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New to this What’s going on guys and gals.
wanted to know if any of u guys had a good opinion on my setup have a 6.0lq4 with ls3 heads milled to .030 Holley hi ram 102 tb 4c stall headers 4.56 gears back and front full e85 built 4L70 and I was wondering what would be my next step to get more horsepower out of it with out going turbo on it
wanted to know if any of u guys had a good opinion on my setup have a 6.0lq4 with ls3 heads milled to .030 Holley hi ram 102 tb 4c stall headers 4.56 gears back and front full e85 built 4L70 and I was wondering what would be my next step to get more horsepower out of it with out going turbo on it
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Grand Rapids, Michigan
What cam do you have? Is this a stock shortblock? If you're running factory dished LQ4 pistons, I can tell you that your compression is nowhere near high enough to take advantage of E85 fuel. You're probably around 9.8:1 and if you're looking for max power, you should be around 12.5:1. You'll have to install new pistons to make that happen. What RPM do you turn this to? If you're not running a cam to turn 7500-8000+, that Holley high ram is slowing you down. Factory style intakes with longer runners will always beat a high ram up to around 6500 RPM or so.
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Teching In
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Cam 230/238 630/615 lift TSP What cam do you have? Is this a stock shortblock? If you're running factory dished LQ4 pistons, I can tell you that your compression is nowhere near high enough to take advantage of E85 fuel. You're probably around 9.8:1 and if you're looking for max power, you should be around 12.5:1. You'll have to install new pistons to make that happen. What RPM do you turn this to? If you're not running a cam to turn 7500-8000+, that Holley high ram is slowing you down. Factory style intakes with longer runners will always beat a high ram up to around 6500 RPM or so.
Joined: Apr 2006
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From: Grand Rapids, Michigan
My LS3 peaks around 6400 with a slightly larger cam than that. Given that you're down 12 cubic inches, your peak power will be roughly the same. So: Add compression, add a larger cam ( 240 + intake duration @ .050 ) and make sure your valvetrain can handle the RPM - You'll probably gain 25-40 HP at peak, if the tune is optimized.
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If I change pistons which one would be my best bet for that set up. Changing piston is a big thing for me bc eventually iam gonna go turbo on it but don’t want a high compression won’t last on turbo setup
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 3,891
Likes: 1,137
From: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Piston choice depends on your power goals and budget. My build is a perfect example of that. I went with Summit ProLS pistons with a 2CC dome, because I'm not planning on more than 1000 HP. Don't believe everything you read about compression and turbocharging. I'm going to be right around 10.5:1 when my engine is complete, which is a good number for an E85 fueled combo. If you want to run on pump gas, you'd want less compression, but you say you're already on E85. So bumping up compression now won't hurt anything. If you're on a budget, go ahead and stay with what you have for pistons, but if the shortblock is stock, you'll want to tear it down and gap the piston rings. Also, if you have Gen 3 rods, you'll want to swap them for Gen 4 rods at minimum, or go with aftermarket. Lots of people boost stock bottom ends to crazy power levels, but a lot of people also blow them up. Good rods and pistons can help a boosted engine live a longer life. Also, my cam recommendation wouldn't be great in a boosted engine. Depending on what LSA your present cam is, I'd just run that. It would be more than enough for boost.
