best after market l76/ls3 heads

[SS DAVE]

im currently looking at a set of after market heads ,just wondering what people have got and what they think are good.i was originally thinking of following pat g and going to afr cathedrials ,but i already have a ported lsxr and roller rockers ,so dont want to waste them in the head swap ,i was thinking the new prc might be worth the money ??open to suggestions.
my new cam is mid 230,s with 625 lift.

[Tweaky]

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/engine/hrdp_1102_ls3_l92_rectangle_port_cylinder_heads_te st/index.html

[2QUIK4U]

Mast motorsports makes a pretty nice set of heads. I will be going with them in the future when I do the heads.

[laserred]

Mast got all of ET Performance's stuff, so yeah their heads will likely be among the best with the right cam and supporting mods.

[vic2186]

PRC texas speed..
livernois..
vector motorsports
A.I.R
trick flow as cast l92
go to the camaro forums and look it up they have aftermarkets heads on all there cars lol

[Bonnetts02Vette]

Mast are amazing heads but i wouldnt do them unless you do a stroker or an all out build. You wont get their full potential until then. $3200+ for heads is a lot just for a heads and cam setup on stock cubes.

510 race engineering, Landspeed, Advanced Induction, West Coast Cylinder Heads, TEA, and PRC all make really good ported L92/LS3 heads and wont completely break the bank

[GRRRR8]

Keep in mind that it does not take much to make a lot of power with L92 heads. They are almost too big for 364 cubic inches stock. Take a well worked set and put them on a 408-416-427 etc and then they really come alive. A really good valve job, exhaust work and thats about it on a 6.0. If you are turning a lot of rpms and have a hi stall convertor and big cam......you might get away with it. :)

[jimmytt6]

I'll be putting on a set of Scoggin Dickey CNC LS3 with Manley valves heads next week with cam and FAST 102 .will post results

[-Ray-]

Greg Good, Bret Land are two names that were missed in this discussion.

[Bonnetts02Vette]

i put brett land in my post (landspeed heads). brett is a great person and def knows his LSx stuff

[-Ray-]

i put brett land in my post (landspeed heads). brett is a great person and def knows his LSx stuff

I'm sorry, I blew right past your post I guess. Brett is a great guy.

[familycaronROIDS!]

I'll be putting on a set of Scoggin Dickey CNC LS3 with Manley valves heads next week with cam and FAST 102 .will post results


I would really love to see 1/4 mile time slips difference to see if its really worth it. Dyno#'s could be deceiving sometimes. I will wait patiently.....

[SS DAVE]

yeah ive looked at the mast ,look great but on a 6 litre,would be over kill and maybe not the best result in my combo ,basically i was after 65cc chambers with a good exhaust port ,as this is my daily drive i need to do the install over a weekend ,so a second set of heads would help me time wise ,plus il have my stock heads to go back on when its time to sell.il check out those land speed heads i havnt herd of them

[familycaronROIDS!]

I would just get the stock heads decked for higher compression if you haven't already. The stock heads are pretty high flowing as they sit IMO...

[gr8lover]

Greg Good, Bret Land are two names that were missed in this discussion.

Good names for sure.... but I would rather go with GREG GREAT than GREG GOOD...... :) sorry--- had to do it...

[laserred]

Dave, you also kinda gave us a trick question. You said "aftermarket heads" which to most folks means something that's not cast by GM. Now, saying "higher-performing heads" opens the door for all of the porters listed above and all aftermarket heads. I'm going simple with the heads I got from Roy, they have already been decked and have a CNC valvejob, all I am doing for sure is having Livernois CNC the exhaust ports only and stick LS3 hollow stem intake valves in it, then using thermal ceramic coatings on the intake and exhaust ports and chambers, and putting them on. If I get really bored, I am going to coat the valvesprings with a thermal dispersing coating which helps with the flexing heat, and coating the underside of the valvecover with a thermal dispersant and on the top of the head and the intake gasket area with a thermal barrier that also is oil-shedding to help drainback and keep more heat out of the heads and intake. I know Kyle@ Radical Advantage can do these things for you, we both deal with Techline Coatings but I kinda do it as a hobby whereas RA is obviously doing it every day. I'd imagine to have RA do the intake, exhaust, chambers, springs, and top of the head should probably run around $700 but you'd likely see ~15HP and better hotlaps due to less heat in the heads and intake and more even combustion temps.

For head porting only, you can't go wrong with any of the heads listed in the article above. Livernois, Lingenfelter, SDPC, West Coast Cylinder Heads- all have proven programs that will make power, but as discussed above unless you are going over 400 cubes leave the intake port alone except for a valvejob. My brother has a set of hand-ported L92s on a 404ci with 238/250@.621" on 113+4 and it still needs more cam and RPMs, 6800 isn't high enough. Exhaust only porting will allow you to get closer to a single-pattern cam which will help idle quality and drivability.

