Thread: to LS or not to LS

If you can afford it I would say do it. Standard is about 320hp for the the early Ls1 but easily tunable to closer on 380 to 400hp. Fuel economy I think would be better around town and definitely better on the freeway. I'm a little biased though as I have one in my Rover SD1. Completely will transform you're car!

I vote for 'not to LS"

If you are chasing max horsepower then maybe, but doing an engine/gearbox swap for fuel economy sounds nuts . You can buy an awful amount of fuel for what a conversion would cost.

IMHO if you are chasing more horsepower I'd Supercharge the old girl. My pick would be a belt driven centrifugal supercharger like a ProCharger but a pair of small Turbos would work well too. Especially it you have a low compression Rover V8. (On a boosted engine you want a low compression ratio as the combustion chamber is bigger so more air, more fuel, more bang.)

Supercharging (including turbos) for performance is really quite mild on engine internals and as long as you can keep the fuel up to it, keep the intake charge cool, control your spark and have a good computer and tune to run it. Most of the time issues arise on super/turbocharged engines due to lean out or too much spark advance causing engine destroying detonation. You very rarely see a blown engine that runs rich.

I find the Rover V8 is a torque monster developing it's power low in the rev range, where is the newer engines like to rev. With my past Rover/Leyland V8s I would very very rarely rev them past 4000 rpm where they run out of puff, where my Rover L322 sees 5 to 6000 rpm regularly just daily driving. I say that because if you did a conversion to a newer engine you would have to modify the transmission to move the shift points up much higher than the current Rover transmission set up to make the most of the swap. But with supercharging the Rover you can keep the rpms relatively low with a fist full of torque. Which is desirable lugging around a 2,5 tonne truck.

Once you start super charging or turbo charging a rover engine you introduce a whole new amount of problems. One is heat ... the rover motor hates heat. The cost of the super charger or turbo.. you will need an aftermarket ECU to run it properly... then it needs to be tuned... and then if you thought your fuel economy was bad....it will definitely get worse.... and in all honesty you still won't make the power of a standard LS motor.

It really depends on the intended vehicle and its use, a thirsty V8 is no good for long distance or remote touring or in a heavy 4wd.
You would want to include a modern 6spd plus auto into any conversion to get the most out of both, flogging the small old rover V8 is pointless.

if you are forced to buy a crate engine or import, look at the GM LQ4/LQ9 series engines. They are the SUV/truck version of the LS series. Iron head and block but only 50kg heavier than the aluminium LS. Built with low end torque and longevity in mind. The torque curve on the LQ series is at 90% of max and flat from 2000 rpm to 5500 rpm. Granted not as high a number as the LS3 but different engine with different purpose. Bolted to a 6L80 it would load lug the LR over hill and dale without the need to crack 2500 rpm. The LQ4 is low compression and can take forced induction without lifting the lid. Internals are good for 1000hp. Shame that only grey imports or crate engines are available in Oz. I'd love to bolt one into my 130 with a mild cam but not going to happen because it is a touring rig and diesel is preferred.

I am not forced to buy a new crate engine at this time, my V8 has been rebuild a couple of years ago from the ground up and has done less then then 100k. We got to the subject because, mates and whisky He drives an old XJ which does not have much life left in it, but the engine and gearbox should be fine so we got around talking about what a newer engine and / or gearbox would do to my old gal when it comes time to strip/wreck his car.

Since the range came with the zf 4HP24 and the jag comes with the 5HPxx I thought that might be worth a look to swap over to get rpm down and thus thirst.

I agree that a V8 for touring is uneconomical but like somebody else already said, you can buy a whole heap of fuel for the cost of an engine swap!

I was just curious to see what peoples experiences and ideas were. I must say I had never heard of or considered going the LQ way. It sounds like an interesting option!

Thanks guys

Just have a read through the 150 pages below and see what you think then.

DL

GM Gen 4 conversion including LS | Defender Source Forum

Originally Posted by SPROVER

Once you start super charging or turbo charging a rover engine you introduce a whole new amount of problems. One is heat ... the rover motor hates heat. The cost of the super charger or turbo.. you will need an aftermarket ECU to run it properly... then it needs to be tuned... and then if you thought your fuel economy was bad....it will definitely get worse.... and in all honesty you still won't make the power of a standard LS motor.

True

But a stroked 5.0L Rover V8 at 9lb and 300kw is certainly good fun