LS1, LS2, LS6, LS7? The comparison thread:

[Ahheck01]

I'm sure there are advantages to each. My roommate is convinced that the LS6 is the best route for him - lots of N/A stock power, still fuel efficient and light, and pretty cheap for the power.

Based on your knowledge, start listing advantages and disadvantages to each LSX engine. I will compile them and post them in this first post.

-Evan

[rao]

They are all basically the same. There are some very minor differences in 98 ls1 blocks and in between ls1 and ls2 blocks which unless you are building or assembling the engine are of no concern. The LS7 is a little different again, but there are not any huge differences. In fact the 5.3 truck blocks (iron and aluminum), the L92 6.2 liter aluminum truck block and the 5.7 and 6.0 liter iron truck blocks are all essencially the same except for the cylinder bores and material of the blocks.

[dynamowhum]

Just a little heads up, LS1/6 only have a few parts that will swap with the LS2.

[AIrey1507]

http://www.gmperformanceparts.com/Parts/showcase_detail.jsp?engine=2

[rao]

I have assembled several LS1s and LS2s and I have used Ls1 parts to build an Ls2 block so I am pretty familiar with the differences. My point was that while there are certainly differences, the engines have much more in common than differences. Saying a LS1 is "better" then an Ls2 or a Ls7 doesn't really mean anything.

[dynamowhum]

Rao no offense meant that was for everybodies general consumption. I have read many an article in the past on LS1 tech saying there wasn't alot in common. Not everyone has your experience with these motors. Have a good day.

[rao]

No offense taken - my point is that there is more i common then different and most of the differences are things like the extra boss in the lifter valley on the LS1 that is gone on the LS2 and can be removed in about 10 minutes with an angle grinder, or that Ls2's use head bolts that are all the same length because the outer holes are deeper are fairly minor. I wouldn't want people thinking that there are these huge differences.

The big differences are the displacement and the block material. The LS7 is clearly "better" as it has a lot of fancy race parts and has a dry sump.

Of course people who are taking any of these motors to the limit (which will be few given their high limits), will need to be aware of all of the differences.

[Ahheck01]

No offense taken - my point is that there is more i common then different and most of the differences are things like the extra boss in the lifter valley on the LS1 that is gone on the LS2 and can be removed in about 10 minutes with an angle grinder, or that Ls2's use head bolts that are all the same length because the outer holes are deeper are fairly minor. I wouldn't want people thinking that there are these huge differences.

The big differences are the displacement and the block material. The LS7 is clearly "better" as it has a lot of fancy race parts and has a dry sump.

Of course people who are taking any of these motors to the limit (which will be few given their high limits), will need to be aware of all of the differences.

I'm seriously considering using an LS6 with an attached 6spd for a swap. Anyone in-the-know out there think there is a reason this would be less than ideal?

-Evan

[dynamowhum]

There should be no problem with that combination at all.

On another front but same stuff. The LS2 GTO 2004 was 350HP and the 2005 on where 400HP/400lbs torgue.

[MWrench]

The 2004 GTO was not a LS2, it was a LS1. The change to LS2 was made for model year 2005. The HP/Tq number for the base LS2 were comparable to the previous LS6.

[dynamowhum]

My mistake I meant to type LS1 good catch.

[MrUP]

Alright. Well too many fast cars out there. All those evos and wrx that i feel its time to update mine too. I drive a 95 m3. With 135k miles on it i'm not looking into doing FI. I rather do and engine swap. I mean a turbo run for about 10G's plus i would have to rebuild the engine. Anyways i'm looking into the ls engines. Would 10G's be enough to have and lsx engine swap. That counting the labor and part. I've seen some post that say that thats how much that would cost. TRUE????

[Ahheck01]

Alright. Well too many fast cars out there. All those evos and wrx that i feel its time to update mine too. I drive a 95 m3. With 135k miles on it i'm not looking into doing FI. I rather do and engine swap. I mean a turbo run for about 10G's plus i would have to rebuild the engine. Anyways i'm looking into the ls engines. Would 10G's be enough to have and lsx engine swap. That counting the labor and part. I've seen some post that say that thats how much that would cost. TRUE????

