Changing heads question.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 606
Likes: 0
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Changing heads question.
I am going to change my heads on my 98 corvette w and ls1. I was going to put ls6 heads on it but I have been told by a couple of people to put 5.3l truck heads on it and I will make more power. Others have told me to get 6.0l truck heads and have them bored. I'm just totally confused and it has turned my simple build into a guessing game. Does anyone have any ideas on my situation? Pros and cons? What has worked for you? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,993
Likes: 25
There is only about thousands of postings on heads on this forum, use the dearch function. Stay away from truck heads, they are designed for trucks. There are plenty of aftermarket heads for the LS1, do some homeworks and buy a book or 2 on LS1 tuning and modification before you dump $$ into this. And it's more than just throwing heads on anyway, tuning, exhaust and cam all play a part in this, so research FIRST!
Racer
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 261
Likes: 0
id say first figure out your budget and goals for the car...
im a fan of doing it right the first time....
if you have the $$$ id do aftermarket heads....
some AFR 205's (11:1CR) and a 228/230 .581/.581 112 and an LS6 intake/tune/LT's should do 425-440rwhp.
if you are on a budget... search for some used ported LS6 heads,
look for a used 224 cam, and have fun.
post you answers on the first 2 Q's and you will get more usfull info..
as far as diff of heads... im no head expert , but ill tell ya what i think...
5.3 heads.... same ports as 5.7 heads, but a smaller CC so you dont have to mill as much to get a high CR..... and a inexpensive option.
and used mainly for H/C cars.
6.0 heads great for boosted cars... same ports as an LS6 head but bigger CC so you get good flow and a low CR for a boosted car.
LS6 heads.... great flow, and chamber design. good in stock form and great after a good port/polish.
good luck.
im a fan of doing it right the first time....
if you have the $$$ id do aftermarket heads....
some AFR 205's (11:1CR) and a 228/230 .581/.581 112 and an LS6 intake/tune/LT's should do 425-440rwhp.
if you are on a budget... search for some used ported LS6 heads,
look for a used 224 cam, and have fun.
post you answers on the first 2 Q's and you will get more usfull info..
as far as diff of heads... im no head expert , but ill tell ya what i think...
5.3 heads.... same ports as 5.7 heads, but a smaller CC so you dont have to mill as much to get a high CR..... and a inexpensive option.
and used mainly for H/C cars.
6.0 heads great for boosted cars... same ports as an LS6 head but bigger CC so you get good flow and a low CR for a boosted car.
LS6 heads.... great flow, and chamber design. good in stock form and great after a good port/polish.
good luck.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
The 5.3 truck heads are favored because there is more meat for the CNC porter to work the combustion chamber, whose size/shape can be optimized. There are a lot of guys running these heads and putting down good numbers. Recently, TFS, Dart, ETP and Edelbrock have all introduced aftermarket castings (AFR has been around a while) so the use of the 5.3 has diminished because there are so many choices out there now. Contact TEA or Patriot, they can provide more information on these heads and the trade-offs to the other heads you are considering.
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 606
Likes: 0
From: Tulsa Oklahoma
Here was my original plan. I was going to buy these patriot heads I found then start my build up. I'm building up to a twin-turbo or supercharger. I just didn't want to be limited by whatever heads I bought and have to buy a different set later to run more boost.
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Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 3,452
Likes: 3
From: Spring, TX
Originally Posted by bluevette77
I've pretty much ruled out the 5.3's, because of the boost I'm wanting to run. ls6 patriots or 6.0l's seem the way I'm wanting to go.
If you want to go FI then go FI now and do it all.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 1,003
Likes: 10
From: Drexel Hill Pa
Originally Posted by dougbfresh
There is only about thousands of postings on heads on this forum, use the dearch function. Stay away from truck heads, they are designed for trucks. There are plenty of aftermarket heads for the LS1, do some homeworks and buy a book or 2 on LS1 tuning and modification before you dump $$ into this. And it's more than just throwing heads on anyway, tuning, exhaust and cam all play a part in this, so research FIRST!
