If you are getting an A6 tranny, definitely go with the LS3. The transmission is much, much improved compared to my 06. Power-wise, it seems to have more but, then again, I drove a Malibu for a year and a half in between. :P

Shan

 

I love my LS3 car. I ordered it just the way I wanted it and would not change a thing. If I did not own a Vette and was buying one, I would get an '08 or newer. If I already owned an LS2 C6, I would not trade it just to get an LS3 C6. I would not be willing to take that much of a hit.

 

Yep, if I could afford a new Vette, I'd love to get the LS3. And, I agree it's a newer design and a better engine than the LS2. Unfortunately, I have one of those "slug" 06 LS2's. Sorry about that. But, to call
LS2's slugs just goes to show what a dumass you are. I have been to numerous Corvette Challenge events and guess what....LS3's do NOT dominate. Very strange, but, it's true. And, why is Andrew on the fastest LS3 list twice??? Because he's had 2 different cars....but funny how he seems to buy the fastest one out there???

By the way I'm on the LS2 list too ...but, I added a Vararam and a 160 deg. stat. to my slug, so it's not bone stock.

 

Who said an LS2 is a "slug" ?

 

I remember this same argument on ls2gto but it was ls1 vs ls2 and there was a 50hp difference. I had both the 04 GTO with ls1 and then 06 GTO with ls2. There wasn't as huge a difference as I thought there would be. When I looked at vettes I decided to go with 08+ since I knew I didn't want to repeat the same thing, getting an ls2 vette and wondering should I have bought an ls3 vette so then having to trade or sell and buy.

 

If you are buying new, then you get to pick everything you want. Maybe there is a new one not quite what you want, but there is a great deal.

Going used, which you must be looking at an LS2, It's even tougher to get what you want. Year and engine are just more variables. Disqualifying a car because of the LS2 might make you overlook a car that would be otherwise perfect.

As an example, I picked up an 06 with 9,000 miles in mint condition. It had Z51, HUD, MN6, first choice color and all the options that were on my bonus list. The previous owner was 75 and had knee replacements. He just couldn't continue in the Vette. Would I trade this car for another with a LS3 and some less desirable features or lesser condition. No way.

 

The LS2 owner says there is no difference between his car and a LS3.
The LS3 owner says there is no difference between his car and a Z06.
The Z06 owner says there is no difference between his car and a ZR1.

Oh....wait, I've never heard a Z06 owner say that........

 

I agree that LS2s get the step child treatment. I had a LS2 GTO with headers and cam that was a beast. Last month I traded my 06 M6 3lt in on an 08 2lt A6 LS3, because of a bad shoulder. Bolt-ons and 102 intake it put down 391/383rwhp and I ran 12.2 @118. My LS3 A6 ran 12.0 @120.84 headers and tune on run flats, with a 2.0 60. ANDREW is my tuner and I will tell u that his car and my car put down simular numbers (his 2010 A6) and there is know funny business. He has run 11.7s @122 with headers and tune and I'm sure if I used a drag radial, my times would duplicate his. He now has a cam is is working on his car in steps.

 

Because they either A) Cant afford the ZR1 to begin with or B) Understand its pretty stupid to argue N/A vs SC.. no matter what displacement. Entirely too different approaches.

 

Not you best comment Daek. First of all, it's two different approaches.

Most Z06 owners could spend a few thou more for the ZR1. And N/A vs. SC has little to do with it. SC cars can't race if that is the owner's goal. And the real-life difference between the two is infinitesimal.

Joe's comment was tongue in cheek.

 

And in 2004 the LS1 folks said no difference between LS1 & LS2.


BTW - what %age of LS3 owners do you think think there's no difference between an LS3 and LS7?

 

No, it's because the Z06 owner recognises, and accepts, the fact that there is a Vette that is higher up the food chain then their Z06. A lot of the LS2/3 owners can't seem to accept that.

Has nothing to do with cost of the car or whether the engine is N/A or S/C'd.

 

Reasons why a LS2 is much better than an LS3:

The LS3 is shared with the Camaro. This just makes it worth less. (the GTO doesn't count because nobody bought them or has ever heard of them)

The LS3 is not as rare as the LS2. The LS2 only had three years of production in the Vette, less of them makes them more valubale!

The LS2 has nice even, whole numbers: 6.0L 400hp / 400tq!

Ok this was the best I could do...

 

Joe, I forgot that point. Thanks.

 

I like this post. Actually, I'd add that people spend far more than three grand for hp gains in the ballpark of 35 rwhp. They also, if they have a newer C6, "spend" their factory warranty as well for these power gains. Now, that could end up being in the tens of thousands of dollars of cost if their engine needs to be replaced etc.

It's funny how hard people will work to convince themselves that they can feel a difference. Lots of comments here about the NPP and it's SIX hp. Well, can someone feel 6 hp on top of 430? I kinda doubt it though the car will make more noise so maybe it "sounds" faster.

To keep things in perspective it should be noted that LS2 times and speeds are VERY VERY fast when judged according to just about any prior Corvette! That even includes the fire breathing high octane iron block 396s and 427 of the 60s. They made more noise but were generally not as fast as an LS2.

The stats clearly show the LS3 cars are faster. Well, but you know, driving through a school zone or in heavy traffic bumper to bumper well, you know, that extra power isn't any more usable than the baseline power. In many driving circumstances ( if the driver is sane ) an LS2 C6 is just as fast as a ZR1 in terms of what you can and cannot do with the power. Nonsense you say? Well, that's where the "sanity" part comes in.

I have found the LS2 to be plenty fast for most "applications". I also drive like other people's lives depend on it because for all of us that is true whether we realize it or not.

 

C'mon. That's BS. A SMALL group of LS2 / LS3 owners think that. To imply that a lot of LS2 / LS3 owners think that is just as foolish as thinking an LS3 is as fast as an LS7.

 

I don't know. I do know that a lot of LS3 and GS owners just throw off the "70" horsepower difference between a LS3 and a LS7 as if it was meaningless, and think the weight savings is meaningless, etc. But, if I were throw out a percentage, I would say that 100% of the LS3 and the GS owners that don't believe there is any meaningful difference has never driven a Z06(a test drive of a new Z06 with the salesman sitting in the passenger seat doesn't count as "driving" a Z06).

Read some of the idiotic comments of some of our LS3 and GS owners about how a good driver in a LS3 will outrun a bad driver in a Z06. They can't even comprehend the fact that we are talking about different Vettes, not different drivers.

 

 

And of all of the LS3 owners who post here, would you say that those people represent a majority of LS3 owners?

 

Well, two out of three ain't bad, but the LS3 is rarer then the LS2(in a Corvette).

C6 LS2 production = 97,519(2005 through 2007).
C6 LS3 production = 61,640(2008 through 2011).