derotoredFD

iTrader: (5)

I know these threads come up all the time, but I'm really new to pushrod motors so I'll need a little slack. I've been reading a lot and it seems that the major routes are aftermarket cathedral heads or stock ls3 top end. I see that the cathedral port vs d port battle is pretty red hot, but since this 2005 GTO ls2 and t56 is going into an rx-7 I have some unique questions that change my options.

1. Can an aftermarket cable throttle body be bolted onto an ls3 intake? I have to run a cable driven throttle body for my application so this is a big factor in my options.

2. Can an ls2 with milled ls3 heads run a big enough cam to achieve 470-500 whp without fly cutting the pistons? I'll have 1 7/8" headers, stock maf intake, lightweight flywheel, ported ls3 intake and hopefully 102 tb.

I am looking for 470-500 whp with a pretty dd friendly cam. Some slight chugging/bucking is ok but I don't want a miserable to drive track only car. I'm used to driving a built 2.2l mr2 turbo that makes 444whp, and it has some bucking below 2200 rpm which makes stop and go a little annoying(livable though I guess cause I do haha).

So here are the options I'm thinking of, but like I said the throttle body and flycutting dictates this too.
1. afr 230cc v2 or prc 227cc heads with a matching cam and fast 102 intake. really expensive option but from what I've read will definitely make 500whp. The advantage is I know a cable t-body can be used with the fast, and no ptv clearance issues.

2. Stock ls3 milled heads for 11:1 cr, ported ls3 intake mani with larger cable driven t-body, and a custom spec'd matching cam by patrick g. Do you think this combo will get me to at least 470whp while not having to flycut pistons or being too miserable to drive? This is a much cheaper option, but after building the valve train and getting the offset rocker arms is it really that much cheaper?

Are there advantages I'm missing one way or the other? I'm thinking if cathedrals are that much better I'll probably just put the fast on there now and save up for the super nice heads. whats nice is I can afford the ls3 stuff now, as long as I can find a whole top end set for sale for a decent price. Any leads on that? Like I said I'm not super experienced so any input would be extremely useful.

Thanks,

Ryan

derotoredFD

iTrader: (5)

Can anyone at least tell me whether I can bolt an aftermarket cable t-body onto the ls3 intake manifold or not? This is pretty much dictating whether I can go ls3 or not, which I'm leaning toward pretty heavily.