30 years ago I raced in the SCCA smaller lighter and seemingly more nimble
vehicles with small 4 cylinder engines. As I grew up in the muscle car era I
remembered all those heavy cars with heavier motors were only good for
straight line performance and many trucks outperformed them in corners.
I have finally grown up and am ready for a V8 in something but I still
remember how important light weight is. From what I gather ( but nowhere can I find accurate weight figures) an aluminum block engine must be lighter than an iron block motor... but how much lighter ? Apparently the
General Motors LS series motors going back 20 years or more now mostly
have aluminum blocks and the LS engine folks all claim much weight saved.
There is a great summary article on this website about LS engines.
http://www.kitcarusa.com/kb.php?aid=57
So who has accurate info on the weights? Surprisingly the manufacturers and marketers of these engines do not know the weights. How can that be ?
If I was in the engine, kitcar, or auto parts business I would weight every
component part and provide spreadsheets with the accurate info.
The PROBLEM. Suppose I want to save weight with a Cobra kit car that usually takes Ford drivetrain parts.
Before we commit energy to the pursuit... we still have to know if it is
worth it... you know.... cost/benefit etc. If I incur great extra cost in
time, money and aggravation in trying to make it work.... it will not be
worth it if only 5 pounds are saved.
Not only that... but it seems to me that small block LS Aluminum engines
may put out as much power as older (much heavier-obviously ) iron big block engines.
I hope I am not treading on sacred ground here as I know other old timers who revere their "big-iron" engines like pets and I do agree there is some glory in the older behemoth V8 beasts..... Its just ... I like twisty roads too much.
I know that the proper european sportscar evolution resulted in the attitude of those "fat american fools" and their disregard for weight because of
their cheap gas- at least 30 or 40 years ago... in the recent decade or two - not so much. Just thinking out loud.... look at the contrast in weight between a Cobra 427
and a Lotus Super 7 with forced induction I-4 or V6