A little advice?ported 243s and ls2 intake or ls3 heads and intake?
02-20-2013, 02:29 PM
#1
A little advice?ported 243s and ls2 intake or ls3 heads and intake? I'm trying to figure out the best bang for the buck for my ls2 build, I'd like to get some opinions;
I've got an ls2 intake and some ls2 243 heads. The plan was to send the heads off for porting and to port the intake myself, then put an aftermarket intake on when I can afford one.
I've thought about going to the ls3/l92 heads for a while. Stock castings seem pretty affordable and the intakes can be had for very cheap and are very good.
The engine will see 90% street use. I want a lot of low end power. That's my goal.
What top end combination would be best?
All opinions are welcome
I've got an ls2 intake and some ls2 243 heads. The plan was to send the heads off for porting and to port the intake myself, then put an aftermarket intake on when I can afford one.
I've thought about going to the ls3/l92 heads for a while. Stock castings seem pretty affordable and the intakes can be had for very cheap and are very good.
The engine will see 90% street use. I want a lot of low end power. That's my goal.
What top end combination would be best?
All opinions are welcome
02-20-2013, 02:35 PM
#2
cathedral all the way. LS3 stuff is good, but IMO on 4.0 bore the valve shrouding and limited room for ptv clearance and milling isnt worth it.
the cathedrals with a fast intake would make every bit as good of numbers, and especially lower in the rpm range.
the cathedrals with a fast intake would make every bit as good of numbers, and especially lower in the rpm range.
02-20-2013, 02:59 PM
#3
What made you decide to go with the ls3 heads rather than cathedral port heads? Just curious...
Thanks for the advice
02-20-2013, 03:41 PM
#6
The ls3 heads are ok, and a lot of people go to them because of the flow.
But what they dont consider are these points.
Limited ptv clearance
Limited room to mill because of ptv clearance, without flycutting
Valve shrouding
Although they flow a lot, if you compare a ported ls6 head to a ls3 you will see the numbers are similar, but the ports on the cathedral heads are MUCH smaller. That in turn gives better air velocity.
But what they dont consider are these points.
Limited ptv clearance
Limited room to mill because of ptv clearance, without flycutting
Valve shrouding
Although they flow a lot, if you compare a ported ls6 head to a ls3 you will see the numbers are similar, but the ports on the cathedral heads are MUCH smaller. That in turn gives better air velocity.
02-20-2013, 03:54 PM
#7
The ls3 heads are ok, and a lot of people go to them because of the flow.
But what they dont consider are these points.
Limited ptv clearance
Limited room to mill because of ptv clearance, without flycutting
Valve shrouding
Although they flow a lot, if you compare a ported ls6 head to a ls3 you will see the numbers are similar, but the ports on the cathedral heads are MUCH smaller. That in turn gives better air velocity.
But what they dont consider are these points.
Limited ptv clearance
Limited room to mill because of ptv clearance, without flycutting
Valve shrouding
Although they flow a lot, if you compare a ported ls6 head to a ls3 you will see the numbers are similar, but the ports on the cathedral heads are MUCH smaller. That in turn gives better air velocity.
or is it just helpful all around because the air is traveling faster?
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02-20-2013, 05:50 PM
#11
The ls3 heads are appealing because of their flow numbers, and they are CHEAP.
The ls6 heads flow just as good when they are ported. (Ported ls6 vs stock ls3)
Porting the ls3 heads would obviously have even more flow, but the runners are even larger at that point, and chances are that for most people, they wont be able to use all that flow.
Theres nothing wrong with them, they are great heads, especially for a factory head. But on smaller bore motors 4.030 and less) I think cathedral is the way to go.
The ls6 heads flow just as good when they are ported. (Ported ls6 vs stock ls3)
Porting the ls3 heads would obviously have even more flow, but the runners are even larger at that point, and chances are that for most people, they wont be able to use all that flow.
Theres nothing wrong with them, they are great heads, especially for a factory head. But on smaller bore motors 4.030 and less) I think cathedral is the way to go.
02-20-2013, 06:54 PM
#13
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results from my 243 advanced induction 226 heads. i was going nuts trying to decide between LS3 or ported LS2 heads. obviously i decided to go ported LS2...
heres my numbers. Im running a ported LS2 intake and throttle body as well. I should also note this is in my M6 05 GTO
pre AI head with predator cam 230/230 .612 .612 114= 434/392
AI 226 ported heads, Lunati cam 227/235 .619/.626 114 +2a= 475/409
green line= headers/CAI/bassani only
blue line=added predator cam/UDP/SVEDE/ ported TB and LS2 intake.
red line=AI heads, Lunati cam in place of predator.
heres my numbers. Im running a ported LS2 intake and throttle body as well. I should also note this is in my M6 05 GTO
pre AI head with predator cam 230/230 .612 .612 114= 434/392
AI 226 ported heads, Lunati cam 227/235 .619/.626 114 +2a= 475/409
green line= headers/CAI/bassani only
blue line=added predator cam/UDP/SVEDE/ ported TB and LS2 intake.
red line=AI heads, Lunati cam in place of predator.
Last edited by psycho1000r; 02-20-2013 at 07:16 PM.
02-20-2013, 07:07 PM
#15
TECH Enthusiast
Wow, a lot of over generalizing info here, but I do not feel like arguing.
OP:
If you go with ported 243's: A.I.(Advanced Inductions)
LS3's will also work just fine and you can make power, you just have to know what your doing . But this is a heavy cathedral port community site.
OP:
If you go with ported 243's: A.I.(Advanced Inductions)
LS3's will also work just fine and you can make power, you just have to know what your doing . But this is a heavy cathedral port community site.
02-20-2013, 07:14 PM
#17
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cathedral heads are old school now compared to the new ls3s especially when you get into valve sizes. nothign wrong with cathedrals but if you ever decided to buld lets say an ls3 or possibly a stroker you wouldnt need to get another set of heads. one of my buddies runs lsa heads on a 100% stock besides a gt9 cam 6.0 ls2 with a pt76/75
02-20-2013, 07:27 PM
#18
cathedral heads are old school now compared to the new ls3s especially when you get into valve sizes. nothign wrong with cathedrals but if you ever decided to buld lets say an ls3 or possibly a stroker you wouldnt need to get another set of heads. one of my buddies runs lsa heads on a 100% stock besides a gt9 cam 6.0 ls2 with a pt76/75
02-20-2013, 07:29 PM
#19
Wow, a lot of over generalizing info here, but I do not feel like arguing.
OP:
If you go with ported 243's: A.I.(Advanced Inductions)
LS3's will also work just fine and you can make power, you just have to know what your doing . But this is a heavy cathedral port community site.
OP:
If you go with ported 243's: A.I.(Advanced Inductions)
LS3's will also work just fine and you can make power, you just have to know what your doing . But this is a heavy cathedral port community site.