Probably an old argument on here, but im gonna start a new one. I Have had both motors. lets do my comparison.
1998 formula firebird-9.1 1/8th mile @77mph with6sp.&3.42 gear KnN col air
1995 camaro z28 9.4(first run) @75mph with auto. 2.73-hell i never came out of second gear.
ls1 cost me 5k, the lt1 cost me 2k. Over the years people tell me oh well you can do more to the ls1. well then what, b/c you can do the same thing to an lt1.
opti spark once replaced are fine end of story on that.
IM Lt1 all the way, wonder whats gonna happen when i put the 3.42 in it.

 

Well really LT1>LS1>LT1 if you consider the new engine.

But for the sake of your argument, you have to spend more, do more to make a 4th gen Camaro LT1 perform better than the LS1. The LS1 engine is 100# lighter, has 6 bolt mains, waay better heads...

3.42 is a good gear choice for you. Some guys go with the 3.73, but then you get into worse traction problems.

 

It's like apples and oranges. I've owned both as well, and they both have their advantages & disadvantages. But saying one is better than the other is a matter of opinion. Heck I like my old 69 GTO with Ram Air 400, old school motor of course but damn I absolutely loved it. Was it modern...NO, but did that mean it wasn't worth a dam...no. Personally, and only because I have done more with LTx vs LSx motors, I prefer the LTx...but thats me, I like being differnet. I like it when you are somewhere and they ask what have you got in that thing an LS...and ya say...ah Nope an LT and you look at their expression. It is a combination of things that makes the power to the road any ways. Different strokes for different folks, so motor choice is a personal preference and it's all good, we all enjoy wrenching on something, hell I don't like ricers however you got to give them credit for what they do even if they are a little off course lol...but then again thats their choice.

 

The LS1 wins if you are just doing bolt ons and a cam and it is MUCH easier to work.

Once you start going crazy then it evens out especially with some of the opti solutions out there.

LT1 is an AMAZING engine. When I bought my 93 Z28 6 speed in 94 there were only a few cars on the market back than that competed. My buds 94 Cobra was nothing even modded then you had the RX7 and the Supra which were about equal to the z28. the twin turbo 300zx was like the Cobra.

Its not that the LT1 is a bad engine, bad choice, I'm biased as I've never had a problem with an opti. Its just that the LS1 is better, I just had this choice as my LT1 is dust and am doing an LS1 swap. Which I'm kind of bummed about. But after adding everything up it didn't cost all that much more to do the swap and I'll have an LS1 with an LS6 intake and MAF on it and from there all the aftermarket support after that.

 

With only intake and a catback my LT1 Z28 went a best of 8.6@82mph in the 1/8th....no slicks...Goodyear street tires. However it mostly did 8.8-8.9@80-81mph on a regular basis.

Most of the stock LS1's I've seen at our local tracks run in the 8.7-9.0 range.

The CC503, 1.6RR, and long tube headers have put me out of reach of most stock LS1 F-bodies. My best time in the 1/8th is 8.3@89mph(street tires). I do think slicks would put me very high 7's as I'm having a terrible time launching the car.

However when you start camming and opening up the exhaust of the LS1 then the game changes. I've got to step up to ported heads to compete with that(which is my next move). I've seen some very impressive numbers over the years from cam/exhaust only LS1 cars.

I guess it all depends on how much money you want to spend.

I like my LT1, but I've also never had the opti/ignition problems of others....I mean the ones that you can seem to find. To counter that, I've also performed regular maintenance on the car. I try not to wait until the car puts me on the side of the road before I maintenance it. I also much prefer the LT1 engine note to the LS1.

Both are very nice engines and I don't think you can go wrong with either one. As Kevin mentioned, you, generally, have to spend more to pull the LT1 up to LS1 power levels. The LS1 is a better platform from the factory....but the LT1 is no slouch either(given the late 90's/early 2000 time period).

