lq4 build
lq4 build hello ls1tech fam. i have a lq4 sitting in the garage with no idea of what to do with it. currently im running a 5.3/4l60e in a '87 c10. its a streetable, daily driver, with no mods. i want the lq4 to a very streeetable beast(hot cam kit). any help with mods such as cam, heads, exhaust, will be greatly appreciated. so many combos/info coming with no real numbers. thanks.
if you can, get some 243 heads...maybe get some stage 2 243's and a FAST. unless your plannin on lowerin the compression, at that point get some 317's and get a thicker head gaskit.
FAST intake. I'm looking at building an LQ4. My plan is to leave the bottom end stock and go with the PRC stg 2.5 5.3l heads with an intake and a cam. Should be good for about 400 at the wheels at around 11:1 compression when it's all said and done. You can put quite a bit of cam in these things and still maintain streetability. If you want to save some money you could just give your stock LQ4 some headers and a cam and you've got a pretty stout street truck engine. Car Craft put a hot cam, a set of headers and a carb on a LQ4 junkyard motor and got something like 480 at the crank. They said that the edelbrock intake and carb setup they used didn't make a whole lot of difference performance wise. They did a later test where they put L92 heads on it and it made well over 500 crank hp. The downside to the L92 heads setup was all the power was above 4000 rpms which kinda makes it a track setup. I prefer to raise the compression and get the power down low for the street.
op.
keep your stock 317s, upgrade with ls2 head gaskets. do not use thicker gaskets. the lq4 alredy has .058 compressed gaskets. the ls2 gaskets are thinner than stock lq4 gaskets and improve quench and will offer improved power capabilties even with lower compression.
mill the heads up to .030.
spend your money on supporting bolt ons and tune. keep or find an ls6 intake with stock ported tb. fast is not necessary.
i suggest a lpe gt11 cam over the hot cam. this cam makes the 6.0s run very strong even with lower compression. dont let its low duration fool you. it performs very aggressive wot and drives excellent.
