dist0rtion_69

I have both. The lt1 definately has more low end feel, and feels alot more torquey around town. This is the main reason I love my lt1. My ls1 w/ minor mods (4.10 gears, ls6 cam) feels like its going to rip off the road (and sometimes has) past 4500. The ls1 makes 30-40hp more stock, and you will gain more power on light mods because of the better head flow. It will make the power of a mild heads/cam lt1 with just a cam. The car also gets better gas milage. In my opinion my lt1 w/ headers and a borla the lt1 sounds better than my loudmouth'd ls1... However, borla is a premium exhaust There are nice 98-99 z's on ebay for 9k-12k pretty often w/ 50k+ miles. I would also try to get one with any mods you might want done that are minor already done. This will save you money in the long run as usually any mods added to the car will not jack up the price any. You will just end up sinking cash into them and losing it when selling the car.

However, if cost is a factor an LT1 is a sweet ride, and if you are going to buy a used car... definately check to see if they've had the opti replaced, water pump, rear main seal, or intake manifold gasket. Several of these will happen as it draws closer to 100k miles and will be a pita or end up being very costly to you. I however wouldn't get an LT1 thats a 97 because its not that much cheaper than a 98, and in some cases you can find a 98 as cheap, or cheaper than an overpriced or immaculate 97 if you search around. If you are going to get an lt1.. save yourself some cash and get a well maintained 94-96. Just my opinion BTW: Spark plugs is a pain on an lt1.. I'm talking MAJOR pain... The ls1 is a breeze

POLO97Z

I still can't get past the bumble bee bug eyed look of the newer Camaros. And I think the LT1's sound nicer. My A4 LT1 stock would of dyno'd around 230RWHP. The LS1's A4 dyno at least 280 and higher. Can't go wrong either way. (Yes, I still have LS1 envy)

Even with all my mods, I'd still be under what a stock LS1 A4 puts out.

CANTONRACER

I think it really depends on your $$$ situation once you start going fast.

Just don't believe everything you read on the internet.

Geoff Chadwick

I'd say get a 95. 95's still have OBD1 - so easier to mess with, and the single cat y-pipe (which is a good thing and a bad thing) and the 95-97's had vented optispark units.

Ignition wise, Ls1 is superior. Plug replacement on ls1 is easer. Stock heads on ls1 are a LOT better then an Lt1. Gas milage is a hair better on an ls1.

Here's my determination, from my situation.

When I bought my 95- a 98 with the same options and similar miles was $3700 more. Then insurance was $22/mo more. So considering I drive at most 220 miles a week, the increase in insurance was more then the lower gas milage. For $3700, you can take an Lt1, get headers, catback, a port job on the heads, cam, 1.6rr, tune, and a few other odds and ends. So in my situation, saying they both had their problems, I could mod my lt1 till it was as fast (or a bit faster) then a stock ls1, and the insurance would be higher then the increased gas milage.

The lt1's will always sound like an old muscle car, because the way they are. Ls1's sound more like an exotic to my ears.

Lt1's usually hit 230-240rwhp stock, where most ls1's hit 295-305rwhp stock.

As a note - GM made 101 Lt4 fbodies in 97. They have the low end of the lt1 and a bit of the high end of the ls1. You can buy a fully blown lt4 conversion kit (with the larger lt4 "hot" cam) and the kit is #pk12550630 ($2900 dealer, or $2095 from www.gmpartsdirect.com)

So it's up to you. For the same total amount, if you do the work yourself, you can mod an lt1 till ls1 level for how much you save, and higher insurance usually equals the gas milage.

There are a million other pros and cons, but on the overall, they're two totally bad *** cars that can be really really fast. It depends on which you think looks better and what options it has (like the one option on a 95 z28 that I wanted was steering wheel radio controls- but you couldnt get that option that year)

roadracer247

All I can say is go drive both. See which one you like better and get it! A LS1 will cost a little more because it is a newer car. That's all there is to it. Both are fast and can get you in plenty of trouble! I have driven both myself and I have to say that the LS1 is way faster. I am going to get a LS1 once my current car sells.

sleeperZ96BT

id ask this is LT1 tech, and youll see (like someone said) that youll get more responses 1 way vs the other. id go with a 95 LT1 for the same reasons jeff said. also, the person who said LS1's respond better to mods is wayyyy off base in my opinion. look at what you see for a gain on an LS1 (especially ws6 and SS models) on a ctaback, ive seen as little as 2hp and as much as 7 depending on the car. on an lt1 theres a solid 10-15 horse there. look at headers....FLP's on an LS1 add a solid 15rwhp, on an LS1 you are talking closer to 40 or more (i saw this on my LT1). the LS1, like everyone knows is better from the factory, although id beg to differ that the LT1 responds better to mods, and certainly (as some one mentioned) CHEAPER to mod. just depends on what you want. one other thing i noticed is that a bolt on LT1 puts down similar power to a stock LS1 but always runs faster than it.......always found that a lil odd, but im not complaining. plus, i personally like the sound, look, and feel of an LT1 better, even though it got shortchanged a solid 50+hp on average.
brian

