heres my build come spring when I get it dyno tuned ill post the results.


LQ4 .030 over 370"
Forged pistons 11-1 final CR
eagle 6.125 rods
fully ported 799s
custom cam by my builder 228/234 600 lift 108 LSA I wanted it choppy
LS6 intake w Ported TB by 408 ta
TSP 1 7/8 headers and Y pipe through a borla exhaust
42# injectors
Stock block,crank,rockers, and pushrods if they work.

 

a built 370 like that is an apples to oranges comparison to my stock bottom end 364.

I'd be interested to know what you wind up with though. any reason you're sticking with the ls6 intake? Seems like you're going pretty large with everything else. Seems like that'd be a choke point on an otherwise built engine.

talked to TSP some today, got sort of a plan Y we'll see.. it's certainly cheaper. Will it reach my goals? Well no one can say... it certainly SOUNDS reasonable..

the bottom end of this motor is staying stock. Because the way I see it.. if one single thing in the bottom end has to be changed.. I want the entire bottom end machined and rebuilt with a new rotating assembly. It's either all or nothing. I thought about doing that with a 408 stroker kit, but I don't think it's necessary, and some people have said that strokers have a shorter lifespan. Maybe I'll save that for if/when this bottom end gives me trouble in the future.

 

Only reason im using the ls6 intake is I dont have the funds for a fast at the moment having more than one hotrod can get expensive. I know the intake will kill some power but its easilly changeable later, I also think if you could get the compression up on your stock motor you will make plenty of power. Have the heads milled and look for a thinner headgasket, some minor port work on the heads an a decent cam, youll be surprised.

 

Two questions... what year lq9's will work... and what flywheel is needed for it to bolt up to a t56

 

Any year lq9. 01-07. Fbody or c5 flywheel and clutch assembly

 

So an 01-07 lq9 I can drop in with my ls1 oil pan/dipstick and tube and windage tray... my ls1 crank pulley...

and a ls7 clutch kit will work

Sorry I ask so many questions... I'm using my phone to do most of my surfing
thanks

 

right, the only thing you need to be concerned with really with an engine swap in so far as a direct drop in is keeping it in the gen III range. For Lq4/9 they didn't really go through the changes the 5.3 did to switch to the 58x reluctor wheel or changing the block casting to move the cam position sensor or the knock sensors like the ls2/3 gen IV did, so it makes it a bit easier to do.

AFAIK any Lq4/9 should work for you. As some have mentioned here the LQ motors had a slightly longer crank and used a different flywheel. (did any of them come with a manual behind them? dunno..) but as far as I know.. its just a matter of bolting up your ls1 parts in that respect and it should go right in.

That's what I'm planning for the short term anyway. I have an 80e flexplate, but if I want to get this motor in before I see 5 more birthdays.. I'll have to run it on the stock 60 for a while I think.

 

They did come with a manual option (92-07 2500/3500 trucks), NV4500, RPO MT8 or MW3. I'm pretty sure if it's a 6.0 with one its MW3.

 

I'm 99.999% sure mine was an 80E that was behind it. Seem to recall the yard guy telling me he just sold it. (if he would have had it.. I woulda got both at the same time..)

I wonder how common the manual LQ4 trucks were and what differences there would be. That'd be an interesting detail for those looking to do this swap.

obviously the motor itself is the same, but what flywheel they use and it's compatibility with T56s and 80es would be an interesting note.

 

I meant if you have a 6.0 with a NV4500, it's RPO MW3 and not MT8 (I think MT8 was used until 95ish). MW3 and MT8 have different gear ratios. If yours had a flexplate when you bought it and not a flywheel, it was a 4L80E.

 

So this "option Y" thing I was talking about..

here it is:

TSP 228R cam
PRC 215s @ 59CC chambers
fast 102

whole top end would run around $4k.

Would it be worthwhile to try to source a set of AFR 205s or 210s @ 59cc instead of going with the PRCs? I'm not really on top of flow numbers and the science behind it.. but I know that "more=better." and AFR seems to outflow anything else on the market that I've seen so far.

The PRCs run low $2000s and have springs on them. A "new" set of AFR 205s @ 59cc would run about $2300 or so with no springs, so going with the AFR setup would incur about $600 or so extra cost. If that's a 50whp difference it's worth every penny. If it's 20 or 30..eh.. maybe not.

 

Are you shooting for a dyno number, or actual track performance?

 

Street performance and a dyno number. The track is like 3 hours from me and I'd just break parts if I went there.. so I'm not really concerned with it.. though it may be nice to get a time just to find out.

the car needs to be fun to drive, and meet my power goals while still being fully compatible with the ins and outs of year round street driving.

 

I was asking because, for me, I could care less as to what the chassis dyno said, as long as the trap speeds are there. I've seen lots of cars with plenty of HP, but the car couldn't get out of its own way because the combo wasn't there.

 

Did some "studying" I guess you could say. Spoke with bob at brutespeed, spoke with the guy at modular (sorry forgot his name.. I'm real bad with names..) talked to chris at HPS about some boost options.. decided against going with boost. It's kind of cost prohibitive. I mean you talk about a $5k-7-10k entry point, sure it gets you 500-700whp easy.. what am I trying to do with that kind of power? Do 180s at traffic lights? It won't do me any good to have more than 500, so I'm not really going to worry about that.

found out the hard way sunday when leaving autozone that my crappy indonesian made tires don't do well when it's near freezing. Some jerk in an suv sped up when I pulled out so I had to gun it, surprisingly, the rear tires slipped and I wound up fishtailing.

