Chevy Engine weight

[jschwartz]

A while back there was some questioning the weight of my Ultima (1900 lbs dry). I was reading a GM LS1 Installation Guide this weekend and it states the fully dressed LS1/LS6 engine assembly weighs 390 lbs. This is with all accessories, AC, Alt, Starter,ps pump,etc. This has got to be about 200 lbs lighter than the Gen 1 SBC since they weigh about 575 lbs without accessories.
Jeff

[PiB]

I wonder how the aluminum block fits into the picture. The new Ls6's have that don't they and i wonder on the gen 1 SBC if getting the sluminum block makes it closer to the newer engines? Is the LS6 essentially the Z06 engine? It would nice to get 500 to 550 hp. I don't know if maybe the old gen engines are cheaper than the new engines for the amount of hp they put out.

[ULTIMAANDY]

At 390lbs it weighs around 80lbs less than my fully dressed small block.

Mine is an iron block with alloy heads, inlet etc but without headers and I don't have AC so it sounds like the next generation engine is slightly lighter.

I think the alloy block saves about 90lbs over an iron block.

[boosted ls1]

You can shed even more weight from the LS1/6 if you want to. Most of the engines have cast iron exhaust manifolds but the earlier vette version has nice tubuler steel items onto which you can weld/adapt your own system. Also for retrofit applications you can remove the PAS and air-con. The water pump is quite bulky and an electric item would be lighter and adjustable. The t56 is quite heavy at 8 stones (appx, and showing my age) and I am contemplating adapting the t5 to this engine as it's way lighter and should be up to the torque of a base line engine. The supra box would also be a good candidate. You could fit a smaller alternator as, again for retrofit applications it doesn't need to be as large. I reckon once you trim a bit more weight off it, it would be very close to the Rover and in many ways it's already smaller.

[jhr8]

Check out www.idavette.net/hib/ls1c.html, which you can link to via www.ls1.com. The LS1 is 66 lb less than the LT4, with most of that coming from the block.

I think there are even better reasons to get the LS1, though: non-siamesed exhaust; 15-degree heads; drilled, wider camshaft which allows faster valve openings/closings; less shrouding of the pistons (to avoid detonation); roller-valvetrain; better harmonics; more equalized distribution of fuel:air ratio to each cylinder, for higher power-potential (so you don't have to retard your ignition as soon as the FIRST cylinder starts to detonate, nor program each cylinder separately with an SFI unit); that great Corvette oilpan; the aluminum block means you're actually a little less prone to overheat (assuming your engine bay is getting enough fresh air -- and then if you do overheat on the street, you have the mode which uses 4 cylinders as air-pumps), etc. Then, there's the wider torque-curve all the above creates, and the higher redline. Plus, it's about 1/2" shorter (I saw ultima-gtr.info, where a supercharger's pulley hit a GTR's firewall...Ouch). It's also a little wider than the LT series, but I think for the Ultima engine bay, an engine's *length* is more critical... (not that I'm too sure about that, though)

Well, I don't have a GTR yet, but I'm seriously looking into it; I may order one in a few months and have found AdequateSpeed's and the ultima-gtr.info site very helpful; thanks to them if they're here. ;-) Mike Mullin, an hour from me, apparently fits Ultimas for the LS1, and I'd definitely go for LS-1 over LT-1. Personally, I'm going for a *centrifugal* supercharger, so that it can be relocated to not conflict with other things near the firewall (and keep the weight down-low ;-) ), can be intercooled for way more HP, and heats up the air less as it pressurizes it.