Why did GM...

wildcat1337 said:

1. Put the opti under the water pump. This just blows my mind..

2. Put the spark plugs in such hard to reach places

3. Not set up fbodies for dual exhausts. I realize emissions is apart of it, but they are performance cars and this really disappoints me.

Click to expand...

1. It was there or behind the intake under the cowl, I would take behind the water pump personally. If you do proper maintenance, you will never have an opti issue. Don't watch out for a leaky waterpump when the seals go? Well, thats not GM's fault.

2. Can't really give a good reason, the stock manifolds do suck, solution is to get some long tubes.

3. Running a dual exhaust is 99.9% cause the owner wants sound, not added performance, the 3" catback will support more than most will ever need.

Because the factory opti should outlast the water pump. Mine did, at least once.. Just pulled my factory opti at 123xxx miles. Waterpump replaced at 90k. (put a new wp on however).

Where else were the going to put it. Yes, I kind of agree that coil per cylinder would be nice, but for some reason.....

The plugs are not that bad, easy form under the car ( on the passenger side at least)

Dual exhaust is not needed, 3" back is just fine.

ShowNoMercy said:

1. It was there or behind the intake under the cowl, I would take behind the water pump personally. If you do proper maintenance, you will never have an opti issue. Don't watch out for a leaky waterpump when the seals go? Well, thats not GM's fault.

2. Can't really give a good reason, the stock manifolds do suck, solution is to get some long tubes.

3. Running a dual exhaust is 99.9% cause the owner wants sound, not added performance, the 3" catback will support more than most will ever need.

Click to expand...

x2

As far as the opti location it was the lesser of two evils

I do wish true duals were easier to do tho, I love that sound

Fbodies are so damn easy to work on its not even funny. I will work on them any day of the week compared to some shit out there.

Driving the optispark directly from the front of the cam eliminates any timing variations that come from the backlash of the helical gears or oil pump induced drive oscillations when the distributor is in the traditional rear of intake position.

GM either couldn't run a under the spark plug exhaust manifold because of space constraints or horsepower targets. As far as stock exhaust manifolds go the LT1 manifolds are IMO one of the best chevy made for the SBC. Look at the manifolds on a '90s p/u truck.

Dual exhaust? Chevy had to keep the Camaro down so as to not compete with the Corvette.

sweetbmxrider said:

Fbodies are so damn easy to work on its not even funny. I will work on them any day of the week compared to some shit out there.

Click to expand...

Yeah, there is always something worse out there.

I hate it when people whine about the engineering. It is a complicated process to engineer a car (or anything that has so many parts). Trade-offs are gonna happen to get to the final product. There isn't anything perfect out there. If you are not happy with the end result, go buy something else.

While the opti may have been put in an inhospitable place, it is certainly the best distributor GM ever used on a small block as far as function.

all of those things are because they are engineered to be compact, light, and cheap to produce.

they're very easy to work on if you resign yourself to the fact that you will have to remove a great many unrelated parts to access even the most simple thing. plugs and wires are easy. pull the manifolds. opti is easy. pull the radiator and waterpump. why the hell would GM care that it's a big job?

why would they put dual exhaust on the stock motor? it doesnt' need it; it would add weight and complexity where it isn't necessary. if you think true duals would be any actual performance advantage on a bone stock LT1, you have a lot of learning to do about exhaust systems. the exhaust system has almost nothing to do with the slight performance advantage of the 'vette. the stock exhaust plumbing is optimal for both weight, and producing low end torque.

When I worked on Italian cars, they were some of the most failure prone on the road. I always recommended preventive maintenance, which improved the reliability immensely.

The opti could benefit from a preventive maintenance program also. As stated above, watch the water pump for leaks, installing a tee fitting in bleed hole and running tubing away from opti will help also.

Next check regularly for oil leaks, especially on seals of timing cover. Replace seals and gaskets in a timely manner.

Finally, if it were me, I would remove cap, rotor, & inner shielding twice a year and carefully clean out the inner section of any oil, coolant or corrosion present. Remember that an once of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

My engineer snark was at the new lt1

I would also recommend preventative maintenance, when I did my cam I found my stock 90k mile opti had broken a rotor tab had I not done the cam I wouldn't have ever known
Also the stock cam and a lifter had been chewed up on one lobe also would have never known that

If you think our engines are hard to work on....I guess you've never seen an XJ-12.
The intake manifold literally reads, "**** it...just tow me to a junkyard"

Put your LT1 in a Jag - can change plugs standing up

Note the room around the engine...dual exhausts sound like an 80's Corvette. Passenger side is tough to change wires all the way up to
the Opti always much easier when the fans are out. I just remove the fans and water pump to get to the Opti/Dynaspark. Can reach the steam
pipes and EGR stuff (deleted) easy due to the rear engine room.

Have 4:09 gears that move the car along pretty well....also putting on a cold air intake system is easy.

Nothing like driving a sport sedan that has around 300 HP and four wheel disc brakes and a IRS....sunroof and wood dash just adds to the driving experience.

Always liked the style and road manners of a jag, just didn't like the gremlins that came standard equipment on the cars.