853 heads vs 241 castings
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 316
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From: Leesburg GA
853 heads vs 241 castings
I have an 04 coupe with stock heads but I just purchased a set of ported and polisshed 853 castings. My question is : Should I switch over to the 853s just because they are ported? How will my car's performance cahnge with the swith? Or should I go with another type of head? Confused and need help...
Pro
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 738
Likes: 2
From: Richmond VA
The 243s are very good castings. If it were me, I would probably have the 243s ported and try to resell the 853s. The 853s are very similiar to the 241 castings and even with porting I don't think they flow as well as the 243s would.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 16,477
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From: Gone
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03
Only Z06s had the 243 heads during the C5 era. An 04 coupe would have 241 LS1 heads stock.
The earlier LS1 853s are not much different than the 241a, so it would depend on what's been done to them, and who did it, to really say if they will be an improvement worth doing.
For a n/a car, most start with 243 or 5.3l (862 or 706) heads for the compression benefits. Not many mess with modifying LS1 heads anymore, at least not like they did in years past.
The earlier LS1 853s are not much different than the 241a, so it would depend on what's been done to them, and who did it, to really say if they will be an improvement worth doing.
For a n/a car, most start with 243 or 5.3l (862 or 706) heads for the compression benefits. Not many mess with modifying LS1 heads anymore, at least not like they did in years past.
