Speedstang302

i recently had a line on a lq9 motor and went to pick it only to find a nice big crack in the side of the block in a coolant passage. so i passed...decided to do some more research before i jumped at another motor. ive compiled some ideas and just need opinions from people that have built similar setups. its going in a car that will be somewhat daily driven during the summer months.

looking for about 500rwhp n/a then im gonna use a safe amount of spray to bridge any gaps

lq4 or lq9? gonna leave stock rotating assembly just put new main,rod and cam bearings, new piston rings, oil pump etc why do people recommend ls2 rods/pistons?
ls3 heads or save my $$$ and stay with the 317's?
ls3 intake or run a ls1/ls6 intake with the 317's?

ive seen a little bit on these ms3 and ms4 cams but also saw comp does custom grind for the same price..any idea which would be a good choice? or another option? i think im gonna leave stock rockers, lifters.. and get some nice pushrods and springs, any opinions on good springs for a decent size cam like the ms3 or 4? also seeing the ls2 timing chain is a good idea?

i plan on a full exhaust at this point i think its gonna be pacesetter 1 3/4 (unless you guys really think i need 1 7/8), tsp o/r y and slp lm1 catback.

thanks for all help in advance sorry for so many questions but this is really my first dip into the ls engines i unfortunately know just enough to get myself into trouble lol

96capricemgr

iTrader: (1)

What is it going in chassis/tranny?
What is the ET/MPH goal?
What is the intended use?
Don't have Comp spec you a cam, Comp certainly has skilled valvetrain engineers but they aren't the ones helping Joeblow when he calls you will get some dimwit who does little more than look at the catalog on his computer screen. A custom Comp cam is a perfectly reasonable idea, just get a LS1 specialist vendor involved and let them spec it.

KCS

iTrader: (20)

The LQ4 pistons are dished so you end up with a lower Compression Ratio than the LQ9, which has flat top pistons. Same goes for the 317 heads, which has the largest chamber of all the cathedral port heads. You can go with the 799/243 castings, but if you're going to spray, some mildly worked over 241/853 LS1 heads will be better and cost about the same.

Speedstang302

it initially was going into a foxbody w/ a 4l60e but ive trashed the drag car idea for a more..street kinda daily car...so im actually on a man hunt for a 98-02 ls1 car...looking mainly for a ws6. the car WILL see plenty of track time, but will drive to and from the track and to work monday morning so it wont be running souly skinnies/fattys..also getting a t56. id really like to be low 11's n/a 10's on spray. that is a VERY good point. ive dealt with custom cams for sbf through a few companys kinda like you said with ls1 vendors and had good luck didnt even consider a big company like comp would make me deal with computer geek not engine builder.

okay is that pretty much the only difference between lq4/9? the car will most like end up boosted like everyone of my cars always do but by then ill build a better shortblock. im not really looking to spend time/money into having heads ported..im just looking to buy a good set of spray friendly heads at a reasonable price and just bolt them on and go. see im moving to california in june of 2013 and i have to still find a car and get this motor/trans in an running BEFORE i leave.