et gain's with heads ....
Maybe with a 4.8l on boost with a good head like a 243 it doesn't make a big difference, or maybe a stock LS1 intake is choking the heads or something, but take a NA application and the rest of the world's experience is different than your's.
Maybe with a 4.8l on boost with a good head like a 243 it doesn't make a big difference, or maybe a stock LS1 intake is choking the heads or something, but take a NA application and the rest of the world's experience is different than your's.
As far as the op's comment, if you have built multiple cars but never seen a set of heads pick up at the track then you're just lost plain and simple. Or have never had a working timer at the track. I really dont know what else to say lol
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I know there's a lot of variables but I'd like to hear your combo and what you picked up. Thanks
Thunder already showed what happened to his injectors. More air=more fuel= more hp= better track times. The reason no one has head only swap numbers is because 99% of people do a cam with heads so its H/C gains. The main reason companies quote numbers is because dynos take variables out of the equation.
You're running at a track where cars weigh different, have different gearing, maybe theres a headwind etc. All those things can skew mph gains. Instead they can quote dynos around the country that all report between 30-40hp. Those factors still come into play but not nearly like they would at a track. If one dyno says it gains 30hp from a certain head then it might be wrong however if there are hundreds of dynos around the country reporting 30-40hp, then my bet is that it ACTUALLY gains that much.
Unless you find someone who knows what they're doing and keeps a lot of slips noting the DA it's going to be difficult to gauge results.
I've also seen cars with "ported" heads locally go waaaay slower because someone went hog wild. Sure, they flow "over 330cfm" but the hack job porting killed the velocity to do it and the car goes slower because they have a poor overall setup. A good port job can get around that 300-310cfm mark but retain enough velocity to make power.
It's not much different than a small cam car running faster times than a big cam car because the guy with the huge cam still has 2.73 gears, a 2800 stall, and a 28" tire in a full weight car but chose a mod meant for a max effort drag car.
Here's a perfect example of how a well setup engine can make killer power with what most would call a mild setup. Do you think a cam only 346 will make 490rwhp and be just as fast as this car?
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...-490-rwhp.html'
I mean sure, you can put a big enough cam in an engine and make as much power as an engine with a smaller cam and aftermarket heads. But the latter will drive much better and be more efficient. Plus you can then put a much bigger cam in that setup and blow away the first one.
Last edited by redtan; Dec 10, 2014 at 02:42 PM.
The cam is like a pump trying to suck up water where the heads are the pipe. I the cam aka pump wants more air than the heads can provide, and most all cams want more than stock head air then there will be a restriction. Bigger heads is like getting a bigger pipe ie less restriction.
Take a car with a set of cleaned up or hell wen stock 243s and a 230 ish can and put it up against a car with an ms4 and go from a dig. The ms4 car will get destroyed. Why? Because it makes no torque down low and probably isn't better up top at all thanks to the 243s on the other car. Head not only help out up top where they REALLY serve their purpose is generating mid range tq and power
I would definitely rather have a head/cam car making 440rwhp than a cam only car making 440rwhp. Because I can pretty much guarantee you the head/cam car will drive better and be more fun off the track due to under the curve power.
You definitely have valid points. But my experience differs. If I weren't switching short blocks to a ls2 soon I could provide even more once more porting is done on my heads...but the shortblock change will add compression and cubic inches so it won't be apples to apples.

