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Hi, my first post here very familiar with the LS world, my idea is to get your guys’ opinions on what I should do next to my build. I currently make about 450crank with my lq9 motor and want to make more power. Wondering what I should upgrade next.
I ASSUMED that, since no other was stated. That word gets me in SOOO much trouble... lol
I hear ya man lol. One thing I try to never do on here is assume. So many times a person leaves out important details, or simply doesn't think to include the whole picture. And leaving out one single detail can make a huge difference sometimes lol
Your next mod should be a set of TFS 220s as cast heads and a TBSS intake !! You'l make 450 rwhp of more.
Agreed 100%, heads and intake is what I was gonna say before I saw this. This is in a truck, a bigger cam isn't always better. It's already big for a truck.
The trick flow heads mentioned above are phenomenal and are lower cost than most. I'd do a better intake to meet the new flow requirements also.
Also looks like it may be a 3/4 or 1 ton truck too, so you need low end. You need compression and a cam suited to low end grunt.
00pooterSS- I have to agree with you since you brought up all the truck aspects, more cam is not a good idea. Better heads, with an intake that will feed it right, is the way to go. STILL learning over here! lol
Also- If the LQ9 is original, it's in an SUV or 1500 P/U. The LQ9 is regarded as a high performance version of the LQ4, and went into Escalade, Denali, Silverado SS and such
00pooterSS- I have to agree with you since you brought up all the truck aspects, more cam is not a good idea. Better heads, with an intake that will feed it right, is the way to go. STILL learning over here! lol
Also- If the LQ9 is original, it's in an SUV or 1500 P/U. The LQ9 is regarded as a high performance version of the LQ4, and went into Escalade, Denali, Silverado SS and such
All good man.
Hard to tell which model it is. It has a hydro boost brake booster which is a heavy truck thing (3/4 ton 1 ton), or an upgrade swap into a half ton. The motor could be swapped or the hydro boost. Either way it's a heavy pig and needs low end much more than top end.
I THINK the Vortec Max tow pkge for the 1500 had hydroboost as part of the pkge, but don't hold me to it.
But yeah, being a truck, it should keep as much low end as feasible.
I THINK the Vortec Max tow pkge for the 1500 had hydroboost as part of the pkge, but don't hold me to it.
But yeah, being a truck, it should keep as much low end as feasible.
I'm all for learning i'm wrong but I'm pretty sure none of the light duty 1500 vehicles got hydro boost.
I have one of those "special build" trucks like the SS and the VHO that used 4wd frames for 2wd trucks and mine has the big tow package (additional trans cooler, wiring, receiver etc) and upgraded brakes (dual piston rear calipers and different rotors) and mine is not hydro boost. That doesn't speak for them all just because mine is the way it is, but it's an example.
Oh OK, then I stand corrected! I just remembered the Vortec Max pkg. had a bunch of HD items, and figured Hydroboost might be one of them. I guess not! lol
Yes, my truck is a 2006 2500HD, so are you guys saying i should get a lower end cam, and the 220 TF heads, do they come with different springs and better valves? I dont see why a TBSS intake would be needed when i already have a truck intake i know these flow very well. What cam should i get to match the TF220 heads if i go that route? I was considering getting a 3000 stall converter i know i need it badly. it does have stock 317's heads from the lq9
Agree with the TFS heads. Should work well with the cam you already have
If it's going in a truck and you are going to tow, I don't know that stalling it is a good idea. I guess much of this depends on your goals. Are you willing to sacrifice low end torque or do you need to retain it? If you're willing to give up low end, then by all means, 3200 stall and 232/240-112+2. If not, I would stick with what you have, upgrade the heads. A few other ideas that would not require the effort wrenching...
If you're still on a clutch fan, switch to electric fans. Electric water pump. The meziere unit is good for 2000+ hours, which is in 100K mile territory. Those two mods will help down low AND up top.
Upgrade your valve springs to psi1511 and do some 1.8 rockers on that cam. Hell, gearing it more in the rear might be a good decision
Oh OK, then I stand corrected! I just remembered the Vortec Max pkg. had a bunch of HD items, and figured Hydroboost might be one of them. I guess not! lol
Actually it had zero HD items. It was the same as an SS truck. Mine is the same as the SS and VHO but has a 5.3, mine is a super rare bird. It is ALL 1500 truck but uses a 4wd frame in 2wd configuration for the torsion bar suspension (gm calls this the high performance suspension) and it had a 6.0 engine and a 4L60/65 trans. The big trucks got 8 lugs, lower compression 6.0, 14 bolt full floating axle rear ends, beefier suspension, 4L80 transmissions, hydro boost etc. Some of the vortec max and SS trucks came with a bigger rear end in later years but it was a 14 bolt semi float axle design not full floater like the HD trucks with 8 lug got.
Originally Posted by Josh Kaye
Yes, my truck is a 2006 2500HD, so are you guys saying i should get a lower end cam, and the 220 TF heads, do they come with different springs and better valves? I dont see why a TBSS intake would be needed when i already have a truck intake i know these flow very well. What cam should i get to match the TF220 heads if i go that route? I was considering getting a 3000 stall converter i know i need it badly. it does have stock 317's heads from the lq9
All truck intakes flow well, but the later truck intake and TBSS intake had 90mm throttle body openings and are a little better than the early intake. If you have the money get a FAST intake on there.
