Keep LE3 heads on Boost?

Well im in the middle of sourcing parts and finalizing the hot side design and was wondering how much power ported heads are worth on a boosted setup? would it be better to just sell my heads, get some stockers with larger valves and use the money toward something else?

Im planing on running a T76 at 15psi, custom cam, ported intake.

Heads will help quite a bit over the stockers I would think.

More air in = more power

If money is tight and you were having trouble getting $$ together for a fuel system or something, then I'd ditch the heads to buy a good fuel system. If you can afford to keep them, then I would. Keep an eye on your CR with those heads though.. chambers are probably around 54cc.

How much power do you want to make? What cubic inch engine?

I'm going to tell you to CC the heads, then decide from there. My heads were milled a couple times and I came up with a number between 52-53cc. On my motor it would have required a -40 dish to get the compression to 8.6 around where I wanted it. I'm selling my heads and getting trickflows with 62cc chambers that will allow me to run an off the shelf wiseco piston with -28 dish to put me at 8.8. My heads right now flow better than the off the shelf trickflows, but I have to make the sacrifice to save money on pistons. Off the shelf pistons are 680 compared to the 800 customs.

ya I havent had the chambers checked,I need to get a DIY kit and check them. as for the fuel, I thkn my walbro should be fine and ill probably just swap someone my 30lb inj for some 36 or 42's

How much power do you want to make? What cubic inch engine?

Im looking around 650 on stock displacement. I may go 355 but thats it.

I'm going to tell you to CC the heads, then decide from there. My heads were milled a couple times and I came up with a number between 52-53cc. On my motor it would have required a -40 dish to get the compression to 8.6 around where I wanted it. I'm selling my heads and getting trickflows with 62cc chambers that will allow me to run an off the shelf wiseco piston with -28 dish to put me at 8.8. My heads right now flow better than the off the shelf trickflows, but I have to make the sacrifice to save money on pistons. Off the shelf pistons are 680 compared to the 800 customs.

Good point, but TFS are alot more than the $120 difference between the pistons.

ya I havent had the chambers checked,I need to get a DIY kit and check them. as for the fuel, I thkn my walbro should be fine and ill probably just swap someone my 30lb inj for some 36 or 42's

Get 60# injectors... do it right the first time. 42's are too small, especially if you want to run 15psi with a T76.

Get 60# injectors... do it right the first time. 42's are too small, especially if you want to run 15psi with a T76.

Ok thanks for the help! anyone want to trade :D

There are alot of people moving toward 9.0-9.5 CR and using methanol injection. The small combustion chambers on LT1 heads make excellent power and don't require as much timing as other heads. I would keep them.:)

Im looking around 650 on stock displacement. I may go 355 but thats it.



Good point, but TFS are alot more than the $120 difference between the pistons.
Well that was comparing weisco to diamond, JE wanted $900. These are all the same 2618 material. And I'm selling my LE2s with cam for 1300 and buying TFS for 1360 or something assembled from Victory, plus there is room to grow with porting on the TFS.

Well that was comparing weisco to diamond, JE wanted $900. These are all the same 2618 material. And I'm selling my LE2s with cam for 1300 and buying TFS for 1360 or something assembled from Victory, plus there is room to grow with porting on the TFS.

Ok that makes sense now. I'll be using Diamond on this build. thanks for the help guys, Ill be sticking with the LE3's provided they havent been milled and I can get my pistons to work with them.

Get 60# injectors... do it right the first time. 42's are too small, especially if you want to run 15psi with a T76.
Hell, I needed to get 86lb injectors on my setup with the same turbo and 15PSI. Isn't here a calculator for that? It's been so long since I was at the planning stage that I forgot what it was! :cry:

Hell, I needed to get 86lb injectors on my setup with the same turbo and 15PSI. Isn't here a calculator for that? It's been so long since I was at the planning stage that I forgot what it was! :cry:

A local LSX here has pushed his 60# to 800rwhp... granted his fuel pressure is high. 60#'s should have no problem with 700rwhp... and everybody wants a set of 60's, so he can resell and not lose any money.

deka 60s here.

