LT1<>LS1><$$ Modding

The ls2 officialy starts with the introduction of the 60-2 crank relucator wheels. I forget which of the GTO's had the 6.0 with the 24x wheel but they did exist.


beertestr said:
All 2005 and 2006 GTO's were LS2's.. no idea where you are going with the "not really LS2" thing. heads, cam and block were all the same. pan, exhaust manifolds crank pulley and water pump were different than the Corvette LS2.

IIRC, 2000+ LS1 blocks are stronger, Like Sean said, the perimeter bolt heads and rocker covers are kinda unique, but you can update to the center bolt heads and valvecovers, it all interchanges.

When the GenIV came out, the dropped the LS1/LS6, so 5.7L's went away. LS2's came in in 2005 on the Corvette and GTO, 2006 in the TBSS and SSR. In 2007, the L76 came in, the truck ones had a different block casting than the car L76 (used in the G8). The Car casting is more desirable because it has holes in the main bulkheads for bay-bay breathing, and is worth over 10 (OEM tested) HP at engine speeds over 5800 RPM or so.

I can go on for pages on the differences year-year, but you need to ask specifically what you want to know.

FYI, the piston slap noise, while annoying, never caused a premature failure. GM tightened up the piston-bore clearance, added coatings on the piston skirt, and went to full-floating pistons. That pretty much took care of it. The LS3 Grand Sport I am borrowing for the weekend has no sign of it (started it at 55 degrees the morning), but the 4.8L I put in my 93 Sierra does when it's below 50 degrees outside. BTW,the 4.8L still runs pretty damn strong for the smallest motor in the family, and towed my Caprice on the trailer at 88 mph in OD.. I kinda had the speedo cal a little off when I first built the truck.

You really can't go wrong with any of the LS engines though. Just pick what your ultimate power target is (and budget), and start asking q's. For example, a 5.3L iron block engine is freaking cheap to find, and makes 295-315 HP stock with 330+ ft-#. It out powers a stock LT1 by a long shot. If you want a 500 HP ride though, I'd start with a 6.0... you can see complicated it gets if you don't narrow your goals a bit.
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Pure84GTT said:
98 camaro z28
-long tubes
-custom H pipe and true duals
-3800 stall
-pcm for less mail order tune
-K&N with SLP lid
-LS6 intake
-295 wide nitto's

12.3x @ 115
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Nice. But that's not the starting point. That's somewhere in the middle.

Still nice
 
Pure84GTT said:
never seen an lt car do that with stock long block
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LT car? 98's are LS1's. If LT mean LT1 anyways. Other wise disregard my next info.

LT1 95 T/A bone stock 93k miles Auto with 2.73 gears
14.71 @89 mph

Added BBK shorties, 3.73 gears, rebuilt trans with 3200 lock up, 52mm Holley TB, no tuning, on Mt streets
13.42 @ 97

The dyno just before I ran that time with the stuff doen to it pulled 252rwhp and 325rwtrq

Mustang dyno.

To me the stuff i did to my T/A is somewhere in the middle since I haven't touched the Motor (heads or short block)

Adding forced induction or changing out anything on the short block or heads would be consider Major mods.

Considering that the LS1 is easily making 100HP more at the wheels than my LT1 I would think the 12.3 times are pretty good. But I am not looking for just shear performance, I want other things as well. I am lucky enough to have driven and owned alot of performance vehicles. And while I think the Camaro (96 specifically) had the best performance fit all around, it lacks things that the GTO has. Leg room being the biggest. but other things as well. Each person likes what they like and thats why I asked for opinions. Comparing the base, to the modified options.
 
i just ran a 12.90 at 112 with a small cam, my own blind guess of a tune, and my fuel pump so close to death i completely lost power in 3rd for a moment.

First and foremost, I love LTs to death but LS are the better engine. That said ive had no desire to upchange mine at all. Mine has been great to me. Even with my mods I still haven't had an opti issue after 6 years.

I personally plan to upgrade mine to an LS1 PCM/coilpacks and get rid of the opti. At that point, youve eliminated a lot of the issues with the LT1 - no more opti and WAY better tunability with HPTuners or EFILive. Checkout eficonnection for a kit.

If you are considering an LT be VERY picky in your selection. A neglected LT1 will give you hell. I paid a high price for mine back in 03 and ive had NO serious problems, at least ones that i didnt either cause or expect. I run the hell out of my car too, it has 95,000 miles and beating LS1s all the time.

Dart is coming out with a 427 CID block for the LTx crowd also.

In the end you will have to work more on an LTx but their potential is there.

I also highly recommend 95 LT1s. They always seem to be the runners and the least problematic.
 
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Yea, i know what you meant and I honestly have not either. I didnt mean that as a direct response, just stating what i ran.
 
Sean said:
You sure ? 2006 should be the first year for the ls2 with the 60-2 wheel as a flat platform change for GM
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Very sure, all the GTO's use the E40 pcm which does not support the 58 tooth. Dont ask me why GM decided to use an odd setup on the GTO's (maybe because it was going out of production) but that is how it turned out.

It has been discussed at length over at ls1gto.com, so far not a single one has been found with a variation.
 
Thats wierd. I don't work on a ton of GTO's so I never payed any attention. I knew they weren't standard corporate stuff. I wonder if thats assuie thing ? Good to know however should I get a customer looking for a 6.0 for a F car.


ibmgto said:
Very sure, all the GTO's use the E40 pcm which does not support the 58 tooth. Dont ask me why GM decided to use an odd setup on the GTO's (maybe because it was going out of production) but that is how it turned out.

It has been discussed at length over at ls1gto.com, so far not a single one has been found with a variation.
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CableGuy said:
LS1 hands down.

Cam, full exhaust, tune. 400whp. Nuff said.
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i will agree with you all day long that the LS is the better motor in every category.

but i want to point out that comparing dyno numbers LS to LT isnt exactly apples to apples. I get LS guys telling me i cant run 12s with ~330 rwhp, they clearly aren't familiar with the more aggressive torque curve of the LT1. (a stock LT1 will usually dyno 250-260 and run a high 13). Track times are what tells the real story.
 
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