The New Standard in American V8s: A Deep Dive into GM's Latest Engine Technology

Over the previous generation of LS engines, direct injection has become a staple of modern American powerplants. The latest iteration takes the old school push rod design and pairs it with direct injection, making them more tunable and fuel-efficient. This combination allows for more power and better mileage, as seen in the C7 Corvette and current gen Camaro SS.

But what's my absolute favorite version? The new LT2, specially designed to sit behind the driver in the 2020 C8 Corvette, boasts an impressive 490 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. With a price tag under $60,000, this engine is a game-changer for those looking for high-performance without breaking the bank.

Chevy's latest engine scheme has been a resounding success, taking the latest technology and throwing it into a tried-and-true American push rod V8 design. What can't they do? The LS swap world is a testament to GM's ingenuity, with endless possibilities for tuning and customization.

The reason why all walks of life love this American motor is possibly the best engine swap engine ever. Used LSs are plentiful and affordable, making it easy to find parts and build your dream car. Even GM itself sells new LS engines, including the highly sought-after LT2, which can be purchased from Walmart.com with the part number 19257230.

LS Fest, a celebration of all things LS, has become an annual event, attracting enthusiasts from far and wide. It's like Burning Man for cars, but with more stickers and less dust. The engine has united corners of the car world, bringing together muscle car stars, drift freaks, track punks, crankenstein enthusiasts, drag boys, time attack geeks, and booze-loving wizards.

So, go out there and get an LS engine, and throw it into something that doesn't belong in your garage. More power is the ultimate proof of ownership, and a few stickers never hurt anyone. The new standard in American V8s has arrived, and it's time to take notice.

The benefits of using an LS engine are numerous. With smaller cylinder heads than overhead cam engines, LSs offer more displacement without taking up valuable space. Weight is also crucial here, with the LS3 crate motor weighing in at around 420 pounds, a significant advantage over other engines.

Low-end torque is another key benefit of LSs, allowing them to push cars out of corners sooner and light up the rear tires easier. They don't always require a ton of revs to do it, making them more forgiving for longevity. And with their low-cost origins, many LSs come from iron blocks found in GM trucks and SUVs.

The system of engine codes used by GM can be confusing, but it's what makes the LS swap world so exciting. From RX-7s to RX-8s, Supras, E30s, E36s, E46s, old Volvos, and even truck builds, the possibilities are endless. The fact that you can take a junkyard iron block LS and toss it into something completely different is what makes this swap so amazing.

