nmrastocker

I have read through so many posts about oiling issues during left hand turns on LS's but I have not seen much information on head selection or if it matters at all.

I have a C5Z that I'm planning to put an LS3 short block in but I am undecided on heads. I don't need to swap from the 243 heads that are on it but if I'm going to do a motor swap I may as well investigate the opiton and I'd like to understand if some are better than others considering this phenomenon. Are there any heads that are known to reduce the oil collection during hard sustained LH corners?

Thanks,

radron26

I just swapped in a crate LS3 525 into my C5Z. I have the stock LS6 sitting in my garage. For now I am just going to run the stock LS3 heads. I was wondering same thing.

slow04cobra

I am relatively new to the Ls engines. You should at least replace the exhaust valves.
Put LS3 heads on a ls7 because an event was coming up and the ls7 heads were not ready. Dropped a valve on a freshly sleeves ls7. Found out later the valve will fail with over .580 lift and stiffer springs. Ruined the block on the second session out. Almost cried. I do not think one head flows any better than the other heads. Oil drains the same.

I tried the batwing oil pan. Second session around 120mph turn 8 of big willow. Oil light goes on than i lost all power, did a 360, stayed on track. Later found out that sooner or later you will lose oil pressure with a Batwing oil pan.

davidfarmer

Polish the drain-back holes and run restrictor pushrods

ariZona06

I have a 495 HP LS3 crate motor, baffled C6 oil pan and Canton Accusump in my '03 Z06. Set up by Vengeance Racing in Ga for the previous owner it was ran at Atlanta Motorsports Park which has a HUGE sweeper turn from what I've seen. This setup is working well for me out here on my Arizona tracks. Didn't know the heads were the cause of the oil starvation problems. Is that just an LS6 thing? I'm always willing to learn about new stuff that I can worry about, LOL!

nmrastocker

I don't know how they would either, which is why I'm asking. I've heard that LS3 heads are worse than LS6 heads but I really don't know.

What is odd to me is that almost every post says LS6's are good for oiling compared to LS3 but that is an overly simplified statement with no detail. Is the LS6 better because of the oil pan differences? Difference in how much oil pumps to the heads? Less oil trapped in the head during high G cornering?

This is what I'd like to know but can't definatively find. Right now, I just don't see the heads being all that much different in how much oil they will retain but I can easily be wrong.

Erik L

Interesting - have not heard of restrictor push rods, How do these work, minimize the amount of oil that comes up the Push Rod hole from the cam area?

mgarfias

Yes. They limit the amount of oil going up top.

I'd do that, and dry sump the car if you can. With a proper dry sump, not the damp GM thing.

UstaB-GS549

Do a search in this forum for posts from Chris Ingle. He was racing C5 in T1 years ago. When he switched from LS6 to LS3 he started losing engines. IIRC, GM got involved providing engines and even made a bat wing pan pan to fit LS3. I think his conclusion was that the "stock" LS3 was not going to live without true dry sump when running race rubber.

slow04cobra

Why would you need to custom make an ls3 batwing pil pan? All the pans interchange. I had the batwing oil.pan on a 6.0 out of a Tahoe. My drysump system was on a Tahoe 6.0 and on my 7.0.

Bill Dearborn

He did run the batwing on his LS3 C6 and it didn't do any good. The only thing that kept him from blowing engines in the first couple of laps was a dry sump setup. His thread had a fairly extensive description of all that happened when he had GM helping him with engines. You won't be able to use his name to search as he had a forum handle he went by.

Just found his handle: Use this to search for his threads wtknght1
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1572088793

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...post1572088793

Bill