Grease

When was the last time you heard of someone with an LS1 performing the LT1 brake and driveshaft upgrade?
They have lighter engine blocks, intakes, no opti spark (DIS which alot of LT1 owners wish they had)

If all you care about is dyno numbers, get a supra
If all you care about is track times, get and LS1
If all you care about is looks and sound, get and LT1

The only reason why I chose and LT1 was the chinese looking front end, I never like the chrysler corcorde looks of the LS1 camaros. Trans Ams are a different story though. It cost me about 1000$ to make my car run what a stock LS1 car would run in a 1/4 mile, but and LS1 car would cost alot more than 1000$ to buy.

camaroz28_97

i have a 97 LT1 and i am deff happy with it. the LS1's are deff faster stock. so if your looking for a car that is fast without having to spend a few $$$ than i would say go with the LS1. If you dont have the cash now than stick with the LT1 and do was few mods later. i have herd that the LT1's respond to mods just as well as the LS1's. Ill let u know when i get my heads headers and cam in. Just keep in mind the LT4 hot cam kit is about 2 grand. and that will make an LT1 faster than a mostly stock LS1.

96SFLZ

2 grand?

The LT4 hot cam kit is around $500.

96SFLZ

Brian, I don't think your numbers are very accurate there, especially with the headers. Good LTs should give you about 20-25rwhp for both motors. I'm sure you could see a 40rwhp gain if you did H/C/I, Y-pipe, catback and left the stock manifolds on, then did headers...but you will not see 40rwhp on a N/A bolt-on car.

Dynos can be and quite often are wrong.

Also, let me know when an stock LT1 can pick up 15-20rwhp with a $150 (or less) intake mod...

99blackSS

If you have the money to get a LS1 get a LS1.

Loudmouth LS1

Put it this way, there are N/A, Full Bolt-on, and just bolt on, nothing else, no nitrous, nothing, just bolt-ons, untouched internal LS1's doing high 11's!!!!!!! Show me one bolt-on LT1 doing high 11's?! Go with the LS1 if you can afford it!!!!!

96SFLZ

Devon, don't take this the wrong way but: http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...threadid=70475





There are bolt-on LS1s in the low 11s, I believe 11.3 is the "record" right now.

sleeperZ96BT

its been shown over and over that ls1's get 15rwhp or about that from the headers/cat/ypipe setup. and id believe an LT1 could run 11's with all the stuff that ls1 had. i mean bolt ons seem to include 12 bolts, slicks, gears, etc. seems as long as you dont do a cam and heads or a power adder its a bolt on car still. ok....ill try my explanation again on how much hp i picked up with a few bolt ons. last time i tried people just didnt get it. the last time i dynod i pulled 295rwhp@5500 rpms. i had a 52mm tb, cai, underdrive pulleys, and full exhaust. a bone stock lt1, same year, same tranny pulled 260rwhp@5000rpms. so, is one to assume that i gained a measely 35rwhp for all that i had invested? many do, but in reality i did not. at 5500 his stock LT1 had fallen to a paltry 240rwhp. by 6k it had tailed off to around 210 while i was at 285. so how much power did i actually gain? id say a solid 70rwhp by 6k is fair. my torque also was much higher than his and lasted much higher into teh band (300+rwt from off-idle to 5200). most of that power gain was in the exhaust as a TB with those few mods is fairly useless, a pulleys good for what, 5hp, and a cai maybe 10-15 (theres a ~$150 mod for ya btw). in my opinion its very fair to say you can pull 40rwhp+ from a full exhaust an an LT1 over stock, its just that restrictive. the LS1 is much better stock than an LT1 from the factory, no one disagrees with that. aluminum driveshaft, no opti, bigger brakes etc. im just rebutting the statement about LS1's responding to mods better. look at what people are getting for power from mods, LT1's seem to get the best of most of em, thats all im saying.
brian
FWIW i think he meant the LT4 conversion kit costing 2grand or so, although ive never seen it that low.

OH, DO A SEARCH, THIS HAS BEEN HACKED TO BITS OVER AND OVER AND OVER, lol. (referring to this topic)

Loudmouth LS1

Hell no, I don't take that the wrong way!!!!!! Thanks for the info bro, I had no idea whatsoever!!!!!! Damn, 11's on a bolt-on LT1 !!!!!!!!! And 11.3 on bolt on LS1 !!!!!!!!!!!!! Damn, I want low 11's with just bolt-ons!!!!!!!!!