When it come to planning your project car and engine combination, most people will trust the highly trained engineers that made the car when deciding what engine to build up. Not the case with this group of guys. In the never-ending quest for more power and faster cars these guys have chosen to engineer their own rides and swap some LS engines into some interesting rides. There are way more makes of cars we found LS engines in, these are some of our favorites.
LS1 powered Miata
This tried and true combo has been done to perfection by many happy drivers using a Ford 302 motor made popular by Monster Miata, but people demand modern horsepower. While this one is stock, a quick search around the web yields many modded Mazdas sporting GM power. Including my favorite- the LS1 in a RX7 and it is a very easy swap with tons of room left.
LS1 BMW
This may seem like a clever attempt to make a luxury LS1 Miata, but it is not. While the Mazda was in desperate need of more power, the BMW does not fit that same criteria. They have the engineering capability, just missing a few cylinders. Now these guys have a comfortable roadster that has enough iron under the hood to comfort the right foot. This one seemed to go over pretty well with people The Z even spawned a few other BMWs with American power.
LS1 RX-7
Ya, ya, another Mazda but this one is my personal favorite. Believe it or not, cars with this set up have been tearing up drag strips and road courses around the country for some time now. Even with the huge and powerful American iron under the hood the car still keeps a damn near perfect 50-50 weight distribution. Plus it just sounds like it should, no more 1.3 liter weed whacker.
LS1 Jeep
Now here is where things start to get a little weird. Many people like Jeeps, some even put a Dodge V8 in their truck. But somewhere someone wanted more.These guys put a 2000 LS1 in their little rig and got it to run pretty darn well. That will help you get up the sand a little faster. You can see more about this kind of build here
Civette
Even a Honda owners figured out that if you double the number of cylinders you get a car that anyone would be proud of. This might seem like a normal engine swap but this car was also converted to RWD begging the question, how much of that is a Civic? Answer, not that much. These guys took the entire Corvette drivetrain out and smashed a Civic on top of it.
But just for those who might have somehow forgot, nothing beats the original.
that Miata is too much, the engine looks humongous in that engine bay. i saw a few members on here have done the swap, that should be good for road racing but drag racing i can't see any weight transfer happening there
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2008 Chevy Surburban
1993 Z28, LS1 Conversion, 519.5 @ wheels with squeeze, no track times street racing, it's a way of life!
You are right, but keep in mind the power to weight ratio. Even at just 400 hp that car only weighs around 3000 with the driver. And thats still pretty good.
Yup, the LSX Miata tips the scales at about 2680 Lbs nice interior, (Radio Delete) complete street car, sleeper except for engine sound, still at close to 50/50 balance but same IRS limitations, all sportscars experience at the dragstrip.
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94' Laguna Blue Miata, 2006 Corvette LS2 T-56, Ford 8.8 IRS, 3:73 Detroit Posi, under construction
Not finished yet, but around 30K so far including the $4000.00 for the one owner Miata statrting point.
It might be done cheaper, but I've used all new components from the ground up, no conversion kit, one-off design / fabrication.
Considering one of my friends just bought a 2008 Mazda MX5 for 32K before tax & license, I think I'll have alot more fun LSXin' it for around the same kinda money.
Everybody asks why didn't I just buy a used Vette?
I really wanted a New Era, Sunbeam Tiger concept ever since I was a kid (still am).
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94' Laguna Blue Miata, 2006 Corvette LS2 T-56, Ford 8.8 IRS, 3:73 Detroit Posi, under construction
Vette's are great, as the owner of a C6 2008, you're not going to beat the mixture of creature comforts, horsepower, and handling. But that being said, a Miata swap is interesting and creative, and it's a project. You can make it yours. And that being said, on an Auto-X course, the Vette is probably going to go murdered.
Vette's are great, as the owner of a C6 2008, you're not going to beat the mixture of creature comforts, horsepower, and handling. But that being said, a Miata swap is interesting and creative, and it's a project. You can make it yours. And that being said, on an Auto-X course, the Vette is probably going to go murdered.
You would be surprised, I've seen many Corvettes do well on an auto-x course.
You're right Corvettes do well in Auto-X events, but you ARE actually playing the Miata's Game. Auto-X courses are typically short, average times around 55 seconds to about 1 minute 30 seconds, a lot of turns, lower top speeds, short straights, very diverse in design. (Many clubs now use computers to design their courses to be challenging and not repeatitous during a season).
Turn-in, agility and maintaining corner speed & inertia are what Auto-X is really all about. In fierce, competitive classes, various Lotus models dominate too, at least in our Region.
I personally have run much quicker times than many Corvettes, at many Auto-X events with my Miata when it was still a 4 cylinder. Many Miata's out perform Corvettes. I have about 8 years Auto-X experience.
In a typical turn-out in our SCCA Region, it's not unusual to see 8-10 Miata's in the Top 25 ranks of a 240-250 car event.
These are the comments of a Die-Hard, Life-long GM Enthusiast to, that's why I thought I might combine the best of two platforms!!
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94' Laguna Blue Miata, 2006 Corvette LS2 T-56, Ford 8.8 IRS, 3:73 Detroit Posi, under construction
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