Coolant System

System Layout

Water Pump - The water pump is a centrifugal-type non-fixed-displacement pump that circulates the coolant through the block and heads where it collects heat from the engine, and then through the radiator where it is cooled by air flowing through the rad. The simple rule with water pumps is - the higher the flow the better.
Radiator -
Thermostat -
Heater Core -
Surge Tank -
Overflow Tank (optional) -
Engine Steam Port -
Coolant - The coolant is the liquid lifeblood of the system. Its job is to absorb the heat from the engine, and then give-up this heat in the radiator as air flows over the vanes attached to the tubes that carry the coolant. Coolant must also condition and lubricate the seals in the water pump and, in all but the most rigorously maintained race vehicles, inhibit corrosion in the many passages of the cooling system. Finally, in vehicles run in colder climates, the coolant must not freeze.

Traditional LS system layout

Water Pump

LS waterpumps have the following port sizes
1 1/2'' Inlet
1 1/4'' Outlet
5/8'' To heatercore
3/4'' From surgetank/heatercore

One of the most important steps of any LS swap is determining the ‘offset’ you’ll need for a proper placement and fit. Ultimately, your offset (also referred to as ‘spacing’) is determined by the crank pulley that you either currently have or will be getting. When it comes to locating the right parts and accessories, this offset categorization we’ve developed will help ensure that the kits you receive from ICT Billet will directly bolt up to your application and provide proper functionality.

In order to determine which water pump you need for your LS swap project, you’ll want to refer to the list below featuring the three offset categories we design all our brackets off of.

-1 (DASH ONE) SPACING

Swap vehicles that fall under our -1 offset category include Corvettes, CTS-Vs, SS sedans, and G8s set up with these engines:

LS1 Corvette
LS2 Corvette
LS3 Corvette
LS9 Corvette
LS7
LSA

-2 (DASH TWO) SPACING

Swap vehicles that fall under our -2 offset category include 1998-2002 Camaros and GTOs set up with this engine:

LS1 Camaro
LS1 & LS2 GTO

-3 (DASH THREE) SPACING

Swap vehicles that fall under our -3 offset category include all trucks and 2010-2015 Camaros set up with these engines:

Gen III Truck
Gen IV Truck
LS3/L99 Camaro

Here’s a great visual guide to determine spacing/offset for swapping out your water pump based on ICT Billet’s bracket design:

in offset.

Radiator

This is usually driven by packaging. You want to fit the largest sized radiator you can fit, this will give you the largest rejected heat loss. Radiators that claim a HP rating must be taken with a grain of salt. There are lots of factors that go into the thermal capacity of your system including:
Coolant Mix
Ambient Temperature
Humidity
Air Flow over the radiator
Shroud

Radiator Shroud - This is one of the most critical parts of a radiator and often overlooked. The radiator shroud

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