If you are thinking about it, stock castings can be opened up to @ 60cc give or take. Mine have been decked in the past and we got them to 59.5cc for $250. Figured it was worth it to keep my ported heads that already had money in them.

Say I could get to 60cc what does that do for me on piston selection? off the shelf?

Say I could get to 60cc what does that do for me on piston selection? off the shelf?

w/ a 355 you wont have a problem finding off the shelf for whatever CR you want :)

60cc and a 24 "could" get you just below 9:1 - SRP though
22 - JE - just a tad over 9.0
And those are the biggest off the shelf I know of.

60cc and a 24 "could" get you just below 9:1 - SRP though
22 - JE - just a tad over 9.0
And those are the biggest off the shelf I know of.

JE doesnt have the best off the shelf selection, they want you to buy custom. They didnt even have a .040 off the shelf, wanted 900 for a set for me :eek:. Everyone else carries them however. I'd check diamond, ross, or wiseco.

you can get -31CC JE's IIRC.

Times in my sig on STOCK heads, NOT PORTED, and only 11.5lbs! Oh and that is a STOCK CAM also.

How fast do you want to go and what gas you going to run?

you can get -31CC JE's IIRC.

For a 383 yes you can not for a 3.48 or 3.5 stroke. I'm not thinking strokers.

Remember thought that -31 still puts you a bit higher than the -22 would without the extra stroke.

JE doesnt have the best off the shelf selection, they want you to buy custom. They didnt even have a .040 off the shelf, wanted 900 for a set for me :eek:. Everyone else carries them however. I'd check diamond, ross, or wiseco.

I think diamond had an off the shelf @ -20cc that was priced a little better than the regular JE.

No matter where you go there will be a far better selection of .030 over stuff.

I had a set lined up at ross for $1300 after all the extras. Anybody can be expensive if you have the coin.

I'm running the SRPs. I'm sure I'll take out a ringland eventually but I'm not looking for killer power. Going to run 12-14# and its just a weekend toy for me.

I think diamond had an off the shelf @ -20cc that was priced a little better than the regular JE.

No matter where you go there will be a far better selection of .030 over stuff.

I had a set lined up at ross for $1300 after all the extras. Anybody can be expensive if you have the coin.

I'm running the SRPs. I'm sure I'll take out a ringland eventually but I'm not looking for killer power. Going to run 12-14# and its just a weekend toy for me.

Yea I was pissed that they had to go another .01 over b/c the damn piston scuffed the wall, really killed my selection, but wiseco had an off the shelf, made my life real easy.

II'm running the SRPs. I'm sure I'll take out a ringland eventually but I'm not looking for killer power. Going to run 12-14# and its just a weekend toy for me.

Thats pretty much my goal, Id like to be able to take it out for cruises, some racing, road trips etc..

82Z, Ive checked out your setup and thats pretty much what im shooting for, 10.5@130 is plenty fast enough for me :)

I'm going to tell you to CC the heads, then decide from there. My heads were milled a couple times and I came up with a number between 52-53cc. On my motor it would have required a -40 dish to get the compression to 8.6 around where I wanted it. I'm selling my heads and getting trickflows with 62cc chambers that will allow me to run an off the shelf wiseco piston with -28 dish to put me at 8.8. My heads right now flow better than the off the shelf trickflows, but I have to make the sacrifice to save money on pistons. Off the shelf pistons are 680 compared to the 800 customs.

I think you are neglecting the same thing i neglected--how far the piston is in the hole. I was shooting for about a 8.9:1 ratio. I bought the largest dish JE pistons on the shelf (i think 26 or 28 cc dish?) and figured in my gasket thickness, bore and stroke and combustion chamber size...it wasn't low enough compression so i worked out the combustion chambers to like 57cc. While assembling i then measured how far the piston was in the hole....0.036"! That took my compression ratio down to a calculated 8.34:1! lol it makes a big difference so keep that in mind before you select heads unless you're zero decking the block or something.

I think you are neglecting the same thing i neglected--how far the piston is in the hole. I was shooting for about a 8.9:1 ratio. I bought the largest dish JE pistons on the shelf (i think 26 or 28 cc dish?) and figured in my gasket thickness, bore and stroke and combustion chamber size...it wasn't low enough compression so i worked out the combustion chambers to like 57cc. While assembling i then measured how far the piston was in the hole....0.036"! That took my compression ratio down to a calculated 8.34:1! lol it makes a big difference so keep that in mind before you select heads unless you're zero decking the block or something.

