Corvette C-7 LT1 Engine for marine use?
11-28-2014, 12:08 AM
#31
Registered
The Direct injected LT1 is pretty new so expect a year or two before its out there for marine use.
Mercury has so much invested in their 565 and other engines that I doubt they would bring out a an LS based engine that weighs 200 lbs less, more efficient, and would cost less puttin out the same power.
Wannabe
Mercury has so much invested in their 565 and other engines that I doubt they would bring out a an LS based engine that weighs 200 lbs less, more efficient, and would cost less puttin out the same power.
Wannabe
11-28-2014, 12:25 AM
#32
Registered
iTrader: (3)
The Direct injected LT1 is pretty new so expect a year or two before its out there for marine use.
Mercury has so much invested in their 565 and other engines that I doubt they would bring out a an LS based engine that weighs 200 lbs less, more efficient, and would cost less puttin out the same power.
Wannabe
Mercury has so much invested in their 565 and other engines that I doubt they would bring out a an LS based engine that weighs 200 lbs less, more efficient, and would cost less puttin out the same power.
Wannabe
11-28-2014, 03:05 AM
#33
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 28
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am actually doing a LS swap into my Checkmate right now. And of course as projects do, its growing. i started out intending on using a mostly stock ls1. That has now grown into an aluminum blocked 408ci LS2 with PRC ported truck heads and a custom cam. I was going to keep the motor EFI, but decided to keep it simple and carb the motor. To do the EFI correctly isn't that hard, but was just a lot more expensive. I was able to basically find a needle in a haystack and came across a set of CMI E-tops that were made for a LS motor with a bravo. I am having new tails made for them so I will be dry to the tips which allowed us to go a lot more aggressive with the cam with no worries of reversion. I also found a place that is making me a 12qt. oil pan and pick up for the motor to eliminate a lot of the oiling issues these motors tend to have. The motor is going together right now and I'm hoping to have some dyno numbers after the first of the year. We are thinking it will be between 575-600+hp and right around the same numbers for torque. I know those aren't monster numbers, but when you add in the fact that this motor weighs at least 450lbs. less than the 454 that is in the boat now, it should make for a large performance gain. This is my first experience with any of the LS motors and I have to say, the more I get into it, the more they impress me. Once I get a bunch more pics together of the build and hopefully a dyno video, I plan on starting a build thread of my progress.
Great Plan! :-)
At first I also planned to use slightly tuned NA LS1 but plans tend to expand as you go along... ;-)
FI was one corner stone I wanted to use...
I have -no- experience in tuning carbs but plenty of FI tuning history (not with stock GM ECUs, but aftermarket ECUs) so I wanted to remain in 'relatively' familiar grounds....(this also means that I have to get familiar in tuning with HP Tuners...this is under way as we speak...)
..I needed to be able to do all the work myself and not to rely on anybody elses time frames etc.
Do you have any expectations of performance with your LS2 Checkmate?
It seems that we have about the same level of hp in our motors (550-600hp)...yours beeing a stroked&tuned LS2 and mine with supercharged LS1 (with a little help from intake, heads & cam) ...your boat is quite bigger though with 25'...mine is just 21' so I might be limited speed wise by reaching the max hull speed that I believe to be somewhere around 65 knots...
What kind of oiling problems have you seen on LS1?
I have replaced the corvette oil pan with GM performance parts Pontiac one (Chevrolet Performance Engine Oil Pans 12628771)...the side tanks of the corvette oil pan didn't clear the motor mount stringers that I had just re-made.
Juzzi
Last edited by Juzzi; 11-28-2014 at 03:11 AM.
11-28-2014, 06:02 AM
#34
Registered
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Dayton, OH/Burnside KY
Posts: 273
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
4 Posts
Great Plan! :-)
At first I also planned to use slightly tuned NA LS1 but plans tend to expand as you go along... ;-)
FI was one corner stone I wanted to use...
I have -no- experience in tuning carbs but plenty of FI tuning history (not with stock GM ECUs, but aftermarket ECUs) so I wanted to remain in 'relatively' familiar grounds....(this also means that I have to get familiar in tuning with HP Tuners...this is under way as we speak...)
..I needed to be able to do all the work myself and not to rely on anybody elses time frames etc.
Do you have any expectations of performance with your LS2 Checkmate?
It seems that we have about the same level of hp in our motors (550-600hp)...yours beeing a stroked&tuned LS2 and mine with supercharged LS1 (with a little help from intake, heads & cam) ...your boat is quite bigger though with 25'...mine is just 21' so I might be limited speed wise by reaching the max hull speed that I believe to be somewhere around 65 knots...
What kind of oiling problems have you seen on LS1?
I have replaced the corvette oil pan with GM performance parts Pontiac one (Chevrolet Performance Engine Oil Pans 12628771)...the side tanks of the corvette oil pan didn't clear the motor mount stringers that I had just re-made.
Juzzi
At first I also planned to use slightly tuned NA LS1 but plans tend to expand as you go along... ;-)
FI was one corner stone I wanted to use...
