A NEW ERA I N AUTOMOTI VE TECHNOLOGY

General Motors LS Series

Engines
New Beginnings
Original engine
designated LS1
In 1997, General Motors
revolutionized the
automotive industry.
First ground-up redesign
of small-block Chevy V8s
Third generation of SBC
Introduced in the 1997
Chevrolet Corvette.
Features
All aluminum block and
heads.
Minimized weight
2-Valve pushrod design
High-flow intake manifolds
Large, single plate throttle
bodies
Revolution!
GM shocked the auto
industry with this new
design
345 horsepower, 350 ft-
lbs tq.
Massive power from
simple pushrod design.
Competing engines
suffered overly
complicated designs
More complex means less
reliable
Comparable Ford V8, note
relative complexity
Other Applications
GM used LS designs in
many applications
Same design for other
performance cars
Chevrolet Camaro, Pontiac
Firebird
Iron-block versions for
trucks/SUVs
Performance Advantages
Simple design means
higher reliability
Single cam means cheap
horsepower increases
Possible 50hp/50ft-lb. gains
from $500 in parts
Massive aftermarket
Performance parts are
cheap and plentiful
Moving Forward
LS Engines continuously
evolve.
New head/camshaft
designs almost yearly.
LS6 released for 2003
Z06 Corvette
405 hp, 400 ft.-lbs tq.
Improved intake manifold,
camshaft, heads

Moving Forward (cont.)
LS2 introduced in 2005 Corvette
400hp, 400 ft-lb tq
Increased displacement from 5.7L to 6.0L
New intake, LS6 heads and camshaft
Also used in:
Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet SSR, Chevrolet Trailblazer SS
Cars Featuring the LS2
05-09 Chevrolet Corvette
05-06 Pontiac GTO
05-06 Chevrolet SSR
06-07 Chevy Trailblazer SS
Other Engines
LS7 introduced for C6
Z06
7.0L displacement
505 hp, 470ft-lbs tq
LS3 introduced as LS2
replacement
6.2L displacement
Used in C6 corvettes, 5
th
gen
Camaros
Supercharged Variants
Supercharged variants
of LS3
LS9 used in ZR1
corvette.
638hp, 604ft-lbs tq
LSA used in Cadillac
CTS-V, ZL1 Camaro
556hp, 551ft-lbs tq
By the Numbers
Designation Displacement Horsepower Torque Notes
LS1 5.7L 345hp 350tq The Original
LS6 5.7L 405hp 400tq New intake, cam,
and heads
LS2 6.0L 400hp 400tq New intake, LS6
cam/heads,
increased
displacement
LS7 7.0L 505hp 470tq All-out race engine
LS3 6.2L 430hp 424tq Redesigned LS2,
increased
displacement
LSA 6.2L 556hp 551tq Supercharged LS3
LS9 6.2L 638hp 604tq Supercharged high-
performance LS3
* Does not include iron block truck variants
Final Notes
My final note is an exhaust note. Enjoy!