what are the differences in V8's..LS1, LT1, 4.6...etc.

[1Quik7]

i have always wondered what the differences are between all the current V8's out there....in stock form and aftermarket potential.

 

LS1/LS6

LT1/LT4/LT5

4.6

Hemi

 

i'm sur ethere are some i am not metnioning, these are just the ones you hear about.

[Wease]

LS1/LS6 are aluminum block, aluminum head, the third generation of the small block chevy. In stock form, the LS1 puts out 350+ horsepower (flywheel), with the LS6 putting out over 400. Aftermarket is very good for the LS1/LS6, even though the engine itself has only been in production for about 8 years. Some stock LS1 F-Bodies can run 12's with just drag radials, and an assortment of heads/cams/torque converters can get one deep into the 11's and better. Prior to the forged internal blown 03/04 Cobras, there was no better bang for the buck in a new mucle car. smile.gif

 

For the LT1/LT4, they are the iron blocked 2nd generation small block Chevy. The LT1 came in a variety of cars, including the F-Body, Impala SS, Buick Roadmaster, and Corvette. Of course, there were different versions depending on which car it was in. The LT4 (basically a hopped up version of the LT1) came in only the 1996 Corvette (Grand Sport and the manual transmission cars, I think?) and a very select few F-Bodies. The aftermarket for the LT1 is very good still, but kind of gets lost in the fact that the LS1/LS6 is the top dog in GM land, until the LS2 comes into play in the C6 and GTO. smile.gif

 

The LT5 is a completely different engine. Found only in the ZR1 Corvette of the early - mid 90's, it was a DOHC 350 that made a ton of power and was known for it's top end. Until the C5 Z06, the ZR1 C4 was considered the King Of The Hill. Not sure of the aftermarket for the LT5, as it was only in a select car.

 

Now here's where I don't know as much. The 4.6 SOHC Ford came about in the Mustang in 1996 and it was not very welcome. Tons of Ford enthusiasts had been modifiying the tried and true 302 5.0 (4.9, for those in the know ) for many years now, with great success. The 4.6 SOHC of 96 - 98 were the weakest of the 4.6 Mustangs, mostly due to a lesser head design. They weren't terribly quick, even with bolt on mods and a blower. That all changed in 1999 when the newer design of the Mustang also brought about a change in the SOHC 4.6. Good or bad, depending on your point of view, it now made about as much power as the now defunct LT1. A popular car and it's still in production, there is a huge aftermarket for the SOHC 4.6.

 

The DOHC 4.6 Cobras of 1996 - 2001 made some good power and respond great to a blower. Actually, that could be said about pretty much any of the newer Ford smallblocks, including the older 5.0. Tons of aftermarket potential here as well. The only snafu was the problem Ford had with the new Cobra in 1999, I can't recall what it was, but they made much less power than advertised and had to undergo a "fix" at the dealership to bring them up to par. No regular Cobra was produced in 2000, just the R model, which was more of the road racing version, with no AC, back seats, and huge (for Ford) 5.4 liter V8 stuffed under the hood. Only 300 were made. The regular Cobra returned in 2001 as pretty much the same car the 1999 had been, save the advertised power was already there.

 

No Cobra in 2002, as the big dog 2003 blown 4.6 was ready to make it's debut. Iron block, forged internals, a huge sucess for Ford and a crushing blow to die hard GM fans, as the F-Body had just been cancelled the year before. Deep into the 12's right off the showroom floor, 390 advertised horsepower (underrated), and a few bolt-on mods away from easy 11 second timeslips and 500 RWHP. There have already been a few 03/04's in the 9's on stock internals with a blower swap and small shot of N2O. Quite amazing for a car that's only been in production for barely 2 years. Yes, I want one.

 

I don't know shit about the Hemi...

