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Heyyyy, I am totally in the same boat as you! I just recently spec'd out my cam swap for a SSHT and am picking up my parts here and there when I find deals.
Unmodified 243 heads are great, but you still wont see wild gains even with a cam. A good cheaper option is to go through TEA, or AI for stock casting CNC work. AI's HCR 241 heads have been known to make 400whp on bolt on M6 C5's ON THE STOCK CAM! That is only $1300 if you ship in your heads. They also have lots of other options that are more budget conscious as well. A basic head refresh will cost somewhere around $500.
Texas Speed stage 2.5 5.3l heads are good with this cam and only cost $1300 total, no turning in castings, but ya gotta make sure on your PTV measurement just to be safe (should do it regardless). The stage 2.5 243 heads from TSP are mustard too, and you will have better PTV as well, and flow some more. They are somehwere between 1300 and 1600, same thing with the outright castings you don't have to ship.
Also, check out Advanced Inductions' website, you may find that turn in your own heads type of head work is actually quite affordable (if not a little more time consuming).
Last edited by ErikwithAK01; 07-26-2017 at 10:38 AM.
wont see good gains with a cam, you say? this is 243 heads and a 228/232 585/575 cam (a large mild cam, not a big cam by any means)
considering thats a ~100rwhp gain over what the car started with, i'm inclined to say that if you do port and polish your heads, which i did myself on this car, that you can add the bolt ons and have well over 400rwhp on a relatively small budget.
just head to youtube and look up "agearhead4life" and other videos on porting and polishing. here's mine before/after. this was the first set I'd ever done, revisted for a more extensive clean up after doing 4 other heads after having bolted these down.
second pass picked up another 10rwhp. you're looking for cheap: this is the best bang:buck you can do on our cars. but it's agonizingly long, loud, tedious, and requires you focus because if you whack a burr on the side of the head, it can change plans. it's like playing that children's game "operation" for 20 hours on end. but for $100 if you go with the good Eastwood stuff, and less if you go with Horror Freight, you cant beat it.
All things being relative, those are real stout gains, congrats I responded thinking the OP wanted to slap on a set of unmodifed 243's, which is great if he can swing it in the budget, but worked over ones, or aftermarket castings, are where you will see bigger numbers. With a G5x1 cam (really close you your specs) and tsp stg 2.5 cnc 243 heads, you would probably see closer to 450whp with an M6, and even more with AFR or TFS heads...but then you are talking stupid money (my opinion).
So yes, if you can spare the extra $600 or so for good 243 castings, do it, you WILL gain, but work them over a bit and it will be worth the while. If you can afford a little more, a 3 angle valve job, and milling down for 61cc chambers to reach 11-1 compression will give you a nice bump for pretty cheap (usually about $1000 with reassembly).
All things being relative, those are real stout gains, congrats I responded thinking the OP wanted to slap on a set of unmodifed 243's, which is great if he can swing it in the budget, but worked over ones, or aftermarket castings, are where you will see bigger numbers. With a G5x1 cam (really close you your specs) and tsp stg 2.5 cnc 243 heads, you would probably see closer to 450whp with an M6, and even more with AFR or TFS heads...but then you are talking stupid money (my opinion).
So yes, if you can spare the extra $600 or so for good 243 castings, do it, you WILL gain, but work them over a bit and it will be worth the while. If you can afford a little more, a 3 angle valve job, and milling down for 61cc chambers to reach 11-1 compression will give you a nice bump for pretty cheap (usually about $1000 with reassembly).
yea, you nailed it, that's a g5x1 cam it'd make sense that top of the line heads could swing another 25rwhp, but those are 25 very expensive horses
PRC 2.5 heads tend to be the cheapest go-to for easy bolt-on HP from what ive seen. they're basically like 243's that are port/polished/milled.
just realized you said TSP and i said PRC.. we mean the same thing. and I doubt I'd gain 30rwhp on TSP 2.5's over the 243's I have now. This tends to be right at the limit of what 243's do with factory casting form. have to jump to the $2500+ heads to really blow these numbers out of the water - unless you have links proving me wrong? for what the TSP/PRC cost, if I could gain 30+ rwhp, I'd humor them.
Seriously, like I said, STUPID MONEY...I know people that have stupid money, and that's great. Not me I have seen some big numbers with PRC 225cc as cast units, and they are $1800. The CNC version is $2300. You would not gain those kind of numbers going from 243 stockers, to worked over 243's. However, going from 241 or lesser castings, to PRC worked heads, you will see somewhere in the neighborhood of 40whp out of the 243 CNC TSP heads. And you are right, TSP/PRC, same place
Last edited by ErikwithAK01; 07-26-2017 at 11:14 AM.
oh ok. yea i was just browsing ls1tech but all of their dyno graph images are gone so i couldnt get any info, ugh. their $1300 heads most closely map to pp/milled 243's. anything better than those i would expect would be better gains. didnt even know TSP offered heads over $2000! only familiar with Trick and AFR in that league.
