Topic: How would (do?) you justify replacing 2.0 for LS3?

[ChopTop]

After watching several YouTube videos regarding this LS3 V8 GXP coupe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdr0m0tsQvs
and downright , I had to wonder it's not replacing the 2.0 as much as being interested in the thought process of taking the more expensive GXP platform that has me and WANTING to know how a person decides to do this?

I both lurked and posted on Solstice forums long before ever buying one so I'd read enough to understand that I did not want to be one of those people who wished they had started with a GXP.  But after seeing this it has me thinking, I was stupid, I should have picked up a 2.4 coupe and then saved for a V8 conversion. 

[Kelu]

GXP is a better package overall, don't forget about suspension (FE3 vs FE2) but why not to get GXP and have a little fun with it and than swap a LS3, if you can afford both than the rest doesn't really matters 

[Yamatr3]

Doing a V8 is more of a thing of passion versus performance.  There are so many mods you can do to the 2.0 that will make it even (or higher) in performance compared to the V8.  The only downside is you are modifying the 2.0 to get there, my LS2 is stock and does 360 to the wheels. The only thing I have is headers and very mild a tune.

I would love to build a Coupe as I think they are beautiful, but my next project will probably be a RX-7 with an LS376.  For me its passion.  

[DeepBlueGXP]

I think the front end looks better on the GXP but I'll wait until the useful life of the 2.0 is done and then I'll drop in the LS3

[snaponbob]

If someone REALLY wants to do a V8, why mess up a GXP/Redline. Sell the 2.0 Kappa, and find a clean 2.4 anything for cheap, and then do the V8 swap. Other than the engine difference, a GXP/Redline is just springs and bars. Say what you want about what an Ecotec engine can do, but a 6.0 has torque forEVER. There IS no substitute for cubic inches. I really do wonder what a conversion kit might cost, or even if there IS one. The engine is the easy part.

Of course, all of this makes a good case for a used C5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[DeepBlueGXP]

But a friend of mine has owned a C5 and U4EA has said the same thing, they're not as nible as the Solstice. 

The other thing is there are a ton of vettes on the road. 

[DeepBlueGXP]

That thing sure sounds sweet though....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNhgb1miUYI

[idkfa]

There is definitely something about that sound....

[JimmyBaja]

If I were to come across the cash I would consider trading my 2.4 SC for one but I would have to wonder if you could tolerate the sound level inside the coupe, it doesn't fare well with loud exhaust.

[snaponbob]

But a friend of mine has owned a C5 and U4EA has said the same thing, they're not as nible as the Solstice. 

The other thing is there are a ton of vettes on the road. 

"Nibble" is debatable. Just look at one that is well driven at a Solo event. As for being different, there IS that !!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jebsmith]

my 2.0 will put down more power than a stock ls3, for about 10k less

[snaponbob]

BUT !!!!!!!!!!!  The aluminum 7 liter fits in exactly the same place that the 5.7 or 6.0 does.

[NormSky]

Jeb's 2.0 on Hahn 20G, less weight-more filling! 

[Jebsmith]

Is that from a beer commercial?  Tastes great, less filling...

[Buzzardt]

I don't care how much you put into a 4 banger, it's still a 4 banger and will sound better, but will only sound like a V8 with a V8 in it. I think it would be a generational thing. Our Ecotec's run good and can sound good.
Like when I rode Bike. You cant explain it, it's just a Harley thing. If you have to ask, you will never truly understand.
Same thing with the V8 v 4's

[Jebsmith]

That's fine, the v8 will sound amazing while it loses a race.

[Arabas]

V8 engines are rare in Greece, due to the tax system, that makes every car above 2.3lt, almost imposible to maintain (yearly taxes, insurance etc).
my father has a Kia Sportage 2,7lt V6 and every time i drive it, i step on it just to hera the roar of the V6 engine... i 'd love to have a V8, these engines are a legend and they sound like one!!!
BUT, i am not a fan of "there is no replacement for displacement".
technology has given us small engines, like 1.8 lt, 2.0lt and 2.5lt that can give lots and lots of power and torque.
if you like to drive "pushed" cars, small, tuned, turbo engines, give you more fun and feeling than you could ever imagine.
if i could, i would keep my GT and push it to get 400hp and i would also buy a coupe (got to love the Sol coupe) and put a V8 in it...

