I'm looking to buy my first Vette, and I was wondering what the general consensus is on the L98 vs LT1 debate? Which makes a better platform to build fast street car?

Some other info - car will definitely be a 6 speed, so that means 89 or later L98.

I'll be doing some mods to the engine, hoping for somewhere in the neighborhood of 350-400 RWHP - which is gonna get me there easier and/or cheaper?

Anything else different between late L98 (89-91) and early LT1 (92-94) cars? Other than the obvious stuff, like the dash change and exterior change... I mean mechanically. [EDIT] Also, not just in the nature of the engines, I've been doing some research on them, as well... [/EDIT]

Thanks in advance, and I'm sorry if this debate has been brought up before. I searched, but couldn't find anything on this topic...

Matthew


[Modified by AZ_Matt, 9:56 PM 3/26/2003]

 

A 91 L98 is for the most part identical to a 92 LT1.

 

Go with LT1 50HP extra from the start...Good luck

 

General rule is to go for the latest you can afford.

The 92-94 LT1 have optispark worrries, where the L98 is more like the traditional small block.

Both can be made to put out some serious power.

 

Go with L98. Yah, the LT1 has more hp. but the L98 has more torque and the parts to mod it out are cheaper than the LT1. If I can get just as much power for lower the cost why would I pay more if I didn't have to. Plus the cost for the car itself will be cheaper. Bottom line--Save the money mod. the car, that's just me though. :thumbs:

 

Run a search, this has been covered at least 100 times.

Get the newest you can afford.

 

There was a nice article written by Doug Anderson, an auto rebuilder, that explained the history and changes in the small block chevy. It's only a few days old on this forum. The LT-1 in 92 was the first year of the reverse cooling system which really helped with the aluminum heads on a iron block. Also, they did away with the oil cooler(leak problem), and went to synthetic oil.

There is also another article that explains and is quite lengthly, that I found on an old site called http://www.corvettesurfing.com look under history of the C-4. Just tried it and it looks like they might be down.

Don't settle on the first Vette you see. Have fun looking. There is a laundry list of things to look for before buying. Again, go with the lastest you can afford, 95-96 got most of the bugs out.

strick :flag :flag :flag


[Modified by Strick, 11:38 PM 3/26/2003]

 

AZ welcome to the forum :thumbs:

 

While I wouldn't argue with the "buy the newest you can afford" philosophy, I have to put in a vote for the L98. The main horsepower advantage of the LT1 over the L98, stock for stock, is in the intake manifold. That, and the heads flow a little better. Buying a later model Corvette gets you a better car, but not necessarily a better motor. Buying the newer cars also gets you OBDII which can cause you difficulty with performance enhancements.

I owned an LT1 Camaro, and while it's unfair to compare a Camaro to a Vette-- engine-wise they are pretty similar. I was never that impressed with it. It had detonation problems that remained unresolved until I traded it in, and developed the dreaded oil leak from the intake end-seals in 8000 miles. I'm not convinced that the reverse flow cooling produced the benefits that GM had hoped for. Maybe mine was just a lemon, but its power never impressed me much either. It WAS impressively efficient and would return 30 MPG on the freeway if you went easy on the accelerator.

None of that matters if your talking about serious mods, but neither does the 50hp factory advantage. The Corvette LT1's are four bolt blocks while the L98's are (to my knowledge) all two-bolts, which might give an advantage to the LT1 at seriously elevated power levels.

The L98 benefits from nearly forty years of factory and aftermarket development of the small block Chevrolet. The parts interchangability and availability are phenomenal and costs tend to be lower as a result. The LT1 was here for 6 years and the design was mostly abandoned.

Sorry for the length. To sum up my opinion: Buy the best Vette you can afford. Don't feel bad about picking an L98 over an LT1, if it works out that way, 'cause after some modifications it won't make any difference.