Heyyyy, I am totally in the same boat as you! I just recently spec'd out my cam swap for a SSHT and am picking up my parts here and there when I find deals.
Unmodified 243 heads are great, but you still wont see wild gains even with a cam. A good cheaper option is to go through TEA, or AI for stock casting CNC work. AI's HCR 241 heads have been known to make 400whp on bolt on M6 C5's ON THE STOCK CAM! That is only $1300 if you ship in your heads. They also have lots of other options that are more budget conscious as well. A basic head refresh will cost somewhere around $500.
Texas Speed stage 2.5 5.3l heads are good with this cam and only cost $1300 total, no turning in castings, but ya gotta make sure on your PTV measurement just to be safe (should do it regardless). The stage 2.5 243 heads from TSP are mustard too, and you will have better PTV as well, and flow some more. They are somehwere between 1300 and 1600, same thing with the outright castings you don't have to ship.
Also, check out Advanced Inductions' website, you may find that turn in your own heads type of head work is actually quite affordable (if not a little more time consuming).
Thanks!! This definitely helps. I'll be following along on your thread too
Yeah, the 227 CNC program is wicked. I have seen higher corrected flow numbers on those castings than AFR heads, for $500 cheaper O_O
Right on, yeah, the more the merrier Not many spring for the lopey SSHT, but if you have ever been in a GTO with a SSHT, and then one with identical mods with a Torquer .V2, you would pick the street sweeper more low end, same top end, and gains at EVERY RPM. Plus it sounds like a real demon when it's idling with that 111 lsa. The motor makes that awesome scream that LS motors can get too, I love it!
If you have any questions about valvetrain and/or supporting mods, don't hesitate to ask, I have done EXTENSIVE research on this cam.
Last edited by ErikwithAK01; 07-26-2017 at 11:20 AM.
wont see good gains with a cam, you say? this is 243 heads and a 228/232 585/575 cam (a large mild cam, not a big cam by any means)
considering thats a ~100rwhp gain over what the car started with, i'm inclined to say that if you do port and polish your heads, which i did myself on this car, that you can add the bolt ons and have well over 400rwhp on a relatively small budget.
Geez that's impressive. I have been looking at this cam, but LG seems to want a premium over other cams... which is how I'm set on the SS-HT cam.
i got lucky and found somebody here on the forums selling it for $200 or so just happened to perfectly be within the spec range I wanted, because the car is a dedicated HPDE/road race car. didnt want a vtek looking powerband on it.
as long as you can find a cam thats pretty close to the specs you want, you'll be fine. too many people these days are quick to flip out over "custom all the things!" shelf cams exist because they're proven to work, after all. just dont throw an enormous cam at low flowing heads or anything dumb like that. match the head flow to what the cam will flow and your results wont be wonky and undrivable.
edit: ah, 228/232 on the SS-HT just like the g5x1. just more lift. that should actually give you extremely similar numbers.
It is on an Ed Curtis proprietary lobe design unique to both the intake, and exhaust profiles. Ed says it "looks like Barbara Streisands nose" and the 111lsa will help with thgrowl, and the low end, not the idle quality It should put him in the dyno +/- approximate area of your graph though, with 243's. A cam only A4 car (like my own) will be around 380-400whp depending on how stingy a dyno you tune on, but M6's are around 400-415whp cam only with a SSHT.
Last edited by ErikwithAK01; 07-26-2017 at 12:12 PM.
It is on an Ed Curtis proprietary lobe design unique to both the intake, and exhaust profiles. Ed says it "looks like Barbara Streisands nose" and the 111lsa will help with thgrowl, and the low end, not the idle quality It should put him in the dyno +/- approximate area of your graph though.
yea... 111 lsa is unique. that thing will sound like slightly muffled m80's exploding.
Other than finding a set of used 243 heads and having them rebuilt what is the next best choice for my 2000 FRC.
Im looking at the Street Sweeper HT cam. I have a Vararam, LG Longtubes and will also have either an LS6 Intake or a fast92 Intake.
Heads have to be low budget otherwise I'll just go cam only...
Roddy13,
We can open your 241s up quite a bit. $1050 shipped, CNC port, CNC vj, hand blend, dual lsx spring kit .660" and Ti retainers, surface, final wash, assemble and shipped.
Let me know if you have any questions or would like to inquire about a set.
We can open your 241s up quite a bit. $1050 shipped, CNC port, CNC vj, hand blend, dual lsx spring kit .660" and Ti retainers, surface, final wash, assemble and shipped.
Let me know if you have any questions or would like to inquire about a set.
-Russ
if you're adding the springs and doing the machine work and cleaning.. thats not bad. thats closer to $500 for the p/p. do you have flow #s for 241 and 243 heads you do?
