i posted this in another section and mark-a-shields told me to post it here so id like to know what the major and minor pros, and cons are with what the L98 has compared to the Lt-1

and which one has more potential for mods
any info would help thanks :hail:

 

Here's what Ed Maher had to say and I quote

"The LT1 swap is so 5 years ago. It's just a small block with aluminum heads and reverse cooling, and a sweet $180 opti-funk to go bad on you all the time. If you want to do an LT1, screw it, build a small block with incredible heads and make more power than an LT1 for less. "

 

is he refering to the L98? in kind of confused i do get that hes saying the Lt-1 is crappy but was there any pluses to the LT-1? im just asking because a friend of mine has one in his 98 caprese (spelling) classic its an old police intercepter andhe says the Lt-1 is better then the L98 but another friend of mine told me i would beat him in the 1/4 mile just hypotheticly saying that our engines were both bone stock

 

Either way, if you built up an L98 it can be just as fast as an LT1 modded, without the crappy opti-spark crap.


Really, an L98 is just that a stock 3rd Gen motor with TPI.

It's still a 350 SBC and can be modded with the best of them.

 

i see so one doesnt have any kind of advantage over the other other then the L98 having a distributer and the Lt-1 having the crappy opti spark? wow somy friend is full of **** haha

 

That's not completely true...

The LT1 has an intake which allows the engine to actually breathe at RPMS above cruise, unlike the L98. It requires a great deal of modification to the L98 (like removing it and replacing it with something of different design) to allow it to produce as much HP as a stock LT1; and it's very easy to get a LT1 to produce close to 50% more HP than a L98 will ever be capable of. It is true that they are both essentially Chevy small blocks, with lieelt difference except induction and ignition; but that's about like saying that a 267 with a DualJet is just about the same thing as a 71 LT1, just a Chevy small block with a different induction, so it should be capable of producing as much HP. Clearly not true.

A stock LT1 will of course spank a stock L98 mercilessly. A completely maxed out L98 (keeping in mind that "L98" specifies an induction system) can be made to approach a stock LT1. A motor made from parts of a L98 with some other induction can easily be made to produce more power than a LT1; but then of course it's no longer a L98. We're not the Mustang crowd here, where if any part remains under the hood with the F*rd logo on it, then the motor is still "bone stock".

The advantage the LT1 has is short, large cross-section, straight runners with a direct shot into the intake valves, and a large plenum; as opposed to very long, small diameter tubing bent into a semicircle, connected to the smallest possible plenum that allows the connections. In short, the LT1 has flow capacity, the L98 does not.

 

I'd have to disagree there, a stock LT1 most of the time will run low 14s where as the L98 runs mid 14s.

Hey now, I own a Mustang too.

 

I am also going to have to disagree. Just a few weeks ago I raced a LT1 up to 75-85 and he would have had me by like 1-3ft if we would have kept goin, thats it. (But we stopped when we were even).

And just this week, I raced a 95 stock Lt1 and stood dead even with him until we stopped (90).



I don't wanna sound like a 'er because I know a Lt1 in stock form is faster then a L98 in stock form. But not by much if you ask me. Like mark said, Lt1 = Low 14's, L98 Mid 14's.

 

ya gotta remember. a stock L98 has alot of freaking torque!!! more then most LT1's.. so your gonna spank an LT1 off the line. given that u dont spin too much. but its those high RPMS that u get nailed back..

 

RB covered it quite well (as usual). Just a couple more points:

There was no Caprice produced in 1998. The GM B cars ceased to exist after the 1996 model year in North America;

Caprice cars used for public serviec were never called "police interceptors". That is a term formerly used by Chrysler and now by Ford in a vain attempt to mask just how basically lame the cars really are (i.e., really no difference from a standard "Joe Blow" version of the same car except for a bigger fuse panel). At least Chrysler did a little more to the engines and chassis when they tried to make police cars. GM identifies their public service vehicles as SEO vehicles;

The LT1s made more HP and torque than the L98s as delivered from the factory;

The OptiSpark distributor (yes, it IS a distributor) will last about 100,000 miles and cost you $128.00 to replace when it fails with almost no warning. The problem is that it is a two day job to replace one, and you might as well plan a new water pump, wires, and several other parts while you're in that deep;

The LT1 was typically better balanced from the factory, mainly due to the minimal variation in the production of the powdered metal con rods and piston treatment;

The LT1s all came with both a MAF and MAP sensor, a vastly improved PCM, and had no practical limit on the amount of intake air they metered. They are a lot more forgiving to modifications before running into the computer programming obstacle;

The LT1s have reverse-flow cooling, which means the colder coolant from the radiator is pumped to the cylinder heads first instead of after travelling through the cylinder case. This allows the engines to run higher compression with less tendency for detonation, thus, more power at all ranges;

The LT1 heads way outflow the L98 castings, even the iron-headed LT1a in Caprice SEO, Roadmasters, DeVilles, and Impala SS cars. As RB understated, the ports are just large compared to older SBC castings;

Beyond that, the case and head basic design are the same as since 1954. As has been stated, modifications level the playing field, and the sky is the limit with the older SBC engines, the LT1 included.

 

just get any old 350 SBC it doesnt really matter. With a decent set of heads and cam youll have no problems against stock lt1 cars...depending on how good the heads and cam you may have no problems with modded ones.