wheres all the lq9s?
collectively ive done about 3 hours of reading and searchin around for someone who has done a build close to what i want to do and cant find much.
last week i almost bought an ls6 shortblock to build but then i started kickin around the idea of a lq9..... then i started searchin and cant really find anything to impressive yet
my goal is to make atleast 500rwhp. id be happy at 500 but theres nothing wrong with a little more
but cant decide between a ls6 or lq9 only from what ive seen so far,
id figure a lq9 with a big ol' cam either shelf cam or spec'd out from pat g or so, along with a ported FAST intake AFR 215 or 230 heads with a small combustion champers pulleys throttle body to match the FAST long tubed and full exhuast....of course ARP all around and big injectors maybe some different pistons
are you just not going to see 500rwhp with that or not? all i can find is people using stock heads and such
would a lq9 have to be stroked or bored or both to see these numbers?
or is it gonna be the same as doing all the same mods to an ls6 with give or take 20-30 hp ?
last week i almost bought an ls6 shortblock to build but then i started kickin around the idea of a lq9..... then i started searchin and cant really find anything to impressive yet
my goal is to make atleast 500rwhp. id be happy at 500 but theres nothing wrong with a little more
but cant decide between a ls6 or lq9 only from what ive seen so far,
id figure a lq9 with a big ol' cam either shelf cam or spec'd out from pat g or so, along with a ported FAST intake AFR 215 or 230 heads with a small combustion champers pulleys throttle body to match the FAST long tubed and full exhuast....of course ARP all around and big injectors maybe some different pistons
are you just not going to see 500rwhp with that or not? all i can find is people using stock heads and such
would a lq9 have to be stroked or bored or both to see these numbers?
or is it gonna be the same as doing all the same mods to an ls6 with give or take 20-30 hp ?
The hp over the 346 will not be any thing huge but torque will be up quite a bit, and every little bit helps if you dont want to be disappointed in the end.
I would run the stock bottom end if I were you, but you could do a cheap rebuild with scat rods and a good piston.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
yes thats why im researching lq9s because i want to go bigger and figured itd be easier to make what i want to make to the wheels out of an lq9 instead of a ls6
and the lq9 gives me room to grow later. (i.e. stroker and or bored or boosted or blown)
for the record i dont mind about paying 2000 for aftermarket heads, thats why i made this post to find out whats gonna yeild best results without parts almost being at their limits.
was hoping for input from people with aftermarket heads and such what results, and also opinions on what brand or size head is going to be the best choice
and the lq9 gives me room to grow later. (i.e. stroker and or bored or boosted or blown)
for the record i dont mind about paying 2000 for aftermarket heads, thats why i made this post to find out whats gonna yeild best results without parts almost being at their limits.
was hoping for input from people with aftermarket heads and such what results, and also opinions on what brand or size head is going to be the best choice
yes thats why im researching lq9s because i want to go bigger and figured itd be easier to make what i want to make to the wheels out of an lq9 instead of a ls6
and the lq9 gives me room to grow later. (i.e. stroker and or bored or boosted or blown)
for the record i dont mind about paying 2000 for aftermarket heads, thats why i made this post to find out whats gonna yeild best results without parts almost being at their limits.
was hoping for input from people with aftermarket heads and such what results, and also opinions on what brand or size head is going to be the best choice
and the lq9 gives me room to grow later. (i.e. stroker and or bored or boosted or blown)
for the record i dont mind about paying 2000 for aftermarket heads, thats why i made this post to find out whats gonna yeild best results without parts almost being at their limits.
was hoping for input from people with aftermarket heads and such what results, and also opinions on what brand or size head is going to be the best choice
Well I can tell you that right now I'm putting together a forged lq with trickflow 225s, yellow tera rockers, fast 92/92, 230/238 .618/.618, 11:1 underdrive pulley, kooks 1 3/4, 42 lb injectors, ect.
This is going into a true daily street car 3700 lbs hence the smaller cam for power under the curve.
