I have a 2002 formula ls1 t56 with slp lid pacesetter long tubes ory and borla catback. The car is a daily till I.decide to buy a civic to replace it. But by mid to late summer I want to do a heads cam swap and will be na only. I am lookin to try and hit about 450 to 500 wheel. What do you suggest I go with. I called texas-speed and someone suggested a torquer 3 cam with 215 prc heads.

i want 450 to 500 as a ballpark for "dyno numbesr" cause i would like to try to run mid to low 11's on heads cam if i do the setup

 

i think you will never get to 500 rwhp n/a with the stock ls1. 450 is a bit more reasonable. do some searches in the dyno results section. that will give u multiple build threads and ideas so that u can come up with your game plan.

 

I'll give you the best piece of advice now. First getting to 500hp can be done,but only with the best of everything. But,the big advise is if you want real power,power to make the car move you need to invest in a great set of heads like AFR or trick flow cnc heads. They cost more then a budget set of heads but thats not for nothing. I have had two sets of budget heads and two sets of top heads(a set of afr and a set of trick flow)And the heads are worth it. I juse last year removed a set of cnc ported budget heads where i made 530hp. i installed a set of trick flow heads where i still only made 530hp on the peak. But,i gained more power and tq under the curve and went 2.5 tenths faster with a much slower 60 foot. Good luck with your build.

 

243 heads can make 500rwhp, just not budget ones... If the right people touch them they will make the power....

 

Yea a friend is tellin me I should go with afrs but im not coin for the heads touched by god but a great set of afrs and im still wounderin what cam I should go with but I would be happy with anything between 450 to 500.
I also have done the searches for what people are runnig for there setups but.figured I would get some other peoples inputs

What is the setup on your car?

 

ls2 block,Trick flow heads,fast intake,custom cam,ect. My ls1 ran close to 10sec n/a at very close to stock weight and i'm 230lbs car was over 3,700lbs and i had AFR heads at the time. I'm still 3,480lbs car and near mid 10's n/a now. I'm not talking about hp numbers,like i stated my budget heads made the same as my afr heads but i gained 2.5 tenths. my 60's went from 1.44 to the trickflow combo i only went 1.55 so i lost a tenth on 60foot gained 3mph and 2.5 tenths. One more thing about your numbers you are talking about. I dyno on a mustang dyno,when i went to this dyno from a dyno jet i lost 25hp with no mod changes only a dyno change. If you don't like the price of the afr or trickflow then don't buy them, remember you get what you pay for....period. almost forgot,my boy has a camaro ss and he also went through the budget heads before he went trickflow too. so i have see the results of budget heads on his car too. he now has a 500hp 383ci ls1 that runs 10's n/a.

 

Yea I understand everything your saying from the heads to the dyno. Was your ls1 stick or auto.

 

TSP PRC 215/227 heads.fast 102 intake.custom cam by Patrick-G.for exhaust.good dyno tuner.

 

450 should be pretty easily attainable with a decent cam, head, FAST combo.

 

why do you suggest the prc 215?

 

I'm in the same situation as the OP. LS1/T-56 looking to make 450-500 NA. My plans so far include some 243's that I'll have my buddies machine shop fix up for me, undecided cam, and somewhat undecided intake (either a FAST or LS6).

Would a nicely done set of 243's/Custom cam/FAST or LS6 intake make that kind of power with a good tune?

 

My car is a m6,12 bolt 4.11's and a steel drive shaft. So far the prc head have not been around and proven much to be in the same mention as a AFR or trickflow. Most everything i see so far my ls1 with a AFR head has made more power and tq with a little 205 head. I have not seen any tracktimes and weight of cars to say the prc head is anything more then a budget head. Time will tell as the produck get around to see how good it really is. For the people buying them i hope they are a great produck and better then just a ported stock budget head. I know AFR and TRICKFLOW are.
Let me give you this since you guys only talk dyno numbers. My first combo i went to speed inc and got tuned,it was a budget head,224 cam and a ls6 intake combo. it made 423hp 407tq on their dyno jet. I took the same combo to a different dyno jet close to town to spray the nos to see if everything is ok. On the motor same combo and a dyno jet it made 395hp 380tq. what?? nothing was changed. I then went to a mustang dyno and got 370hp 350tq. So as you talk numbers you can see they mean nothing. my old set up ran only 12.1 @115mph when it dynoed 423hp and the same after it dynoed 395hp. you can get a number but for me it's how fast my car will perform at the track. I have stomped guys who dynoed at 580hp when i dynoed at 530hp. If all you want is a number,then tell the opperator to inflate them so you feel good. Ok guys,i have nothing more to say here. if you want to ask anything pm me. If not,good luck with your build my friend. ALSO,i am not bashing prc heads. if they prove them selves i will put them in as a great head to buy like i do with afr/tfs. They are still too new to have the results to know how they are.

 

yea i know what you mean numbers from a dyno mean nothing a friend took his car to the dyno recently and maxed out 750cc injectors on 15 lbs with meth and 100 oct race and only made 680 on there dyno. im looking for a heads combo that would make around 450-500 wheel or in track times prolly 11.3 to 11.5 range and i would be very happy but thanks for all the input mike c, you helped alot and if i have any questions ill be sure to pm you.

 

True, Prob good head, just not marketed as much per marketing dynos....

Unfortunately thats what most people talk since horsepower is sexy to most..... The marketing gurus have tried to make engine dynos or chasis dynos as a set standard as dyno variables can be manipulated to be set to run if these set or manipulated conditions were present vs actual conditions... the great "WHAT IF" the DA was this, the temp was that, the elevation was this...... Vs actual conditions....... aka Correction factor....

As many do here, some to sell certain products.....


OP do not get caught up in the marketing hype...... heads are not the sole majic to making power, its the complete combination....

Bozz

 

Yes I know the heart to making great power is having the perfect matched heads and cam to make the power I want just haven't called around enough yet to get a good idea of what I should be looking for.

 

just a starting point for learning about heads.AFR and trick flows are all great heads to!

 

Check my sig. I did a little over 450 SAE to the tire with at 228 cam and I did all the wrenching.

 

Tony M. combo is proven ,he has done alot of dyno testing.do what he recommends and it will work.he knows his babies.

 

I don't know about the 530rwhp on the 346ci ls1. I'd have to see dyno chart. My buddies vette a lot of people claimed NA 346ci was some of the best numbers they had seen. 464.8rwhp / 438.9rwtq. That's patriot 243's, fast 102 w/90mm TB, headers, hi flow cats, borla Fatback, bbk cai, torquer V.3, fast 40lb injector(I believe that's the size) and a tune. We did the wrenching and the motor only had 8k original miles. LS6 BTW. So I think full bolt one w/ big cam, fast intake, & a good tuner you can see mid/high 400's but over 500? Maybe on race fuel.

 

As said above dyno numbers are not everything. Mid 450s can be done but your talking about a lot of cam for a daily driver. I would settle for low 400s with a mild cam that gives you good torque down low and power up top and is a lot more street friendly. Your going to need a good tune, headers, good flowing exhaust, and i would suggest a LS6 intake at a min.

I think it may be possible to reach 500 on a stock bottom LS1 but as said above its going to take the best of every thing and would not be somthing you would want to drive every day on the street. HUGE CAM, aggressive tune, FAST intake, injectors, very open exhaust, T56, small rear end that will not live long under that power, and as much timing as you can get away with.