ls1/ls6 vs. ls2

which engine of these three would be the best buy for upgrading??? i know the ls2 is the newer of the engines and has more power...but once you start adding aftermarket parts to these engines is the performance pretty much equal???? plus this engine would be going into a 98+ camaro so would there be issues with the ls2?. Also ive been searching and cant seem to find many aftermarket parts for these newer engines.... any good sites for performance parts??? the reason im wondering is that i finally have some money to start a project car and i was going to a nissan but my idea was way too expensive and so i decided on camaro as being a chevy fan.....and i know it would be easier to build up a older small block and stick it in a 80's camaro but i like the looks of the newer camaros....it just seems that there isnt a big selection of parts for the ls series engines. and i dont know how much money it would take to get a ls engine to push 450- 500 hp....nething info would help

Stock wise....
LS1 < LS2 < LS6

Modding...
LS1 < LS6 < LS2

The only reason the LS2 is better for modding is the cubes.


My old LS1 had roughly $3000 into it an put down 376 RWHP. That is near 425 flywheel horses.
There are a TON of aftermarket parts for the LSx motors.

does the ls2 have the Displacement On Demand Technology or not??? cuz if it does is there a way to eliminate that junk??? and waht about the electronic throttle body....if i was to put the ls2 into a camaro would i be able to just put on a traditional cable throttle body???? along those lines does installing a ls2 into a camaro require a lot of "tweaking"????

No Ls6 is the one with DoD.

Could anyone post up main differances between the ls1, ls2, and ls6, kinda like what makes the ls2 better than the ls1? I'm clueless on the LSx motors, and I don't think there has been a thread telling the differances on here yet.

are you asking about the differences between the different lsx motors? or are you asking what makes an lsx motor different from other sbc's... because we have had quite a few threads describing the differences between lsx and other sbc's... the main difference between the ls1 and ls2 is the displacement, the ls1 is a 5.7 (346 cube) and the ls2 is a 6.0 (360 cube or 365 someone correct me i just woke up)

oh yea and the ls6 is the same displacement as an ls1 but it has a better cam, heads and intake manifold

What about the LS9?

hey mr.luos, what did you do with your old ls1?

No replacement for displacement :boink:

yes i know the main differences between them like the displacement and how the ls6 is a revised ls1....im talking about the best buy for modding....like can one handle more power/boost than others.....is one cheaper to upgrade then others....and once you start putting money into the engine...is there a big difference in performance between the three......so i pretty much just repeated my first post.....im looking for best bang for buck because the ls1 is lil older and less performance stock than the ls2 so its a lil cheaper to start out with....but are the prices for aftermarket parts the same???? is my question more clear i hope..

Just wondering about the differance between the LSx motors. So an ls1 can be made into an ls2 with just different heads and cam?

are you actually asking a question...or are you just trying to be sarcastic and think im stupid....cuz if u are then ur failing miserably....ls2 is pretty much the ls1/ls6 block...but moved some sensors around added the DoD technology slightly bigger bore and ls6 style heads...bla bla bla and other stuff im sure too.......

ok, imma have to go research this a bit, but the short answer is no, there are some differences between the Gen I LSx engines, and Gen II LSx engines. im not going to throw out examples cuz i dont remember off the top of my head and dont want to give out false information.

Also to the best of my knowledge, none of the vettes or camaros yet have been given displacement on demand technology, at least none of the pre C6 vettes had it, which includes theLS1 and LS6. the LS2 and LS7 im not 100% sure about.

The LS6 was an LS1 with intake, heads, cam, and valve changes, as well as computer programing, and different exhaust.

The LS2 is basically to the LS1 what the LT1 was to the SBC. while i believe the major components like heads and intake and such are interchangeable there are some fundamental improovements that were made and im not perfeclty sure how that would impact parts interchageability. One thing you would have to take into account is that a set of cylender heads for an LS1 could be marketed as creating 10.5:1 compresion ratio, but on the LS2 it would be like an 11:1 or 12:1 compression ratio due to the larger displacement.

oh and in my personal opinion, buying an LSx engine just to take the electronics off and send it back to the stone age, defeats the whole purpose of buying that engine. you might as well go grow a mullet and buy a 426 hemi and put that in with twin 1250 dominators and drive down the road spitting raw fuel out your exhaust pipes.

people who cut up highly engineered powertrain setups, that make amazing power, and get great fuel economy are one of my pet peeves. Why take the aforementioned engine, and then handicap it so that it still makes good power, but gets worse fuel economy..... i just dont understand it.

soapbox moment over

What about the new supercharger 6.2 LS9? I heard it was gonna be in future Z06's.

ls1/ls6 are considered gen III engines and ls2 is considered gen IV but thats stretching it....and the ls2 comp is 10.9:1 i did a quick search last night and found this helpful sight where im gettin my facts from http://www.gmhightechperformance.com/features/0405htp_ls2/

but that still doesnt help with which engine would be teh best buy for the buck so im asking people that have maybe already done this and know the answer

basic point is that for the pourposes of modding, the engines are all but identical. they both can wind to the moon on the stock internals and can handle hundreds of horsepower and torque. once you start changing cams, computer programming, and exhaust, the playing feild pretty much levels between them all, so it depends on what your building it for. for power, id say go LS2 for the extra cubes without worrying about having to resleave an LS1 for more displacement. for a highway cruiser in which fuel mileage might be an issue, sacrifice the cubes and get an LS1. or the LS6 which already has the free breathing intake and heads so you dont have to upgrade those particular parts.

