ls1 to ls6 conversion
 

has anyone used gm ls6 conversion on their ls1,i was thinking about doing it and just wanted some input

alot of money for minimal gains...

what are your goals??

do you need emissions?

I bought the GM heads / cam LS6 package and have been waiting for the weather to install. If things go right, I'll have something to tell you.

It is not worth it IMO, but if you already bought it I would sell it. Or you could buy a different cam and change the springs on the new heads and you would probably see so decent power.

are we talking intake or pcv?

go to texas-speed.com.....they have head and cam packages.....you could get 440+ rwhp....instead of 405 fwhp.....for cheaper

"are we talking intake or pcv?

good point...

an "LS6 conversion" could mean:

intake manifold
pcv system
or
the entire head/cam/intake setup

which are you refering to....i was assuming the h/c setup

I assumed he meant convert the LS1 engine to an LS6 engine. That could consist of heads, cam, springs, intake and possibly valley cover / PCV.

There are cam-only setups making 30+ more HP at a fraction of the cost.

For 2K you can do a mid range aftermarket cam and a set of stock valved ported LS6 heads and easily do 425 HP with the correct setup. This could retain decent street manners and drive circles around a stock LS6 motor.

I did ls6 heads/cam in my buddys 01 ss...the only reason we did it is because his oil pump shit the bed and while its apart why not...his main goal was to gain some power,keep drivability like stock and use all gm parts....he spent 1800.00 on the package which included everything he needed... with no tuning it went from a consistent 13.1-2 to 12.50 on bfg gforce radials and no other mods except an slp maf not too bad for a car that is gonna be driven 10k miles around the country and still get 30mpg while doing it and 90% of people will scratch their head when they look under the hood and see a stock airbox.....the best was the kid with the 05 procharged GT that we slayed by 3 cars easy and we had 3 people in the car

You nailed it exactly ws6on19s. I bought the GM kit for my 01 for $1100. Nothing exotic, just a plump 70 hp and all the reliability of a stock motor as it uses the stock exhaust and will pass e-check. As you know, it is all bolt up stuff.

With the money saved I bought all the parts I need for a nitrous wet system for those rare moments that I really want some power. It has warmed up here so the car goes up tomorrow and with a little luck I'll have the coolant drained and the radiator and fans out.

i just got mine torn down to the short block in about 4 hours on sunday...good luck with it

Wishing I had your experience - this will take me a while.... I've done the research with a complete step by step printed out. I even picked up some Comp 7.400 chrome moly push rods. Found little hints like using a shop vac on the water pump to pull the coolant out of the heads before they come off and moving the brake vac boost line so as to not whack the oil pressure sender when moving the intake forward. Removing the fans from the radiator makes it much easier to pull up and out. The crankshaft pulley has me a little concerned.

Some other things have been accumulated but here's where I got most of the information: http://ls1howto.com/index.php?article=2

Do you have anything to tell or warnings that you can think of? Thanks.

Appologies to 98MNBZ28 if you feel your thread has been hijacked but it still should be in interest of your topic.

LS6 conversion motor here
A4, small verter, 3:73
ran 12.03 last fall
doing a pulley this spring to hit 11's
All with internals from the general

all gm parts
no driveability issues
good sound with near stock idle

WS6on19s is talking about my car. The LS6 H/C package is the way to go if you want extra fun with 100% drivability. I love huge cams and burbling idles but my car is a driver which I take on many trips. The car has pulled cam/header cars that have quite a bit of duration and it picked up about 1 mpg. Plus street racing is ALOT more fun when you pop your hood and even the GM guys have no clue of its mods. Im sure GM did alot of reaserch on this set up before putting it in the vette. It also pulls very nicely to 6500 with no fear of valve float or bent push rods due to the hollow valves. This mod also can also make that much more power if you decide to upgrade the cam in the future since the heads flow about 30cfm's more than an LS1.

-I wish I did the Vacuum tip, removing antifreeze from the head bolt holes is not fun. Very time consuming and getting to the rear bolt holes is a bitch.
-I also ripped the oil press wire off. LOL Ops, soldered it back on.

