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Quick heads question.

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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 01:53 PM
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Default Quick heads question.

Hey guys. Got to looking around at heads a lil bit, know nothing about them, and read somewhere that 241 heads were pretty good heads to work with and that my car may already have them since I have an 01 Ws6...So I go outside n pop the hood and I have 806 heads??? A buddy of mine told me that my car didnt come with those heads, why would someone put those on over whatever was on it. He also said my car should have an ls6 intake, he checked the casting number, 12561184, and said it was an ls6 intake and it is correct. Stumped as to why someone would change to a supposedly inferior head. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, its got me all freaked out thinking what else might be changed.
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 02:23 PM
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Maybe somewhere down the line the 01 motor went down and they replaced it with a 97-98 motor. If they did just swap heads ( I highly doubt) they would have had to use 97-98 valve covers as well (perimeter bolt).
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 09:00 PM
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How could i find out and wouldnt that mean that my odometer reading would be incorrect? I think someone on a budget may have very well just swapped heads if the others warped, cracked, whatever after comparing prices online. Seems the 806s can be had for around $75 used.
To ad...My goal for this car is about a 400-450hp n/a street toy. Are these heads worth working with? Can I get my goal from worked 241s, 806s, 243s with cam or do I need to go aftermarket?
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by v3n0m
How could i find out and wouldnt that mean that my odometer reading would be incorrect? I think someone on a budget may have very well just swapped heads if the others warped, cracked, whatever after comparing prices online. Seems the 806s can be had for around $75 used.
To ad...My goal for this car is about a 400-450hp n/a street toy. Are these heads worth working with? Can I get my goal from worked 241s, 806s, 243s with cam or do I need to go aftermarket?
I wouldn't work with the 806's. they and the 853's are bottom of the LS motor heads out there. The 241's, 243's, 799's, 862's and 706's will all get you to that power level when ported and installed w/ a nice driveable cam. 243's are the best of that group b/c of the hollow stem valves and the flow when ported is great! Check out Advanced induction, TEA, and Texas Speed. 243's can be bought for $400 all day long here used. Get them ported, and you're ready to go! 241's are also very good, but not quiet as good as the 243's. 799's are the same as 243's but they don't have the hollow stem valves. The 862's and 706's are 5.3 truck heads, but flow amazing for what they are and typically can be had here for under $200. Any of the above places will port those castings and mill them to the specs you want with your cam setup.

A good driveable setup off the shelf would be a 228R or Torquer V2 from Texas Speed w/ any of the heads mentioned above ported and the typical bolt ons (good headers, cold air intake). It'll get you in the 420 wheel HP range and be a great driver. More aggressive setups will net you more, but drivability will be sacrificed.
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 10:26 PM
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Originally Posted by 427zm
I wouldn't work with the 806's. they and the 853's are bottom of the LS motor heads out there. The 241's, 243's, 799's, 862's and 706's will all get you to that power level when ported and installed w/ a nice driveable cam. 243's are the best of that group b/c of the hollow stem valves and the flow when ported is great! Check out Advanced induction, TEA, and Texas Speed. 243's can be bought for $400 all day long here used. Get them ported, and you're ready to go! 241's are also very good, but not quiet as good as the 243's. 799's are the same as 243's but they don't have the hollow stem valves. The 862's and 706's are 5.3 truck heads, but flow amazing for what they are and typically can be had here for under $200. Any of the above places will port those castings and mill them to the specs you want with your cam setup.

A good driveable setup off the shelf would be a 228R or Torquer V2 from Texas Speed w/ any of the heads mentioned above ported and the typical bolt ons (good headers, cold air intake). It'll get you in the 420 wheel HP range and be a great driver. More aggressive setups will net you more, but drivability will be sacrificed.
Not all 243's come with sodium filled valves, the LS2 243's didn't come with them. The LS6 243's came with them, usually came on Z06's etc. and are harder to find lol
317's, which are truck heads, are also the same as 243/799's, the only diff is the larger combustion chamber so if you go that route you will need to mill them quite a bit. Advantage to 317's is that they are usually much cheaper to get ahold of. Just some more fyi for the OP.
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 10:33 PM
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Originally Posted by v3n0m
Hey guys. Got to looking around at heads a lil bit, know nothing about them, and read somewhere that 241 heads were pretty good heads to work with and that my car may already have them since I have an 01 Ws6...So I go outside n pop the hood and I have 806 heads??? A buddy of mine told me that my car didnt come with those heads, why would someone put those on over whatever was on it. He also said my car should have an ls6 intake, he checked the casting number, 12561184, and said it was an ls6 intake and it is correct. Stumped as to why someone would change to a supposedly inferior head. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, its got me all freaked out thinking what else might be changed.
Very weird, but if they swapped the heads it was probably because they were able to get the 806's dirt cheap and threw a set on to keep the car running. That's my guess anyways, I assume the valve covers are perimeter bolt?
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 10:46 PM
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If your on a tight budget and want the best performance for the dollar I would just have a set of 241 heads ported with a quality 3 angle valve job. They will outflow 243 heads and you won't spend a bunch of money on just getting the casting. Or you can get some 243 heads and just get a valve job for a decent price, but 241 heads fully done up will still make more power for less money.
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Old Jun 17, 2013 | 11:26 PM
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Man, thank you guys so much for all the info!! 1bad98ls1, my thoughts exactly and yes they are perimeter bolt. Honestly I probably wont even be able to do heads and cam till probably sometime next year the way its looking as im saving for a Moser 9 atm, im just trying to weigh some options and get a plan together and stick with it.
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