and i hadnt heard about this LS9, ill have to look into that.

i wouldnt be ripping away all the electronics...just the DoD which in my opinion is stupid for a performance car (on SUV's and such I can see the benefit) and also the electronic throttle body because for one i dont know how you would incorporate that into a camaro because they were all wired throttle bodies and another reason is that i was reading an article about the new 05 mustangs and they also ahve the electronic throttle body but when it came to drag the throttle wouldnt go to "wide open" and it dogged the engine which hurt their times...so im assuming....not positive...that the chevy's would work in the similar fashion.....its not like im gonna just take the technology and turn it back to a carbed engine or something...otherwise i would just buy a cheap sb and not even be having this question...

Well then get an Ls1 since its cheaper or save yourself some time and get the Ls2, since you basicly start out with 100 more horses..

And the Ls9 is being put into a Vette in a couple of years, right? The Corvette SS I believe it was gunna be called.. alot of horsepower right there. But I dont think the Vette would sound right with SS after it, I dunno it just seems unoriginal now.

are you actually asking a question...or are you just trying to be sarcastic and think im stupid....cuz if u are then ur failing miserably....ls2 is pretty much the ls1/ls6 block...but moved some sensors around added the DoD technology slightly bigger bore and ls6 style heads...bla bla bla and other stuff im sure too.......

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic. While I was writing that post you posted your response, so I didn't see it. Just trying to find out about the differances thinking that would help in finding out which one is better for what your trying to do and for what reason. Sorry to kind of hijack the thread, I was not meaning to be disrespectful, and it was a typo i meant to compare the ls1 to the ls6

Ther will not be a Corvette SS, jackasses... the're not THAT dumb.

It will be in a future Z06... the rumor mill says that this is not the infamous "Blue Devil" however...

Yeah, that blue devil had like 600+ HP, didn't it?

well thanks for clearing up th air nate....i just didnt want to be taken as a complete retard... so does anyone know how easy or hard it is to put the ls2 into a camaro....i know its virtually the same block and so fitment isnt an issue...but are there different mounting points or accessories in different places or other annyoing crap like that, that makes it a pain????

Ther will not be a Corvette SS, jackasses... the're not THAT dumb.

It will be in a future Z06... the rumor mill says that this is not the infamous "Blue Devil" however...

Im saying thats what I heard, short shit. :thefinger

well thanks for clearing up th air nate....i just didnt want to be taken as a complete retard... so does anyone know how easy or hard it is to put the ls2 into a camaro....i know its virtually the same block and so fitment isnt an issue...but are there different mounting points or accessories in different places or other annyoing crap like that, that makes it a pain????

What year Camaro? if you're talking about the 4th gen which im assuming, im pretty sure it would be a direct upgrade because the new Vette uses the same trans.. but I can always be wrong, just like Jim.

he said a 98+ :slap:

Oh I see that now.. :lol2: Yeah I guess I jumped over that little bit of info in the first post..

yea it would be going into a 98+ camaro...i know the tranny wouldnt be a problem cuz they both use the t-56, i was just wondering as far as the wiring goes or if the accessories are in the same spots or if they have different engine mounting points....or nething else that poses a problem... thanks for the info

My kind of thread.
I need 15 minutes to check some other stuff out, then I will post up a very long reply. :lol:

does the ls2 have the Displacement On Demand Technology or not??? cuz if it does is there a way to eliminate that junk??? and waht about the electronic throttle body....if i was to put the ls2 into a camaro would i be able to just put on a traditional cable throttle body???? along those lines does installing a ls2 into a camaro require a lot of "tweaking"????
LS2 doesn't have the Displacement on Demand. What tweaking do you mean exactly? If you wanted a throttle cable you would need a different throttle body along with some minor changes to the computer.
What year Camaro are you wanting to drop an LS2 into?
No Ls6 is the one with DoD.
Which cars? The Caddy's?
are you asking about the differences between the different lsx motors? or are you asking what makes an lsx motor different from other sbc's... because we have had quite a few threads describing the differences between lsx and other sbc's... the main difference between the ls1 and ls2 is the displacement, the ls1 is a 5.7 (346 cube) and the ls2 is a 6.0 (360 cube or 365 someone correct me i just woke up)
LS1 = 346ci
LS6 = 346ci
LS2 = 364ci
LS7 = 427ci
hey mr.luos, what did you do with your old ls1?
Sold it about 6 months ago.
Just wondering about the differance between the LSx motors. So an ls1 can be made into an ls2 with just different heads and cam?
No. LS2 has more bore than the LS1. In order to bore out the LS1 to the LS2 size it would need sleeved.
One thing you would have to take into account is that a set of cylender heads for an LS1 could be marketed as creating 10.5:1 compresion ratio, but on the LS2 it would be like an 11:1 or 12:1 compression ratio due to the larger displacement.
LS6 and LS2 get the same cylinder heads. LS6 heads....243's.
Well then get an Ls1 since its cheaper or save yourself some time and get the Ls2, since you basicly start out with 100 more horses..
Stock LS2 drops down about 30 more RWHP than a stock 01-02 LS1.
And most of that is in the heads.
LS1 = Roughly 310 RWHP
LS2 = 340-350 RWHP
LS6 = 350-355 RWHP (Friend just dyno'd his stock 2002 Z06 to 372 RWHP)


Overall...
Are you on limited funds? Or can you spend a BUNCH?
LS2 has a bigger starting bore. Different sensor locations. Cam sensor got moved to the front, knock sensors got moved from the intake valley. These cause problems when swapping them into a 98+ F-Body. Nothing big though.
Not sure why GM calls the LS2 and the LS7 Gen IV small blocks. If you look at all of the blocks they look DAMN NEAR identical. The exception would be the monster LS7. Even then...it takes more than a glance to set it apart.
Keep in mind....LQ4, LQ9, LS1, LS2, and a couple others are ALL LSx motors. Motor mounts should all be in the same place. Some accessory locations are different along with some sensor locations.
Any more questions?? Feel free to ask. :smokin:

The ones that I know that have DoD on it is the Monte and Impala SS.. dont know about any other cars.

The ones that I know that have DoD on it is the Monte and Impala SS.. dont know about any other cars.
Those are getting the LS6?

well the story is that my firend is starting his 5.0 project and i was gonna start my car project and i narrowed it down to 240sx...but only small 4 cyl that could put out around 450 - 500....if you boost the crap out of it.....and then the camaro...i wanted to do a 98+ camaro because i like the looks of them better and the option of the lsx engines, but i know a 80's or early 90's camaro are pretty cheap and the sbc's are easy to find and not that bad to build up...and tonight found a guy who has 2 camaros just sitting around that he would get rid of for dirt ass cheap...so im torn....plus im in college so funds are lil to none....but thats why they have student loans right????? :evillol: but im going into automotive and so that would be a good project car...ne who...like anyone cares....

Well, I think that Mr. Louis just answered about everything I was wondering and then some :)

Those are getting the LS6?

Yeah they both are getting it, like I said before though im not sure if any other cars have them aswell, but I know the Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS have these.. im sure the Pontiac counterparts probably have them as well.

No replacement for displacement :boink:

yea there is... its called technology :wink:

Yeah they both are getting it, like I said before though im not sure if any other cars have them aswell, but I know the Monte Carlo SS and Impala SS have these.. im sure the Pontiac counterparts probably have them as well.
I thought they were getting a 5.3L.
Monte SS = 5.3L DoD
Impala SS = 5.3L DoD
LS6 = 5.7L

I believe it is labeled the LS4.

:sly:

Okay then they got the Ls4.. I thought the LS6 was the one that had the 5.3l with DoD...

My bad, so you're right, Curtis, go check out chevy.com by clicking the chevy driver pic in my sig and go look at the specs to make sure..

yea there is... its called technology :wink:

ah but when the two join together.......

Bingo.

Luos do you have any parts for an ls1 motor left over from your swap?

I'll answer that, for Curtis.. (Luos if you dont know already), and the answer is no, because he's using all the wiring harness and everything right now for the car. Least thats what I can remember.

Yup.

Most everything either got sold or is in the car.
I do have the LS1 F-Body A/C sitting around. :lol:

....poo...Im just poking around for stuff like accessory brackets, fuel rails, etc...little stuff

Yeah...most of those little things are gone or being used.

Sorry man.

did the ls6 get a forged crank? Or just forged rods like the ls1?

I believe the cranks are the same.

LS1 rods....
The LS1 uses a sintered, forged, PF1159M steel connecting rod. Also called "powdered metal" or "PM," this technology was introduced in Corvettes for MY96. The basic, Small-Block rod currently in the GM Performance Parts catalog is also PM.

To make a sintered rod, a mold is filled with steel powder which is "briquetted" or compressed under extremely high pressure. Then, the rod is "sintered" which heats the metal just to its softening point causing the steel molecules bond and making a dense, very strong part. Next, the rod is put through a conventional forging process. Lastly, it is shotpeened. The combination of these manufacturing techniques results in a rod with "net shape," which requires no machining for profile or balance and is more consistent in mass than rods of traditional manufacture.

The LS1 rod is also known as a "cracked rod" because the big-end is fracture split. During the finishing process, to split the big-end; a stress riser is cut into its inside diameter. The rod is stressed such that it fractures at that riser. The jagged surface left on both pieces precisely locates and locks the rod cap in place once the rod is assembled. For simple assembly and mass reduction, the LS1 rods use a 9 mm. capscrew rather than a rod bolt and nut to hold the big-end together.
Pretty sure the LS6 shares those rods as well.

you see all this stuff? all this confusion about the lsx's?





that's why eltewon's are teh hawtness :icon16: