Ultimate heads for LT1?
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Lake Wylie SC
Ultimate heads for LT1?
I'm looking for new heads for my 92 LT1. I'm looking to change out the cam and improve the intake to match the heads. I would like the option to install a blower later on (if I hit the Lotto). Let's not get into the lower end as yet. I'm just looking for heads and I might as well go for the best. Any thoughts on CNC vs manual porting?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 8,683
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From: Phoenix AZ
Well, let me say this...choose an upgrade plan for your engine and do your best to stick with it, otherwise you'll end up building an engine with a bunch of mis-matched parts, or pay a lot more getting work done over.
If you want some of the best heads, for an LT car I would go with 195+ AFR CNC LT4 heads. If you plan on a supercharger later on you could go with 210+ AFR CNC LT4 heads as well, but these may not be the best match for a 350 bottom end, so you either need to make a comprimise somewhere or get them ported again later when you toss the supercharger on.
Also, I would go with a CNC port job, and then have it finished up by hand, that will give you the best overall port work but can get pricey depending on who does the work. Most places will just do the CNC porting and be done with it, and that's fine...but hand finishing can really give nice attention to detail and make the heads slightly more efficient.
If you want some of the best heads, for an LT car I would go with 195+ AFR CNC LT4 heads. If you plan on a supercharger later on you could go with 210+ AFR CNC LT4 heads as well, but these may not be the best match for a 350 bottom end, so you either need to make a comprimise somewhere or get them ported again later when you toss the supercharger on.
Also, I would go with a CNC port job, and then have it finished up by hand, that will give you the best overall port work but can get pricey depending on who does the work. Most places will just do the CNC porting and be done with it, and that's fine...but hand finishing can really give nice attention to detail and make the heads slightly more efficient.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,671
Likes: 20
From: Lake Wylie SC
Originally Posted by Zix
Well, let me say this...choose an upgrade plan for your engine and do your best to stick with it, otherwise you'll end up building an engine with a bunch of mis-matched parts, or pay a lot more getting work done over.
I've looked at More Performance top end packages and they appear to be the leaders in this area. I just want to see what guys have out there that works well, too. Heads seem to be constant as to whether supercharged or not. I think it's all in the "flow numbers" but I want to get a few suggestions before I take the plunge.
The big compromise for me will be the cam. Not all cams work well with blowers. Anybody slap a blower on a hot cam equipt LT1?
Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 637
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From: Perth Amboy N.J.
thomas
call port pros in TX ask for harold, just tell harold gene from N.J. told you to call. web site is port pros.com. harold is building me an engine right now. harold worked for some of the top engine builder in the country and now has his own place. hes doing a set of stock lt4 heads that will out flow afr lt4 195 heads and you dont get afr's oil in the head problems. if harold wasnt good he wouldnt be doing my engine. thomas remember one thing bigger is not always better on the street. big flow on the street dont always fly.
regards gene
call port pros in TX ask for harold, just tell harold gene from N.J. told you to call. web site is port pros.com. harold is building me an engine right now. harold worked for some of the top engine builder in the country and now has his own place. hes doing a set of stock lt4 heads that will out flow afr lt4 195 heads and you dont get afr's oil in the head problems. if harold wasnt good he wouldnt be doing my engine. thomas remember one thing bigger is not always better on the street. big flow on the street dont always fly.
regards gene
Last edited by bacardioil; Oct 23, 2005 at 07:30 PM.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,671
Likes: 20
From: Lake Wylie SC
Originally Posted by bacardioil
thomas
call port pros in TX ask for harold, just tell harold gene from N.J. told you to call. web site is port pros.com. harold is building me an engine right now. harold worked for some of the top engine builder in the country and now has his own place. hes doing a set of stock lt4 heads that will out flow afr lt4 195 heads and you dont get afr's oil in the head problems. if harold wasnt good he wouldnt be doing my engine.
regards gene
call port pros in TX ask for harold, just tell harold gene from N.J. told you to call. web site is port pros.com. harold is building me an engine right now. harold worked for some of the top engine builder in the country and now has his own place. hes doing a set of stock lt4 heads that will out flow afr lt4 195 heads and you dont get afr's oil in the head problems. if harold wasnt good he wouldnt be doing my engine.
regards gene
Pro
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 637
Likes: 0
From: Perth Amboy N.J.