I'd budget for 15k, and get everything done right. I'd do as much labour on my own, fwiw.

-Evan

[scabzzzz]

Wow yeah 10k. I would say it can be achieved. Just like he said, do as much as you can and I would personally wait for the Vorschlag kit to come out and purchase that, to save the fabrication hastle of paying a shop to do it. The fabrication is whats going to cost you so let another company take care of that for you. It equals time and money.

[JoeZ]

Would 10G's be enough to have and lsx engine swap. That counting the labor and part. I've seen some post that say that thats how much that would cost. TRUE????

10K maybe. If you found outstanding deals, and did a lot of work yourself. I did the entire install myself, and fabbed a few minor brackets, but the major stuff I farmed out. Here's a list of some of my big ticket items

LS1/T56: $4k
Headers: $3k
Trunk/Subframe work: $2k
Custom harness and PCM: $1.5k

This would put me over $10k and does not include

Motor mounts
Tranny mounts
Cooling system
Exhaust system
Fuel system
Driveshaft
Differential upgrades
Brake upgrades
Lots lots more.

[telijah]

Here is a small Excel file I put together based on gmperformanceparts.com

Edit: Now in a new web page format (crappy MS Access generated page...)

http://teamslow.com/sa/LSXMotors.html

There's a ton of data left out, like engine type and such. If you all want, I'll add it to it.

[MrUP]

interesting? Would the ls7 fit? As far as i know lsx engines are pretty much the same design. Anyone knows where i could find a shop here in SoCal. Somewhere around the San Diego Area. I wouldn't mind expending more then 10k if its worth the swap or should i just look into another car?

[JoeZ]

interesting? Would the ls7 fit? As far as i know lsx engines are pretty much the same design. Anyone knows where i could find a shop here in SoCal. Somewhere around the San Diego Area. I wouldn't mind expending more then 10k if its worth the swap or should i just look into another car?

LS7 would fit, but the motor alone is going over $10k

[MrUP]

Great. Well i'll wait for the Vorschlag kit. Hopefully it doesn't take long. My engine is running good but somehow i think i messed some gasket. It gives out white smoke. Could this be the headgasket or the transmission? Anyways. If i can spend 20 grand and put an LS7 i would mind. Total would be around 30 grand invested in my car getting me 500hp. You guys think it worth it??? or should i give the project up and get a different car?

[JoeZ]

Great. Well i'll wait for the Vorschlag kit. Hopefully it doesn't take long. My engine is running good but somehow i think i messed some gasket. It gives out white smoke. Could this be the headgasket or the transmission? Anyways. If i can spend 20 grand and put an LS7 i would mind. Total would be around 30 grand invested in my car getting me 500hp. You guys think it worth it??? or should i give the project up and get a different car?

Modded LS2 FTW:alright

[M3 Muscle]

LS1 – 1997 first year for LS1, and has an aluminum block w/ 241 casting number on the heads. ’97-’98 LS1 had weaker rod bolts than rest of LS motors. ’97-’98 LS1’s also had bigger injectors (28 lb/hr vs. 24 lb/hr from ’99 up in F-bodies). ’97-’98 had perimeter valve cover bolts and different coils. ’98-’99 F-body LS1 had EGR, but was dropped in ’00 when the LS1 started to come standard with the LS6 manifold. LS6 intake flows a lot better than the original LS1.

The LS6 shares the same short block (crank, rods, pistons, etc.) as the LS1, but I think it had a better oil pump. LS6 has the 243 casting number heads w/ sodium filled intake valves (lighter). The 243 castings flowed better than the 241’s. All covers, oil pan, and other accessories are interchangeable between the LS1 and LS6. The LS6 also has 28 lb/hr injectors.

The LS2 has a different block. It used different front and rear covers than the LS1/LS6. It had the 243 castings for the heads, but does not have the sodium filled intake valves. The LS2 shares the same stroke as the LS1, but has a 4” bore. The LS2 has a different structured ECM that is a little more advanced. The LS2 has 33 lb/hr injectors, but they are not directly interchangeable with the LS1/LS6 style.

