Z28x

LS2>LS1>LT1

LT1s do have some real nice low end torque though, both are fun cars to drive.

SSCamaro99_3

I have a small cam in my LS1 (GM Hotcam), and this LS1's have no torque is crap. I make 300 at 2500 rpms, 350 by 3000 rpms, and carry 350+ through 5500+ rpms with a peak of 373 at 5000 rpms.

bombd84

True, that guy that boasted about the lt1's peak torque of 325 lb-ft at 2500 rpm, well the ls1 puts down 300 lbft at the wheels stock at 2500.

2001 B4C

97-02 have better interior. i hate the 93-96 interior. both the 93-97 and the 98-02 exteriors have their diffrences. either one is good in my oppinion. 98-02s have alot bigger and better brakes. if your going to get an LS1 car and plan on modifying it get one with the LS6 intake. (01-02?) if money is not that big of an issue get a 01 or 02 Z28 or SS (not much benifit getting the SS, the hp is all from an air lid and exhaust. if you want SS wheels and the hood might as well get an SS though)

in my oppinion my car is the best 4th gen you could get. i WILL NOT put any bolt ons on my car. when i start to modify im going to go straight to the cam and also porting and polishing the heads. no sense in doing all these bolt ons for $500 and only pick up at the max 50hp, when i could go to the cam and heads and pick up at least 100 hp for $1000 or so. i want my car to look completely stock, even when you open up the hood.

94ZRiCeKiLr

uhhh that won't work....you can't do heads and cam and not open up your intake and exhaust tracts....you're not going to get 100 horses from heads and cam if your LS1 is breathing through its stock airbox and exhaust manifolds....you have to support motor mods with bolt-ons for them to be effective...

BTW: by my calculations 50 hp for 500 bucks seems pretty similar to 100 hp for 1000 bucks.... (btw: you can't get 100 horses worth of heads and cam for 1000 dollars unless you get used stuf for a good deal...a good set of heads alone is well over a grand. in addition theres the price of installation and dyno tuning. in short you can't have a head and cam car for 1000 dollars and if you do, it CERTAINLY won't get you 100 more hp.)

nuke61

Another guy who's had both motors. LS1 hands down. The better low end torque of the LT1 is a myth. It just *feels* like it has more low end grunt because it falls on it's face just when the LS1 is waking up, so it *feels* like it has an abundance of low end torque when in reality it just lacks a top end pull. 0-60 times for LT1 and LS1 Fbodies are so close that they are essentially the same, but from the 1/8th to the 1/4 mark, the LS1 pulls away. Bottom end is about the same, top end the LS1 walks the LT1.

Antz97ZNJ

Do a search this exact subject has been posted about 100,000,000 since the Ls1 came out, im sure you'll find more info then you'll need

med_reject

ported stock castings with 224ish intake duration can net 420rwhp in an lt1. At that price you'll have a stock (newer) ls1. So Lt1 is good for price, but if its about price, then an 81camaro would be even better.

2001 B4C

i can do a cam and heads and not open up my intake and exhaust. it wouldnt make as much hp if i opend them up. my goal is to make a sleeper though. in my oppinion bolt ons arent really worth it. its easier to make hp with a cam than with an SLP air lid.

it would cost around $500 for a cam. i might be able to find someone to port and polish my heads for $500 or $600. doing all the other work myself that would be around $1000.

Capn Pete

I love 81's!!! (see sig!)
I agree with you, and anyone who disagrees is really quite warped by what they read on the internet. Yeah, I installed a lid on my car when it was stock, and sure, I felt a small "seat-of-the-pants" improvement, but not a "night-and-day" difference. However, a camshaft will make a HUGE, instantly noticable difference, not only SOTP, but on a dyno and at the track as well. Again, some may disagree, but I think you're truly jaded if you don't think that the factory air-box and exhaust can't flow any more air than they already do. I mean c'mon, really.....does an aftermarket lid REALLY open up that much more than the factory? No. And considering LS1 exhaust manifolds (well, the later versions) are shaped like a shorty header, then how "totally restrictive" are they really going to be?!