Feels good to be able to stick right to the back bumper of a 04 Supercharged Cobra and not have him pull an inch. However I didn't gain any either. Does prove that my NA LT1 is pushing around 400hp at the crank right now.

 

Well I've been riding this train of thought for a long time figuring out what to do with my engine. I've been at a stalemate for a very long time.

The LS1 > LT-1. GM did design it to be superior to the LT1 and it is I admit that. The LT-1 does have it's pro's though. It's sounds nice and mean and goes fast when you give it gasoline. It's also a pretty simple motor to learn and work on. It you put the right time and $$$ and effort into an LT1 you can have a very fun and fast car. The LS1 on the other hand is a much different monster. It responds better to modes and can be made faster for less the work that we have to put into ours. I used to hate the LS1 guys just as much as I hated 5.0's back in my street racing days but LT1 is a tough motor and mine never let me down. Even though the HG blew the car ran hard.

I'm still stuck between my love for the LT1 and thinking about replacing it for the power advantage of the LS1. But we'll get the last laugh in the end when GM puts out the new LTWon! haha It would be funny if that motor could fit in the 4th Gen Fbodies. It be the LT-1 to LT1 conversion.

BTW here's a cool article to read Lingenfelter: Corvette’s New LT1 Engine Will Challenge Tuners

 

Just food for thought here but what "if" GM would have put the LT5 into production, would it have delayed the LSx series, probably not but the LT5 was put into a few GM cars, the Camaro and Impala SS being two of them, and it was a way different monster then the LT1 or LT4. The LSx IS one hell of a powerplant, no denying that, and as you say easy to mod versus LTx. I guess having both before I still prefer the LTx...again I just like being different, but then again I am an old school fella and newer doesn't always appeal to me. And I too am one that has never run into OPTI issues, and again those that buy cheap parts get what is coming to them...problems! An ounce of preventative maintenance goes a long way as someone above stated!

 

Well the LT1 has my vote, and i see many of yall prefer it as well, but i did post this thread on an lt1 section, would have put this on ls1 section and they would have wanted to bury me. Anyway though, going to spend some money to whoop up on the ls1 guys. Headers and Gear. whats the recomended for a good 1/8 mile car, dont drive far from work so mpg dont matter. was going to be cheap and buy the summit long tube headers, and get a 3.73? opinions, suggestions, anything thanks

 

What Camaros and Impala SSs got the LT5? As far as I know it was "in production" and it was only factory installed in the almost 7,000 ZR1 M6 Corvettes from 1990 - 1995.

 

Fred you are CORRECT! I spoke off of memory and my memory was wrong as usual lol! That was a big block Impala SS and a Camaro labeled the ZL-1 built by John Moss of GM in 1996. For some reason I had them being an LT5, and you are right it was the ZR1s that got the LT5...oh well as stated I stand corrected!

 

The LT1 will win dollar for dollar (car included) but you'll hit the NA LTX ceiling pretty quickly. The lack of performance parts is crippling.

 

How fast you can go is determined by how much money you got regardless of engine type.

 

We have a winner! Cubic dollars = Cubic power

 

You'd get more usable responses if you gave us what your car + you weigh, your current mods, transmission, gears, injectors, heads, cam, rockers, TB, gas type (pump or racing), power adders (if any) , tires and finally, what ET/MPH you want to run.

Back when I first bought my brand new 96 M6 Z28 w/3.42 gears, all it took to beat the bone stock LS1 Fbodies in my Houston, Tx neighborhood was LT4 HOT cam, 1.6 rockers and headers. I thought I was hot stuff till I raced a bud with LS1 Formula with a cam and 4.10 gears. He cooked me good.

I then went to a CC 224/236 Nitrous extreme cam and a TH350 automatic w/2800 stall torque converter. Oh, and a 100 shot of N2O. That setup on MT ET streets went 12.0 @116 on motor and 11.1 @ 121mph on the 100 shot.