WastedWages

Hey all. First time posting here so sorry if i get anything wrong. I have an 04 silverado 2500LD that im building into a sled puller for this season. The powerplant is ofcourse an LQ4 paired with a 4l80e. Im looking for some advice or directioning on:

1.what size of valve spring/brand of spring should i go for?
2. Do i need to do any oil/timing chain upgrades?
3. Do i need trunions or valvetrain upgrades?
4. Any and all methods of cheap power gains are much approved
5. Water meth is in the back of my mind but is it worth it on an N/A motor?
6. Is it worth it for me to get HPTuners?

The motor rules are as follows:
1. 500cubic inch max
2. OEM cast block, aluminum or cast OEM heads, OEM intake and exhaust manifolds
3. Sfi balancer or balancer shield
4. Electric fans ONLY
5. Must be "gasoline" fuel only, injected in oem location.
6. N/A only

Currently the motor is at around 200,000KM (125,000miles) and is stock besides an intake, duals dumped after the cab with no cats and a cheap OBD 91 octane tune.

my parts list so far are as follows:
BTR STAGE 3 TRUCK CAM: lift .552/.552, dur @ .50 218/224 LSA 113.0
GEN 4 (TBSS) Intake off of an LY5
GEN 4 Flex Fuel Injectors (NOT DECAPPED)
GEN 3 to GEN 4 throttle body adapter plate.

Truck will run at WOT for about 30 seconds each run (1st gear, 4lo, tow haul on). Otherwise itll idle around. RPM limit is currently factory but ive looked at doing a 2 step rpm limit due to how slow the stock one drops. Any and all advice greatly appreciated!

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

No point in meth injection on a low compression N/A application. I have a 2006 2500HD with a 6.0, and that thing is a pig. You're going to need all the help you can get. I'd use a BTR Truck Norris cam over the one you picked, just for the increase in midrange torque. You're pulling weight, you want all the torque you can get. 317 heads are the worst for compression/quench, I'd slap a set of 706/862 heads on there, it will bump your compression by a point and you'll pick up power. Regardless of the drop in intake valve size. Even if you're wide open the whole time, a cam with more overlap is going to help you fill the cylinders. If you don't plan on building the bottom end, you probably don't need to touch the oil pump either. Trunion upgrades are always good, and BTR has good spring packages as well. They make a no springs required Truck Norris cam too, but I'd at least slap a set of LS6 springs on there. If you have zero experience with tuning, just buying HP Tuners might do you more harm than good. By the time you pay for it, the credits, and a wideband O2, you could have a dyno tune done.

WastedWages

i forgot to mention i have access to 799 heads off the LY5 aswell. Stock springs/valves in it. Not ported. Theres a comp cam spring kit available on marketplace local to me. COMP 26918cs-kit but if btr is better than i will look at it. Ive always wanted to learn hptuners and having monitoring capabilities would be mint cause a holley terminator is 1k plus lol. At the moment im going as stock as possible as im trying to keep it low cost. I still got suspension and other stuff to build for it too haha. What rpm is safe? 6k?

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

6K is perfectly fine with decent valve springs. If you already have 799 heads, run them. The compression will help, but the better chamber design will help even more.

Kjduvall

i helped a friend make a 04 2500hd reg cab 5 spd pull truck, a tsp 228/228 110lsa cam kit w- springs and push rods, tbss intake, tsp 1 7/8 headers then went 4.56 or 4.88 gears (cant reamber at the moment) and it did very well in its class. yes you need to have it tuned by someone that knows what there doing , 6500 rpm limit should be fine you dont want to be 3/4 track and bouncing off limiter. if our budget was higher we would have bored and stroked it to get more cubes and got the compression to around 11.5 or so and just sent the 317s off for port/polish work. one other thing to look at is the front suspension set up, it needs to transfer weight really well think less torsion pressure and limiter straps. youll have to play with it alot to get it to track straight (i know we did) also we hid alot of weight behind the front bumper , you can get really creative in low class truck pulling id suggest getting the rule book and look for ways to maximize your set up, HP is good but a well set up truck can go very far. any way happy wrenching sir.

LS1 TJ

Didn't say if you can use it but a stroker kit would be on my list for the 6.0. LS6 intake TBSS? They are OEM. Can you run early LS7 exhaust manifolds? They are OEM.

WastedWages

are the exhaust manifolds cast? If so i can run them and they probably wont notice. The club recently hired more tech inspectors so odds are its gonna be tight. They must be cast and oem. I didnt think ls7 parts fit other motors though?

I can do any internals so long as its the oem cast block.

WastedWages

If ya dont mind me asking, where did you guys get the gear sets for the front and rear diff? The trucks got 3.73s but i would love more reduction to compensate for the lower power. As of right now the trucks actually overweight. (5600lb max, trucks currently 5890 with me in it) so im gutting the bed and interior soon. Are welded/locked diffs good? I know the g80 has that weak speed controlled LSD in the rear (not sure about front). As of right now, i have the front keys cranked down all the way, with a set of homemade tierod sleeves, and leaf clamps in the rear that bend the overloads up to the other leafs.

WastedWages

Is there such thing as too much spring lift? Theres a set of .700" springs forsale but i wasnt sure if thats too much for the size of cam/stock valves.

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

It's not the lift capacity that causes issues, it's the seat and open pressures. If you don't have a cam to take advantage of them, the stiffer springs eat power and can be harder on your valvetrain. Get the lightest capacity spring that will fully control your valvetrain without going into valve float or valve bounce. Always consult the cam manufacturer on what springs they recommend for their specific grinds. I don't think LS7 manifolds would work in these body styles of truck - They're center dump and will interfere with the frame/steering shaft, IIRC.

WastedWages

Okay im gonna pick your brain a bit (sorry ive torn a few ls's apart but this is the first one im building for power). The COMP spring kit 26918cs-kit is available to me locally (facebook marketplace but never opened or installed in a motor) for $500. Has the springs, retainers, hats, locks and seals in one kit.

Spring specs are:
lift: .625"
seat press: 125lbs
open pressure: 367lbs
installed height: 1.800inch
Open height: 1.150inch
spring rate: 372lbs inch/hour

is that like an "average or low" capacity? And at 1.800inch would i not need new pushrods aswell?

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

That's a middle of the road spring, and you can get a better BTR spring kit for less: https://briantooleyracing.com/catalo.../view/id/58362 You will have to measure for pushrods no matter what, because the base circle on the cam may be smaller or some component tolerances might be different and things will shift. It's not a difficult task, especially if you're planning on using the stock valves in the heads.

Kjduvall

we used motive gear 4.88 complete front and rear kit with everything p/n mgk-243 and a powertrax lock right p/n 1955-lr. i had to call my buddy this weekend cause i forgot what went in it, you could prolly go full spool if your only going to take it to pull events too,

WastedWages

Yessir the truck is very not streetable anymore haha. Thanks. Now ive got alot of research to do about diffs and gearing (i know nothing but the basics lol)

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

I'd go full spool over a lock right in a pulling application. You're going to be putting enormous loads on the diff and while the lock right can work, a spool will be far stronger.

WastedWages

Lol ive been looking into it all evening. At the moment im trying to figure out what the exact rear axle i have/front diff in order to size the correct parts lol. Im new to this 😂

Kjduvall

should be 9.25 ifs front 10.5 14 bolt rear.

LS1Formulation

iTrader: (13)

Look in your glove box, and get the codes off the SPID label. That'll tell you exactly what axles you have. My '06 2500 HD could have had a 10.5 or 11.5 in the rear, but it has a 10.5. Figured that out from the SPID label.

jetech

@WastedWages run it