LS Disappointment?

[bob64]

Agreed that the rumble of a healthy BBC is tough to beat (that and the physical presence of it in the engine bay)

Disagree on reliability. LS gets the nod in my book.

But you aren't talking just the LS, you were talking LS with a turbo. And there is alot that can go wrong with a turbo system.

Another point on this is you need a tune/tec for your LS/turbo whereas my BBC's l can tune myself with no regrets. Real mechanics are a thing of the pass, most Auto shops are 100% technicians, plug an play. LS is a disposable engines, as BBC people that have them want to hang onto them. IMO

 

[Turbolq4]

Mine sure isn't disappointing. It's honestly too much for the street most of the time.
Dyno said it makes 463hp, 540tq at the wheels. 614hp, 690tq flywheel. This is a conservative tune on 91 octane pump gas, stock cam, heads, pistons, etc. $180 eBay Chinese turbo, flipped truck manifolds. I've turned it up since then and it's north of 700 flywheel.

No disappointments here. It really has to be experienced to be appreciated.

 

[fleming442]

Mine sure isn't disappointing. It's honestly too much for the street most of the time.
Dyno said it makes 463hp, 540tq at the wheels. 614hp, 690tq flywheel. This is a conservative tune on 91 octane pump gas, stock cam, heads, pistons, etc. $180 eBay Chinese turbo, flipped truck manifolds. I've turned it up since then and it's north of 700 flywheel.

No disappointments here. It really has to be experienced to be appreciated.

Did you tune it or pay somebody?

Sorry, bob64 if its not you. I'm thinking of a member up north (from me) running an MS3 on something (thought turbo LS)..

 

[87National]

But you aren't talking just the LS, you were talking LS with a turbo. And there is alot that can go wrong with a turbo system.

It's not really an issue 1) with a good, safe tune, 2) don't skimp on the fuel system, 3) stay at a reasonable power level (550whp for gen 3 internals, 700 whp for gen 4)

 

[Injectedcutty]

Did you tune it or pay somebody?

Sorry, bob64 if its not you. I'm thinking of a member up north (from me) running an MS3 on something (thought turbo LS)..

You're thinking of Jim(64nailhead). Him and his son have a boosted 80 Cutlass.

 

[Turbolq4]

Did you tune it or pay somebody.

A little of both. I have HPtuners and I do mess with it but not enough to be super proficient.

 

[Max Headroom]

Max, ever hear of ecoboost?

Not every turbo build is all about maximum acceleration, it gets used a lot for late model small displacement commuters to achieve better fuel economy

The sole purpose of boost is to cram more air/fuel into the cylinder. That makes more power, which lets a lower displacement motor be more efficient in dragging around the rest of the car. Ecocrap. The bottom line is still about making more power with the same displacement. The power really doesn't care whether its used for, Go Fast or Go Far.

 

[Kemper1976]

Sometimes we dislike what we’ve never tried or fully understand.

I never understood what the Ls craze was all about until I built my 88 but I was definitely curious and so glad I built an ls powered car.

I have an 88 Cutlass that’s efi turbo LS setup and a fully streetable 69 Cutlass with a carbureted, solid roller bbc and a Procharged Chevelle with a Silid Roller BBC setup.

The 69 runs low 10’s at 135mph, runs warm in traffic, doesn’t have a/c, loud even with exhaust. Sounds like a pro stock car at idle. Not really the type of car you want to jump on the interstate and “cruise” with. Looks cool and is relatively easy to work on. Not able to get many parts locally.

Never raced the 70 but it falls into a similar category as the 69. Loud, needs maintenance, Fun on short drives.


The 88 makes more power than my 69, has a/c, easy to work on, easy to get parts anywhere locally (minus turbo), it’s quiet, can drive anywhere including interstate and the maintenance is whatever I make it and do all the tuning myself.

None of these cars made much power when they they were first built, but with driving, tweaking and tuning they all cane around.


I’m glad I have these cars, but you can probably
Guess which one I enjoy driving more.

 

[bob64]

Sometimes we dislike what we have never tired or fully understand.

I never understood what the Ls craze was all about until I built my 88 but I was definitely curious and so glad I built an ls powered car.

I have an 88 Cutlass that’s efi turbo LS setup and a fully streetable 69 Cutlass with a carbureted, solid roller bbc and a Procharged Chevelle with a Silid Roller BBC setup.

The 69 runs low 10’s at 135mph, runs warm in traffic, doesn’t have a/c, loud even with exhaust. Sounds like a pro stock car at idle. Not really the type of car you want to jump on the interstate and “cruise” with. Looks cool and is relatively easy to work on. Not able to get many parts locally.

Never raced the 70 but it falls into a similar category as the 69. Loud, needs maintenance, Fun on short drives.


The 88 makes more power than my 69, has a/c, easy to work on, easy to get parts anywhere locally (minus turbo), it’s quiet, can drive anywhere including interstate and the maintenance is whatever I make it and do all the tuning myself.

None of these cars made much power when they they were first built, but with driving, tweaking and tuning they all cane around.


I’m glad I have these cars, but you can probably
Guess which one I enjoy driving more. View attachment 109261View attachment 109262View attachment 109263View attachment 109264View attachment 109265View attachment 109266

Sounds like you built each car with a purpose. Cooling shouldn't be an issue if you wanted to make it a cruiser. Neither my Camaro(496 stroker)nor Cutlass(468)run hot in heavy downtown Toronto traffic. And because l don't want to screw with them they both have hydralic cams, there turn key at any moment. And the 468 sounds like a V-twin and they both give ya a massage sitting in them.

LS alone are cool no doubt(Got 3) there cheap, good turbos aren't cheap! The issue is everyone's doing it, that just gets boring. IMO

 

[Kemper1976]

Sounds like you built each car with a purpose. Cooling shouldn't be an issue if you wanted to make it a cruiser. Neither my Camaro(496 stroker)nor Cutlass(468)run hot in heavy downtown Toronto traffic. And because l don't want to screw with them they both have hydralic cams, there turn key at any moment. And the 468 sounds like a V-twin and they both give ya a massage sitting in them.

LS alone are cool no doubt(Got 3) there cheap, good turbos aren't cheap! The issue is everyone's doing it, that just gets boring. IMO

Turbos aren’t cheap, nitrous isn’t cheap, forged motors aren’t cheap. I think we’re all In he wrong hobby 😂.

Pre 1997, everyone was swapping v6’s for v8’s, small blocks for big blocks etc... same deal, just less technology involved.

Cooling isnt an issue on any of the cars I’ve built which is why I mentioned they run warm, not hot. Had a couple of big blocks run hot in the past and it was due to the freeze plugs being smacked into the blocks from multiple owner builds/rebuilds.

Nowadays it’s the norm for an LS or new LT motor to run 210.