Let's settle this once and for all, what do you guys think?

(A side question would be if the LQ's extra weight is actually a big problem for a Third Gen or not so much?)

 

Umm... A thirdgen comes with a completely iron smallblock. Anything lighter or the same weight is fine.. I Lmost did a 750lb Duramax until I saw that it is a real chore to make it fit...

LS2/3/7 is where it's at if you are looking to spend dollars.

 

A slight problem for me personally would be the budget, can't really spend too much or I'd have to save up forever, already putting everything I can spare into such a project from now on and going to sell a motorbike that I have ;P
(I'm but a poor automotive student working in a shop for minimum wage).

But thanks for clearing that up on the weight, so having a cast iron block shouldn't really affect handling in a Third Gen all that much, as long as my suspension is right?

 

Correct. I just noticed your location, goodluck sourcing parts you are a true gearhead!

 

Thanks, I like to think so too ;P getting parts will most likely be a matter of finding them on Ebay and having them shipped over, and getting the conversion parts from Hawks and other performance parts from other American stores if not from Ebay also. Or are they relatively expensive on Ebay or something? Might be better to ask an American friend to check junkyards? Of course if I can find a good one here for a decent price that'd be perfect and I will look for one once I've saved up enough, but can most likely forget about it easily after looking around some.

 

LQ9's are going to be a bit more expensive, because now people know that they have something better than "just a truck motor". haha.

LQ4's are still DIRT cheap around here. And with a piston change, you'd have an LQ9...and you can get LQ9 rotating assemblies easily.

LS1's are still bringing a pretty penny IMO. But they're a great motor to build. And light. I dont care about the numbers...but my LQ4's bare iron block was HEAVY. I was able to easily lift the LS1 with crank rods and pistons still in. I did notice some drop in my front end after I went from LS1 to LQ4 for what its worth.

Really....you cant go wrong with any of them! If you absolutely HAVE to have aluminum, look for LS1's or the other expensive variants. If an extra 70lbs or so doesnt bother you, there is great value in the LQ motors. They're strong, no alum holes to strip out, and they can take some more machining if you want to punch it out a little. With the proper combo, they can all make whatever power goal you want to make.

My next build...which is in the far future, is going to be LQ4 or 5.3/4.8 with a single turbo. Too many awesome turbo builds going on for me to ignore how amazing that combo can be haha.

J.

 

LQ4 and LQ9 are identical except for the pistons. LQ9 comes in around 10 compression and LQ4 comes in around 9.4, if I remember right. It doesn't matter which one you buy. An LQ4 can be brought up to 10.2 compression simply by bolting on a set of LS6 heads (243 casting). It is easy to sell/trade the LQ4 heads (317 casting) because people are always looking for a set when turbocharging/supercharging. 317 heads and 243 heads have the same ports, except the 317 heads have a larger 72cc combustion chamber.

LS1 will be the least hassle since it comes with the correct parts to swap in to your car. A 6.0L will drive better with more low and mid-range torque, but you'll have to get the intake and accessories & brackets from the LS1 in order to put it in your car. Also, the 6.0L has another advantage that it can accept the LS3 heads and intake. Those heads will not fit on the LS1 because the cylinder bore is too small.

And speaking of LS3, have you priced a complete LS3 crate engine? It's going to cost you a lot of money and time finding used stuff that you can't even inspect for yourself. I wonder how much it costs you to buy a crate engine from Scoggin Dickey and have it delivered to a local Vauxhall or Opel dealer? A trick I learned in the USA is that you can ship parts between GM dealers without paying any shipping fees. Never ship a part to your home or you'll pay. Don't know if that works over your way, but it could be worth investigating.

 

Yea I agree those turbo builds look soo much fun would like to build one also

 

But Hell, 30kg (66lbs) extra seems like a small price to pay for extra power stock and extra upgradeability plus a cheaper purchase (LQ4) or even more power stock and bragging rights due to it being a Caddilac engine (LQ9). Not going to strip for weight reduction anyways so I doubt it'll really matter all that much, Hell even taking one single passenger with me would matter at least twice as much according to the numbers.. thing I'm kinda concerned about is if it'll fit though, I recall reading something about needing an LS1 intake regardless? And an LS1 intake will fit to my stock air intake plastics with some modifications, right?

Edit; BTW, not to be an *** but how's gas mileage for an LQ4 / LQ9 engine compared to an LS1? LS1 has good gas mileage but the other two, do they differ from it a lot if they'd be in the Camaro? Want to be able to drive the car as much as possible after all!

 

Gas mileage is going to vary depending on your build. I think you'd see pretty similar results stock for stock between any of the motors. If there's any difference, its going to be slight.

It depends on mods...and also on tune.

My LS1 set up was pulling in nice numbers. If I drove normally, and somewhat conservatively, it would easily get 18-20 average. Which isn't much worse than my subaru. If it were all highway, like when I took it to the outer banks, it did fantastic. Cruising in 6th it gets into the high 20's low 30's.

My new combo I expect a little worse because I went a little more aggressive with the cam. But I still expect it to be reasonable with a good tune. They really are wonderful machines. So much power and potential and for what they deliver, awesome economy in my opinion.

Any of you guys watch "Roadkill" on youtube? When they swapped out the blown big block in the Crusher Camaro for the LS motor, even they commented on the power/driveability being better as well as not having to stop nearly as much for gas haha.

But as I said, it will depend on the car/driver/mods etc.

J.