I have -no- experience in tuning carbs but plenty of FI tuning history (not with stock GM ECUs, but aftermarket ECUs) so I wanted to remain in 'relatively' familiar grounds....(this also means that I have to get familiar in tuning with HP Tuners...this is under way as we speak...)
..I needed to be able to do all the work myself and not to rely on anybody elses time frames etc.
Do you have any expectations of performance with your LS2 Checkmate?
It seems that we have about the same level of hp in our motors (550-600hp)...yours beeing a stroked&tuned LS2 and mine with supercharged LS1 (with a little help from intake, heads & cam) ...your boat is quite bigger though with 25'...mine is just 21' so I might be limited speed wise by reaching the max hull speed that I believe to be somewhere around 65 knots...
What kind of oiling problems have you seen on LS1?
I have replaced the corvette oil pan with GM performance parts Pontiac one (Chevrolet Performance Engine Oil Pans 12628771)...the side tanks of the corvette oil pan didn't clear the motor mount stringers that I had just re-made.
Juzzi
This is a great article that explains the oiling issues and some ways to fix them. http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tec...est-practices/
Its scary that you can actually pump a stock pan dry with one of these motors. I have been talking to a couple of guys that do mile racing running LS motors and due to the lack of space in the engine compartment of most of these cars, they have had to go to a dry dump system. But with the abundance of room in my engine compartment, I was able to solve it with a 12qt. pan and a ported oil pump that help cut down on the chances of cavitation at high RPM's. Most of the oiling issues don't really show up on your everyday street car or even 1/4 mile race cars because they aren't in the high RPM ranges for more than a few seconds. But being a marine motor, we can see these high RPM's for miles and miles at a time. Thats why I have been talking to the mile guys. That's about the closest thing out there to what we will see.
As far as my performance goals for the boat, I really have no idea. It's kind of a shot in the dark since nobody has ever put a LS in one of these hulls. On paper, I should see pretty good results going from the peanut port 310hp 454 to the LS motor. Add the HP gains to the fact that I will drop 450lbs or so out of the transom (my 454 has the cast iron intake, and heavy stock exhaust) and agian, on paper, I should net some pretty good results. I'm keeping my hopes pretty low as I would like to see mid 70's (mph). Anything more than that and I will be very happy. On paper, I should be very happy, but that remains to be seen. I am mostly going the direction of the LS motor because I have always been a fan of doing something different. I can't wait to lift the hatch and watch all the old scholl guys try to figure out what kind of motor it is by what side of the block the distributor is on,. lol
Last edited by corey331; 11-28-2014 at 06:06 AM.
11-28-2014, 08:04 AM
#35
Registered
And Volvo Penta has been using them for the past 3 years and has came out with the new 4.3 LS marine version 240 hp that the GM trucks use currently. Its direct fuel injected and runs like a 350 HO MAG. That motor really accelerates hard especially for a V-6 as I test drove one in a new 2015 - 21 ft Regal BR.
Mercruiser's plan is not to use any engines and or parts directly from GM. They have a foundry making some of their engine block models currently. Mercruiser tested GM LS based engines back in 2009 for their marine use and even made announcements to its dealers that the new GM LS engines were coming in their line up but dropped the plans later in the year. IMO Mercruiser is or wants their engine blocks made & build everything in house down the road.
Mercruiser's plan is not to use any engines and or parts directly from GM. They have a foundry making some of their engine block models currently. Mercruiser tested GM LS based engines back in 2009 for their marine use and even made announcements to its dealers that the new GM LS engines were coming in their line up but dropped the plans later in the year. IMO Mercruiser is or wants their engine blocks made & build everything in house down the road.
11-29-2014, 07:14 AM
#36
Registered
Platinum MemberThread Starter
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Melbourne Beach, FL
Posts: 484
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I believe the 2000psi DI pump is camshaft driven.
I don't know if you need the fuel return like the LS series.
The dry slump system would give several options to
help cool the engine. A closed cooled system should
be fairly easy; you just need a good raw water pump.
Reversion will be harder with the stock cam.
Probably the best way would be a dry stack system.
Anyway, someone is going to do it.
I don't know if you need the fuel return like the LS series.
The dry slump system would give several options to
help cool the engine. A closed cooled system should
be fairly easy; you just need a good raw water pump.
Reversion will be harder with the stock cam.
Probably the best way would be a dry stack system.
Anyway, someone is going to do it.
11-29-2014, 12:10 PM
#38
Banned
iTrader: (9)
EZ believe me I got to know that little Mercruiser 4 banger very well. All Alum block with the cast iron 460 cylinder head. It had a stator for the charging system, closed cooled. I want to say it had ford pistons in as well and they were big. That motor was a problem child and we quit working on them back in 2005. Many had cylinder head leaks from the warping and other related problems from dissimilar metals used on the motor along with leaking coolant bottom side front of the engine.
11-29-2014, 12:14 PM
#39
Registered
