5.0 or lt1

215what

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Apr 14, 2005
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well just wanted to see can u keep up with lt1's havint raced one yet I saw one for sale today i went looked at it has a 6spd 105000 miles i dont know if i should buy one has a lot more power then my 5.0 something about it makes me want it iam i carzy are they fast?
 
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LT1's arent that impressive, but the LS1's are a lot faster. A simple mod on your mustang and it'll have with LT1's all day long, takes a few more to keep up with the LS's though.
 
ive been in the same situation as you trying to decidde what to buy, even though I dont have a 5.0 yet thats what im looking to get. Ill break it down a bit for you.

Although the LT1 out of the box is a more stout engine then the 5.0 but you have to realize its downfalls. First thing if if youve ever looked under the hood of a 93+ camaro youll realize 1/2 of the engine sits where you cant reach, making any engine work, especially headers, a chore to say the least.

Next up is a word if you have a 93-97 camaro youll become very familiar with, opti-spark. The ignition system in these camaros revolves around this and the geniouses at GM decided to put it right behind the waterpump, which is a problem area as they give it pretty often on LT1s, as soon as water hits that opti you can be sure youll be buying a new one and going through the process of replacing it. Now ofcourse there are exceptions to this, cars that have gone 100k+ without problems, and there are new solutions suck as a Deltek (I think thats the name of it) ignition system which virtually eliminates the opti problem, but its around a grand I think. The year to get would be the 95+ years in which they made an attempt to fix the opti problem by making a "vented-opti" in which there are holes for the water to drain, none the less the problem still occured, it helped a little I would say.

Next in the line is the rear-end. These cars come with a 10 bolt. The general consensus with camaro owners is that even with stock power, if you dead hook once on slicks or DR's your at risk of snapping it.

Then again every car has its downfalls, and I really do love lt1s if you can get past those then go for it, its a stout great sounding engine with a good aftermarket. To me, a struggling 16 year old who has saved for the last 3 years to save the 8k I have now, economically it doesnt make much sense as I wouldnt have any money left over to make fixes that seem to occur pretty often.

sorry for any typos, too lazy to proof read and correct errors :)
 
Price wise: Mustang
Modding wise: Mustang
Initial Power: Fbody
Future Power: Either

I think the Mustang would be a good choice, and so would the Fbody. It comes down to personal preference. I personally if it were between a 94-95 5.0 or an lT1, Id go LT1, but I have already had fun with a 5.0...
 
Camaro pros:
-it has decent power and 6 speed trans


Camaro cons:
-Made by chevy
-They're ugly
-hump on the passenger floor(catalytic conv.)
-optispark issue
-spring intall is an all weekend event
-if you want to work on the engine you have to crawl underneath dash to do it
-weak rearends
-(don't know if this is true anymore)parts are usually more expensive than 5.0L parts
-no true dual exhaust
-did I mention they're ugly and made by chevy?
-last but not least: they're EXTINCT!(actually, I should've put that under pros)
 
Slightly modded 5.0's can easily run with stock LT1's. But an LT1 with bolt-ons will run with mild H/C/I stangs. My cousin's 95 T/A auto vert ran around 8.9 1/8 with just simple bolt-on's and a shift kit. But he has had the opti-spark problem, and I think aftermarket parts are more expensive than they are for the 5.0. Plus LT1's are a pain to work on, plan on a whole day just changing spark plugs.
 
they sound like hell

every LT1 camaro that I have ever been around sounds like a friggin truck. There are a lot of LT1 camaros around here, and every damn one of them, when I hear it Im trying to decide "camaro, or truck??"
If you want an LT1, get a firebird/Trans Am
 
I can't belive this blasphemy on my beloved stangnet. :nonono: I am outraged! Lt1's SUCK ASS, They look like ****, and they are not that damn fast!

My buddy had a '94 Z28, 6 Speed with Flows(well I guess I should say with a flow). I had an '87 GT, 5 speed with Flows his best pass was a 14.0 @ 98 pass, my best pas was a 14.4 @ 96! Big frikin Whoop!

Anytime we went somewhere in his car I had to sit on the damn hump in the passender floorboard, and looking out the windsheild it seemed the dash and hood went on forever. He had to take it somewhere to get the damn plugs changed because half the fuggin engine was under the dash. With the simpl addition of gears on my car he would have been :owned: IMO the cons far out-weigh the pros (if any)
 
If you plan on doing anything to an LT1 you better have some time on your hands. That being said my step bro works at a GM dealership and it took 8 hours to do a complete tune up on a 95 Z28. Not saying it's a bad car for mods just saying that it's not a very ''work-friendly'' car.

:lol:

He is'nt a slow worker or anything like that either.

Personally I just like driving a mustang. I think that the T/A's look better than the Z's ,but both of those cars made me feel like I was sitting 30 feet away from the front bumper. I have a friend with a 99 T/A has the usual bolt on's and a built auto with a 3200 stall and it would run circles around me, but he's also still paying for it, and has higher insurance :D .
 
Theres alot more factors then just initial power that you have to consider, the ones that have already been mentioned. With that being said Id never trade my Mustang for a Camaro, let alone an LT1
 
I have had 3 run-ins with LT1s in my car with just exhaust, pullies and timing advance.

I ran a 97 SS which is faster than a regular LT1 and i had him up until 90 then he crept pass me. I was expecting to get murdered but whatever
:shrug:
LT1:1
5.0:0

Then I raced a 96 Z28 from a roll up until 100MPH and we were dead even. His car had at least exhaust and we both had a passenger.
This one was a draw

Next race was against a 95 Trans Am from a roll and I put about 1-2 cars on him to 100MPH.
LT1:0
5.0:1

So in the end I won one, lost one, and tied. So with a few bolt-ons it is a close race against an LT1. Both cars are a good choice but the 5.0 has a better after market and it's cheaper. Either way good luck with whatever you decide to buy.
 
I have never really seen any Lt1s that were very fast, i have seen many that are as fast as my mustang was before the heads and cam but now they are just a joke. I supposed ifhe put a H/C/I he would be faster wit the extra cubes they have, but i have never seen one run before.
 
This may be totally off topic from what you guys are talking about, but I love how everyone compares our engines up against chevy's 350. Not using it as an excuse because a lot of us can spank LT1s or LS1s with some mods. My point is, to be fair about it. Why not do a comparison of our 302s to chevy's 305s and if your going to compare chevy's 350 why not compare it to ford's 351? It usually gets **** talkers to be quiet for a minute.
 
i had a 95 t/a with afr heads, cam, lt4 intake, ls1 coil conversion, 125 dry shot and would still have it if it was a 6-speed. the opti problem is grossly over exaggerated, although when i worked at a chevy dealer i used to charge 8 hours for plugs, wires, cap and rotor. t56 is the best tranny ever made!