It's my philosophy that you buy the best you can afford. I don't spend mod money on geegaws like CF splitters, spats, and custom stereos, so I bought Trickflow 215s when they first came out. The first version used 7.9" pushrods, so that was included in the price. I got $100 off on a special, and IIRC, they were $2295 complete with TF pushrods. After installing, and running them for about 2 months, Brian Tooley called (he worked for TEA at the time) and told me he was very sorry, but the SS valves weren't properly heat treated, and I would have to pull my heads and return them for a complete redo. I had stripped one of the header bolts too, and he fixed that for free. TEA paid for all gaskets, fluids needed to do the swap, and threw in a set of roller rockers too. Brian did some hand finishing and by the time I reinstalled them, I was getting pretty good at it. The results, with only a 228-232@112/.600 Crane cam were 483/432 SAE, with a home ported FAST90. Tuned by Tom Wong, and dynoed in Yakima for Dynojet numbers. Of course there was some NA HP left on the table with that smallish cam, but it drove easy, (after tuning) and actually got 2 more highway MPG! with higher compression. So, some people without "stupid" money can get results by going in a different direction.
It's my philosophy that you buy the best you can afford. I don't spend mod money on geegaws like CF splitters, spats, and custom stereos, so I bought Trickflow 215s when they first came out. The first version used 7.9" pushrods, so that was included in the price. I got $100 off on a special, and IIRC, they were $2295 complete with TF pushrods. After installing, and running them for about 2 months, Brian Tooley called (he worked for TEA at the time) and told me he was very sorry, but the SS valves weren't properly heat treated, and I would have to pull my heads and return them for a complete redo. I had stripped one of the header bolts too, and he fixed that for free. TEA paid for all gaskets, fluids needed to do the swap, and threw in a set of roller rockers too. Brian did some hand finishing and by the time I reinstalled them, I was getting pretty good at it. The results, with only a 228-232@112/.600 Crane cam were 483/432 SAE, with a home ported FAST90. Tuned by Tom Wong, and dynoed in Yakima for Dynojet numbers. Of course there was some NA HP left on the table with that smallish cam, but it drove easy, (after tuning) and actually got 2 more highway MPG! with higher compression. So, some people without "stupid" money can get results by going in a different direction.
well, $2300 isnt chump change. and if you're referring to my aero as "geegaw" I eagerly await you getting on a road course with me
definitely impressive results with those heads, though, cant deny that. i may start to hunt for some used ones knowing that with 2 hours i could bolt on another 50rwhp. have a dyno chart? powerband is important with road courses.
well, $2300 isnt chump change. and if you're referring to my aero as "geegaw" I eagerly await you getting on a road course with me
definitely impressive results with those heads, though, cant deny that. i may start to hunt for some used ones knowing that with 2 hours i could bolt on another 50rwhp. have a dyno chart? powerband is important with road courses.
I don't race, and have since added a supercharger, different cam, etc. so whatever. As for results, a member in FLA, Christian aka Miami got 511 RW with some really tricky heads that had a 11* valve angle and big cam. I don't remember the brand, and that was 10 years ago. I didn't build my car to race, just really a mid-life ability to have a car I could make my own, and afford to "waste" money on. In fact, I kind of regret adding a SC, as it's scary at low speeds, and you can go from 0 to jail in about 5 seconds.
dyno on the blower setup? i keep telling myself i dont need one. but like you said.. if you can afford to waste the money, and love cars and going fast.. its hard not to!
im building a twin turbo 5.3 trailblazer right now. because i obviously *need* to. but that's for high altitude mountains, so its somewhat justified having forced induction. living in Denver, i went from an actual 430rwhp to an actual ~320rwhp due to altitude. it has me flirting with blowers.
07-26-2017, 12:29 AM
Best budget performance heads?
I responded thinking the OP wanted to slap on a set of unmodifed 243's, which is great if he can swing it in the budget, but worked over ones, or aftermarket castings, are where you will see bigger numbers. With a G5x1 cam (really close you your specs) and tsp stg 2.5 cnc 243 heads, you would probably see closer to 450whp with an M6, and even more with AFR or TFS heads...but then you are talking stupid money (my opinion). 
I have seen some big numbers with PRC 225cc as cast units, and they are $1800. The CNC version is $2300. You would not gain those kind of numbers going from 243 stockers, to worked over 243's. However, going from 241 or lesser castings, to PRC worked heads, you will see somewhere in the neighborhood of 40whp out of the 243 CNC TSP heads. And you are right, TSP/PRC, same place 
just happened to perfectly be within the spec range I wanted, because the car is a dedicated HPDE/road race car. didnt want a vtek looking powerband on it.
It should put him in the dyno +/- approximate area of your graph though, with 243's. A cam only A4 car (like my own) will be around 380-400whp depending on how stingy a dyno you tune on, but M6's are around 400-415whp cam only with a SSHT.
