Ls1 vs Lq9 weight or cubes
The 6.0 iron block offers more than just a few ci. The bore alone for me is more than enuff to always use em.
Im building a 09 ly6 6.0 block, stock crank, hbeams, forged pistons,
Taking the bore all the way up to 4.085.To make a 380ci
Alredy built another with stock ls3 rods/pistons i found on ebay new, never ran from crate motor. that block still had plenty of material left in cylinder walls. So decided to go 4.085 on this other one. Take advantage of all the newer heads.
Im building a 09 ly6 6.0 block, stock crank, hbeams, forged pistons,
Taking the bore all the way up to 4.085.To make a 380ci
Alredy built another with stock ls3 rods/pistons i found on ebay new, never ran from crate motor. that block still had plenty of material left in cylinder walls. So decided to go 4.085 on this other one. Take advantage of all the newer heads.
You can always make the power with the aluminum block that can match the lq9, but the advantage of the torque from more cubes will bring on power sooner than a motor with less cubes...
My opinion is if you are starting from scratch you might as well go with the max cubes you can get from the lq9, but if you aren't looking to bore and stroke I would stick with the ls1....the extra 18 cubic inches aren't worth the weight in my opinion...now if you are looking to buy a new crank then a 402 lq9 would be the best choice because you are gaining 50+ cubes....good luck man!
My opinion is if you are starting from scratch you might as well go with the max cubes you can get from the lq9, but if you aren't looking to bore and stroke I would stick with the ls1....the extra 18 cubic inches aren't worth the weight in my opinion...now if you are looking to buy a new crank then a 402 lq9 would be the best choice because you are gaining 50+ cubes....good luck man!
More cubes = more power under the curve. Which is where my car will live since its a daily driver. Even with only 18 ci over the Ls1 its an automatic advantage that is built into the design. With room to grow if one chooses. Not so easy with the ls1.
The second factor was that the Ls1 while still a favorite of mine, is half way to being a classic design by definetion. Which means that GM stopped "Development and design" long ago. And for budget restricted folk like my self, is a major factor in keeping cost down. Anything stock we can keep and 'tweek" slightly to get good gains is golden. So for now its the Ls3 intake and L92 head combo that can be picked up for under $1000, and flow comparatively to a $3000 combo for a GenIII motor. And the new combo is not compatible with the old, so who knows what will be next but odds are it also will not be compatible with Gen III.