thomas
383 supercharged nothing but the best in parts. an engine is only as good as the wink link thats the part that will break first. you dont need big heads and cams for the street. you need the right setup. talk to some of the top builders and they will tell you want something for the street not the track. at present i have a stock lt1 in my 93 with blower works water alky injection system. 404 rwhp and 403 rwtq. when harolds done i'll be looking mid 5s at the rear. go with the right things and you will have a street machine that will fly. i dump my friends zo6 like it was nothing right now as is stock lt1 supercharged. i live 5 miles from one of top pro stock racer and engine builders the the usa and he told me harold will take very good care of me. regards gene
383 supercharged nothing but the best in parts. an engine is only as good as the wink link thats the part that will break first. you dont need big heads and cams for the street. you need the right setup. talk to some of the top builders and they will tell you want something for the street not the track. at present i have a stock lt1 in my 93 with blower works water alky injection system. 404 rwhp and 403 rwtq. when harolds done i'll be looking mid 5s at the rear. go with the right things and you will have a street machine that will fly. i dump my friends zo6 like it was nothing right now as is stock lt1 supercharged. i live 5 miles from one of top pro stock racer and engine builders the the usa and he told me harold will take very good care of me. regards gene
Last edited by bacardioil; Oct 23, 2005 at 07:51 PM.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 12,261
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From: O'Fallon Missouri
If you decide to have your stock heads ported, find a shop that offers a matching custom grind camsahft. There are a few good shops out there. I chose CNC Cylinder Heads in Florida. Pete did a great job on the heads/cam selection, and offered some great advice on the total setup.
Mike
Mike
Safety Car
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 4,871
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From: Detroit's West Side MI
Strick - I just installed a set of Precision Porting Stage 3 heads on my LT1. There's a group purchase, check the C4 parts section stickies. I have no plans for forced induction on my car so my needs were a bit different, but they seemed like the best head for the money based on research here and in other areas. I just got the car back together so I can't comment on anything but the flow numbers, which are impressive.
Everyone loves AFR on the forum, and they do have nice flow numbers. However, they're more than half again as high as some others. I'm getting around 285 cfm at .550 lift out of my heads, the flow sheets are at the shop or I'd give more specifics. You could get even more from a set of LT4 heads.
As for the cam, why stick with something off the shelf? Comp cams did a custom grind for me for $279. We discussed the flow numbers and lift, car application, etc and got a grind that should work out perfectly. Took only two weeks to get it in my hands. My guess is that they'll know what you need for your blower plans as well.
Everyone loves AFR on the forum, and they do have nice flow numbers. However, they're more than half again as high as some others. I'm getting around 285 cfm at .550 lift out of my heads, the flow sheets are at the shop or I'd give more specifics. You could get even more from a set of LT4 heads.
As for the cam, why stick with something off the shelf? Comp cams did a custom grind for me for $279. We discussed the flow numbers and lift, car application, etc and got a grind that should work out perfectly. Took only two weeks to get it in my hands. My guess is that they'll know what you need for your blower plans as well.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 7,635
Likes: 326
From: Greenville SC
I think if you get an optimal cam for your heads, it will not be optimal for a blower later.
Lloyd Elliot has some very economical H/C packages.
Precison Porting is the most for the money and good flow #s/customer service from what I have read IMO.
TEA does very good work, Nathan Plemons has these, and has had one of the highest RWHP on a 350 LT1 NA on the Forum.
Advanced Induction offers nice H/C packages and very well respected with the Z28 guys, they have several 400+ RWHP 350 LT1 Camaro's on their web site.
I would get a set of Trick Flow heads and send to one of the above.
Lloyd Elliot has some very economical H/C packages.
Precison Porting is the most for the money and good flow #s/customer service from what I have read IMO.
TEA does very good work, Nathan Plemons has these, and has had one of the highest RWHP on a 350 LT1 NA on the Forum.
Advanced Induction offers nice H/C packages and very well respected with the Z28 guys, they have several 400+ RWHP 350 LT1 Camaro's on their web site.
I would get a set of Trick Flow heads and send to one of the above.
