What the title says .... could I get away with just a good set of rod bolts?

 

i assume you are putting together a head and cam combo that requires to go that high in the rpm band? rod bolts are a good idea. prayer is a better one. no stock lsx rotating assembly will love long at rpms that high. factory specs are too loose for that.

 

Ya the highest I would rec. is 6800 til you build the bottom end.

Nate

 

Would the rod bolts help out any?

 

Yes, ARP rod bolts will help by replacing the weak link. The GM engineer that designed the LS1 said the motor could run all day at 7000 rpm, but oil film thickness at that rpm would cause acelerated wear. In practice many people have gotten away with it, yet other people don't. It must depend on whether you got lucky and got a motor built with the right tolerances from the factory.

Once you upgrade the rod bolts, the next weakest link will probably be the rods, so a set of forged rods would be a good idea as well.

Personally, I would upgrade the valvetrain also with some stiffer push rods, roller tip rockers, and some good valve springs.

 

I'd do rods bolts, main studs and spin it. That's what we did.

 

Rarely have I heard of a need for upgraded rockers.

 

ATI super-damper.....smoother revs will lessen the need for a tow.

 

Cal probably didn’t mean to but his wording implies that upgrading the valvetrain is optional – it isn’t.

 

This is all based on a cam swap. I don't think the 5.3 would make it to 6500 on a stock cam before it started to float.

Do you think 918's would be sufficient with .54 lift?
I'm not real worried about the rockers though ... ya .. they could be changed, but I think the stockers will be OK for a little while.