The LS7 is a piece almost all to itself. It has an aluminum block with a 4.125” bore. It has a dry sump oil system. The oil pump is a 2 stage pump where the first stage pumps the oil from the pan to the oil tank, and the second stage pumps from the oil tank to the engine. The heads are CNC machined from the factory and are the best LS heads to date from GM. Due to the large valves, the LS7 heads can not be used on any of the other LS engines. The LS7’s have titanium rods.

The L92 is a new truck engine that comes in the 2007 Escalade and Denali. It has displacement on demand (DOD) and the lifters deactivate to conserve fuel during highway use (under 65). It had a cylinder head similar to the LS7 (as far as port configuration). The cylinder bore is also unique to this motor at 4.065”.

In my opinion the LS7 is way overprice for what it is. You can make more power for less $ by modifying another LS motor. I think the L92 will offer some of the best bang for the buck once more vehicles receive them and they become readily available. Most likely on the L92 you will lose the DOD when a large cam in installed.

This is just a brief summary. Hope it helps.

[Fast 7]

LS1 – 1997 first year for LS1, and has an aluminum block w/ 241 casting number on the heads. ’97-’98 LS1 had weaker rod bolts than rest of LS motors. ’97-’98 LS1’s also had bigger injectors (28 lb/hr vs. 24 lb/hr from ’99 up in F-bodies). ’97-’98 had perimeter valve cover bolts and different coils. ’98-’99 F-body LS1 had EGR, but was dropped in ’00 when the LS1 started to come standard with the LS6 manifold. LS6 intake flows a lot better than the original LS1.

The LS6 shares the same short block (crank, rods, pistons, etc.) as the LS1, but I think it had a better oil pump. LS6 has the 243 casting number heads w/ sodium filled intake valves (lighter). The 243 castings flowed better than the 241’s. All covers, oil pan, and other accessories are interchangeable between the LS1 and LS6. The LS6 also has 28 lb/hr injectors.

The LS2 has a different block. It used different front and rear covers than the LS1/LS6. It had the 243 castings for the heads, but does not have the sodium filled intake valves. The LS2 shares the same stroke as the LS1, but has a 4” bore. The LS2 has a different structured ECM that is a little more advanced. The LS2 has 33 lb/hr injectors, but they are not directly interchangeable with the LS1/LS6 style.

The LS7 is a piece almost all to itself. It has an aluminum block with a 4.125” bore. It has a dry sump oil system. The oil pump is a 2 stage pump where the first stage pumps the oil from the pan to the oil tank, and the second stage pumps from the oil tank to the engine. The heads are CNC machined from the factory and are the best LS heads to date from GM. Due to the large valves, the LS7 heads can not be used on any of the other LS engines. The LS7’s have titanium rods.

The L92 is a new truck engine that comes in the 2007 Escalade and Denali. It has displacement on demand (DOD) and the lifters deactivate to conserve fuel during highway use (under 65). It had a cylinder head similar to the LS7 (as far as port configuration). The cylinder bore is also unique to this motor at 4.065”.

In my opinion the LS7 is way overprice for what it is. You can make more power for less $ by modifying another LS motor. I think the L92 will offer some of the best bang for the buck once more vehicles receive them and they become readily available. Most likely on the L92 you will lose the DOD when a large cam in installed.

This is just a brief summary. Hope it helps.

The 241 casting head didn't come out until 2000. The 97-99 heads were a 853 head and didn't flow as good as teh 241. The 243 off the ls6 are the best flowing. The 2002 and had equal length head bolt,because they were using ls6 blocks, unlike the earlier ls1 blocks that had long and short. As far as the differences besided the bore, the crank pickup has more teeth on the ls2 and ls7 unlike the ls1. LS1's are going to be cheaper and esier to find in junkyards complete with harness and ecu. Good luck with what ever you decide to do. I love my ls1 and after i buit it, there is nothing else i want.