[DeepBlueGXP]

Jeb's motor is putting out a bunch of power, you'll need bigger feet to get that power to the ground.  Probalby the best bang for the buck too.

Perhaps the LS3 but there are ways to improve the power.  I watched Wadesgarage videos and he has a car on a portable dino and it did 421 hp at the wheels.  And there is always the LSA motor, not as good for the bang for the buck but if money is not a problem, spend away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN6H2WINqcg

[ChopTop]

I agree with it probably being the sound is bringing out my passion observations.  However I'm more interested in trying to understand the thought process of how someone decides to replace a perfectly good 2.0 and replace it with an LS?

Right now I'm guessing they did it because they could afford too, which is a valid reason.

[Arabas]

Right now I'm guessing they did it because they could afford too, which is a valid reason.

one more reason why, is that these people are mod freaks...and in this forum, we ALL know what this means   

[Brazen17]

What does a used 2.0 engine go for these days? Would help defray some of the cost. Or store the 2.0 engine for when the time comes to sell the kappa and put the 2.0 back in and sell the LS3. I am 99% sure I will keep my GXP for life and an LS3 is in its future. The 1% of uncertainty is reserved for a Challenger!

[joshmass]

Performance can be achieved these days with any number of engine combos but the V8 has become a "sex symbol" of sorts IMO. Whether it's a lumpy cam or the roar of the exhaust that makes you tingle you can't argue with the fact that the V8 started the Hot Rod movement and it has continued to be the American standard of muscle car performance. That would be my only justification for swapping out the factory 2.0T for an LS3. I already have V8 performance from upgrading the factory motor and it cost a lot less.

[wspohn]

There are those, brainwashed at an early age, for whom nothing can replace the sound of a V8.

Personally I find the V8 sound a bit coarse and much prefer the sound of a straight 6 or a V-12, but that's just me. I don't hang out at monster truck rallies either.  Most people aren't choosing sonically, they have been told since they could first see over the dashboard that a Real Man's car has to have a big V8 and they buy into that hook line and sinker.

Which is fine - everyone gets to choose their favourite engines for whatever reasons turn their personal cranks, I'm just explaining the answer to your question about why people do V8 swaps.

I have a couple of V8s and like them just fine, but as I said, I also have a better sounding I-6 and a really, really great sounding V-12, so I form my opinions based on what sounds good, not on what I might think will make me look good.

Most 4 cylinder engines sound pretty uninteresting, the LNF included.  There are exceptions and for some reason most of the really good sounding I-4 engines I know about (and I've heard a LOT of them in 35 years of racing) are all DOHC engines like the Alfa and Lotus Twin Cam.  Perhaps the lack of a hemispherical combustion chamber is what deprives the LNF of a nice exhaust note, I don't know.

I doubt I'd ever be interested in doing a V8 swap into a Solstice simply because getting the same sort of performance out of an underdog 4 cylinder is, for me, much more of an interesting challenge and I get more satisfaction from playing with it than I would with just another (ho hum) V8 swap.

[melissadunagan]

  I guess if some one wanted to bad enough they could put in a high performance V6.

[wspohn]

  I guess if some one wanted to bad enough they could put in a high performance V6.

The problem with that is that pretty much anything that could be called a high performance V6 is DOHC and that sort of engine takes up a lot more territory than the OHV versions. I think the LS series V8 is a really good engine and because it gets good breathing using OHV, it can be swapped into cars that wouldn't have the room for the DOHC engines, which tend to be both taller and wider (at the top).

The other issue is that traditionally the hierarchy has been 4 cylinder, then more powerful 6, and then the most powerful (if only because of larger displacement) V8. The gap between a 4 and an 8 has shrunk, though. With engines like the LNF, there is really no gap at all where a V6 would fit, as you can get as much power out of the 4 as you can most 6s.  That will only change if we see more DI turbo V6 engines, and I'm not sure that many of these will be OHV, so the caveat about space remains.