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,655
Likes: 24
From: Charleston SC
Call Phill at AI since you are considering a FI LT1 set up he perfect. AI does a lot of LT1 work and they port some nice LT1 heads. I think that velocity is every bit as important as flow IMHO.
http://www.advancedinduction.com/AiHome.htm
JFYI: This is of there web site
Track Updates - Our new Fully CNC Ported LT1 Packages are finding great success at the track! Thus far Rick Abare's 94 TA has run 10.20@134.8mph in 2600ft Density Altitude! This is a 3420lb car with our STREET package. Stay tuned, with good weather on the way expect shocking things from this car! Not only will he soon be the ONLY LT1 Fbody with LT1 components in the 9's, but he'll be listening to the stereo in the staging lanes!
http://www.advancedinduction.com/AiHome.htm
JFYI: This is of there web site
Track Updates - Our new Fully CNC Ported LT1 Packages are finding great success at the track! Thus far Rick Abare's 94 TA has run 10.20@134.8mph in 2600ft Density Altitude! This is a 3420lb car with our STREET package. Stay tuned, with good weather on the way expect shocking things from this car! Not only will he soon be the ONLY LT1 Fbody with LT1 components in the 9's, but he'll be listening to the stereo in the staging lanes!
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 1,255
Likes: 50
From: Clayton, NC north carolina
Buy a killer set of gen1 heads and have them converted to LT1 reverse cooling.
As far as camshaft is concerend the main thing you have to look at is valve overlap. you dont want a whole lot of overlap because you will blow your intake charge past the intake valve and right out the exhaust.
So you can have a killer naturally asperated cam or a blower cam but not both.
High flowing heads are good as long as you can keep the airflow thru the runner up. on a blown car this does'ent really matter much because of boost pressure.
An engine is just an air pump. the more air you get into the engine the more fuel you can burn, the more fuel you burn the more power you can make.
As far as camshaft is concerend the main thing you have to look at is valve overlap. you dont want a whole lot of overlap because you will blow your intake charge past the intake valve and right out the exhaust.
So you can have a killer naturally asperated cam or a blower cam but not both.
High flowing heads are good as long as you can keep the airflow thru the runner up. on a blown car this does'ent really matter much because of boost pressure.
An engine is just an air pump. the more air you get into the engine the more fuel you can burn, the more fuel you burn the more power you can make.
Thread Starter
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,671
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From: Lake Wylie SC
Judging from a couple of you, a bolt on super charger, Pro Charger type, without any changes to the 350 gave a nice increase in performance. Again, with compromise in the works, would a set of LT4 worked heads and a Hot cam work with a Pro charger? Seems like it would still be streetable and produce some nice increases in performance. To be truthfull, I probably will only be going with a top end upgrade, heads, cam, and chip tuning.
BTW, thanks for the replies.
BTW, thanks for the replies.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 3,490
Likes: 68
From: Hewitt NJ
Originally Posted by Strick
Judging from a couple of you, a bolt on super charger, Pro Charger type, without any changes to the 350 gave a nice increase in performance. Again, with compromise in the works, would a set of LT4 worked heads and a Hot cam work with a Pro charger? Seems like it would still be streetable and produce some nice increases in performance. To be truthfull, I probably will only be going with a top end upgrade, heads, cam, and chip tuning.
BTW, thanks for the replies.
BTW, thanks for the replies.
If you don't want to upgrade your bottom end I suggest you send your stock heads to be ported and install a performance cam. You can go with a "Hot Cam" if you want, but IMHO there are better choices out there that are quite streetable. Lloyd Elliott (www.eportworks.com) has some nice affordable packages that the LT1 Camaro guys rave about.
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
From: Herndon VA
Advanced Induction by far. They do the best LT1 combos out there. Just go to camaroZ28.com and check out some of their F-Bodies. They have numerous cars with 400+ rwhp with just heads and cam, stock bottom end.
Safety Car
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 3,504
Likes: 4
From: Mexico Beach FL
Originally Posted by bacardioil
...and you dont get afr's oil in the head problems. gene
What is this "oil in the head" problem?
Tom Piper
Safety Car
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,655
Likes: 24
From: Charleston SC
Originally Posted by Tom Piper
I've had AFR 190CC heads on my '92 for the last 30K+ miles and 8 years.
What is this "oil in the head" problem?
Tom Piper
What is this "oil in the head" problem?
Tom Piper
, I have the 195's and have never had a problem. I think there was a problem at one time but it was not the LT1 heads.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 5,012
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From: OKC OK
The "ultimate" would probably be some good converted SBC (non-LTx) heads or AFR 215 RR LT4...but, those would require some custom work and detailed planning. If your running a 350-357ci. motor, I'd suggest some hand finished AFR 195cc LT4 or Trick Flow LT4 by either LE, Ai, or TEA. You really need to plan the entire setup before buying anything.