Jason


[Modified by needanother1, 12:23 AM 3/27/2003]

 

[QUOTE] The LT-1 in 92 was the first year of the reverse cooling system which really helped with the aluminum heads on a iron block. [QUOTE]

The LT1 aluminum heads had smaller combustion chambers to get the higher comp ratio and also had the dry intake system...no water passages to leak into the motor.

I'm sure that whatever you buy you'll be happy and be on the way to get more out of it. :thumbs:

 

Well, as I'm sure you can see already, everybody has a different opinion. Basically, the L98 owners say the L98 is better, and the LT1 owners say theirs is better. Nobody is going to change their mind.

Now... I'm going to give my opinion, but keep in mind that it's just as worthless as everybody elses.

My opinion is that the L98 offers the ability to reach high horsepower levels for less money. If you're just looking for some modest gains, then the LT1 is probably a better idea. The LT1 has an intake and head design that can support a lot of horsepower, so you can slap a couple bolt-ons on and get good results.

But... once you overcome the L98's long tube runner design (which was designed for a 305), you wind up in a pretty similar situation, and you find that bigger and better things cost less. You have more head choices. You have way more induction choices. You don't have the optispark (a HUGE advantage as far as I'm concerned).

 

While we're on the topic.... what induction systems can people reccomend to replace the stock TPI? I like the superram but it's expensive.. i also like millican's lt-1 conversion but I haven't heard enough good things about it yet

decisions, decisions...

 

Thanks for all the good responses everyone!

So I guess it comes down to these three general rules:

1) Newer is better, buy as new as you can afford.
2) The LT1 makes more power stock and with bolt-ons, so if that's the plan, go with an LT1.
3) If you're gonna go ape on the motor, the L98 is a winner due to parts availability and cost issues.

Something to think about I guess... I'll have to decide just how much I want out of my engine and make a choice. Thanks again for all the great feedback, this forum really is a great place to learn.

Matthew

 

Welcome to the Forum.

To get 410-470 chp NA you will need to stroke out the small block and some serious additional mods.

Check out JD383's L98 power for an example; I'm sure some of the LT1 guys have gotten similar power output.

Find the Vette you realy want and go from there.

To get a beter idea of changes across the Vette years of interest pick up a copy of the "Corvette Black Book".

 

:confused:

 

Get the 1991 with the L98. Tons of power newwer body and I dont want anymore mods. Chip,exhaust and a K&N will be all you need with the L98..

I like the look of both engines, LT-1 was my first choice till I got into my 91 Convert with 48K .. I was like Heck yea..

Rob

 

then you need to change the terms of your search

 

I've owned LT1's, LS1's, an L98 and now an LT4. Out of the following cars which do you think was the most fun to drive?
1: 99Trans am 6 speed LS1, mods(whisper lid and catback exhaust)
2: 95 trans am auto catback and cold air induction
3: 94 trans am auto stock
4: 96 vette LT4 with catback and KN filter
5: 1990 L98 6 speed. Intake and exhaust mods, a few other slight mods with a total of less than $1500 in mods.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.The 1990 L98 vette was by FAR the most fun to drive. Hands down. Its low end torque made it a beast of a stoplight warrior unlike the LT4/LS1 which you have to really rev and explore the upper limits of the rpm range to extract power. The LT1 is a kinda compromise. If it were me I'd go with a 91 ZO7 6speed and mod the crap out of it. You can now buy the Holley stealthram base and get a custom made plenum from Grumpy here on the forum to amke it fit under a C4's hood. The stock steclthram plenum will not fit under a C4's hood. This seems to be the best, and cheapest route to replacing the intake on an L98 that still offers the potential to make loads of power.

 

I would go with the LT1, and if you want to get some power out of it get a good head/cam package. True, you could do the same with the L98 based motor, but it would actually cost more to get the power because you have to change the intake to a minram or superram, where you just have to port (sometime not even that) the LT intake. CNC machining L98 and LT heads costs are virtually identicle and the LT heads (to my knowledge) can flow more overall. The head/cam setup on my LT4 gets me over 380RWHP and I'm not quite done with it yet!