-have a friend help you remove the fan and radiator, it comes out in half the time.
-The crank pully is a bitch as well. I used a crapsman puller, but im sure there is a better tool.
- this conversion took a total of 45 hours. We spent ALOT of time on scrapping the head gasket material off the block. Get yourself about 3-5 of those little razor blade scrapers. They work mint and cost about 70 cents a piece.

-Dan

01LS6SS,
I have a few questions for you regarding the LS6 conversion:
1. What mph were you trapping at before and after the conversion in 1/4 mile?
2. Did you lose any low end torque? I'll have to search and find torque curves for both.
3. Where is the cheapest place to get the parts for this conversion? I'm looking to get the GMPP on just like you did except I'll need the intake as well since I have an '00 Z28.

Thanks,
Jim

I bought my parts individually. I have just under $1100 in parts. I bought a set of 3,000 mile LS2 heads for $500 and a used intake for $325. The $1100 includes a new timing set, oil pump and LPE cam. If you decide to go the individual route, let me know. I have all the part #'s and some gasket sets the will save you some $$$. THE LS6 cam is about $125 less than the LPE.There are new heads out there for under $600 and new intakes for under $400, if you want all new parts. SO you will still be in the $100-$1200 range.
BTW, the LS2 heads do not have sodium filled valves, but the are 243 casts with the LS6 springs.

awesome sleeper set up
plus 100 shot (hidden kit) and i spooge my pants

also NEVER EVER have to swap out valve springs... every 10-15k THAT SUCKS TO DO!!!

TIP FOR GETTING COOLANT OUT OF BOLT HOLES!!!

PM me and i tell you :)

also drain the block from pass side above the starter for less mess

Tools Needed:
-3/8 ratchet
-12 inches of extensions 3/8 drive.
-3/8 drive 5/16 allen socket to remove passenger side plug.

-1/2 in ratchet
-1/2 in extensions (12) inches worth.
-1/2 in drive 17 mm allen socket to remove drivers side plug.

Parts Needed:
-Liquid Teflon Pipe Sealant
-2 Gallons Dexcool Antifreeze
-2 Gallons of Distilled Water

Step 1
On the pass side there is a plug that lies flat just above the starter between the starter and the block. You'll need the 5/16 allen socket to remove.

You may have to add the extensions together to get to this plug, when you do leave the ratchet off for now and "lightly" tap on the extension when the allen socket is inserted in the plug to jar it loose.
You should not have to remove the starter for this but if your having a hard time getting the plug out or in, just set it aside.


Step 2
On the drivers side towards the front there is a 17 mm plug that is on a slant that goes with the slant of the block.
Same goes here, just tap on the extensions with the allen socket inserted to loosen and then remove.


Step 3
Now you are ready to install the plugs. I put some teflon pipe sealant on the threads and the flat sealing suface of the plugs and threaded them in and snug em up.

Step 4
Step 1, 2, and 3 were done after you drained the radiator and antifreeze overflow bottle.

Step 5
Refill system with 50/50 mix of Dexcool antifreeze---not the green stuff/bad for aluminum!
Thats it, top it off and fill the overflow bottle to the full cold mark and close all tops.

And Make Sure You Do This While Motor Is COOL

1.) Before the conversion I was trapping 106-107. After the conversion I was hitting 111mph almost every run and I may have squeeked out a 112 once. Note-this is with a restrictive stock airbox.
2.) Absolutly no loss in low end torque. Im sure I picked up quite a bit. Dont forget the LS6 cam intake duration is 204, which is great for torque.
3.) I bought the summit kit for $1799. The LS6 intake used to be $400, but I noticed the brand new price has gone up. The kit had most everything, but I did have to buy GM exhaust manifold gaskets, and a $20 timing chain. I re-used the timing gears cause they looked mint(36K miles).

Additional notes. I dont think the LS2 heads have hollow intake valves either which might hurt high RPM stability. I did use the hypertech power programer. I bought it mostly to remove the rev-limiter, but I have to admit, their "tune" did create alot more power. I think this is mostly due to GM's weak timing curve under 3500 rpm's. You WILL NOT be dissapointed with this set up. I spin mine up to 6600 in first with no problems on a daily basis, although at the track I shift any gear after 1st at about 6200 or 6300. The extra winding at the track doesnt seem to improve 1/4 mile times.

-Dan