All Hail the Mighty LS - Engine Builder Magazine

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All Hail the Mighty LS

With all the current talk that still surrounds the LS platform, it’s hard to believe the early generations of these engines are nearly 25 years old!

Greg Jones
By Greg Jones

In this industry, there is no dodging the LS engine platform. It is literally everywhere. It is the topic of conversation for many aftermarket manufacturers, it is the focal point of many engine builders and machine shops, and it is used across numerous performance applications from street/strip and drag racing to off-road trucks, sand rails and marine applications.

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This issue marks our second LS-focused issue, and I’d like to thank the many engine builders, racers and industry folks who helped contribute to it, whether as a resource or for photos of engines. We got a great response to our posts on Instagram and Facebook asking to see LS engines, and I love it!

With all the current talk that still surrounds the LS platform, it’s hard to believe the early generations of these engines are nearly 25 years old! While those are the facts, the platform continues to be innovated upon and built up for some serious, high-performance horsepower. 

In this issue, we also delve into the LS engine’s younger brother, the LT engine platform, and while these engines are set up to be the future, it’s awfully hard to see them slaying the LS for popularity among professional engine builders and those looking for easy, relatively inexpensive performance. But let’s not set ourselves up for a “Kodak moment.”

Kodak had foreseen what was coming in the digital photography world and they even held numerous patents for digital technology. However, Kodak management at the time was blinded by the success and the pile of money they continued to make off of film. Rather than keep an eye on the developments in digital photography, they largely ignored the digital side until it was much too late. We know the rest of this story…

I’m not suggesting that the LS vs. LT engine market will come to this, but I do think engine builders, and the aftermarket, should be weary of completely ignoring the newer engine technology seen in the LT. It is well worth your time to learn the ins and outs of both platforms to position yourself at the forefront when the industry does embrace the LT and its direct injection more than it currently is.

For now, the LS is still top dog and we invite you to flip through this issue devoted to the GM powerplant. EB

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