Well my LS1 shortblock is done. I have sourced a 65,000 mile 2006 LQ4 longblock for $1200 locally that Im most likely picking up tomorrow afternoon if it seems like a good fit for my goals. This will be going in my 2000 WS-6 and the purchase will be based on feedback I receive here on weather or not its a good fit for my goals. I daily drive this car 100 miles a day on the highway with only 4 redlights to stop at. I average between 55-70mph for the entire trip and range from 1500 to 2000rpm when doing so. I would like a n/a bump in hp since Im spending money that I had set aside for a procharger or nitrous kit before this happened. I have several questions as this will be my first LS engine swap. Im wanting to get a little better cam then the gt2-3 that I have now that still gets good mileage and dosent eat valve springs for breakfast lunch and dinner. Something with a little chop that dosent hurt fuel economy when crusing in 4th gear with the converter locked at around 2000rpm which is where I do 90% of my daily commuting. This would be paired with my ss3600 stall and 3.23's of course. Would I be better off reusing my home ported 241's and having them milled or would the 317's be better? Would milling the 317's to bump compression be worth the cost of breaking the factory stuff down and having to buy new gaskets and arp head bolts? Opinions, Ideas?

 

So you drive this car year round and around a 100 miles a day on average?

 

yes. 4 days a week at 110 miles a day (55 miles one way) unless I work an extra day. Half on the highway at 60-65mph 1600 or so rpm and half on interstate 70mph 1900-2000rpm roughly.

 

To be perfectly honest i'd just keep it more or less stock (minus a few bolt ons) until you can do the blower. 110 miles a day with with a upgraded HCI and exhaust would really get to me after a while...not to mention the gas mileage lol. Just my opinion

 

So just reuse the GT2-3 cam in the stock LQ4 then? No head change to my 241's or milling of the 317's? I wonder what kind if any hp I might pick up by doing this? I was also thinking of a ON3 A/C kit if they are reliable enough for my goal. It might still be possible if I can keep this catastrophic bust to a minimum.

 

If money and time permit here's what I would do. Get the Lq4, pull the heads and oil pan, toss in a new oil pump, LS2 timing chain, Your GT2-3 cam, new lifters/trays, MLS head gaskets, ARP head studs. Have the 317's cleaned up, vacuum tested, and milled just bit. Then carry on saving for a Procharger, knowing the engine is plenty capable of handling some boost and no need to open her back up again.

 

I know it's probably too much work, but if I were in your position I'd source an LQ9 and sell the 317s to fund a set of 243s. Mill those, 0.040 gaskets, source a slightly bigger used cam and some LS3 injectors.

That will net you a much more responsive engine and get better MPG to boot (which will come handy on your 100 mile/day commute and quickly make up for the extra cost incurred).

 

Not a bad idea at all.

 

Nice... I talked on the phone with two of the most popular cam sponsors on here and they were telling me to just reuse my 241's as the 243's arent really worth that much more hp (roughly 20-25 in stock form) unless I spent they money to have them profesionally ported. My searching for that turned up between $800- $1000 and I just cant do that. I wonder how much more hp a setup like this would make over my current one? If the 243's were really worth it in stock form over either the 317's or my 241's I might go that route. I was thinking if I was gonna spend $400-$500 on a set of heads I might as well go with some LS3 or L92 heads. They should be able to use a much smaller cam than a comperable cathedral port head would need to make the same power and hopefully make more power under the curve, no? Im not shunning anyones idea and the more the merrier as Im about to pick up this engine this afternoon. I also am keeping an eye on the LS2 short/long block in the classifieds as an option but dont know if the extra $ is worth it for my situation???

 

$200 is not worth 20-25hp? In this N/A game, that is some of the best $/hp ratio you will EVER get.

They *might* make a little more power up top, but on a low compression stock cubed 6.0 they will be a dog down low unless you mill the crap out of them and get a tiny cam. The smaller port 243s will be much better for power under the curve and compression vs. a huge lazy port of the LS3s. Those need more cubes or more bore to really shine.

Your goals should be compression and torque based on what you do with the car.

 

Agree 100%. The dished pistons in the LQ4 make it difficult to get any compression out of the engine. Pair that with the 71cc chambers in the 317's or the 68cc chambers in the LS3 heads, and your talking less than 10:1 CR.

 

Im listening, preach on brother. How did you come up with 243's for $200 unless your counting on selling the 317's or my 241's to make up the diff between the $450 or so they will cost? I didnt think the 317's or 241's were even selling for $200 let alone $300. Maybe Im wrong? What size cam to go with? It has been suggested the LS2 street heat stage 1 or a EPS 222/226/113 would work great with the lq and my 241's milled about .020" but Im guessing the 243's would be even better?

 

Yeah that would be after selling your old heads. You can get $150-$200 for any of those and 243s go for $400ish. Heck, you might even want to look at 5.3 heads for even more torque and snappiness (at the cost of a few hp over the 243s).

The EPS cam would be great for your setup and goals, or even the Tick SNS 1 cam for LS2s. I have a variation of that cam, and along with heads, fast and injectors I have about 80 more rwhp than before but it drives exactly like stock and gets even better mpg than when I was on the stock top end. Throttle response is insane and builds great torque anywhere over 2k rpm which is where I am most of the time cruising around town or highway. It's very nice to be able to pass someone or get going without even having the converter unlock or the transmission downshift.

 

How much hp over the 243's would the 5.3's loose? Just install the factory 5.3's or ported vs stock 243's? What size stall you running with that cam?

 

They would probably make as much power as 241s, but the chamber is smaller so it's easier to get compression. And I believe the runners are smaller so would make more torque and snappiness. But still shoot for the 243s, they are plentyful around here and pretty cheap.

Running a 2600 stall with that cam and if you didn't know about it you wouldn't know there was a stall in there. But when you get on it it flashes nicely into the beginning of the torque curve provided by the baby cam and high compression.

 

Im thinking I should have went for a 300-3200 stall instead of the ss3600. Its fun and gets alot of attention at red lights but this being my first stalled car Im having second thoughts.

 

Going from 3600 to 3200 is not that much of a change. And with your driving style (eg. 99% highway) it's not going to make a lick of difference in your mileage.

 

Gonna do some parts hunting and try to toss all this around before pullin the plug on parts.

 

Well the LQ4 was a dead end so Im on the hunt again. Checking into a used 75k mile LS2 longblock and what it takes to make it work in an ls1 car.

 

If you can get the LS2 then just pop your cam/springs in there and be happy with great response and mileage. Sure the LS2 can take a much bigger cam and still be streetable with your stall but that GT2-3 is still a step up from the stock stick and it would fit your budget now while working with potential boost later.