Maybe that's all just IMO!?

94ZRiCeKiLr

no flame intended dude but YES a lid can absolutely make a difference...i've seen them worth as much as 10-12 RWHP in a STOCK car....

now take a car with a stock intake and exhaust tract but ported heads and a cam...the purpose of porting heads and adding a bigger cam is to increase airflow into and out of the engine correct??? what is the point if the air cant get past the induction to get into the heads and then cant get out quickly enough because the exhaust is too restrictive....you've just choked off your good-flowing heads and big-duration cam. add a lid to this setup and you could pick up as much as 15 or more RWHP....

Longtube headers are THE bolt-on for an LS1. there is NO comparison to a stock manifold or even a shorty header. people typically see around 20 RWHP from a set on a STOCK internal car...eliminate free flowing headers from a head and cam car and you'll choke off WELL more than that...

the name of the game when it comes to making hp is moving air...you're motor could be set up to move a TON of air but if you don't have the right bolt-ons to let the motor itself take the air in and spit it out...your shooting yourself in the foot.

another point...if you want 100 hp out of heads and cam without exhaust or even a lid you're going to need a cam that is SO BIG that NOBODY will be stupid enough to believe your car is stock. i honestly dont even see a t-rex cam (which lopes like crazy) and a set of ported heads making an honest 100 RWHP in a car that cant get air past the airbox and out the exhaust pipes. it just won't happen....heads and cam with no exhaust flow and a corked up intake is NOT worth the money involved JUST TRUST ME. im not in anyway talking down to u guys im just trying to keep you from making what coudl be an expensive mistake. sure you will gain power with heads and cam alone but it will be a **** poor improvement for the money you spent

can someone back me up on this???? BOLT-ONS AREN'T AN ALTERNATIVE TO MOTOR WORK, THEY ARE NEEDED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.

i will make a bet with you for any amount of money that neither one of your cars will make 400 RWHP with heads and cam and a totally stock intake and exhaust setup...GUARANTEED

94ZRiCeKiLr

put the lid on your stock car = 10RWHP

put the lid on your cammed car = 15+ RWHP (whether you feel that SOTP or not, 15 RWHP is significant)

ONCE YOU START DEALING WITH AFTERMARKET CAM/HEADS, THE AIRFLOW DIFFERENCE INTO AND OUT OF THE MOTOR ADDS UP TREMENDOUSLY....
your also forgetting you'll need a whole new valvetrain to take advantage of those heads....everything, springs, pushrods, retainers, everything. either way your NOT getting 100 RWHP for $1000 with NO bolt-ons....

Javier97Z28

Oh gawd, another one of these threads?

On that note, an LT1 done right is nothing to sneeze at Sure I've got a relatively small cam in my car, but that's all I really needed to make up the gap.

I don't regret for a minute having an LT1. It's been reliable and is damn quick, I've given plenty of LS1 owners some nasty headaches.

Capn Pete

I never said a lid didn't make a difference, I just said that it's a small one. Really, what's ~10 - 15 HP in comparison to a heads/cam which can, IMO, gain upwards of ~100 HP or more (more as long as you do the intake/exhaust bolt-ons).

And I would NOT make a bet that heads & cam GUARANTEED won't make ~400 rwhp. Think about this, Thunder Racing dyno'd the T-Rex cam at 451 rwhp. Now take away the long-tubes (~30 hp?) and take away the intake (~15 hp?) so you're left with what, 405 rwhp?

Is it "the best" or "the most efficient" way of modding your car, to do heads & cam w/o doing intake & exhaust? ABSOLUTELY NOT! But, if you want to leave everything "appearing" stock, then heads & cam still have way more power potential than intake & exhaust.

SSCamaro99_3

To my knowledge, Thunder Racing is the only place that has made that much power from a cam only T-Rex car. Stock manifolds will not hide a T-Rex. The motor shaking like J-Lo may give it away, if not the sound. Aftermarket vs factory lid may not kill H/C, but lack of a good exhaust system will.