature gives it an edge right out of the gate in the LS vs. Coyote 3 battle.