I was looking at f-bodies, would i notice much diffrence between lt1 and ls1’s. What is the average life on both motors under normal driving. What should i watch out for when looking at f-bodies.
i got a L98 in my 89 Irocz and it has 153K miles on it and still running very strong.
and an LT1 is similar to regular gen I small block… so, i’d say a LT1 should go atleast 150K with mild driving and good maintenance. i can see 200K miles if you go really easy on it.
i dont know much about that Optispark tho… that might go bad sooner than 100K or need replaced. its a good idea to replace it anyway to something better.
LS1 also should run well into the 100K mile range. all depends on how you drive it and if you do any mods to it.
LS1 tho makes more power than LT1s, mod for mod since the LS1 heads are much much superior to the LT1’s. so is the ecm that controls the motor.
but LT1’s can be made really fast too. the intake is great on those motors for high rpms which you can make some great power. all it needs is cam and heads to support the flow range. i seen plenty of big LT1’s making good power numbers.
got 150 on my lt1 right now. don’t have any problems. oil ps1 is at 20 warm which is a little low but they say you only need 7 psi for every 1000 rpm
LSX > *
I have a significant amount of track (road race) time with LS1’s and LT1’s. IMO, they are very similar on the track with the LS1 being a little better for two small reasons, they are lighter and you get around 500 more rpms before bumping the stock rev limiter.
The thing that I like about the LT1 is the torque curve is a little better on the bottom end and this helps when pulling out of slower corners. A problem with LS1 is that you’ve got to turn the crap out of the motor for good lap times. On a typical lap in my old LS1, I’d routinely visit 6,000 rpms and in my LT1 I typically shift at around 5,400. This HAS to have an effect over the lifetime of the motor.
Lastly, over-reving an LS1 often causes bent valves or other damage. I have not heard of this problem with the LT1.
I think the negative press on the optispark is overblown.
My experience is this:
I bought a used LS1 Camaro and autocrossed, open lapped and time trialed it for 2 years. No problems. I sold the car to a competitor 3 years ago and he has autocrossed and open lapped it continuously since. No problems. Considering he is the 3rd owner of an 8-year-old car that is continually beat on, that is impressive.
I currently road race a 1995 LT1 Firebird. I am the 4th owner; I am the 3rd owner to road race it and it currently has about 111,000 miles on it. No problems and in my 3rd year of road racing it. This motor is unbreakable.
IMO, the imports boys can talk me to death about their lil engines that they tweak around to make more power. It seems to me that they change motors as often as I change oil in my daily driver. You can bitch about alot of GM automotive pieces but no one can touch them on durability at high power levels. No one.
Either one of these are very durable pieces. An LT1 car will cost less and the LS1 will be marginally superior. It’s really down to the cost/benefit tradeoff as to which is better for you…
:stupid:
LT if you dont have alot of money…
LS if you can afford it.
both good picks depends on how you will abuse them, everything breaks!
The torque arguement is often miss-stated. The thing about LT1s is you’re going to have ~260RWHP and ~300RWTQ stock. That makes them feel like they are super torquey down low… but really it’s just that they run out of breath on the top end. My '99 Z/28 did 305RWHP/315RWTQ bone stock. TQ was right on 300 at the start of the pull (2k RPM). Basically it equaled your typical stock LT1’s RWTQ rating at just 2k PRM and went on to post about 15RWTQ more overall. BUT it pulled so damn hard on the top end that it made it feel like the top was where the power was. Combined with the lighter weight, better response to mods, better stock brakes etc. there is really no comparison.
Bottom line: if you can afford a LS1 go for it. You’ll be saving $ in the long-run.
As for realability my buddy bought a '98 Z28 brand new. He AutoXed it non-stop for the first 6 years he had it (remember in Cali we AutoX from Feb-Dec. pretty much) along with tons of track days. In '04 he bought a AutoX only car ('70 BSPV 'vette) so it got mostly retired from AutoX duty (unless the 'vette is broken 
) but it still gets tons of track days. It’s also his daily driver. Last I asked him he was around ~160k miles and he still beats the snot out of it on a daily basis (it’s his DD and he does NOT drive soft). It still pulls strong, uses no oil etc. Around '03 he bought an extra low-mileage LS1 pull-out a friend had figuring he’d need it pretty soon. Well it’s still just sitting on his garage floor. LoL.
-TJ
ls1>lt1… i jsut cant afford an ls1
my 97 LT1 (Stock) about 285hp ran 14.2s, Totaled
my 02 LS1 (Stock) about 360hp runs 13.5s, Will be sold on saturday
Buyin one like this SOON.
I love the 96-97 WS.6
LS1
LS1ost
true story
Simmons FTW:greddy:
LS1 for sure. I have a 97 Z (LT1) with over 100k and it still runs like a beast but i also have an 02 Z (LS1) with about 40k. the LS1 is much faster and the main thing is…it is much easier to work on and mod up. It is a bitch to even change the spark plugs in the LT1.
hmm i thought they both were kinda shitty to work on compared to gen I motor cars because on those cars, the motor doesnt sit halfway under the windshield.
i bet a lt1 or ls1 in a 1-3 generation car would be easier to work on with all that extra room. thats one thing i dont like about the newer 4th gens. just the way the motor sits in there and the fact you have to drop the k member and pretty much the whole front half to really work on a motor or swap a new one in
the money you would spend putting a LSX into a 3rd gen, you might as well buy a 4th gen, and bite the bullet with maintenence.
this one has been for sale, it seems like forever.
http://www.fbodymotorsports.com/91_ls1_camaro_for_sale
beautiful car, but not for $27k and the price hasnt budged.
i seen that car in person at Carlisle. its very impressive and a really clean ride from ground up. but i agree, i dont think its worth more than 16-17K