LS Desert Ranger

I have a stock 2000 5.3L. Today I picked up some (241) LS1 Heads w/ New PRC Double Springs, a New Vengeance Racing VRX4 Cam (228/230, .588/.592 112 LSA) and New Comp Cams Magnum pushrods for a good deal. How do you guys think this combination will work out? Im gonna get the comp dyno tuned at Cunningham motorsports in Temecula. The motor is going in a desert race truck w/ manual valve body TH400 and 9" w/ 4.56 and 35" tires. Also now have 5.3L 706 heads and cam w/ low miles for sale if anybody is interested, sounds like the heads are a good compression upgrade.

Darkman

iTrader: (2)

I am confused by your description of the heads you've got. LS6 heads are 243s, not 241s, which are LS1 heads. Which do you have?

LS Desert Ranger

ok i got LS1 heads then i guess. they say 241.

Nacho SS

iTrader: (4)

I would get the 241s milled and ported and go with a bigger cam because that th400 and 9inch are gonna eat some power.

LS Desert Ranger

i was told to get them milled at least 40 thou. to bring my CR up and still be able to run on pump gas. I was also told that cam would probably be maximum for the 5.3L. Im looking for mostly low to midrange power since this is a desert truck and wont be absolutely pinned for long periods of time. Do you guys agree with the things i was told? Any other suggestions?

Whiteaw57

iTrader: (2)

i actually agree. that cam is plenty for that 5.3. snd the heads shouldnt be terrible. I would have them milled and any port work you can afford will be helpful and give you some more power.

LS Desert Ranger

is my cam considered big or small? will it still give me decent low end torque? and what stall torque converter should be used with it? I also heard that any shop worth a **** nowadays does CNC porting and that **** is big bucks.

https://www.vengeancerd.com/ecart/pr...7D.592-112-LSA

Whiteaw57

iTrader: (2)

In an LS1 it would be a good mid range cam probably make around 380-390 rwhp with supporting mods. I have the 224/230 114lsa in my 98 Z and it was dead even with my buddies 233/239 114lsa that dynoed 403rwhp. in a 5.3 however it will act like a slightly bigger cam. Id expect to make around 360rw(if it was in an fbody the 9 inch will eat up some and so will the tranny) or so with the 112 lsa. but I dont think you have a bad setup, the cam should make decent torque as well and the 4.56 gears are a plus

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

I would have got the 5.3s ported..

That cam will make excellent power under the curve and come In low, you won't have to turn 6500+rpms to see it shine.

LS Desert Ranger

would it have been better to get the 5.3 heads ported rather than swap to LS1 heads? I was told the LS1 heads were a better head since they flowed a lot more air compared to the stock 5.3s and that they were a good upgrade for cheap.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

The 5.3 are a nice bump in compression. Ported they flow good.. They would make nice midrange and tq down low.

LS Desert Ranger

how much is typical for a good to decent porting job? i heard its pretty expensive.

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Depends on the porter.. anywhere from a few hundred up to a grand. Call some sponsors.

LS Desert Ranger

If i get the 241 heads milled down to bring the CC back up, would they then be similar to the 5.3L heads?

lemons12

iTrader: (71)

Any ported/milled head is going to perform decent. if you have those, use them.

LS Desert Ranger

do you know how much to mill down the 241 heads to match the 706 heads compression?

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I wouldn't go crazy milling them. 30 should be good. They have bigger valves then the 5.3 heads but bigger chambers as well. Makes sense as they came on a larger engine. You may lose a tad bit of compression in exchange for better flow. It will be fine. I would choose a 3200-4k converter depending on how aggressive you are trying to be.

LS Desert Ranger

do you think .40 or .45 would be too much?

01ssreda4

iTrader: (96)

I have heard that going to 40 could cause intake alignment issues. That being said, there still is no reason to run on the ragged edge. I dont know what ptv clearance would be but I like to play it a little on the safe side. A good thing to do would be to measure your ptv, then use that to help you decide how much to mill.

LS Desert Ranger

how do you measure ptv clearance properly?