Heads FAQ??
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Heads FAQ?? Patriot or LS6 Heads? Matching Cam to Heads? Just curious if there's any FAQs or reading material on heads, i.e., when too much flow hurts performance, or what happens when you use too much head on a stock cube motor? I'm also looking for info on whether I'll have problems using LS6 heads (243 casting) on my '00 Formula. Thanks.
Last edited by Spectator; Sep 28, 2006 at 11:09 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 127
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Wow, are there really no guides about what = a good head on this forum? If not, guess I'll just have to ask more specific questions.
I'm looking at two cam options:
-LS6 Cam
-224/224 114 LSA Cam
I need a smog-friendly cam, so 224's the highest I'll go. But my first priority is heads. I'm looking at:
-Patriot heads
-Stock LS6 heads
I was thinking about going the LS6 Cam/Head route because it seems like I can just buy a used LS6 cam, a set of used LS6 Heads, and probably get heads and cam in my car for < $1000. I'm assuming that I can use stock everything on the LS6 heads, and it'll be fine. Here's my questions:
1. Am I right in thinking that? Or should I really be replacing springs/rockers/lifters/pushrods even with just a tiny little LS6 cam?
2. Do I need to worry more about fine details like which year the LS6 cam came from? If so, what identifying marks/part numbers can I use to tell the difference when shoping around?
3. Can I get any LS6 heads, or do I need to worry about little things like what car and year they came from, whether they have the sodium-filled valves, and what identifying marks can be used to tell the different things apart?
4. Will all LS6 heads fit easily on a '00 F-Body? Or do I need to buy more stuff to get 'em to fit?
If I go with Patriot Heads and 224/224 114 cam:
5. Should I be looking at Stage I, II, or III heads? What are the important specs I need to look at to match it to a cam?
6. What chamber size/bore/intake and exhaust valve dimensions should I be looking for? Why do they matter/How do they affect the power curve?
7. Should I be looking for different specs if I use just an LS6 cam instead?
8. What extra components would I need for a good, clean install? (springs/rockers/lifters/pushrod/install tools/etc)
Also:
8. What heads should I be looking for if I stick with my '00 LS1 cam? Is a Patriot head too much in that case, or is ported always better no matter what?
Hope to figure out more about this stuff. Thanks.
I'm looking at two cam options:
-LS6 Cam
-224/224 114 LSA Cam
I need a smog-friendly cam, so 224's the highest I'll go. But my first priority is heads. I'm looking at:
-Patriot heads
-Stock LS6 heads
I was thinking about going the LS6 Cam/Head route because it seems like I can just buy a used LS6 cam, a set of used LS6 Heads, and probably get heads and cam in my car for < $1000. I'm assuming that I can use stock everything on the LS6 heads, and it'll be fine. Here's my questions:
1. Am I right in thinking that? Or should I really be replacing springs/rockers/lifters/pushrods even with just a tiny little LS6 cam?
2. Do I need to worry more about fine details like which year the LS6 cam came from? If so, what identifying marks/part numbers can I use to tell the difference when shoping around?
3. Can I get any LS6 heads, or do I need to worry about little things like what car and year they came from, whether they have the sodium-filled valves, and what identifying marks can be used to tell the different things apart?
4. Will all LS6 heads fit easily on a '00 F-Body? Or do I need to buy more stuff to get 'em to fit?
If I go with Patriot Heads and 224/224 114 cam:
5. Should I be looking at Stage I, II, or III heads? What are the important specs I need to look at to match it to a cam?
6. What chamber size/bore/intake and exhaust valve dimensions should I be looking for? Why do they matter/How do they affect the power curve?
7. Should I be looking for different specs if I use just an LS6 cam instead?
8. What extra components would I need for a good, clean install? (springs/rockers/lifters/pushrod/install tools/etc)
Also:
8. What heads should I be looking for if I stick with my '00 LS1 cam? Is a Patriot head too much in that case, or is ported always better no matter what?
Hope to figure out more about this stuff. Thanks.
