Best heads for Turbo ls1?
You can pick the 317's (also known as 6.0 liter heads) from Patriot Performance. Also, if your on a strict budget you could run a set of stock 317's with upgraded springs and retainers and that should work pretty well too. If you have a slightly larger budget and want a great head then the afr 225's that Bob mentioned above are a really good choice as are the TFS heads. How much power/boost are you looking to run?
Hahaha +1, there are far better FI heads out there than 317's but for most budget builds under 800 hp they will do the job. I agree though the thicker deck of the AFR, TFS, ETP heads are the best choice but it really depends on the OP's budget.
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Brett Foote
On The Tree
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 112
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From: Finland
There are some examples of running stock head castings and make over 1000 hp so the thicker deck isn't always a necessity. I think it is more of a decision between paying for bolt-on parts or special machining.
I like 317's.....for the money. I have several in the 600-800 rwhp area. I would agree that they become an issue though in that area. A good ported 317 flows around 310 cfm, although some flow more. L92's.....nobody talks about l92's....I like em. Afr 225's are nice, but deffinately show in the price.
I'm gonna rock my 317's, they flow 321cfm, see how far they'll take me on the 408. I plan to only run somewhere around 15psi anyway, don't need to get TOO greedy. The AFR 225's are a bit costly!
TECH Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 479
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From: Sweden
I have 1200hp with stock 853 heads. It can be good to have less flow so the turbo hits the right place in the compressormap. I run 30-35 boost with my S480 turbo. And that is a good boost range for that turbo. If i had better flowing heads i might get less hp because my turbo doesn´t flow so well at 20 psi boost.
Actually you should be able to get same power as before at less boost or more total power. more powerful and better flowing the engine is NA better it will be on boost.
And better off boost. And man you are pushing a lot of boost thru aren't you. That is how much I put thru my dsms!
And better off boost. And man you are pushing a lot of boost thru aren't you. That is how much I put thru my dsms!
TECH Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 479
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From: Sweden
Actually you should be able to get same power as before at less boost or more total power. more powerful and better flowing the engine is NA better it will be on boost.
And better off boost. And man you are pushing a lot of boost thru aren't you. That is how much I put thru my dsms!
And better off boost. And man you are pushing a lot of boost thru aren't you. That is how much I put thru my dsms!
My experience with turbo maps is they are all fine in theory. In the real world not always work out like the maps.
So you are saying with better heads you can't hit your 120 pound per minute max airflow at all. First time I have ever heard better flowing heads being a negative. News to me. All the dsm guys that run big power run very expensive fully done ported and big valved heads ,not one of the big boys run the smaller flowing heads just so they can get some compressor map theory to work . From my real experience you will just see max power at lower boost. But your theory sounds interesting. I guess I better sell off my prettty afr 225s and put on some factory ls1 stockers now. NOT!
And you are saying you need 35psi to get to 1200 rwhp with your ls1? Isn't that sort of proving my point? A built 427 with top of line heads could likely get 1200 easily with a big snail at 20psi. Maybe time to rethink that combo? Why the need to go to such high boost levels its not a 2.0 litre like my dsm.
How the hell do you keep head gaskets in the engine?
So you are saying with better heads you can't hit your 120 pound per minute max airflow at all. First time I have ever heard better flowing heads being a negative. News to me. All the dsm guys that run big power run very expensive fully done ported and big valved heads ,not one of the big boys run the smaller flowing heads just so they can get some compressor map theory to work . From my real experience you will just see max power at lower boost. But your theory sounds interesting. I guess I better sell off my prettty afr 225s and put on some factory ls1 stockers now. NOT!
And you are saying you need 35psi to get to 1200 rwhp with your ls1? Isn't that sort of proving my point? A built 427 with top of line heads could likely get 1200 easily with a big snail at 20psi. Maybe time to rethink that combo? Why the need to go to such high boost levels its not a 2.0 litre like my dsm.
How the hell do you keep head gaskets in the engine?
TECH Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 479
Likes: 0
From: Sweden
I build engines and dyno tune them all day long. And i have seen this several times. If you want to max out the turbo you must hit the compressor map right.
I use our pyramidring gasket kit we have developed, we use them on all bmw engines we build as well. No head gasket problems at all.
My engine has 1000 ft/lbs torque at 3600 rpm and still have 1200 hp at 6000-7000 rpm, so it was a successful combo. I ran 8.53 with only 17 psi . Just waiting on the snow to disappear
I use our pyramidring gasket kit we have developed, we use them on all bmw engines we build as well. No head gasket problems at all.
My engine has 1000 ft/lbs torque at 3600 rpm and still have 1200 hp at 6000-7000 rpm, so it was a successful combo. I ran 8.53 with only 17 psi . Just waiting on the snow to disappear
