Why the Chevy LS is so good

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
I was referring to Gen I SBC not Gen II


Maybe he had a carbed Gen 1 LT-1 in an early '70s car?

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: ls1mike
I do always laugh at the guys who talk about how high tech OHC engines are and that they are so much better than push rod engines. It is simply not the case.


Yes, when all of the MKIV Supra worshippers/owners/wannabee owners/riceboyzz used to troll on LS1tech.com, and LS1.com, and rant and rave about how their powerplants were so much more "high tech", along with the old HP/LITER bee ess, I countered with MY engine is more "high tech" since it's an ALLOY block, NOT iron, like yours. LOL

 

[super20dan]

too bad the rest of my 99 slverado isnt as good as the 5.3 ls engine. best motor i have owned hands down. power reliability and fuel economy all in one. and from gm!

 

[hatt]

Quote:
The LS engine is rather similar in many ways. Yes, Ford makes as much HP from less displacement. But, the trade-off is that Ford's 5.0 has far more weight, complexity, and physical size. Again, just how is that better?
There doesn't appear to be a durability and longevity penalty comparing the more complex Ford modular vs the GM LS line. The weight difference is 15-20 lbs. Size doesn't matter as long as it will fit. Car engine compartments were cramped long before OHC engines came along. My F150 engine compartment has tons of room. Is it "better?" Maybe, maybe not. It's not worst.

 

[hansj3]

Originally Posted By: hatt
Quote:
The LS engine is rather similar in many ways. Yes, Ford makes as much HP from less displacement. But, the trade-off is that Ford's 5.0 has far more weight, complexity, and physical size. Again, just how is that better?
There doesn't appear to be a durability and longevity penalty comparing the more complex Ford modular vs the GM LS line. The weight difference is 15-20 lbs. Size doesn't matter as long as it will fit. Car engine compartments were cramped long before OHC engines came along. My F150 engine compartment has tons of room. Is it "better?" Maybe, maybe not. It's not worst.

You have the 5.0/3.5 yes? The yote motor hasn't been around long enough to tell about longevity. Neither has the ecoboost.
The old mod motors, were all terribly under powered for their respective truck applications. The 5.4 was no 1 ton motor, it felt good in an f150 and just OK in an f250, compared to the 6.0 that feels like a good gas replacement for the light duty 1 ton crowd
The 6.8 had good power, but then it blew size out of the water. Plus no one liked to feed them
And then there is the can phasers. What a dumb Design that was. That engine was made well more complicated than it ever needed to be.
The mod motors were OK at best. I'd rather imagine what the old 4.9 and 5.0 engines would have been like if Dev continued on them

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: hatt
There doesn't appear to be a durability and longevity penalty comparing the more complex Ford modular vs the GM LS line. The weight difference is 15-20 lbs. Size doesn't matter as long as it will fit. Car engine compartments were cramped long before OHC engines came along. My F150 engine compartment has tons of room. Is it "better?" Maybe, maybe not. It's not worst.


In fact, some of the Ford Modular engines actually do outlast the GM flavors.

But the weight issue remains. The 505HP LS7, for example, is 370 pounds without accessories, starter or brackets. The 5.0 Ford is 444 pounds in the same configuration. Shelby has done some amazing things with the 5.2L at 526HP/8000 RPM. I'm 100% sure I'd enjoy driving that!

And, I disagree about the size not mattering. The physical size of the LS series of engines makes them ideal choices for all sorts of applications. In race applications, the center of gravity can be kept low. In aviation applications, the frontal area is greatly reduced. In boats, the small block takes up far less room and is, therefore as an inboard engine, a smarter choice.

In addition, the torque is produced at lower RPM's. This is good in many applications.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
Absolutely nothing wrong with OHC and DOHC engines, as long as you have a single bank of cylinders I4 or I6.
OHC Engines in V formation are the devil.


Ford did pretty well on the 4.6 V8's.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Originally Posted By: The_Eric
Originally Posted By: Robenstein
Just wish they were as cheap as the old small blocks.


I think for what you're getting- they really are. To make a traditional SBC do the things that an LS will do (virtually stock) as reliably as it does, it's going to take some dough. I think if you factor in the durability and power of an LS, the cost is probably similar.


That is not my experience. When I have gone to build/rebuild them, not pluck them from a junkyard used, they are much more expensive. Gaskets, intakes, cams, etc are all higher priced than for a good old 350.

I never trust junk yard motors


You generally don't NEED to rebuild them. (Heck, you can even reuse the lifters.)

 

[ls1mike]

Jaraxle, that is twice...yes twice I agree with you... I am going to buy a lottery ticket tomorrow. If I win the big one...I will send you a check...

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: xxch4osxx
Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Cujet

It's almost too bad the other manufacturers did not continue the development of their "legacy" engines.


The modern Mopar HEMI is another pushrod mill FWIW.
And it also has VVT!


Quite a few LS engines have VVT (L76, L92, L99) to name a few.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
Absolutely nothing wrong with OHC and DOHC engines, as long as you have a single bank of cylinders I4 or I6.
OHC Engines in V formation are the devil.