A slightly smaller cam may provide more low end but what you need will be determined by the stall too. A lot of truck guys want low rpm grunt, if you get a stall you'll blast right past that super low rpm anyway on the way up to the flash point of the stall. The stall will help that low rpm launch tremendously. I think if you do a stall you could keep that cam and do the heads. There will be cams that could be a little more optimized but then you're buying another cam. So that one can work especially with a stall. But get some small chamber heads to bring the compression up with some good heads an you'll really wake that beoch up.
If you are happy with the characteristics of your present cam, keep using it, and put the TrickFlow 220 heads on it, and a TBSS manifold if you can find one.
The TBSS intake manifold seems to flow even better than the regular truck unit. Hot Rod Mag did a comparo of a BUNCH of cathedral intakes which included the units mentioned, and the TBSS unit flowed significantly better than the truck unit. The better heads and intake will allow the cam to really do its stuff and up the power a good amount.
Looks like 2 others beat me to posting, but I will leave this here anyway.. lol
Agree with the TFS heads. Should work well with the cam you already have
If it's going in a truck and you are going to tow, I don't know that stalling it is a good idea. I guess much of this depends on your goals. Are you willing to sacrifice low end torque or do you need to retain it? If you're willing to give up low end, then by all means, 3200 stall and 232/240-112+2. If not, I would stick with what you have, upgrade the heads. A few other ideas that would not require the effort wrenching...
If you're still on a clutch fan, switch to electric fans. Electric water pump. The meziere unit is good for 2000+ hours, which is in 100K mile territory. Those two mods will help down low AND up top.
Upgrade your valve springs to psi1511 and do some 1.8 rockers on that cam. Hell, gearing it more in the rear might be a good decision
ALL of this
Good points man
Stalling and towing is bad, but if it's a toy I say stall it.
I'm sure it's suffering a little bit right now with a stock stall and that cam, but more compression and better heads may just completely over come that.
The electric fans is a big one too. I took a front end wiring harness out of a 2007 truck and cut all the wiring except the fan wiring out and the relay and fuse block for the fans clips on to our existing fuse block in the OEM location. Then pin your ecm for the 2 control wires and have a file loaded into your pcm to control the fans. That's what I did. Then I ordered the larger radiator required to run the 07 truck fans and got a fan assembly from the scrap yard. My electric fans are full OEM setup and controlled by the PCM. It's pretty sweet. The fans and radiator all bolt right up to existing bolt locations too. No modding needed. Being an HD you probably already have the bigger radiator needed for the newer truck electric fans.
It has 4.10 gears in it. I already upgraded the clutch fan also, these valve springs were rated to 8k what benefits would i get out of upgrading them. I dont tow with it at all. ill go with the 3200 stall. TFS220 heads 5/16 chomolly pushes and my valve springs unless you think they arent good enough. would changing up my cam upgrade it that much? my current cam only has 1000 miles on it cost 350$ id upgrade it if really needed.
It has 4.10 gears in it. I already upgraded the clutch fan also, these valve springs were rated to 8k what benefits would i get out of upgrading them. I dont tow with it at all. ill go with the 3200 stall. TFS220 heads 5/16 chomolly pushes and my valve springs unless you think they arent good enough. would changing up my cam upgrade it that much? my current cam only has 1000 miles on it cost 350$ id upgrade it if really needed.
Worry about the cam later, it should be just fine man. And only worry about it later if there is something you don't like about it.
You can get the TFS heads dressed or bare. I believe the springs that come with the heads are rated for .600 lift so you should be good.
Springs are rated in lift usually.
Upgraded the fan clutch? If you're using a clutch get rid of it and get electric fans and free up 20-30 hp roughly. Possibly more.
Watch the engine masters episode on youtube where they test fans.
It has 4.10 gears in it. I already upgraded the clutch fan also, these valve springs were rated to 8k what benefits would i get out of upgrading them. I dont tow with it at all. ill go with the 3200 stall. TFS220 heads 5/16 chomolly pushes and my valve springs unless you think they arent good enough. would changing up my cam upgrade it that much? my current cam only has 1000 miles on it cost 350$ id upgrade it if really needed.
Comp 918 have a reputation is all. Also, the psi 1511 are about 20g lighter PER VALVE. Those with Titanium retainers will take a POUND out of your valve train, which is huge for control and stability. Mission Critical? not really no, but I think it'd be a solid improvement for the long haul for your motor. The rest of the points, 00pooterSS said what i would say.
Originally Posted by 00pooterSS
Worry about the cam later, it should be just fine man. And only worry about it later if there is something you don't like about it.
You can get the TFS heads dressed or bare. I believe the springs that come with the heads are rated for .600 lift so you should be good.
Springs are rated in lift usually.
Upgraded the fan clutch? If you're using a clutch get rid of it and get electric fans and free up 20-30 hp roughly. Possibly more.
11-29-2017, 01:30 AM
6.0 LQ9 looking to upgrade from 450hp+ 
