LT5 Camaro?

[speedshifter]

Hey guys!

 

I'm thinking about getting a second vehicle in a year or so. Was probably gonna go with a LS1 Camaro. Then I got to thinking and remembered that amazing engine in the ZR-1 Corvette, the LT5. A wicked fast DOHC V8 with some umph.

 

Does anybody know if anyone has put a LT5 motor in like a 93+ camaro? I think it would be a pretty cool swap huh?

[acjones20]

to be frank, it would be a freakin awful swap. I once saw where Tim Allen had swapped an LT5 in for the LT1 in his Impala SS, so it could be possible (the 93-97 models had basically the same engine as te impala). I think that the swap would be functionally going in the wrong direction. While the LT5 was and is a badass motor w/ mucho possibilities, its huge, heavy and the parts and service for it are about like trying to get a lamborghini serviced. I would stick w/ the LS1 and get it converted to an LS6 (the 2000+ f-bodies already use the LS6 intake, just get the cam, and a few other things). The LS1 is very mod friendly, so w/ some long tube headers, an LS6 conversion and possible some head work I'm sure you could exceed the LT5's 405 HP by a large margin. If you insist on the swap, send me an e-mail and I'll put you in touch w/ a guy that I know that has gone to school for LT5 work and has some badass stroker and head combos for it (I' ve seen his shop, he had 5 ZR1s for engine work and a Hennessey viper getting the rear done and this guy lives in rural south GA). He is good.

 

[email protected]

[speedshifter]

oh wow, i didn't know that the ls1 and the ls6 were so similar. So dropping in a cam and bolting on the ls6 intake to the ls1 with a couple extra mods and i get 405hp?

 

Are there any sites you know of that go into more detail about the ls6 conversion?

 

Thanks.

 

By the time I found a decent '95 ish camaro and a '93-95 LT5 motor, it would probably just be cheaper to get a 98 camaro and do the ls6 conversion on it.

[MCourson]

The LT5 was a very complicated engine too. It had to actually be built by Mercury Marine.

[The SPEEDY]

oh wow, i didn't know that the ls1 and the ls6 were so similar. So dropping in a cam and bolting on the ls6 intake to the ls1 with a couple extra mods and i get 405hp?

 

Are there any sites you know of that go into more detail about the ls6 conversion?

 

Thanks.

 

By the time I found a decent '95 ish camaro and a '93-95 LT5 motor, it would probably just be cheaper to get a 98 camaro and do the ls6 conversion on it.

No. Ls6 cam and intake a lone will not get you 405hp on an Ls1. Ls6 heads flow better than Ls1 heads do. With bolt ons and a cam you can get about 380hp and easily over 400 with a good head and cam setup. All that is probably a lot cheaper than a LT5 anyway.

[422 SS]

oh wow, i didn't know that the ls1 and the ls6 were so similar.  So dropping in a cam and bolting on the ls6 intake to the ls1 with a couple extra mods and i get 405hp?

 

Are there any sites you know of that go into more detail about the ls6 conversion?

 

Thanks.

 

By the time I found a decent '95 ish camaro and a '93-95 LT5 motor, it would probably just be cheaper to get a 98 camaro and do the ls6 conversion on it.

No. Ls6 cam and intake a lone will not get you 405hp on an Ls1. Ls6 heads flow better than Ls1 heads do. With bolt ons and a cam you can get about 380hp and easily over 400 with a good head and cam setup. All that is probably a lot cheaper than a LT5 anyway.

A heads/cam LS1 will walk all over a lt5 powered corvette.Add long-tube headers and a dyno-tune and you will have a far more reliable combo.Needless to say a used lt5 costs $15,000+ and good luck fixing something if it breaks.

[CMNTMXR81]

The 4 cam, 32 valve LT5 V8 was a Lotus engineered and Mercury Marine assembled (as previously mentioned) because of Mercury Marine's extensive use of aluminum casting. It is a very costly engine, very costly to repair, and in an F-Body due to it's huge seat of heads (because of 2 cams in each head), it would be a service nightmare for anything below them.

 

The LS1/LS6 are the same engine, but the LS6 has a few upgrades from the LS1. Heads are slightly improved, a different cam, bigger bay to bay breathing ports, LS6 intake, etc, etc.

 

It equals and responds phenomenaly to simple mods, but becomes a completely different beast with a heads/cam swap. All this in a much cheaper, much more simple, easily servicable, and smaller package (overall exterior dimensions of the motor). It to is all aluminum just like the LT5.

 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love a ZR1 Corvette, but to do a swap of the LT5 into something like this would be counter productive.

 

I'd also like to say to ARE, that a LT5 with heads, cam, oversizing , and/or turbo/supercharger or any other type of significant internal work or modification would be a serious force to be reckoned with, espcially in the upper rpm range where a 4 cam, 32 valve V8 would be at it's strongest.

[Tucson_02Silverado]

In it's (short) time the LT5 was a great engineering piece for naturally aspirated engines. But with it's small production, high costs and today's LS1/6 or for that matter a 6.0L truck engine easily surpassing the LT5's design goals which were fought very hard to but didn't quite acheive the 400/400 HP/TQ in a useable flat range.

 

Take an LS1 or truck 6.0L and go to 427CI and get some nice Vette 427 fender flags. Definitely a lot less expensive and the engine will be much more enjoyable because of it's powerband.

[speedshifter]

Okay cool!

 

I don't think this will happen in the near future for me because I am a college student and I work as a service tech at the Caddy/Hummer dealer during summers and winter vacation.

 

The price of a decent '98 Camaro LS1 w/6 spd tranny is at least $9500. Suffice it to say, I can't afford that now, or in the near future. But at least I have a lot of time to plan.

 

Just out of curiousity, I know that rare 30th anniversary addition camaros had the lt4 in them. Was there any other camaros with the LT4? Is there an easy LT1->LT4 swap like the ls1 with heads/cam/intake?

 

I know the LT1 is a little bit on an odd-ball motor with its weird cooling system and other oddidties, but in your opinion, is it easier to wrench on an LT1 or an LS1?

 

I have almost no experience with camaros, this is why I ask. I've never driven a camaro in my life, and all the ones I've worked on were LT1s and most of the stuff I did wasn't hard. Figured I'd get an opinion from some guys who have more experience.

 

I guess I should take this over to a f-body forum soon, but I just like it here so much.

 

Later.

[CMNTMXR81]

Speed, here in Chicago, you can find them for less than $9,500. Unless you're looking for pristine examples.

 

Not all 30th Anniversary Z28's came with the LT4. For that matter, some regular Z28's and SS's in 1997 had an LT4 slipped in. All the LT4 is, is a factory heads and cam version of the LT1, otherwise they are the same. If you get an LT1, you can go to the parts department their at Weil (which is who I presume you work for) and order the LT4 "hotcam" cam and heads. The LT1/4 utlizes reverse flow cooling to cool the cylinder heads first in part due to their high compression ratings. They also utilize an optical ignition system named "Opti-Spark" and more commonly referred to as "Opti-Crap" due to it's known issues with problems related to it's reliability. The water pump which is located above it would leak, dripping coolant down into the optical ignition, therefore shorting it out. Later versions and of course the "fixed" versions had a weep tube that routed the coolant outlet around the Opti unit. The LT1/4 also has a conventional ignition system in that one coil/distributor (the Opti unit), feeds all 8 cylinders. The LS1 and it's Vortec variants have a CNP (Coil Near Plug) setup that has one coil for each cylinder and one short plug wire for each. So that makes it a tad easier to work on.

 

As far as which is more difficult, both are about the same. I'd give the slight advantage to the LS1 with it's simpler ignition system, more open intake (even in factory trim), and slightly easier servicability in general. Both will have issues with servicing the back of the engine since it's half under the cowl. SO that's a toss up.

 

So in the end, you can get an LT1 car much cheaper. An LT4 car (if you find one) would be on par price wise with an LS1 and now the aftermarket for the LS1 has exploded and when adding heads/cam or what not, the LS1 is infamous for it's response to them. If this were 4-5 years ago, I'd have said, LT1 all the way for budget buying and modding, but that's not the case anymore. Either way though, you can't lose.

[CMNTMXR81]

Oh yea, the bell housings, clutch, hydraulics, and input shaft on the M6 are different between the LT1/4 cars and the LS1/6 cars. The LT1/4 uses a "push" style throwout bearing mechanism and the LS1/6 uses a "pull" style throw out bearing mechanism.

[MarkD]

As a previous owner of a '97 Camaro SS (LT1 A4). I would go with an LS1 Camaro.

 

Stay away from the '98-'99 6 speeds (clutch durability problems)

 

A LT1 with LT4 heads, cam, intake engine dyno'd at 429 fwhp.

 

A stock LS1 dyno'd at 362 fwhp (chassis dyno'd at 305 rwhp, typical around here)

 

With LS1 intake, and "worked" heads, it engine dyno'd at 480 fwhp (Chassis dyno'd at 408rwhp) This car turned 11.65 @ 125 mph in 1/4 mile at sea level with M/H racemasters.

[CMNTMXR81]

The clutch issues aren't what they used to be and it wasn't just isolated to 98-99's. It was all of them. The ZO6 Hydraulics and clutch helped a little but not enough to make a huge difference. So it's really irrelevant now. SPEC's unit, Cartek, and McLeod (twin disk) all handle pretty much anything you can throw at it and even those will suggest a hydraulics upgrade if you don't have at least the ZO6 parts.

[speedshifter]

Yeah I work at Weil. So I do get a discount through there, but by the time I pay tax, for big stuff its cheaper to buy from GM Parts Direct.

 

So the LS1 motor is obviously better, but the 6 speeds have bad clutches?

 

I would plan on putting a better clutch in anyways, but I don't think I can afford an LS1.

 

I was looking at something like this:

Sweet SS

 

That car is a great deal! I like the older body style front end anyway, and a '97 LT1 is cheaper than the '98+ LS1.

 

So I guess its really a matter of $$. The LS1s are more money, but better performance.

 

I might just get a '97 SS and do some cam/head work on it. We'll see.

 

Thanks for the help guys!

[Tucson_02Silverado]

GM Performance Parts has an LT1 to LT4 conversion upgrade kit with hotcam option if wanted. There was a very brief word on the street of an LS1 to LS6 conversion kit by GMPP as well, but I think that was hyperactive rumors.