[RedRocket1647545505]

and ls1's own all... smile.gif

[ttemper]

^ this man speaks the truth

[recklessOP]

Originally posted by AustinL911:

and ls1's own all... smile.gif

http://www.zilvia.net/f/images/smilies/hahano.gif

[OGRE]

Originally posted by Wease:

Now here's where I don't know as much. The 4.6 SOHC Ford came about in the Mustang in 1996 and it was not very welcome. Tons of Ford enthusiasts had been modifiying the tried and true 302 5.0 (4.9, for those in the know ) for many years now, with great success. The 4.6 SOHC of 96 - 98 were the weakest of the 4.6 Mustangs, mostly due to a lesser head design. They weren't terribly quick, even with bolt on mods and a blower. That all changed in 1999 when the newer design of the Mustang also brought about a change in the SOHC 4.6. Good or bad, depending on your point of view, it now made about as much power as the now defunct LT1. A popular car and it's still in production, there is a huge aftermarket for the SOHC 4.6.

the the biggest diference in performance between pre-99 and 99+ PI engines is the intake and cams.

the only performance advantage that the PI heads have is a slightly larger exhaust valve, which doesn't equate to a large hp difference.

[Dave1647545494]

Hemi GOOD everything else is dust in the wind

[Conesmasher]

03-04 Cobra sounds like the ride to have

[Dr. Pomade]

Originally posted by Wease:

LS1/LS6 are aluminum block, aluminum head, the third generation of the small block chevy. In stock form, the LS1 puts out 350+ horsepower (flywheel), with the LS6 putting out over 400. Aftermarket is very good for the LS1/LS6, even though the engine itself has only been in production for about 8 years. Some stock LS1 F-Bodies can run 12's with just drag radials, and an assortment of heads/cams/torque converters can get one deep into the 11's and better. Prior to the forged internal blown 03/04 Cobras, there was no better bang for the buck in a new mucle car. smile.gif

 

For the LT1/LT4, they are the iron blocked 2nd generation small block Chevy. The LT1 came in a variety of cars, including the F-Body, Impala SS, Buick Roadmaster, and Corvette. Of course, there were different versions depending on which car it was in. The LT4 (basically a hopped up version of the LT1) came in only the 1996 Corvette (Grand Sport and the manual transmission cars, I think?) and a very select few F-Bodies. The aftermarket for the LT1 is very good still, but kind of gets lost in the fact that the LS1/LS6 is the top dog in GM land, until the LS2 comes into play in the C6 and GTO. smile.gif

 

The LT5 is a completely different engine. Found only in the ZR1 Corvette of the early - mid 90's, it was a DOHC 350 that made a ton of power and was known for it's top end. Until the C5 Z06, the ZR1 C4 was considered the King Of The Hill. Not sure of the aftermarket for the LT5, as it was only in a select car.

 

Now here's where I don't know as much. The 4.6 SOHC Ford came about in the Mustang in 1996 and it was not very welcome. Tons of Ford enthusiasts had been modifiying the tried and true 302 5.0 (4.9, for those in the know ) for many years now, with great success. The 4.6 SOHC of 96 - 98 were the weakest of the 4.6 Mustangs, mostly due to a lesser head design. They weren't terribly quick, even with bolt on mods and a blower. That all changed in 1999 when the newer design of the Mustang also brought about a change in the SOHC 4.6. Good or bad, depending on your point of view, it now made about as much power as the now defunct LT1. A popular car and it's still in production, there is a huge aftermarket for the SOHC 4.6.

 

The DOHC 4.6 Cobras of 1996 - 2001 made some good power and respond great to a blower. Actually, that could be said about pretty much any of the newer Ford smallblocks, including the older 5.0. Tons of aftermarket potential here as well. The only snafu was the problem Ford had with the new Cobra in 1999, I can't recall what it was, but they made much less power than advertised and had to undergo a "fix" at the dealership to bring them up to par. No regular Cobra was produced in 2000, just the R model, which was more of the road racing version, with no AC, back seats, and huge (for Ford) 5.4 liter V8 stuffed under the hood. Only 300 were made. The regular Cobra returned in 2001 as pretty much the same car the 1999 had been, save the advertised power was already there.

 

No Cobra in 2002, as the big dog 2003 blown 4.6 was ready to make it's debut. Iron block, forged internals, a huge sucess for Ford and a crushing blow to die hard GM fans, as the F-Body had just been cancelled the year before. Deep into the 12's right off the showroom floor, 390 advertised horsepower (underrated), and a few bolt-on mods away from easy 11 second timeslips and 500 RWHP. There have already been a few 03/04's in the 9's on stock internals with a blower swap and small shot of N2O. Quite amazing for a car that's only been in production for barely 2 years. Yes, I want one.

 

I don't know shit about the Hemi...

I've been on CR since October 2003, and this is the most informative, well written post I have read. Seriously.

 

Thanks.

[Wease]

Originally posted by Venomss:

I've been on CR since October 2003, and this is the most informative, well written post I have read. Seriously.

 

Thanks.

No problem. Every once in a while I'm good for something. Think of it like that scene in Old School where Frank is part of the debate team, blacks out, and gives the perfect response... graemlins/thumb.gif

[Kurt B.]

[/qb]

the the biggest diference in performance between pre-99 and 99+ PI engines is the intake and cams.

the only performance advantage that the PI heads have is a slightly larger exhaust valve, which doesn't equate to a large hp difference.[/QB]

 

You dont consider 45hp "a large hp difference" ?

[High Octane]

My personal favorite

Gen III LS1

Size, liters/cu In 5.7/347

Horsepower @ rpm 350 @ 5200

Torque (lb-ft) @ rpm 365 @ 4000

 

http://65.106.174.30/gto/04gto22.jpg

 

[ 19. August 2004, 02:50 PM: Message edited by: High Octane ]

[COLD AIR]

Originally posted by 1Pimp7:

i have always wondered what the differences are between all the current V8's out there....in stock form and aftermarket potential.

 

LS1/LS6

LT1/LT4/LT5

4.6

Hemi

 

i'm sur ethere are some i am not metnioning, these are just the ones you hear about.

I think he would like to know what one he can put in his car and for a 1/4 of the $$$ go faster. smile.gif

[Doug1647545489]

Originally posted by Cone Smasher:

03-04 Cobra sounds like the ride to have

it is.

[badasskylark]

The 4.6 came out in 92 for the crown vics, and 94 for the t-bird.

[stolen 5.0]

Originally posted by mesteno:

the the biggest diference in performance between pre-99 and 99+ PI engines is the intake and cams.

the only performance advantage that the PI heads have is a slightly larger exhaust valve, which doesn't equate to a large hp difference.

actually there is a big diff. i've seen 96-98 gt's dyno 180 bone stock, where i seen an 01 gt dyno 234 rwhp bone stock, that is a big difference my friend. slap a set of PI heads on a 96-98 gt and pick up 40-50rwhp guarenteed

[recklessOP]

Originally posted by Stolen 5.0:

where i seen an 01 gt dyno 234 rwhp bone stock

that's what my car put down. we pulled the air filter and got ~237...

[Guest stevil]

Originally posted by Wease:

Think of it like that scene in Old School where Frank is part of the debate team, blacks out, and gives the perfect response... graemlins/thumb.gif

lol

[JaSSon]

Joel is referring to just the heads themselves. There are a lot of 96-98 GT guys swapping in PI cams and a PI intake (retaining the stock NPI heads) and getting near as much power as the PI head-swap guys.

 

But I'm still faster

[Sam1647545489]

Steve what wheels did you have on your C5. I cant remeber which set of fikse wheels they were...

[Mensan]

Originally posted by Cone Smasher:

03-04 Cobra sounds like the ride to have

 

Conformist. You can make just as much power (or more) with another car as your base car. Not only that, but everyone expects it to be fast. Like was posted, all Ford's small V8's respond well to forced induction. VERY well.

[1Quik7]

Originally posted by The Vette:

Steve what wheels did you have on your C5. I cant remeber which set of fikse wheels they were...

if i remember right they were the FM-5's....or whatever the 5-spoke design is called.

[MrMeanGreen]

Originally posted by 1Pimp7:

if i remember right they were the FM-5's....or whatever the 5-spoke design is called.

Yup, the FM5s, some truly badass wheels!

[Guest Bottlefed70]

Damn this man is a small dictionary of cars. Great info.

[OGRE]

Originally posted by KBOND99:

You dont consider 45hp "a large hp difference" ?

you won't see 45hp from the heads alone, no way no how, put the non-pi intake and non-pi cams and only swap the heads, the gain might be 10-15hp, most of the difference is in the intake and cams. reading comprehension owns you.