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LS2 worth premium over LS1?

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Kirby

Kirby

Lifer
I've been mulling over the idea of 280Z with a LSx. I was originally looking at RX-7s but haven't been able to find one that's not super expensive or ragged as shit. I could probably swing for a new engine if I could get a decent price on the car. I'm sure a LS1 would be fun as hell, but the thought of a LS2 stroked to a 404 is mighty tempting. I'm still in the planning stage at this point, just looking for some direction.
 
OP

The LS1 will have more than enough power for a 280. That and you can get a LS1 much cheaper since you can get one from a salvage yard from a F-body as well as a GTO/Corvette. But the F-Bodies never got the LS2 so they are harder to come by and IMO are not worth the price differance for what you get. Esp since you plan on playing with it anyways.
 
Other than the ~50hp improvement the LS2 is also significantly lighter (at least 50lbs), if you can afford it, it's probably a better choice in that car.
 
It really depends on what the premium happens to be, LS1s are in a situation where they are both more common and less desired, so they tend to be dirt cheap sources of power while the LS2s go to those with bigger wallets.

New from Summit, an LS1 goes for $5700, an LS2 $6700, an LS3 $8300, and an LS7 $15k, and LS9 $23k. But an LS1 long block is just $3500. You can get a rather stout intake for the price difference there, but there is also a fair number of different parts that you'll need to make it complete as well. If you were swapping stuff out anyways, it'll save you buying the parts twice.

That said, this is much cheaper and comes with a trans:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LS1-...ptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories
 
Don't rule out aluminum 5.3s. They came in some 1500 series GM trucks, envoys, and probably others. Typically the 5.3s are much cheaper to find. The truck version used the same LS1 heads in most cases. I believe in 2006 they were the H.O. option.

They appear to be the LM4 and L33 RPO codes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine#LM4
 
lurk3r said:
Other than the ~50hp improvement the LS2 is also significantly lighter (at least 50lbs), if you can afford it, it's probably a better choice in that car.
Click to expand...


Where do you get that from? The LS1 and 2 are almost the same.
The numbers I have seen say low 400's for both (depedning on with/without oil, water pump, etc...)
 
Marlin1975 said:
Where do you get that from? The LS1 and 2 are almost the same.
The numbers I have seen say low 400's for both (depedning on with/without oil, water pump, etc...)
Click to expand...

http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56652

and a bit on the wikki. If its only $1200 difference I'd say LS2 all the way. For a car not designed for the ~450lb engine the weight would be by far my biggest concern, I'd take a hard look at the 5.3's too.
 
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lurk3r said:
http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56652

and a bit on the wikki. If its only $1200 difference I'd say LS2 all the way. For a car not designed for the ~450lb engine the weight would be by far my biggest concern, I'd take a hard look at the 5.3's too.
Click to expand...


Your link says what i did, they weigh pretty much the same. The differance is the things on the outside of the block like trans and what else you have (alt, water pump, etc...) The 40pound differance I keep finding seems to be between it coming setup for a Auto trans vs Manual. I think that may what you are seeing when someone compares a LS1 manual to a Auto LS2?

LS1
Auto. - 457.6 lbs. (208 kg)
Manual - 497.2 lbs (226 kg)

LS6
Manual - 497.2 lbs (226 kg)


LS2 weight is 450 lbs.


LS7 weight is 458 lbs

Oh and the factory motor looks like it weighs about 400(with flywheel) from what little I have found. So it should not be to much more. Remember the factory motor was old and they weighed much more back then.
 
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I would actually guess that the large difference between the auto and manual weight comes from the inclusion of a flywheel and flexplate. Flex plates weigh only a few pounds while flywheels are much more. If the LS2 weight included neither, it ends up being effectively a wash.
 
For that vehicle I too would look at the aluminum 5.3, it would be a much better fit. It's a badass little engine and very mod-able! I've been driving an 06 Impala SS with it for 4yrs now and I love it, very quick and lots of low end grunt, it would make a 280 scream.

The 5.3 is based off the original 325ci engine first deployed in the classic 1957 belair, it revs up like a 327 (much quicker than an LT1). I would be surprised if it weren't faster in a 280 than an LT1 would be if setup properly.
 
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