hey folks,
been coming down with a tap and a lazy lifter..was throwing around the idea of replacing the heads all together with a performance head of some sort...would like to know what my options are? 5.3l LTs kn intake nelsen tune
thank you
Trevor
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hey folks,
been coming down with a tap and a lazy lifter..was throwing around the idea of replacing the heads all together with a performance head of some sort...would like to know what my options are? 5.3l LTs kn intake nelsen tune
thank you
Trevor
how much you wana spend?
you could do a simple port/mill of your stockers or get some 243s that have been worked on or some good aftermarket heads. plenty of options. just depends on how fast you want to go! (a.k.a. how much you can spend...)
dont mind spending money just its my daily driver and would like it to be quick and painless...lookin at patriots at jegs for round 800..just i dont know much bout heads and specs for a stock truck..dont wanna turn a relativally small issue into a huge problem...
thank you
Trevor
https://www.patriot-performance.com/...&cat=37&page=1 Those are what I have.
Frenchy! Have u had any problems with these heads as of yet? Do they do what they claim as far as hp gains? How is the drivability of these heads? I apologize in advance. I know the mechanics but not the specs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frenchy
Thank you
Trevor
Also its says for ls3/ls6 motors? Are these "interchangeable" heads for ls motors?
Trevor
It says ls2/ls6, at least the ones I looked at. I think I'm going to go with those too! Good price!
I believe it says ls2/ls6 bc they use 243 castings. They will fit your 5.3 and probably get you close to 10:1 cr. You can mill them too if you want
your right....my typo there...thank you!!
Trevor
Are you wanting to do a cam? Bc that is the most important thing to consider when buying heads
I couldn't tell you how they are, motors not in the truck yet. They are just re-worked 243's. Patriots aren't the best, for the same price you can get a set of PRC's which are a better head. I just got mine for basically half price. But pick your heads then go cam shopping, if you end up with heads that don't fall off until .600, you don't want a cam that only has a lift of .550. Then again you don't want a cam that has more lift then the heads flow. My patriots fall off at .600, my cam has a lift of .598/.597. Close enough.
When I have the money for a new set of heads I'll be going to WCCH and possibly getting there Edelbrock 215's.
are prc heads better than patriot heads? which ones would you get, the ls6 heads or the 5.3 heads?
dont plan on puttin a cam in there since its my daily driver...i have a nother project that ive been workin on..does that change the head selection that was pointed out to me already?
thank you
Trevor
IMO if youre not going to cam the truck "because its your DD" there is no reason for you to do a set of performance heads. A lot of money to waste on flow numbers that you will never see. :twocents:Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptTrevStarr
And just for referance I drive my truck close to 2000 miles a month and its got a fairly large cam for a 5.3.
a few years back there was a few members on ls1tech one specially that stands out. he had a ls1 with stock cam and did a head swap with typical bolt ons and was over 400 rwhp. he spoke highly how well it behaved. even the tuner spoke highly of this combo as well. search it in the dyno section .Quote:
Originally Posted by bangbangskeetskeet
if i was going to do as youre doing. then consider the GMt900 intake swap or even the fast 102 if you can afford it. i would look into a set of heads that keep the same compression as you have. the Trick flow 5.3s are a nice piece
I never said that it wouldn't behave nicely, or make good power. Just said it would be a lot of money for someting that hes not going to get the most out of with a stock cam. You cant tell me that he will see the full potential and get the FULL reward from a set of heads while running the stock cam. He will never see more than .500 lift with the stock 5.3 cam....Quote:
Originally Posted by Quik
correct but if he wants al lstock manors then its an option for him. stock cam works well for a true daily driver. thats whats nice about performance and etc, depending on what you want you can achieve it with the right direction. however alot of times ppl go mis match directions and usually hate their setups
he may prefer stock cam with good heads, next guy might want stock heads aftermarket cam, next guy might want mild cam and cheap aftermarket heads, and etc
Thats the absolute truth...everyone likes something different. Not many would have chose the cam I did, but Im happy with it. It goes well with the plans that I have for this truck.Quote:
Originally Posted by Quik
hey fellas....i have no future plans for this truck other then a fun daily...i just came acrossed some issuses with in the last week or so of it tappin and would like to get it fixed...and at the same point i said "hey if i gotta replace it...then why not replace with something that can take a lil abuse"...thats why i was thinkin of steppin up from the stock head and get something just tad more agressive...i havent done any testing as of yet to VERIFY that it IS tapping...its very faint...and dont get any louder while the rpms increase..the tapping just gets quicker....AND hey if i can get some one (creditable person) to say that i would be happier with a mild cam...and i can find one with out breaking the bank then hell yea!!..ill do one....also if it can be done in a weekend is a plus...my project car isnt quit ready for the street yet so i gotta have wheels to go back and forth to work...just keep in mind that it has 140k on it....it has had every...and i mean every maintainance done to it as it needed..never ever had to sink money into it except a rebuilt t-case and an alt last month....so spending some money on this isnt affecting me that much...the truck has been very good to me...sorry for the long rant but thats where im standing right now...til i do some testing i will be lookin for budget friendly heads and cam to match....examples would be greatly appreciated.....
Thank You
Trevor
What are your thoughts on used parts? Seems to be a trend of going to BDD cams the last year or so and the typical proven TR220's, 224's and the like are going for peanuts. Pick up those with a set of budget heads (probably find those used too) with a decent set of springs and pushrods and you'd have a very nice setup for a DD with about 100 horsepower over stock.
Used parts? Never really thought bout it. But I guess it depends on what it is and looks like. I think in this case I wouldn't go that route for the meer fact that I'd have some piece of mind know that its fresh. After thought tells me YES! Even new products have faults too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Frenchy
Thank you
Trevor
Something else to really consider with having 140k miles on your truck ... if you start throwing major mods at the engine, be aware the tranny might give you heck. I'm sure you've read this on here before, but thought it should be mentioned. With the other mods you have listed, stepping up to an H/C combo might be a little more than the poor ole 4L60 can handle ... unless of course you've already done some work there we are not privy to. Just my thoughts.
Nah. No tranny mods yet and I'm well aware of the 4L60 capabilities. Fortunately. She's started to slip now with in that last 15k miles. Not to terribly bad. So this issue will also be resolved in the near future with a higher stall TC to suit. Finally home workin in my home state so tomorrow with be the final say whether or not this is the true problem.
Thank you
Trevor
Well folks!!
Interesting find!! And I don't know whether not to be happy or sad!! All in all it was a good deal I would say. To make a long story short as most projects start. We all know they start with some beers in the garage and a sh$t ton of bs'in. This particular night I was just doing plugs and wires. Well between the bs'in and beers I had missed a plug while I was torquing everything down. Found that one plug was only a couple threads holding it in. At this point today I was thinking. Hmmmmmmmm if this one is loose how many more are loose. Well my find was 4 out of the 8 was loose and 1 out of the 4 was just bout out of the cylinder head itself. Been around this motor round for round and looked for every possible leak.and/or a problem for this tap I was hearin. Some how I missed these plugs. Feel stupid as hell that this was the case and that everyone put their time and effort in help for my cause. Thou it doesn't go wasted. Found many options for new mods in the future! Really appreciate the help from this site. It will still remain my first and last stop for info needed!
Thanks again
Trevor
do the mods anyways :lol: