I just managed to nab an LS1 for 3k, absolutely clean with < 20k miles (car got totalled from the rear up) locally through a friend of my dad's. I hadn't really planned to go with an LS1 but I felt like I couldn't pass up this deal. Anyways I plan to keep this motor for a LONNNGGGG time, and indeed once it's installed I'm planning to slowly upgrade it, who knows things might get crazy, I was wondering how much horsepower the stock aluminum block is good for, obviously I'm not going insane but who knows really

 

There are LOTS of LS1s out there making over 500rwhp with a stock block, some even more. If all you're planning is bolt-on stuff, then go for it, the engine will take it. The LSx engines have one of the strongest bottom ends of any engine design out there.

 

LSX FTW

 

Well... My tuner put down 785 rwhp through a BONE stock LS6 02 Z06 engine running pump gas and a DISC procharger set up. After 2 seasons he literally grenaded his entire rear transaxle assembly and decided to yank the stock motor and build a forged one and the damn thing STILL looked like new. Cross hatch and all and smooth as new piston tops. Quite unreal. The irony is he built a forged 346 ( stock LS1 cubes ) and upgraded to an F1A supercharger with meth injection and that one didnt last 3 passes BUT it did run 9.6@ 147 MPH and put down almost 1000 rwhp.... so

In short heres a basic guideline.

Stock cube LS1 N/A 400 rwhp is effortless and affordable with bolt ons, cam and tune.

400cid<LSx builds easilly reach 500 rwhp N/A

Boosted LS builds put down consistent 5-600 rwhp on pump gas and run hard alll day, all year

Max effort boosted LS builds put down 1000 rwhp range

PLUS Ls engines love the spray

 

A big nasty cam in a otherwise stock setup with springs and free flowing intake/exhaust can nab you 400 easy.

touching nothing else, they take 125 dry shots (I wouldnt =D )

average boost on stock motor of 8 or 9 psi.

interesting side note. As far as I know the stock crankshaft has never been broken because of a crankshaft failure.

 

If im not mistaken the ls1 and ls2 bottom ends can handle about 900 hp

 

I was actually referring to the block itself, of course if I was going to boost it high I'd go with forged internals, but can the block handle applications of 1k+ hp? I was just wondering if the aluminum block can handle the pressure or if I should just go with an LSX block if I wanted to get serious.

What I mainly want over time (course of many years) is a street 3rd gen with close to 1k RWHP.

 

The LsX block was created specifically for the higher horsepower demands, up to 2k I believe.

The aluminum LS blocks are generally not considered too good over 1-1200hp but that is ALOT.

A search on LS1tech.com can reveal the different high HP builds and their recommendations.

 

If you are talking about the GMPP "LSX" block, its rated as "2500hp+" in their catalog, which is absolutely rediculous lol.

As I said, the LSx design, even the production engines like the LS1, is a VERY strong design, it takes ALOT to break it.

 

The lsX block is also iron, not aluminum, and 1000hp and only run 9.6 in the 1/4? that's slow.

 

Yeah was still sorting out the car. It only made 3 passes before it lifted a head off and actually now that I think about it I think it ran a 9.4x when the engine went. There was 9.2 in the set up I think was the math iirc keep in mind this is all done on pump gas and meth so the goal was to be one of the baddest street cars out there. Even more unreal this was through the stock exhaust, mufflers and all the thing was much quieter than my car. I liked the set up so much I'm thinking about doing a milder version of it to mine 12psi or so probably put 600 whp and run stock safe which is more important to me than MAX power

 

That is the one, I was in a hurry and using my memory for the number.. Hot Rod has a nice twin turbo buildup of one in this months issue..

makes it hard to differentiate we say LSx for the ls family of engines, now there is the LSx iron block..