I'm not sure what kind of motor I'm building right now. Most likely a 6.2L LQ9 block of undetermined ci or stroke so far. Not sure if I would stick to 6.2L or go 408 or 427.

Trying to keep the cost to a minimum so that I will have cash to turbo or supercharge it. Trying to plan everything out now so I know how much cash I have to play with.

A big thing for me is to keep the cam small this time around. I want it to sound and drive as much like stock as possible but unleash the wraith of hell when you drop the hammer.

Do I sound like a newbie yet?

 

what are you 82 years old?

 

No I just daily drove a 383 LT1 with a 240+ duration on a 109 LSA cam for 2 yrs with true duals and pissed off my neighbours every morning at 7 am when their car alarms went off as I idled by.

 

Isn't life grand!

 

If you don't even know what kind of motor you are going to build, then you are going to get all kinds of various responses.

If you're doing a forced induction motor, the L92 heads are around 70cc and very cheap. That's the way I'd go. No need to put more money int heads if you don't need to. Turn up the boost and away you go!

Mike

 

I know. Sorry I haven't decided on a platform yet.

Looking for 600 rwhp approx with turbo. Or 500-525 rwhp NA (if possible with a small cam)

I guess I'm looking to build something that would leave my options open to a turbo later without having to change the cam or compression too much to run 8 psi or so.

 

That's nearly impossible on any build. You'll sacrifice either now or later.

A boost-friendly build might get you around 450rwhp on a 408... milder cam with little overlap and wide LSA (22x/23x .625 lift 116 LSA), low compression (9:1), big chamber heads, etc... After that, hit it with a D1SC or an F1 and make 700+ rwhp at 12-16+ psi.

Mike

 

So lets suppose I want something that puts out a bit more than an LS7 NA but I will be able to add 8-10 psi of boost through a magnuson or APS turbo kit later. Without going out and buying an LS7, what should I be looking at?

So far I have $8,000 in total to play with which will need to cover an engine build up, T56 tranny, clutch, and tuning. Might have more cash later.

 

You also need to figure out what kind of motor you want before you drop 2500$ on a set of heads...You need to make a decision whether you want to run naturally aspirated, or run forced induction...Combustion chamber volume is critical in getting the desired SCR, too high in a boosted application could prove disasterous consequences...For the LSX based heads, .007 milled from the head will lower the combustion chamber approximately 1 point...You don't want to buy heads for NA use, and then turn around and decide to go with boost, would be just throwing money away...

The key to picking the right head is really to pick the heads with the highest flow, velocity, and also the smallest runners for your given displacement...Your cam should be matched to your heads, to compliment the heads strengths, as well as to improve on their weaknesses...

Another advantage to the aftermarket castings is the amount of material they have...They all come with much beefier rocker stud bosses, thicker decks, and thicker walled runners...Very well suited for NA or boosted applications...

Look into AFR 225s, ETP 225cc-245cc. and TFS 225cc-245cc...I think 225cc heads will be more than enough for a 408, and I feel that TFS are the way to go with the 13.5 degree valve angle and less BS install...

Just remember, peak intake flow numbers won't make you faster, so in most cases you can disregard paying a lot of attention to that...The important things to look for are runner size, velocity, and intake to exhaust flow rate...

As far as intake solution, a ported FAST will do you good...7200rpms is plenty

 

^^ Do you have a link for ETP?

 

http://www.etheads.com/00products.htm

 

Let it be known that valve cover issues are present when using ETP heads, you will also need a custom rocker pedestal, but that's only 100$...

I just checked, and the lead time on a set from ETP is quite a while, up to about 6 weeks...

Also, check out www.totalengineairflow.com
Brian knows his heads, and can do some great work, especially on a set of AFRs...Seeing the TFS flowcharts, they're a really impressive head and i might just buy a set for a decoration...

I know I used to tote around my AFR's because they were so pretty...

 

hahahaha good times. that always puts a smile on my face lol.

 

Friend has a 2006 LS2 powered Vette with L92 heads and a small cam (224/ .580 lift) and pulled 490+ RWHP. Car drives good down low. With those huge valves, you apparently have to watch the duration/lift. I've heard they are now offering them with smaller valves. He seems happy with the combo and uses it as his daily driver. Those heads come on all LS3 vettes - why would you think they would be "too big" for a 6L buildup ?

-- Lee

 

yes