Thanks! I wasnt thinking much about that.

I think you are neglecting the same thing i neglected--how far the piston is in the hole. I was shooting for about a 8.9:1 ratio. I bought the largest dish JE pistons on the shelf (i think 26 or 28 cc dish?) and figured in my gasket thickness, bore and stroke and combustion chamber size...it wasn't low enough compression so i worked out the combustion chambers to like 57cc. While assembling i then measured how far the piston was in the hole....0.036"! That took my compression ratio down to a calculated 8.34:1! lol it makes a big difference so keep that in mind before you select heads unless you're zero decking the block or something.
Hey Mike, first off, how's the tranny? Second, I talked to Chad at golen and he said the deck height should be 9", dont know what stock is. But yea I played around with the numbers a lot with deck height, if it is zero then I have 8.99 to 1, I need to call the machine shop and have them check.

Thats why I mentioned stroke variation too....

Mine is pretty much zero decked (.005 in the hole) but I am running a 3.5 stroke.

Hey Mike, first off, how's the tranny? Second, I talked to Chad at golen and he said the deck height should be 9", dont know what stock is. But yea I played around with the numbers a lot with deck height, if it is zero then I have 8.99 to 1, I need to call the machine shop and have them check.

Tranny was great for the little bit i used it. I had a little mishap installing it...my dumb butt busted the case due to the convertor not being fully seated! lol live and learn i guess... but boy does it shift hard...and i love it!

usually in those online calculators when it asks for deck height, USUALLY, its looking for a measurement of how much the top surface of the piston sits below the plane of the deck height. it should be (-) if it is below and (+) if it is above deck height (being above just sounds like piston-valve clearance problems to me!). It should be measured in .001 increments. I used a feeler gauge for mine and it was basically the same as stock. There are diagrams online that demonstrate the geometry of these measurements...i can't remember from which point the deck height is measured...if Chad says that's what it is, then i believe him.

Whatever you do...if you're building your own engine...double check that you installed your piston rings are not installed UPSIDE down! I'm almost positive that I will find 8 Total Seal Gapless top rings installed upside down when I tear my engine back apart in a few weeks... :( I'm learning alot of tough lessons on this first build of mine, but it sure is fun!

Tranny was great for the little bit i used it. I had a little mishap installing it...my dumb butt busted the case due to the convertor not being fully seated! lol live and learn i guess... but boy does it shift hard...and i love it!
Damn that sucks man, if it makes you feel any better I broke the ears off the pump installing the tranny I had rebuilt for the car. I called the machine shop and told them that when they finish assembling the motor if they could measure it for me, so I can figure out what gasket to run.

Tranny was great for the little bit i used it. I had a little mishap installing it...my dumb butt busted the case due to the convertor not being fully seated! lol live and learn i guess... but boy does it shift hard...and i love it!

usually in those online calculators when it asks for deck height, USUALLY, its looking for a measurement of how much the top surface of the piston sits below the plane of the deck height. it should be (-) if it is below and (+) if it is above deck height (being above just sounds like piston-valve clearance problems to me!). It should be measured in .001 increments. I used a feeler gauge for mine and it was basically the same as stock. There are diagrams online that demonstrate the geometry of these measurements...i can't remember from which point the deck height is measured...if Chad says that's what it is, then i believe him.

Whatever you do...if you're building your own engine...double check that you installed your piston rings are not installed UPSIDE down! I'm almost positive that I will find 8 Total Seal Gapless top rings installed upside down when I tear my engine back apart in a few weeks... :( I'm learning alot of tough lessons on this first build of mine, but it sure is fun!

What is the stock piston height? It would be nice to know it before I have to order pistons......

What is the stock piston height? It would be nice to know it before I have to order pistons......

Don't quote me on this, but I believe i read it was 0.034" Try searching for it...i'll do the same and if i find anything I will post it up here.

Here's something which should be helpful:
http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=784376