LS6/Cathedral to LS3/Square Swap Results
Cathedral Setup - PRC 235 CNC port. Cam: 224/231 600/590. LS6 Intake. Ported LS1 TB. LS1 coils
Square Setup - MAST 255 CNC port. Cam: 227/235 640/650. LS3 Intake. 90mm ICON. LS3 coils
Everything else on the blower setup was the same. 21 psi boost and ~16-18 deg of timing, 11:1 A/F. Did a meth-off run to see the before/after.
Top end swap was worth about 67 HP, or about 8% improvement in power. Cathedral made 2% more between 4,500 and 5,500, but notably less above 5,700.
Left the car at 975 HP until I put the stiffer valve springs on and make some adjustments to the meth system - will then be turning it up to 1000+ or so (we'll see).
PRC Head. LS6 Intake. LS1 TB. LS1 Coils
MAST Head. LS3 Intake. Icon TB. LS3 Coils
I suspect the lift notably contributed. However, the lift is bigger because the flow sheet of the square port heads. The square ports have a broader flow range at the higher lift. If I left the cathedral cam in on the square ports it would have just been a bad lift range for the head.
Last edited by NoGo; Sep 15, 2025 at 09:47 PM.
It's interesting that your boost pressure didn't change, usually it drops a bit when flow is improved.
Boy at 5,700rpm you can really see where the square ports leave the cathedrals in the dust.
What rpm are you shifting at?
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What opening/seat pressure are folks running for this kind of boost and having good luck?
I set the limiter to 6,600. Will shift in 6200-ish for now. However, I think once i get the spring issue resolve, I'll get it up to something normal with a 6,500-ish shift point.
Well you want at least 0.050" from coil bind so I don't know if you have that much left or not. I'd try to add 20-30lbs on the seat and test a spring pack to see what you need for shims to get there, it all depends on your spring rate. I'd guess you need about 0.060" shims at least, but best to check over every spring install height apart. It does seem weird that the boost pressure curve tracks with both sets of heads/cam as you would guess the pressure would decay up top on the higher flowing units unless valve float was an issue sooner idk.
21 lbs. of boost and 7,000rpm without issue.
Also, the boost takes an odd uptick when the torque plummets - and boost higher for the same RPM (in my experience) can be a tell-tale for loosing the valvetrain. Open to other suggestions though - getting this turd to a reliable 1k has been obnoxious.
Also, the boost takes an odd uptick when the torque plummets - and boost higher for the same RPM (in my experience) can be a tell-tale for loosing the valvetrain. Open to other suggestions though - getting this turd to a reliable 1k has been obnoxious.
The shaft kit is definitely on my to-do list now.
Also, the boost takes an odd uptick when the torque plummets - and boost higher for the same RPM (in my experience) can be a tell-tale for loosing the valvetrain. Open to other suggestions though - getting this turd to a reliable 1k has been obnoxious.
I would be measuring installed height and seeing if you can shim them at all, pretty sure 0.060" is the typical safety margin to not go past for coil bind.
I would be measuring installed height and seeing if you can shim them at all, pretty sure 0.060" is the typical safety margin to not go past for coil bind.
Looking for a 15% increase in seat pressure - 185 seated, 450 open. I can shim to the seated (0.060 does it), but will need a different spring for the open.
So, in the theme of throwing the kitchen sink, I'll try the stiffer spring first and posibly back to something softer with a shim if it works.