Ford did pretty well on the 4.6 V8's.


Agree, but they're all bigger than Ford own big block pushrod V8's. Pretty expensive to get power out of unless force inducted.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Physical size is a huge factor in car development.

There is a reason the new Corvette has the lowest center of gravity Car and Driver has ever measured! It's that incredibly compact engine!

No need for yards of cam chains, one cam is fine for me....

 

[DoubleWasp]

Engine fits in spaces previously occupied by 4 cylinder engines, barely weighs any more (if any), makes twice or thrice the power, and gets around 70% of the fuel economy, all while generating one of the nicest exhaust notes in the business, and calling for GM parts as common as dirt, and delivering modified power increases at phenomenal power/dollar ratios.

I don't know how some engineers sleep at night knowing their next creation will soon have several companies offering an LS swap kit so the owners can chuck their engine into a corner somewhere.

 

[TiredTrucker]

Well, the longevity results aren't in yet in my case, but the L96 6.0L in my 2015 Chevy Silverado 2500HD.... I'll keep it. Real nice grunt for a gasser in a 3/4 ton pickup and it won the Golden Hitch award from The Fast Lane Truck folks who did testing of 3/4 ton trucks with gassers grossing maximum GCWR on a stretch of I-70 up to the Eisenhower tunnel in Colorado. It smoked the Dodge Ram 6.4L setup in time pulling 20,300 lb gross up the side of the mountain in that test.

I was always very fond of the big block 454 in the 3/4 ton's, but this L96 ought to do quite nicely. I did a lot of research on the L96 6.0L before opting for this pickup, and it has one of the best track records of any gas engine in a pickup for durability and longevity.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Rust_Belt_Pete
Absolutely nothing wrong with OHC and DOHC engines, as long as you have a single bank of cylinders I4 or I6.
OHC Engines in V formation are the devil.


Ford did pretty well on the 4.6 V8's.


Agree, but they're all bigger than Ford own big block pushrod V8's. Pretty expensive to get power out of unless force inducted.


They do respond well to boost.

But trying to hop one up the old fashioned way will cost a fortune and doesn't net a whole lot over stock.
Having tried this once if I ever end up with a mod motor again and wanting more power boost actually costs less than a h/c/I swap. Cams cost over 1000 bucks plus install and I definitely don't suggest doing it yourself unless you know whT your doing.
Not much is gained with any type of aftermarket intakes. Decent after,Arlen heads are painfully expensive. And after all this your lucky to net 50hp on the best day.
Or a supercharger can be had for 3k and a decent wrench can self install. Then to the dyno for tuning. And 100hp can be found pretty easy depending on blower size,can't go over 450hp on stock guts anyway.
Left alone they are durable though.

 

[stchman]

Originally Posted By: wirelessF
Originally Posted By: dareo
To any OHC V8 haters, 1UZFE. 2UZFE. 3UZFE. Thanks.


Heh

I don't hate OHC engines, heck in my garage I have all three Toyota/Lexus V8 engines (90 4Runner w/1UZ engine swap, 01 Tundra V8, 04 Lexus LS430) and the LM7 LS truck engine in my daily truck wanting to be swapped out for a LQ4 or even an LQ9 6.0L HD truck engine.


Is that a Toyota V8 on the left? Look at how MASSIVE it is, the engine on the right is almost puny looking.

 

[Cujet]

My 2009 Ford F150 4x4 has the 5.4L V8 with 3 valves per cylinder. The engine is HUGE, makes 310HP, gets 14.5MPG and is very smooth (and known to be very reliable) I do like it.

However, my friends Chevy is faster, gets better MPG and has much more room under the hood.

I'm not sure the Ford is actually better. It's simply more complex.

 

[CBR.worm]

I'm a big fan of imported 4 cam V6 and V8s, those would be my first choice in most cases for daily drivers.

The exception would be if I wanted to build an engine for big power. In that case it is hard to beat a pushrod motor - especially an LS. Primarily due to the ease of assembly/disassembly and the amazing number of parts available. The size is nice as well.

The picture shown above, the Lexus motor has all of its accessories still attached. Clearly it is larger, but the accessories make it look more complex.

 

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Physical size is a huge factor in car development.

There is a reason the new Corvette has the lowest center of gravity Car and Driver has ever measured! It's that incredibly compact engine!

No need for yards of cam chains, one cam is fine for me....


Yes, and in a truck (F-150s/Toys/etc.) that does not matter much, but in a car which you want to handle very well, and keep not only the cg low, but also the front end weight low, it DOES matter.

That being said, I have NO PROBLEM with that insane, flat plane crank Coyote engined, GT 350 version, current Stang, whatsoever!!

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
The picture shown above, the Lexus motor has all of its accessories still attached. Clearly it is larger, but the accessories make it look more complex.


Here is my 5.3L truck engine with 2011 LS3 Camaro front accessories in full dress. Still very compact & simple!