pullmytrigger

Dont get me wrong I like the LS series engines.....I want one for my race car....but heres another problem for the Marine environment.....how many places are making hot LS marine engines???....two or three in all of North America???.....great if one of them is in your back yard but what if its not???....you going to get one of these for your boat and trailer 1200mi to fix a small problem????....not likely....I bet every person on this site can name a place within 200mi of them that they would trust to build them a brusin' BBC.....its not all about power to weight.....so not

Heres another problem....Im not saying they are but are these things made with a bunch of one off custom parts????.....if they are what if this place goes out of business??.....a very real possibility in this economy.....can you go down to your local speed shop and buy every part for the thing???...a BBC you can.

Wasted Income

Yep. It's called hot rodding

Really? When was the last time GM put a big block in anything?

You can build an LS with almost zero GM parts, and will still be able to once they are phased to direct injection...there are aftermarket blocks, heads, cranks, rods, pistons, oil pans, exhaust....I'm not really seeing your logic about why it needs to be in production to be a viable power option?

Why isn't this a problem for the V-10 Ilmors? Same scenario...except not even the bellhousing fits. See a few of those out running around every so often.....but why not any LS motors that are turned up? That is the root of my question.

Wasted Income

I can definitely see the concern there.
It's not a concern of mine, however, since I turn my own wrenches, but yeah....I am sure a lot of the guys who are able to pony up for twin 700 SCIs or bigger would rather have the warranty, and have somebody else repair them when they break.

There is nothing exotic in any of the LS engines that most speed shops don't have, or aren't able to get. About the hardest to get parts would be heat exhangers and/or sea water pumps that may be LS specific. Basically the bolt-ons to dress it out for marine use.

If the LS aftermarket doesn't already rival the BBC aftermarket, I don't think it will be long.


I'd love if any of the engine suppliers (Raylar, Mast, LPG, Ilmor, etc) would chime in and provide some feedback/insight on any testing and development they've done in-hull on the LS engine packages they advertise.

I also wish there was a marine equivalent to Hot Rod Magazine who would take one hull, and test a 700 SCI back to back with a 700 hp LS based engine....just to see what happens?

26 Spyder

I think it is a cost issue right now. I have plans to build a nasty LSX in the near future but it will not be cheap.... ...Ok, the engine part will be reasonable but the headers, cooling, accessories, mounts, wiring, PCMs are expensive or have to be fabbed..

How many years did it take for the automotive hotrodders to really start swapping these? Now it is popular and the aftermarket has made it easy for an auto swap, 5-10 years ago it was a pita and parts were not available, you had to make it yourself..
The vast majority of boaters are not do it yourselfers and/or dont have the capabilities to do such a swap.

I am sure some people are afraid of new technology in their boat.. How long did it take people to start upgrading to (aftermarket) EFI systems? Most were afraid of it until their buddy tried it first..

I do know of a few very fast LS powered boats but most are for R&D for future engine packages.

I love the power these can make, the torque is not quite like a BBC (N/A) but in a small light boat an LSX would rock..
My last auto based LSX at 408ci made just shy of 800hp on E85...



Give it time, they will start popping up.

handfulz28

Not GM but MARINE manufacturers. You know, the ones with REALLY LOW production volume to spread costs over. That ILMOR LSx will be a $30000 chunk of aluminum, not including drive. Heck, CMI exhaust for the LS motors is $4000. Nobody offers brackets and accessories for a marine LS engine.

Sure, anybody like yourself with mechanical inclination and motivation can hodge-podge a motor together and get it to run in a boat. But how many of us will spend $10k for something that's well...unique?

Captain YARRR

I think we know how things are gonna turn out when most of the arguments are not based on the engine being able to perform, it appears most of them are just based on there being shops willing to do it or the supply of extra marine parts (i.e. headers). Both are temporary.

4mulafastech

+1
I'm in that group. My 292 basically has 27' of running surface and is too narrow for big blocks. A couple 550HP LS engines would be a killer (and lighter) set-up compared to the 320HP 6.2's that currently push my rig 70mph.

1987pachanga22

Mast LS Marine Engines
600HP / Under 600 Lbs.


ALL ALUMINUM GM 6.8L LS BASED MARINE ENGINE:

•High Strength Light Weight Engine Assembly
•Base Block GM LS3 Aluminum Architecture
•350lbs Lighter Than Iron Big Block (Average)
MAST MARINE SPLAYED VALVE CYLINDER HEADS:

•Valve Angles Engineered for Max Low Lift Flow
•Port Cross Sectional Areas and Shape Engineered for High Port Velocity
•LS3 Rectangular Port Intake Design
MAST MARINE HIGH CAPACITY CAST OIL PAN:

•Increased Oil Capacity For Sustained High Operating Engine Speeds
•Innovative Oil Baffling System
•Front Mounted Oil Filter for Easy Maintenance
LATEST IN SEQUENTIAL DRIVE BY WIRE EFI:

•120 Pin Mast Marine Grade ECM
•Fully Drive By Wire Throttle Control System
•Smart Individual Coil Near Plug System
•Multiple Engine Sync Capability
•Advanced Safeguards for Knock, Oil Temp, Oil Pressure, & Coolant Temp
HIGHEST QUALITY & PRECISION CRAFTSMANSHIP:

•Mast Designed Polished Stainless High Flow Headers Manufactured by CMI
•Closed Engine Water Cooling & Engine Oil Cooling System
•Mast Engineered High Flow Fuel System
•Hand Assembled by Master Engine Builders With The Strictest Quality Controls
•The Highest Quality 100% New Components
•Initial Engine Break In Procedure & Power Verification By Engine Dyno Testing

HTRDLNCN

Because Mercury is too backwards thinking to use them,plain and simple..Hell they are still selling carbed engines and 4.3V6s which havent been available in cars for over a decade!
Unless Mercury uses the LSx motors it will take a long time for them to become common in marine usage, too many manufacturers just wont use anything else and too many people lump anything not Mercury into the "hot rod" category

Wasted Income

I still don't follow your thinking? GM hasn't been producing gen 1 sbc for passenger vehicles for ~10 years, but you can still get a SBC from Mercruiser, AND from GMPP as a crate motor.

It's really not an argument of whether or not it's good business...there MUST be a market for it, based on the fact that there are like 10 different companies advertising LS marine packages from 350 to 700 hp. I just want to know if they are in any boats, and how they run.

Ok, so for argument's sake, say the Ilmor 7.4 MV8 costs $30k + the cost of the drive. It makes 522 hp. How much does a new Mercury 525 cost, with drive? I'm just curious?

Nobody offers marine brackets and accessories for the LS?
http://www.crusaderengines.com/NewFiles/60parts.pdf

Crusader offers several different types of marine engine mount options, as well as oil coolers, heat exhcangers, exhaust manifolds, and yes, even front accessories such as raw water pumps, and USCG starters and alternators. The parts are out there.
EDIT: ^ and this is just if you want to piece your own together (if you're a hodge-podger like I am). There are several hi-po LS options that are turn key, ready to go....but yet again, WHERE ARE THEY? Would all those companies really spend the money to put together a package like that, and never install it in anything other than a ski-boat???