I'm not dropping it

I think...the main reason is people want things to be easy and/or cheap. The guys who got good at the LTX platform had to have patience and many times had to be innovators [our aftermarket sucks especially a few years ago]. Compare that to the plug and play LSX platform which is easy for the internet click and buy kinda guys. Multiple GM head and intake designs, not to mention loads of aftermarket parts. Just count the number of LSX intake manifolds compared to the flawed LTX one that Edelbrock barely improved on. Not saying the LSX platform is bad, but I just think to be fast in an LTX you have to be a little more creative.

I'm kinda old school, I like my LTX, call me crazy

-Dustin-

 

So am I , I'm starting to hoard the blocks...lol

 

I don't think the LT1 was a band-aid.

The LT1 came out when ford was putting OHCs in everything, and talking about better technology blah, blah, blah. Chevy was more or less out to prove what real engineering could do with the tried and true SBC.


It was totally performance driven, and I believe they achieved what they set out to do.



However, when engineering the LT1, they also uncovered all the limitations of the SBC. From the day the first LT1 rolled off the assembly line, someone at GM (I forgot who) was lobbying to totally re-engineer the SBC. When business was "right" they went ahead and did it.

The SBC was a technological wonder way back in the day. It is still a very capable platform for building power.

The LT1 is simply an evolution of that design.

The LSx is the perfection of that design.

OHC didn't make sense back in the day, IMHO doesn't make sense today.

 

Really? Why not? This is way off topic, I know, but I'd like to hear more....

 

First, cost. More parts. Cams, chains, gears, etc...

second reliability.... more parts to fail.

IMHO, the only advantage to OHC, is that you can run a cam for the intake & another came for the exhaust which allows you to work around one limitation of a single cam (whether it's in the block or OH), then when you add variable timing to the equation, you can really get farther away from what the SBC can do.

 

Cost...sure, I can see that.

Reliability...sorry, gotta disagree here. DOHC engines have been around for years and they simply don't fail...they have the same reliability that an OHV setup has.

An overhead cam setup has performance advantages beyond vvt and the seperation of the cam timing functions. One is absolute rev limit. Pushing those lifters and pushrods, etc, imposes a maximum rev limit on an engine and a well designed overhead cam engine has far fewer limitations in this area. Sure, I know, NASCAR engines rev to a zillion rpm but OHC engines rev to a zillion plus.

I guess we could discuss this all night...

 

I'm sure there is the proven track record thing... & that's fine. I'm talking about a more things to fail standpoint.

I'm sure there are more advantages to an OHC set-up than I've mentioned.. But like you said, OHC has been around for a long time. Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, Toyota... practically everybody shelved that idea for a long time, for a reason.

Especially in their V8 and larger engines, slotted for domestic cars, where cost & reliability are king.

I've got nothing against OHC, but I was soooo happy when Chevy continued with the SBC in block design.

 

I have found that OHC engines lack in the low end torque department. Maybe it's me, but pushrod engines seem to have way more low end torque. Don't get me wrong, I love my DOHC 4.0L V6 in my 2005 Nissan Frontier.....but it has no low end. All the power is 3000rpms and up.

 

I like DOHC engines. I have an Aurora V8, and although that thing is just as much as a money pit as any of my other cars, it sounds great. It isnt fast though

 

Thats usually because they are so small displacement.

 

Why are you guys wasting time talking about nissans and auroras? It's almost like you guys didnt know about the LT5. Plus we all know real trucks dont have sprak plugs

The LT5 works good but good luck finding parts. Good example of what a GM DOHC 350 can do vs their OHV 350. Then you start talking cost vs performance, blah, blah, Dominator 32v heads, etc, we could go on forever. How important is it...? All I know is I like being the underdog, Joe O did it for years, and he was smiling as he flew by all the LSX compeition.

-Dustin-

 

It was a band aid until the Gen III could come out. The Gen II couldn't pass emission and CAFE standards that was coming. The Gen III fit the bill. More fuel/emission friendly and made more power because of its efficiency, better all around.