5.3 heads.... GURUS
5.3 heads.... GURUS I have a friend who has some 5.3 heads... He told me that if i take my 5.7 heads off my car and bring them to him that he will swap the valves and springs and everything and put them in the 5.3 heads and i can walk out the door with them for 300 dollars... That a good deal? What are the advantages of 5.3 heads on a pretty much stock ls1 w/ minor bolt ons... like ls6 intake and headers to a 3 inch x pipe with dynomax bullets.. Any horsepower gain? Any information will help!
P.S. should i just buy new valves and springs? Stock? Aftermarket? if so, wat kind? I dont know anything about heads as you can tell...
P.S. should i just buy new valves and springs? Stock? Aftermarket? if so, wat kind? I dont know anything about heads as you can tell...
Man as far as I know the only advantage of STOCK 5.3 heads is the smaller combustion chamber (bump in compression). Unless they're p&p/run on a cnc program I doubt they will flow any better than your stock heads.
From what I've learned on this forum, the only worthwhile STOCK casting upgrade are 243's/799's (same head). I'm going with a set of Texas Speed's cnc'd stock castings. The PRC 5.3's and the Stage 1 243's are right around 1k bucks.
so getting them would be just a waste of 300 dollars except i could say i have 5.3 heads 
lol... ? I am ready to step up in the game cuz i have had bolt ones for about three years now n i want something major... done all the free mods too but its time to stop being a cheap ***! lol
lol... ? I am ready to step up in the game cuz i have had bolt ones for about three years now n i want something major... done all the free mods too but its time to stop being a cheap ***! lol Well if you want to step it up to the next level, it's cam time in my opinion. You can do it for about 1k bucks, can keep your stock heads (just need new valvesprings). And if you're really serious about stepping it up, do heads and cam all in one. Probably a little over 2k (could vary alot depending on what you do about heads) could get you a mean street car. Cam, heads, valvetrain, gaskets, oil pump, t/c and gears, probably injectors, etc. Also, don't forget about a dyno tune in the end! All depends on your cash.
^^ didn't read this lol
Yeah not worth the time/effort. If you're wanting more power it's probably time for a cam swap. Probably around 1K to get everything, then you'll want a tune.
Yeah not worth the time/effort. If you're wanting more power it's probably time for a cam swap. Probably around 1K to get everything, then you'll want a tune.
Ya I think imma do a cam swap! Wat I will need is new valves, springs, n rods! And a tune at the end? I will be getting some 4.10'a here soon! Everyone says I won't even notice the 3.73 from the stock 3.42's
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do your heads first. why spend 1k on a cam kit when you can get a decent set of heads for 1k or 1.5k??? you will get more hp gains from heads anyways. and they come complete only makin your future cam install that much easier. look at texas speeds page ---------->
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Verdad Gallardo call some sponsors and talk to them. cuz all your gonna get here are bias opinions from people that have only done a cam swap and noticed the increas of power. a cam should be your last install. if you have full bolt ons already than do your heads and a cam swap after. and dont use your stock heads for machine work. dont go *** backwards into your project cuz a big cam sounds cool. just cuz its loud doesnt mean its fast. you need all supporting mods of a cam or your just gonna be choking the cam. so buy a complete set of heads so you dont have to put on new valve springs twice. heads are the way to go and if you dont believe me than call some sponsors or talk to a knowledgeable engine builder.
call some sponsors and talk to them. cuz all your gonna get here are bias opinions from people that have only done a cam swap and noticed the increas of power. a cam should be your last install. if you have full bolt ons already than do your heads and a cam swap after. and dont use your stock heads for machine work. dont go *** backwards into your project cuz a big cam sounds cool. just cuz its loud doesnt mean its fast. you need all supporting mods of a cam or your just gonna be choking the cam. so buy a complete set of heads so you dont have to put on new valve springs twice. heads are the way to go and if you dont believe me than call some sponsors or talk to a knowledgeable engine builder.
Why not do it all at once if you can??? you will defintly not make more HP gain from a stock bolt on motor HEAD swap. A large cam will yield gains far greater than some of the most expensive head options. I have a MS3 with stock 241 heads with 410 rwhp. Find me someone that has stock cam with a head swap pushin those numbers and let me know.
Those 5.3 heads will compliment the increased air flow that the cam allows to be dumped in the motor nicely. Especially with a cam like mine (ms3) or most "big" cams, that has quite a bit of compression loss or bleed off due to the degree of overlap. My set-up is begging for a set of P&P 5.3's or AFR 205's.
I think ya'll should drop in the internal engine section of this site and do some reading from guys that know wtf the are talkin about like Tony Mamo and Predator Z and a few others i cant think of off the top my head before giving advice. No offense
As far as your set up though....
Pick a cam package that suites your needs/wants
Snag those 5.3's and spend a couple hundred on a nice port job to flow with the cams characteristics.
I would also definetly go with a Melling 10296 or a Ported Ls6 from Texas oil pump. and if you plan on going with a cam that likes to spin your motor all the way up to or past 6800 rpm like most worthy cams do, id order a set of ARP rod bolts pronto. and while you got the heads off drop a new set of lifters in.
With that and your mods you already listed... should be looking around 450-460 rwhp. Time to get a clutch too lol
haha id like a set of these magical heads too please! I think the title said GURUS, not GOONS Belive it or not this actually helped me! Instead of doin one or the other imma do both heads n cam! It'll take longer but I think it'll be worth it to do everything at once n make everything match up! I am def gonna look into wt u said stangbeater! U pretty much gave me a foundation to start this project on... Like I said I don't know much about intervals so watever info y'all have I am all ears!
good to hear. Once you get closer to the build feel free to PM me any questions or concerns. Im no expert by any means hell im only 19, but i have built several motors now for my car now and dozens of dirt bikes... like most of us we are learning. Its just important, especially on the net, to not feed advice unless you can back it. Problem #1 with false info on the net.... #2 is Wikipedia lol
also when it comes time to port those heads... RESEARCH your machinist, and have the head flow with the cam. If the top drag racers bought heads like most guys on these forums do they would never win! Dont just pay attention to peak flow numbers, you dont spend that much time there... its all about making power under the curve where you will actually use it.
Good luck with your build.
also when it comes time to port those heads... RESEARCH your machinist, and have the head flow with the cam. If the top drag racers bought heads like most guys on these forums do they would never win! Dont just pay attention to peak flow numbers, you dont spend that much time there... its all about making power under the curve where you will actually use it.
Good luck with your build.
Last edited by stangbeaterz28; Jan 20, 2010 at 07:22 PM.