If these tires can't hold 293hp on a cold day.. they can't hold what I'm building.. so I suppose in the long run new tires and possibly rims for wider tires will be a must for this thing.

I'm working with Tony with AFR at the moment. He has a good deal, I'm just trying to save up the money to drop. I know I keep saying that.. and I "have" the money.. but you don't spend $5 when you only have 10 if you know what I mean.

I don't believe in credit, I don't have any cards.. so all my purchases on this must be in cash. Makes this slow going.

Tony's real helpful, I suppose I'm in the market to borrow or buy a deck bridge and a gauge to determine the quench on this motor.

I suppose I need to look up how to do that, since I have dished pistons. Do I measure this from the dish? or from the rim around the dish? I imagine this LQ4, despite it's rebuild, is in spec with a stock motor in this manner, but better safe than sorry.

I'm also trying to figure out whats needed to actually put this thing in the car. Ya know I spend and spend on this and get ZERO enjoyment for my investment as time goes on.. it can be discouraging (as you well know.)

I'll probably wind up with a cam too "hot" for the stock converter. If I do that I need a new one, but I'm not certain if a 60 and 80 converter is the same. If it is I can buy one and run it on the 60 while I wait on the 80 swap, as that'll be it's own multi-thousand dollar investment. If it's different.. well then it'll be all that much longer before this engine fires.

So.. what's left to actually buy:
*a new cam since my 233/239 won't cut it (cam's for sale. a guy has dibs on it but we haven't exchanged money or info or anything yet.)
*intake (fast 102)
*TB (102mm)
*any maf/intake supporting parts needed to make the 102mm TB work.
*heads
*head studs
*head gaskets
*fuel rails
*fuel injectors
*fuel pump and sending unit. (may as well since we gotta drop the tank and pull the others out.)
*headers
*Y pipe (catted. I don't like the loud obnoxious popping sound a catless car makes, and I don't particularly like loud cars at all unless it's like a cutout that you can toggle..)
*muffler (just because stock one is restrictive and the tips are torn up.)
*motor mounts
*misc bolts and other parts.

When all that's said n done I'll either attempt to assemble this myself, or have a shop do it. I originally was gonna dive in on this and just figure it out.. but now I'm spending so much money on this project.. I'm kind of scared of screwing it up and costing myself close to $10k.

Then I have to have it installed.. which I unfortunately can't do at my home myself, and couldn't drive it anywhere if I did.

some time between now and april or so I'm going to have to break down and buy a new a/c compressor and other a/c components, or the car will have to sit all summer. That's a good $800 out of my fund for this as well.

does it normally take everyone this long to build up a simple motor build? Maybe I'm just impatient.

 

WOW. You are a like a fart in a wind storm!

One thing you need to realize when talking about your shortblocks and long blocks is parts dont always add hp. A forged crank will not produce anymore hp than your stock. Same with rods etc.

I have no doubt that if you listen to Tony you will hit 400hp. One thing to also realize is peak hp isnt everything. Say your ls1 made 293 at 5000 thats great but how often do you have it at 5000? what if it was only 150 at 2000? A 6.0 is a good stump puller. You should have no issues "beating people" i think a N/A is totally the way to go. A pro charger or turbo or anything like that isnt really meant to be ran for hours at idle or barely above. I also dont think you will absolutely need the 80. You are really over thinking it.

Get a decent set of heads. the one thing nice about going with the AFR is 1. They hold their resale value. 2. Tony is great to work with. 3 if you get the 215s and decide you want that 408 stroker. GREAT they will still work. There is nothing worse than an over cammed engine. If tony says it is all wrong it probably is. You read articles look at the numbers. Just because yours is a "stock" lq4 doesnt mean your power cant be like theirs. The only limiting factor on yours is compression. Other than that no parts you change will really add power (more than 1-5hp) so you can make those numbers. Just get on path and stick with it. you will be MUCH happier. Good luck

Oh and i would measure on the highest part of the piston and the dish. That will tell Tony how much dish there is AND how much the piston is in the hole.

 

cool. Yea I've never used (or even seen) a deck bridge before, but I figure it can't be THAT hard to use. I just gotta come up with the cash to buy one. I tried to rent one from autozone but they didn't have one to rent.

This part seems irrelevant at this point however, as this deals more with the head gasket than the head itself. I don't think it will slow me down on buying the heads.

it's just ironic tho.. $650 bottom end.. $5000+ top end. most people do it the other way around on here.

 

UP top?? what do you mean?? got any pics or instructions?

 

Not trying to poo-poo your build at all, but have you looked at the GMPP L92/LS3 heads? Incredible performance for the price. Since you will need to buy a cam and intake, you won't be stuck with any "extra" parts.

 

I don't think that'll be a good option for an LQ4. The 72cc heads combined with the dished pistons will give for a poor compression ratio, specially with a cam. It'll be something like a 9.4:1. And milling those heads to any type of good compression ratio will kill PTV clearance with the huge intake valves.