Changing heads question.
Changing heads question. I am going to change my heads on my 98 corvette w and ls1. I was going to put ls6 heads on it but I have been told by a couple of people to put 5.3l truck heads on it and I will make more power. Others have told me to get 6.0l truck heads and have them bored. I'm just totally confused and it has turned my simple build into a guessing game. Does anyone have any ideas on my situation? Pros and cons? What has worked for you? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
If it were me, I would put the LS6 heads on it and be done with it. They have good flow, light weight valves, and beehive valve springs. And stick with the stock MLS (multi-layer-steel) head gasket and buy the ARP head bolts.
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 507
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From: Ankeny, IA
Well first decide what your goals are. If it's to make slightly more power and not decrease driveability then LS6 heads are fine. In my opinion they are not worth the effort or cost involved. A stock LS6 head will only support a small cam with it's stock springs and flows around 280cfm on the intake side out of the box. Great factory heads, but there are better choices. If you want to make a sizable jump in power then you should be looking at ported factory castings (5.3L, LS6 or LS6 style castings) or aftermarket castings. Ported factory castings cost less than aftermarket castings and can make excellent power. Aftermarket castings (AFR, Dart, Trick Flow, etc) cost more, but usually make the most power and generally have better under the peak power curves. To decide what heads are right for you figure out the power you want to make and the budget you have to work with. Once you've figured that out it's off to the internal motor sections of the forum to see which combos have the best bang for the buck for your setup.
I want to make the most hp while still being able to drive it on cruises or whatever. I almost purchased some ls6 patriot heads but was told to get 5.3l heads. Then someone else said 6.0l heads. I want to eventually put on a supercharger or a twin-turbo but not put alot of boost to it. But, if i supercharge it or turbo it, the compression will be too high if I put 5.3l heads. I had also planned to put a small cam in it. Nothing big. My car has exhaust (headers and custom exhaust), twin cone k&n intake, and a tune. It runs a 12.8 1/4 mile spinning the tires. I have some other ideas but the heads determine where I go next.
I have a set of Z06 heads for sale, with dual springs installed in them. I made 600rwhp with them and the stock 02 Z06 cam on a D1SC supercharged car. I pulled them off to go with a more extreme setup.
I want 650 for the heads and cam, springs, pushrods, everything. You will bump your power nicely, it will support FI to a reasonable level (like 600rwhp, lol), and not change driveability by even 1%.
I thought I had a buyer, but he seems to have dissappeared.
Let me know if youre interested.
I want 650 for the heads and cam, springs, pushrods, everything. You will bump your power nicely, it will support FI to a reasonable level (like 600rwhp, lol), and not change driveability by even 1%.
I thought I had a buyer, but he seems to have dissappeared.
Let me know if youre interested.
Originally Posted by black98supervette
I want to make the most hp while still being able to drive it on cruises or whatever. I almost purchased some ls6 patriot heads but was told to get 5.3l heads. Then someone else said 6.0l heads. I want to eventually put on a supercharger or a twin-turbo but not put alot of boost to it. But, if i supercharge it or turbo it, the compression will be too high if I put 5.3l heads. I had also planned to put a small cam in it. Nothing big. My car has exhaust (headers and custom exhaust), twin cone k&n intake, and a tune. It runs a 12.8 1/4 mile spinning the tires. I have some other ideas but the heads determine where I go next.
Have you thought about spraying it?
Thats what I have but have only done it twice, its just crazy hp, over 670 at the tires. I'm very happy with what I have right now. Its can be an everyday driver, gets good gas mileage, my wife and I can cruise around comfortably, and its over 500 hp at the rear tires so it runs like hell WFO.
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Originally Posted by 99C5JA
Well first decide what your goals are. If it's to make slightly more power and not decrease driveability then LS6 heads are fine. In my opinion they are not worth the effort or cost involved. A stock LS6 head will only support a small cam with it's stock springs and flows around 280cfm on the intake side out of the box. Great factory heads, but there are better choices. If you want to make a sizable jump in power then you should be looking at ported factory castings (5.3L, LS6 or LS6 style castings) or aftermarket castings. Ported factory castings cost less than aftermarket castings and can make excellent power. Aftermarket castings (AFR, Dart, Trick Flow, etc) cost more, but usually make the most power and generally have better under the peak power curves. To decide what heads are right for you figure out the power you want to make and the budget you have to work with. Once you've figured that out it's off to the internal motor sections of the forum to see which combos have the best bang for the buck for your setup.
You need too have a plan, otherwise you may spend money, where not needed...or twice...etc etc. Knowing what it is, to actually DO a heads and cam swap,...i'd say go with a nice set of head. Camshaft, is more important but, theres too many variables when it comes to recommending something to someone that you don't know what they want.
Here's a curve ball....what about the L92 setup? Cheap, HIGH FLOW heads....they'll outflow most aftermarket heads... The manifolds are seeming to become available here and there. You cannot buy a more money savings setup.
I think you should do some more research..... and see whats out there
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Verdad Gallardo Here was my original plan. I was going to buy these patriot heads I found then start my build up. I'm building up to a twin-turbo or supercharger. I just didn't want to be limited by whatever heads I bought and have to buy a different set later to run more boost. I've pretty much ruled out the 5.3's, because of the boost I'm wanting to run. ls6 patriots or 6.0l's seem the way I'm wanting to go.
Well if you plan on running F/I then you are best to go with either that set stated above due to its price, or I would go with a set of 6.0L heads. What is your ultimate goal though. I had a C5 with a Procharger from A&A Corvettes that made 501RWHP on 10 lbs of boost with stock heads and exhaust, including cats. If you plan to do turbo's might as well start thinking about selling your headers, and custom exhaust because it may not work with the turbo setup (headers will have to go regardless unless you run a STS kit). 5.3L heads are out of the question if you run F/I so get that out of your head now. 6.0L heads will give you some grace with compression. But right now you need to narrow down what you want to do F/I wise because you may have to spend what money you are about to on heads and cam all over again when you bolt that F/I setup. SO many options. You opened a can of worms on this one. But we can help throw the bad worms out for you 
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Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 507
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From: Ankeny, IA
Well you are kind of in a quandry. A lot of things you'll want for an FI application you won't want for N/A application. I can see a few things you could do. Buy your cam and heads with FI in mind and have a car that won't perform all that well (low compression heads with a blower cam). The advantage here is that when you get ready for a turbo or SC you won't have to replace anything. The next option is to buy the FI solution (the A&A kit is a great one) before anything else and then add the supporting mods later on. That is a good way to go, but requires a lot of cash right off (though you'll spend it at some point anyway). The other option is to buy the cam and heads for N/A and resell them later. The advantage here is that the car will be a beast to drive around while you save for FI, but obviously you will be selling it off and swapping it out when you do eventually go FI.
So what to do? If your heart is set on FI I think saving up and getting something like the A&A kit makes the most sense. It will make more power than about any H/C car with no other mods. And when you add heads, cam and headers it will just be that much stronger. A friend of mine has the A&A kit on his '99 with FLP headers and a Futral F7 cam. He puts down 618rwhp and 520rwtq. Having driven that thing I can say it's definitely a beast.
So what to do? If your heart is set on FI I think saving up and getting something like the A&A kit makes the most sense. It will make more power than about any H/C car with no other mods. And when you add heads, cam and headers it will just be that much stronger. A friend of mine has the A&A kit on his '99 with FLP headers and a Futral F7 cam. He puts down 618rwhp and 520rwtq. Having driven that thing I can say it's definitely a beast.
