Originally Posted by Rbernsdo

Hey guys, ive been searching and finding a million different responses for someone looking for aftermarket heads on their ls1's, I feel like I'm getting no where. Let me start out by saying I am learning, so go easy haha!


Got my car in November (1998 T/A M6) Bone stock California car, was suppose to be getting married in April, she left and is now the town bike, so my money is beer and racecar accordingly.


So far here is where I started;


MSD wires Save the money and get regular wires. Too many making huge numbers on stock wires
Iridium Plugs Again get the cheap NGK TR55 plugs I've personally seen almsot 600whp on them
Slp Lid Great lid but others can be had cheaper that will perform the same
SLP CAI and Bellow Get the Chris1313 or whatever ram air scoop and skip the bellow unless you go speed density
Ported TB
1 3/4 Armor Coated Pacesetter LT Dealt with these before. They shortly rusted. Pay less and get the speed engineering 1 7/8 right out of the gate
Texas speed ORYGet the matching Speed Engineering ORY. Exact same as TSP but I believe still cheaper
SLP LM1 Cat back Will be a raspy **** with cam and ORY. I suggest a cutout for loud and an SLP Dual/Dual that will fit stock and sound amazing
Comp Cams 216/220 114 LSAAfter reading issues I would get a different cam company to make a cam a little bigger. Something into the 228 range will drive great with tuning
Comp Cams SpringsBTR spring kit. Enough said
Double roller timing setLS2 chain is more than enough. No need for a double roller
ASP 25% UnderdriveDitch this. Too much negative for not much positive from the research I did
Comp Cams Trunion UpgradeCheck in the new product section for the new release on a better option
Trick Flow Chromoly 7.4 pushrodsDon't order these until you know the length you need
New oil pumpGet a ported LS6 or a Melling pump
EGR and AIR Delete
Tick Performance stage 2 rebuild with new mainshaft and Viper 2nd gearUnless you need the rebuild or are planning insanity in the future skip this and get a standard rebuild. If you want or need more get a TR6060 for an fbody
160 SLP thermostat
Yukon Rear diff (wasted too much money for 9" right now) Don't waste time and money on any upgrades for a 10 bolt unless they are gears and you can install them yourself


new gaskets all ARP bolts for everything etc...Stock gasket kit and china headstuds if you really feel you need to go studs. IMO don't bother with rod bolts. At your intended power you don't even need headstuds.


I know I need a better intake, ill have one soon enough (always sold as soon as they are posted) eventually go with Fast intake and TB, but I'm looking for a mild head upgrade. From what I've read, the 853's are paperweights, $2500 is too much for me to spend, and bolting on some 243's straight up will do little as a direct bolt on.


I've seen the PRC Stage one combo, it looks great, but the flow is all I'm really understanding at this point being a newbie, there are so many different options for valves and calculations to do. Could someone break down into kindergarten terms what exactly I'd be looking for?


I'm not building a monster, but I'd like a fun streetable cruiser, hence the smaller cam. With that said, I'd eventually like to compliment the beginner set up I have going on here. I know I already am going to need a tune, I'm probably going to dive into the HP tuners, I've been trying to learn it for a month or so now, hoping to have a novice grasp on it. I'd love to push close to 400 to the wheels right now, and I'm hoping a little better flowing head with an ls6 intake would bring me around that for right now. I'm not looking to buy right this second, but hopefully late summer early fall before I deploy again. Is there any head that I can retain my springs, rockers and pushrods with as well?


Any advice would be greatly appreciated!



P.S. my entire PCV system was disintegrated, from the valve cover to the throttle body, anyone know where I can get the entire system? I found the tubing but cant seem to find everything together. Not going to a catch can right now, just need to finish it up to get it tuned and driven this may hopefully!

Thanks,


Ryan

Originally Posted by Rise of the Phoenix

There is a set of Advanced Induction fully CNC'd high compression 219cc 241 heads for sale on here. Compression would be 11.8:1 and would work well with that cam and other mods. That is assuming you can get 93 octane.

Originally Posted by TXZ28LS1

OP,

Drop your money on PRC 5.3 heads and TSP 224/224...done!

Fun, reliable, daily driven street car..


Remember these motors are damn near 20 years old. Keep your setup simple.

Originally Posted by 1bdbrd

See bold for my opinions on this. Also didn't see any mention of lifters. I'd suggest new ones while its apart.

Originally Posted by Rbernsdo

Thanks for taking all the time to reply, honestly. I should have been more descriptive. I currently have this list of mods.

MSD Wires- Wires were shitty, had a summit gift card
Iridium plugs- Had a gift card
SLP Lid- with the last two, free shipping was cheaper than buying one outright from another brand.
SLP CAI- again, paired with other stuff from summit, free shipping added up lol
Pacesetter LT- Never had an issue with these, performed great on friend's LS1's no rust issues
Texas Speed ORY- Didn't know about Speed Engineering, from what I've seen an ORY is an ORY
SLP LM1 cat back, i actually love the rasp, its not a daily driver, all the soundbites I've heard, i liked this setup the most!
216/220 cam- I actually considered this as a entry level, plus i'm planning on using it on a 5.3 when i get the cash and will go bigger in the future if this doesn't work out for my setup.
Springs- From the research i did, most springs are actually made by the same brand, same springs, i know they are cheaper, but i just went with comp cams entire set up and bundled it for a discount
ASP Pulley, I've heard so many good and bad, my pulley was pretty beat up no clue what from, but figured id give it a shot.
Pushrods- talking with techs, this is what they recommended from my setup
Oil Pump- actually to a telling pump
Tranny- second gear was worn, rebuilt for the future
Rear end- spiders were shot, teeth in the pumpkin, 200 for spiders or 400 is for yukon, seems logical for my time frame and budget
Bolts- this motor has been rebuilt, they re-used all the bolts, i figured while i went in the motor, might as well get new bolts (cam, cam retainer, water pump, oil pan etc...)

Again, thank you, I think my setup will work for what I'm looking for, friday night cruising with a little more snort, i might have paid a little too much for some parts, but its already bought and installed, if anything, i know what to look for next time. I usually have summit, jegs, ws6 store, speed inc, texas-speed, tick performance and a couple others up side by side comparing and reviewing for hours, now i have a couple more brands to compare to for the future! the girlfriend hates me for my time on the screen, but racecar things ya know...

Originally Posted by Darth_V8r

As to beer recommendations, may I suggest four peaks kilt lifter?

Originally Posted by Rbernsdo

Though noble, I must adhere to my bud light (budget issues)