well i have owned both ls1 and lt1 i love the way the lt1 sounds. i have the borla muffler and most people think its a halrey comming down the street. very mean sound

 

I have owned both, i would pick the ls1 but if you are just going for sound the lt1 would be the way to go.

 

Hmmm... I believe this thread was about motor selection, not about wheels or how we like to spend our money our cars.... I believe we should focus more on answering his questions.

If I was in your position I'd first look up information to see which engine will be easier to swap into your car. Also, some counties have emmisions laws against you switching engines in a car going backwards in time... meaning you cant put a different model motor out of a '95 in a year 2000 car and it be legal. That might eliminate the LT1 as a choice right there.

Both engines are going to sound like V8's and it'll all really depend on what kind of exhaust you run. I've heard great sounding cars with each engine. The LT1 does sound a bit meaner, but there are plenty of mean sounding LS1s out there. You'll be happy with whatever motor you choose, but due to the fact that the LS1 is more powerful, lighter, more reliable and gets better gas milage than the LT1, if you can afford it, purchase the LS1.

You also may want to test drive a car with each engine to see which you perfer.

Hope that helps

 

Same time the Corvette did. No, it's not "official", but I think most would agree that the LS1 makes damn close to 350 HP (flywheel) since many of them are capable of laying down 300 + RWHP stock, and after accounting for drivetrain loss, your left with a 350 HP engine.

 

Thanks for the help gentlemen. While I haven't made up my mind yet, it seems right now that the lt1 will be my choice because of sound and it's much lighter on the wallet. I'll keep you posted.

 

I know HP is a real sensitive subject for some of the LT1 people.

 

I don't know about an LS1 horsepower possibilty but, I have heard of a 1100+Hp LT1................can you LS1 lovers top that? The LT1 motor is also ALOT cheaper to get horsepower out of.
It's all about oppinion though.

 

this will be the first time i've ever heard of an lt1 going into an ls1 body. this is also the first time i've ever heard someones decision based upon "sound"

 

Although it was already said, it is worth repeating. Check to see if you can legally even go lt1 in your area, or you are wasting mucho dinero. LS1 might be your only choice.

 

The guy is doing this for his STREET car, not some hp monster. Remember, he is watching his wallet, 1100 is certainly not cheap. As far as getting hp out of, in standard street trim, the ls1 will produce much better gain through bolt ons than the lt1, and I usually see ls1 head/cam cars making more hp (around 430-450rwhp through m6) than their lt1 head/cam counterpart (usually around 380-400rwhp.)

If the thread starter is just going for exhaust note or big hp dragster, than yeah, the lt1 is probably the way to go. However, with the ls1 comes the relative ease of installation for his particular model year Camaro, and a potent street engine.

 

Mod for mod, the LS1 is faster. I think we all know that.
As far as all out goes, who knows? I think both of them will end up lifting the heads off the block if you go too far, so I'll call it a tie. The LT1 and LS1 always seem to be competing for Fastest Fourth Gen records.

As far as sound goes, both sound good, but LT1 sounds better IMO. An LS1 w/ the propper exhaust setup sounds awesome, but an LT1 w/ a big beefy cam, lts and true duals sounds absolutely sick. An LT1 sounds like the musclecars of old, whereas the LS1 has that "new age" sound, kind of like a cross between a Ferrari and a SBC.

Take your pick and stand by your choice. But don't whine if you buy an LT1 and an LS1 lays the smack down in a race, and don't whine if you get an LS1 and a guy with an LT1 has a better sounding car.

 

if you get the LT1 you cant beat the SLP 2OTL exhaust and e-cutout combo if you want awesome sound. <----Speaking from experience

 

Go with the LS1, its made for your car and is better than the LT1. The LS1 gets good gas mileage and makes more power. I do agree with ditching the rimz. Some vette rimz would look nice on your car.

 

my lt1 with its old set up (hotcam+bolts ons) sounded meaner then my LS1 with LM but i like my LS1 over my lt1. LT1's just sound meaner

 

I have had both and have both again.I like lt1s with borlas.I like my ls1 with cutout about 1/4 open on my b and b.Sounds good too.Cams will help any engine sound better.I have a cam in my ls1 and it sounds pretty mean.

I dont think lt1 are that much cheaper to get power out of.Of course to get good power out of either engine you really need to do heads/cam/and good headers or blower or turbo or nitrous.

With just basic mods the ls1 makes more power than the lt1s easily.

My ls1 with cam and long tubes and all little bolt ons but no nitrous installed yet or heads or blower or turbo can still put down around 450 engine and manage to impress me with how freakin fast it can be.

My lt1 with mild bolts ons feels like a sea slug in comparison.

But lt1s do sound nice.They also get intake manifold leaks quite frequently at the back which is big pain in the butt to fix and the optipuke is a joke but they do have replacement systems for that now.

The ls1 have some piston slap when cold..some do most do and factory valve springs were garbage but no optipuke..no leaks and
easier to work on for things like plugs,cam changes etc.I do think the lt1 is a better looking motor.The ls1 can be made better looking if you want though.But when I first saw it I thought one fugly engine.But after I took it to redline in fifth I thought it wasn't so ugly!!