Car has a A4 3600 stall so I'm not looking for a huge dyno number here(If I had to guess I'd say 460-480 on a dynojet), but my real goal is to dip into the 10's and possibly 9's later on spray.
I feel that cylinder head is one of the most over looked items in a build because of the cost associated with it, but if you want a good running setup this is not a place that you want to skimp on. A good cylinder head is where most of the power is at.
You should read this if you haven't already.The thread is fairly old so its much easier to do now with the bigger intakes and better deigned heads, but a great read none the less.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...heads-cam.html
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: Va Beach
I dont know about the rest of the ls world, but (at least according to ls1gto) the record holder for ls3/l92 heads with a stock 6.0 bottom end is 487 rwhp.... so I would expect you're going to fall somewhat short of your goal with them. Im not knocking on ls3 heads though...500rwhp with a 6.0 bottom is going to be difficult regardless. OP, if you make 500+, you're going to be squeaking it out
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You won't get the best results with a set of CNC'd heads that anyone else can get. Those heads are based off a port someone did by hand, and chances are that head porter kept plenty of tricks up his sleeve or has learned some new tricks since making that port.
Here are a few recommendations:
Greg Good
Curtis Boggs
Ed Curtis
Dennis Wheet
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
i agree 100%, many people over look it
stroking the engine isnt out of the question, just was going to see what # i could possibly make without a stroker..... i guess not too many people have built these engines, i thought there would be more build references.
Last edited by HAte; Mar 4, 2012 at 01:08 PM.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 111
Likes: 1
O intsresting,boggins,I just found a few lq9's on here makin a little over 500 to the wheels with stock bottom end and ls3 heads.......id like input from experience internet forum hopping doesn't warrent that. Thanks to everyone with good input so far
Staging Lane
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: Va Beach
I never said there weren't stock bottom-end LQ9's making over 500 to the wheels... but whether they have square port heads, or cathedral port heads, I think you're going to find perhaps 10% of stock bottom-end (all motor) 6 liter's make 500+hp, and 90% make less than 500hp, unless of course you're running race gas.
You said yourself:
Building a 6 liter engine that has a stock bottom-end, can run on pump gas, and makes north of 500rwhp without a power-adder is going to be difficult, and certainly you're going to end up "squeaking by" 500. If you add more cubes it's a whole different ball game, but that's not stock bottom-end.
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,503
Likes: 177
From: ELSA, South TEXAS (956) 802-7700
l92 intake is dyno proven to make about 10 hp over ls3 intake. l92 intake can still be ported to get a few hp more.
ls3 heads best bang for buck and if you want a combo to build on and expand on such as a stroker in the future and dont mind spending extra money on $2-2300 heads, it would be cheaper to just go ahead and get stroker kit and use ls3 heads to begin with and be happier
for less $.
some to think about.
i got lq9 and ls3 heads. self porting my l92 intake to use with fast 92 tb. looking at using eps 226-234, 598-602, 113+4 cam which pat g recommended. will be using harlan sharp trunion upgraded rockers and lighter ti reatiners. headers and all bolt ons. to go in a 72 nova project. unfortunately, lost my job, so project is on hold but in mean time porting my intake and then plan to work on the ls3 heads exhaust to improve flow. hoping for 465-475hp which should be plenty for the nova
ls3 heads best bang for buck and if you want a combo to build on and expand on such as a stroker in the future and dont mind spending extra money on $2-2300 heads, it would be cheaper to just go ahead and get stroker kit and use ls3 heads to begin with and be happier
for less $.some to think about.
i got lq9 and ls3 heads. self porting my l92 intake to use with fast 92 tb. looking at using eps 226-234, 598-602, 113+4 cam which pat g recommended. will be using harlan sharp trunion upgraded rockers and lighter ti reatiners. headers and all bolt ons. to go in a 72 nova project. unfortunately, lost my job, so project is on hold but in mean time porting my intake and then plan to work on the ls3 heads exhaust to improve flow. hoping for 465-475hp which should be plenty for the nova
