before a chev enthusiast blows life savings,one simple question.is the PP LS6 head the best head/$$$$ spent.this is a good flowing head and has room later for upgrades if 450 rwhp gets boring.cost is the key???? any help thks. as a h/c swap with the bits & pieces cost high dough!! [but rewards are great]

 

I say go with the PP ls6 head. It's a proven design and there are plenty of satisfied people on this board with them. I believe (gomer) has 451 rwhp with them. For the price u can't go wrong either.

 

Yes, the PP "LS6" head is a good head. As with any head, is results vary. Who's to say what the "best head for the $$$" is. For the money, IMO I'd go with AS S2 or TEA S1.5, both under $1600. AS S2s and TEA S2s are regularly putting down 450+ with as much if not more regularity than the PP "LS6" heads are.

Talk to Brian from TEA, Jay from AS (both of which I have dealt with and have treated me excellently as I'm sure Terry from Patriot would). Call the porters, and pick who you feel comfortable with, all of the products seem to be about equal. When choosing, I personally wouldn't worry too much about long-term plans, as the AFR heads are coming out soon, and who knows where LS1 head technology will be in a year or two, the heads you buy today will probably be severely outdated by the time you want to upgrade.

Good luck, Shawn

 

I put down 430 rwhp with Absolute speed stage 2s...5.3s at that...My car is an auto

 

I tend to agree with Spanky on his TEA & Absolute comments.

 

you cant go wrong with TEA's, Absolute, or Patriot. They all make great products and all have great customer service

im very happy with my patriot 5.3's and terry is a great guy to deal with. you should call all the guys on your list and let them sell you on their heads

 

Another vote for AS . They cost less and make more power

 

 

well said Shawn,i have to get a head outright as from canada,so $$ ??

 

If you are wanting a head without a core charge and a head that will provide great performance... Why not choose a patriot 5.3 stage II from Texas Speed for $1,295 complete and with NO core charge. There isn't a deal out there that can touch that right now.. and not to mention they have the heads in stock and can ship them out within a day. I ran a set of 5.3's with my little TR220 and made 416rwhp. TSP has some cars makeing over 440rwhp with $1,295 outright 5.3's and their TSP231/237 cam. You could buy one of their "packages" and save even more money. Heck, you could get your heads, cam and other stuff cheaper than you could buy someone elses heads. IMO

 

Good point. I'm sure the other sponsors heads are making great power. But No core charge and a cheap price is tough to beat especially If u don't want any down time for ur car and worrying about spending that money for the core charge that go to the install price.

 

How do you figure they make more power?

 

I am running a set of Stg. 2 TEA's and love them. I gained 40hp with just the heads through my 12 bolt.

 

I figure fine thanks

I must be missing all the 450-470 patriot setups.

HAve you seen them?

 

 

soooo,the extra 500 is not wise money spent for the ls6 head???

 

It is according how "hard core" you are going. If you think the extra 7 to 10rwhp is worth it or you have plans for a stroker/big bore motor in the future.. then yes it is worth it. But if you are going to run a 22x duration cam and stay stock displacement.. maybe you would be better off spending the $500 somewhere else. I got the LS6 style because I'm going to do an all bore 388 this spring and I only wanted to buy heads once. Either way, you can't go wrong. Like I have said, there isn't anything out there that can touch the value and price. Call up three or four places and get their TOTAL price and how long it will take you to get your heads, then make your decision.

No matter who's heads you end up going with you'll be happy. I feel like all the heads from the board sponsors are within 10rwhp of each other and the variances are due to the cars themselves. Every vendor on here offers a quality product, some are just more realistically priced than others.

 

Jermey, I'm sure nobody here is getting into that " who's heads are better" thread. That's old now. I think it's great that competition is keeping everyone on thier toes. Who does that benefit, us!! We all get a better product for a cheaper price than ever before. I'm sure there are Patriot set up's put there with over 450 rwhp. Not everyone posts on this board. I'm certainly not knocking any vendor here. I think they all make great heads. In my experience with the PP 5.3's, I'm happy to gain 45 rwhp with them with my "small" cam which I might replace. I went with them to be different also. As far as the LS6 heads go, there great if u plan on really going all out with the engine or making a stroker out of it.

 

with the heads go a cam,pushrods,oil pump,timing set,arp head bolts,head gaskets & engine,fuel injecters and the tune.will have to do some work on the phone for this one. start with TSP and work out from there.thks for some good advice.

 

keep in mind when thinking about the PP ls6 heads, they might have the same flow numbers as the absolute's S2 and the TEA's S2 but they use a big 225cc intake port to get that flow, which could cost some low end torque. thats what I liked about the Absolute heads they use a 209cc-214cc and still get awesome flow.