LS1 heads... How well does OEM perform?
Thread Starter
Corvette ***** OG
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 4,776
Likes: 21
From: Charlotte NC
St. Jude Donor '05
CI VI Veteran
LS1 heads... How well does OEM perform?
Obviously a race head or a good ported and polished head is better than any stock head if teamed up with the right components.
I was under the impression that GM did a pretty good job on the stock LS1 heads. Are they good enough that by adding a cam or perhaps a small supercharger that they will still perform or is it useless to do that with stock heads?
I spent 1800 porting and polishing my LT1 heads and got nowhere near the performance I expected when combined with cam, injectors, etc, etc...
I don't want to go through the same thing if I decide to throw a Magnuson s/c on and find out that it's about useless if I continue with the stock heads and cam.
Any opinions on the performance value of stock LS1 heads. Not sure if it makes a difference, but it's off a '98.
Thanks in advance.
Mark
I was under the impression that GM did a pretty good job on the stock LS1 heads. Are they good enough that by adding a cam or perhaps a small supercharger that they will still perform or is it useless to do that with stock heads?
I spent 1800 porting and polishing my LT1 heads and got nowhere near the performance I expected when combined with cam, injectors, etc, etc...
I don't want to go through the same thing if I decide to throw a Magnuson s/c on and find out that it's about useless if I continue with the stock heads and cam.
Any opinions on the performance value of stock LS1 heads. Not sure if it makes a difference, but it's off a '98.
Thanks in advance.
Mark
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 5
From: Newberry FL
Cruise-In VIII Veteran
St. Jude Donor '07
Originally Posted by MyBlueC5
Obviously a race head or a good ported and polished head is better than any stock head if teamed up with the right components.
I was under the impression that GM did a pretty good job on the stock LS1 heads. Are they good enough that by adding a cam or perhaps a small supercharger that they will still perform or is it useless to do that with stock heads?
I spent 1800 porting and polishing my LT1 heads and got nowhere near the performance I expected when combined with cam, injectors, etc, etc...
I don't want to go through the same thing if I decide to throw a Magnuson s/c on and find out that it's about useless if I continue with the stock heads and cam.
Any opinions on the performance value of stock LS1 heads. Not sure if it makes a difference, but it's off a '98.
Thanks in advance.
Mark
I was under the impression that GM did a pretty good job on the stock LS1 heads. Are they good enough that by adding a cam or perhaps a small supercharger that they will still perform or is it useless to do that with stock heads?
I spent 1800 porting and polishing my LT1 heads and got nowhere near the performance I expected when combined with cam, injectors, etc, etc...
I don't want to go through the same thing if I decide to throw a Magnuson s/c on and find out that it's about useless if I continue with the stock heads and cam.
Any opinions on the performance value of stock LS1 heads. Not sure if it makes a difference, but it's off a '98.
Thanks in advance.
Mark
I took my 1999 Z28 (LS1) and added a cam to it. A TR 224/224 .563/.563 and just upgraded the springs with a good set of COMP .918 and put some chrome-moly pushrods in and left the heads as is. The car ran great and the CAM gave me a good 30 rwhp and no harm was done, however, my valves did grow weaker and a good port job on your stocker HEADS would be highly recommended, for longivety and over performance. Getting a set of HEADs ported here in Hawaii is around 600 bucks, which isn't bad, but I am sure that you may find something a bit cheaper, but you should consider that to be done. Trust me, your car will truly pep up alot with a larger cam and ported LS1 heads. There is a magazine style book called LS1/LS6 PERFORMANCE and is written buy a guy who talks of his experiences with LS1 and LS6 motors and has some great info on what you should upgrade when doing swaps or power adders. This is just my opnion and nothing more, but I recommend porting the HEADS if you toss in a larger CAM.
Good Luck friend,
Micah
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 4,813
Likes: 2
From: We cant stop here... this is bat country
Stock heads are actually more than enough when throwing a small charger on. Springs, retainers, pushrods, and a blower cam 
Call any decent shop and they will hook you up with what you need. Cartek is 19086549993
I just got back from there this weekend and laid down 380 with their x3 cam and kooks lt's. Supporting mods as well. With a z06 intake, underdrive pulley, and a vararam I would have been just over the 400 mark. That is bolt ons and a cam, springs, and pushrods.
Andy at A&A recommended I keep the stock heads and just beef them if I was going to do one of his ATI kits. Stock bottom end will also hold nicely depending, of course, how extreme you want to go. Most thinking of going over 500-550 will forge. People have gone farther than that though. Forge it and forget it.
There are some guys making big numbers with Prochargers and still running the stock motor besides beefing the heads a little bit. Im sure someone will chime in that has this or had this.
Call any decent shop and they will hook you up with what you need. Cartek is 19086549993I just got back from there this weekend and laid down 380 with their x3 cam and kooks lt's. Supporting mods as well. With a z06 intake, underdrive pulley, and a vararam I would have been just over the 400 mark. That is bolt ons and a cam, springs, and pushrods.
Andy at A&A recommended I keep the stock heads and just beef them if I was going to do one of his ATI kits. Stock bottom end will also hold nicely depending, of course, how extreme you want to go. Most thinking of going over 500-550 will forge. People have gone farther than that though. Forge it and forget it.
There are some guys making big numbers with Prochargers and still running the stock motor besides beefing the heads a little bit. Im sure someone will chime in that has this or had this.