For those with deeper pockets, why not swap in a brand-new LS3, LSX, or LT1? GM sells them directly to customers through its website, making it easy to find and purchase the latest technology. The new standard in American V8s has never been more attainable.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- So, we've all been inside, right?We've been tinkering with our cars,getting them ready for thatfirst drive of the summer.Well, not me, buddy.I mean, I've been going stir crazy,making videos in my empty garage.I haven't turned a wrench in monthsand baby boy, I need aproject, something big.Something I can really sink my teeth into,like an engine swap, yeahman, that's just the ticket.An engine swap.What engine should I choose?Something turbo?Something kooky?No, no, no, the choice is obvious.(engine revving)You can't spell Chevroletswithout these two letters,a sleeper without them is just eeper.It's been a long time comingand we're finally going to do it boy.You asked for this and you should bemore careful about what you ask for.(engine revving)(tires screeching)(engine revving)This is everything you needto know to get up to speedon the LS engine, mother (beeping).That's fun.(upbeat music)You can't talk about the LSand not mention the Corvette.Thanks to our friends at Omaze,you can now enter for your chance to wina 2020 Corvette Stingray.That's a C8, baby.With taxes and shipping included.If that's not good enough,you also get $20000 cashfor some sick wheelsor some new suspension or just like gas.That's right, you don't needto get your hearing checked,you heard me correctly my friend.You could win a brand new2020 Corvette Stingray Z51.That's 495 buff horses,a sub three second zero to 60and all you have to do is hop overto Omaze.com/donut and enterfor your chance to win.Best of all, in my personal opinion,when you donate to enter,you're also supporting the Ronald ReaganMedical Center at UCLA.Now, this place is very special to mebecause as a lot of you guys know,I had a heart attack about six months agoand this is the place that I wentto get cardiac rehabafter my heart attack.So, it's a great cause and you might winan awesome car and some cash to boot.So, hurry up and head over toOmaze.com/donut and enter now.(engine starting)(laughing)This thing is very, very cool, dude.(beeping)What do owners of Volvo240s, resto mod muscle buildsand FD RX7s with blown engineshave in common besides great taste?They've all been asked the same question,you gonna LS swap that thing?You gonna LS swap that thing?This week, we're not talking about a car,we're talking about engines, babyand not just any piston pusher.This mill is one of GeneralMotor's greatest legacies.A proven possessor ofreliability, power and potential.We're going to covereverything about the Chevy LS.What do all the numbers mean?Which ones came in which cars?Which one should you swap into your 240?So, let's turn the clocks back a bit.Chapter one.Humble small block beginnings.One sunny day, in the spring of 1992,the top brass at GM gathered inthe company's secretive test site,the Milford Proving Groundsoutside of Detroit, Michigan.They were there to figure outwhat nearly 50 years of V8 engineeringhad come to in the roaring early 90s.Like the chart topping songby Boys To Men that year,was this going to be the end of the roadfor traditional push rod small block V8s?♪ Cause we've come tothe end of the road ♪♪ No I can't let go ♪♪ You belong to me ♪♪ You belong to you ♪♪ You belong to me ♪(beeping)A blind test was arranged.Two nearly identical black C4 Corvettes.These cars were prepped for day of bashingon GM's massive open skidpad dubbed The Black Lake.That is so like Norwegian metal.They weren't entirely identical however.Corvette A was equippedwith an updated takeon the classic GM push rod V8meaning that there's onecam shaft in the middlepushing on rods that actuate valveswhile corvette B was rockingan overhead cam designmeaning that there are twocamshafts above each cylinderturned via a timing belt.It's more modern and much more complex.They did burnouts and driftythings for like 12 hoursand then started discussing which feltthe best and the most thrilling.Now, the executives reallydug how one of the Corvettespulled as soon as theyput their foot down.Fast responding, good oldAmerican torque spurs.Reception for the othervet wasn't as glowing.The revs had to be held pretty highto stay in the power band.Yeah, it was really fun,it sounded really good,but it was not as immediately thrilling.The preferred engine was in Corvette A,it was a simpler push rod V8,not the fancier newdual overhead cam motor.So, then and there, it was settled.From here on out, GMwould continue engineeringand developing the push rod V8.Chapter two.How to create something entirely new.Let's take a second andclarify all this gen business.Gen one covers all 350-ishcubic inch small blocksbuilt from the mid-50s allthe way up until the 90s.Now, gen two engines are the 5.7 liter V8sbuilt briefly in the earlyto mid 90s, known as the LTs.All right.So, back to the narrative.Behind the scenes, in the mid to late 90s,GM was looking to carry on push rodtechnology into the 21st century.The next Chevy V8 neededto hit several importantbut seemingly contradictory goals.With ever tightening emission standards,improving fuel economy was a must,but the new engine stillhad to beat the competitorsin both horsepower and reliability.Now, that is a tall orderand I should know about a tall orderbecause my momma made onewhen she called up God.She said, hello God, I'd like a son,make him abut 6'3 and handsome as hell.God was like, anything formy favorite angel, Liz.My mom, she's an angel.So, who would GM bring in tosew the whole thing together?Well, a drag racing legend of course.Ed Koerner, GM's power trainVP of engineering at the timewas a V8 savant who also helda frickin NHRA drag racing record.That rules.He was picked by the executivedirector of GM power train, Tom Stevensand entrusted with the job ofdeveloping the gen three V8with one catch, it could share no partswith the previous gen motors.Oh, hey there, Ed, here'sa couple key traitsfor this new engine we weretalking about the other day.Yes, you get decent mileage.Yep, yep, okay.Be cheaper and easier to producethan what we've made inthe past, don't you know?And be able to go under the hoodof essentially any GM vehicle.Yep, yep, yep, uh-huh, uh-huh.Including front wheeldrive, don't you know?It's a tall order boss,but just like when JamesPumphrey's mom, Liz hit up Godand asked for a son that was6'3, I think I can do it.Him and his team whoare called the super sixwent forth and came up withsomething quite special indeed.Chapter three.A new generation is born.Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,announcing to the world,the brand spanking newgen three small blockV8 from Chevy, the LS.(shouting)First debuting under the hoodof the then brand new C5 Chevy Corvette.The LS1 was an engineering masterpiece.The LS1 made around 350horsepower in the Corvette.(engine revving)Not a big increase over theprevious gen two engine,but the LS1 was much lighterbecause it was all aluminum, baby.Had way better cooling properties,making it more heat efficient.It was stronger than the old LTs.And the engineers evensaid that the stock OEMaluminum heads were more on parwith aftermarket performanceheads of the past.That's what you get when you lethot rodders build a car for you.Good job, Chevy.The LS1 was an instant hitbut it wasn't long beforeGM offered something with,I believe it's pronounceda bit more oomph,because why the frick not?It was also time to start confusing peoplebecause they didn't callthe second LS the LS2,that would make too much frickin sense.Debuting in the C5Z06,the second LS motor was called the LS6.That makes sense.Z06, LS6, where's all the confusion?Just sit tight buddy, itgets real crazy later on.(engine revving)The LS6 sported a healthy boost in powerwhile sharing basically thesame architecture as the LS1.The main improvements werea bigger intake manifold,higher compression ratio,a more aggressive camshaftand some goodies to approveon track reliability.Initially, it punched out 385 horsepowerand 385 pound feet of torque.That's right, a perfect horsepower.But later on, theybumped it up to 400 even.They also put this motorin the Cadillac CTSV,aka, my favorite Caddy.While other manufacturers werespending boo koo buckanaroson more complex overhead cam engines,GM was proving that old fashioned techcould still get her done.But they had to keep pushing the limit.It was time for the nextgeneration of LS enginesto take charge and dothe old push rod proud.Chapter four, building upon greatness.The new gen four Chevy V8 nowencompassing more modern technology,like variable valve timing,active fuel management,flux fuel capability,also known as E85, baby.The first place that thistech made an appearancewas in the third LS engine.The six liter LS2,because two comes after six.I mean, yeah, I cansee why it's confusing.(engine revving)This bad boy was dropped under the hoodof the short lived andpretty honestly sickyet kind of boring lookingfifth gen Pontiac GTO 2005.It was also in the evensicker Chevy Trailblazer SSand the positively most sick Saab 97X0.It also made 400 or sohorsepower and torque.You know what would be cool?A big front wheel drive carwith a V8 under the hood.Yeah, GM thought so too.The LS4 was designedto fit in cars sidewaysand I'm going to tell you what,it went in a bunch of bigold beefy boys in the 2000s.Pontiac Grand Prix GXP,the Chevy Impala SSand the Monte CarloSS, just to name a few.This bad boy pumped out 303horsies and 323 torques.A year after the LS4,came the hand built LS7,introduced in 2006.This seven liter masterpiece is capable ofstomping out 500 horsepowersand 407 pound feet of torque.When shoved into it's mainplatform, the C6 Corvette Z06,it'll do zero to 60 ina scant 3.5 seconds.(engine revving)Oh, and did I mention thatthis engine won Le Mans?My buddy Fillipe did an episodeof Bumper To Bumper on it a while agoon the actual Corvette C6R that wonthe legendary endurance race.Speaking of badassery, youmight've seen this next oneplastered all over the pagesof muscle car magazinesa couple of years back.That's right, I'm talking about the LSX.This clever girl pumps out 627 horsepowersand 586 pound feet of torque.What's even wilder is apparently,this thing can hold asmuch as 2500 horsepower.That's insane.You're like, what do you evenneed that for, driving to the moon?Moving right along.Next up is the LS3.This scrappy little fella came out in 2008and is a direct improvement on the LS2.Good for cool 436 horsepowersand 424 pound feet of torques.And it came in the C6 Corvette.(engine revving)The C6 ZR1 had a big old blower on topmaking it an LS9 andthey made 638 horsepowersand 604 pound feet of torques.I'm pretty sure that that's all of them.That is everything they came in.Chapter five.Now it's not an LS anymore.It's called the LT again,aka, give me a break GM.Now, we've come to the current cropof push rod GM V8 engines,the fifth gen, gen five V8s.These puppies aren't called LSs anymore,Chevy has reused thenomenclature yet againby calling them LTs,and they sure aint youruncle's old LT motor either.The big difference overthe previous gen four LSs,direct injection, baby, that's right.They've now officially combinedold school push rod designwith direct injection.Why is this a good thing?Well, it makes them much more tunableand improves fuel economy.More power and more mileage, baby.The new LT1 has 6.2 liters of displacementand made 455 horsepowers and 455to 460 pound feet of torquesin the C7 Corvette andthe current gen Camaro SS.But do you know what myabsolute favorite version is?The new LT2.The absolute peak of all GM V8 technology,wrapped up in a 6.2 liter lumpand specially designedto sit behind the driverin the brand spankingnew 2020 C8 Corvette.The numbers, 490 horses,465 pound feet of torque.Not bad, Chevy, not bad.The thing costs less than 60 grandand this is just the first one.There's been all kinds of rumorsand confirmations, it's hard to keep up.It's gonna be sick.Chevy has been very successful with thiskind of hare-brainedscheme of just throwingthe latest tech into a good old fashionedsimple American push rod V8.What can't they do?Chapter six.LS swap the world.Okay guys.It's been a long road, butwe're finally here, all right?Now, we all know what kindof LS engines are out there.But now it's time tobreak out the big guns.The reason why all walks of tuning lifelove this American motoris possibly the bestengine swap engine ever.Used LSs are super plentifuland can be had for super cheapand so can their new parts.The LS is the gift thatkeeps on frickin giving.People even put their parts,like their throttle bodiesand coil packs on other cars.Here's the benefits.Because LS engines are push rod engines,they've got smaller cylinder headsthan overhead cam engines.Meaning you've got a lot of displacementthat doesn't take up a lot of space.Weight is also very crucial here.LSs can often weigh around the same asor even less than some of the iconicengines that they replaced.An LS3 crate motor isaround 420 pounds, dude.A 13B rotary, is over 400 pounds.The original 2JZ GTE fromthe super weighs 650 pounds.With all their low end torque,LSs can push a car out of corners sooneror light up the rear tires easierand they don't always needa bunch of revs to do it.That's good for longevity.Keep it low, keep it running.Here's the thing.The LSs didn't justcome as an all aluminum,high compression performance V8.(engine sound)A lot of LSs go by a confusing systemof engine codes that are all iron blockand came in pretty muchevery GM truck or SUVwhich makes them very plentiful,very easy to find and mostimportantly, very cheap.The fact that you can takea junkyard iron block LSout of a plain jane Chevy Suburbanand toss it in something completelydifferent like a 240 or somethingis what makes it so amazing.I'm talking RX7s, RX8s,Supras, E30s, E36s, E46s,old Volvos, frickin old truck builds.(engine revving)The LS is maybe notthe most exciting swap,but it is exciting and itjust makes a lot of sense.For those of you outthere with deeper pockets,why not swap in a brandnew LS3, LSX or LT1.You don't have to go lookingfor crashed Corvettes in the junk yard,you can buy them literallyfrom GM at Walmart.com.The LS3's GM part number is 19257230.You can have a fully assembled,ready to swap engine delivereddirectly to your doorin the same cart astoilet paper, literally.There's even a frickin festivaldevoted to it, two of them.It's called LS Fest.(engine revving and tires screeching)It's like the burning man ofcars but with more nudity.I'm looking at you, Odi Bakchis.This engine has united allcorners of the car world.It's brought together muscle car stars,drift freaks, track punks, crankensteins,drag boys, time and tag geeks,booze creeps, burnout wizards,(engine revving) and more.Everyone can nerd out together.So, go out there, get one and throw itinto something that it don't belong in.More power, baby, stickers.There's no better way to tell peoplehow much more power you're dealing withthan with a bunch of stickersthat say "Mo Powa Babeh."(mumbles) Baby.Block mo powa babeh.Oh, classic mo powa babeh.Including my favorite one,mo powa babeh on boardto let the world knowthat you have a child andthey are strong and buff.Mo powa babeh.Really excited about these stickers.They're available at DonutMedia.com.Go get yourself someand subscribe to our mailing listso you don't miss any of the newest drops.(beeping)Thank you guys so muchfor watching Up To Speedand everything else on Donut.We upload a video every single day.To make sure you don't miss anything,hit that subscribe button,follow Donut acrosssocial media, @DonutMedia.If this is your firstDonut video, welcome,if it's your 100th, welcome back.Follow me on Instagram @JamesPumphreyto keep up with whatwe've got going on here.I love you.