[SS DAVE]

thanks for that laserred ,i think [correct me if im wrong]that i need at least 11 to 1 compression ,standard intake port size and a better exhaust port ,i dont think i can mill the standard heads to get down to at least 65cc chamber and get safe valve clearance,with out fly cutting the pistons,[something id like to avoid]with the cam im going with ,ive already gone with cometic 40 thou head gaskets.
is there an after market casting with a 65cc chamber that retains stock valve clearance or stock valve height.?i see that most listed are 67cc or 70cc so require milling.

[johnbell2]

I think laserred has it covered... get a compression bump, port the exhaust, valve job, done. You don't necessarily need to mill to get close to 11:1, I got to ~10.9:1 just by going with a thinner head gasket. I'm running stock 821 casting heads and they breathe up top just fine. Right now my bottleneck is the stock MAF housing more than anything else.

There's always room for improvement but when it comes to daily driver duty the stock L92/LS3 heads are no slouch. Give them a light massage and they are the best bang/buck that GM has ever made.

[stryker g8gt]

Jimmytt6
"I'll be putting on a set of Scoggin Dickey CNC LS3 with Manley valves heads next week with cam and FAST 102 .will post results"


I am interested to see what gains you get with this, please post up

[SS DAVE]

well all my research has led me to the new mast splayed valve ls3 head ,with a 65cc chamber.these heads are still in pre production ,but mine are on order,il still have to mill 10 thou off the to get me to 11.5 compression ,but hopefully the wait will be worth it.these are the only heads i could find that will give me the comp i need and still have safe ptv with stock pistons.im hopeing my new combo will net at least 350 rwkw with a standard stall converter,and nice drive manners

[laserred]

I think you should reach it, 460rwhp should be possible at 11.5:1, but I don't know what kind of octane you've got down there. Since you're buying new heads and running alot of compression, I'd suggest trying to find someone who can ceramic coat the chambers to reduce hot spots. The thermal barrier not only keeps more heat in the chambers instead of in the head, but it also distributes the heat very quickly so that there is a more even temperature across the entire surface. Most places that do this you get the chambers and valve faces coated for around $350.

[edmanet]

I would really love to see 1/4 mile time slips difference to see if its really worth it. Dyno#'s could be deceiving sometimes. I will wait patiently.....


---> With a Livernois valve job, decked heads, and stage 1 cam[435hp] my car went 11.66 @ 117 in -660 DA with the temp in the mid 40s if I remember correctly

---> With Gregg Good heads, PatG cam, and FAST 102 [478hp] my car went 11.66 @ 119 in 1200 DA with the temp right at 70 the first time out. Then add in the fact that the 2-3 shift was taking a good second or more because the trans was low on trans fluid [didn't know at time and that's a whole other story] I'm willing to bet the car will run low 11.30s once everything is worked out and the fall temps roll in.

---> The MPH (119) is there to run low 11s....and it should increase another 1 or 2 once we go back to the track with the new tune and the fall air drops the DA.

[09G8DC]

I would just get the stock heads decked for higher compression if you haven't already. The stock heads are pretty high flowing as they sit IMO...

+1

[SS DAVE]

yes i know the stock are good.i d need to mill 40 thou off stock castings to get 11.5 comp ,then id need to fly cut the pistons so the valves didnt hit.i think pat g's combo shows what a good set of heads will do .
the new splayed mast head has smaller intake port volume and better flow at lower lift,that combined with the 65cc chamber should be a great combo on the 6 ltr.
if you can believe the artical in super chev ,they picked up 50 rwhp just by swapping heads from stock to mast black label,the new splayed are even better than the black label,so they say.
il still need to mill 10 thou off them and run 40 thou gaskets to get 11.5 comp ,but ptv should be fine.my cam is mid 230 duration with 625 lift ,should be over 500 rwhp on a usa dyno .

[speed3marine]

Is anyone running mast head/cam combo on their 6.0?, I'm looking to do TSP or Mast heads/cam combo..

[SS DAVE]

im still waiting for mast to release these splayed valve heads:facepalm2:

[laserred]

Turning out like an infamous turbo "kit"...

Maybe they will do in-house installs but weld the hood shut so you can't ever touch em. Then install two Fumoto drain valves, one in the pan, and one hose-clamped to the subframe. The second one is oil input, open the valve and pump oil up into the valve cover. Checking oil level will be done with a tuning fork, tapping the pan until you get an empty, hollow sound. :)

[SS DAVE]

these are the heads ive been waiting for ,they are being released at sema ,so hopefully il have mine by december
http://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=mast%20splayed%20valve%20ls3%20heads&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCEQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mastmotorsports.com%2F2010%2F news-view.php%3Fid%3D78&ei=cCWrTuSzMZGSiQfcrvjqDw&usg=AFQjCNEZq9l2hduoBnJlNw8HL0O94qsc-g

[Matt@Texas-Speed]

http://www.texas-speed.com/p-3200-prc-aftermarket-ls3-250cc-cnc-cylinder-heads.aspx

With the new PRC aftermarket casting head, you can get the same airflow you are used to get from the ported GM castings, but through a smaller port, which means more velocity and therein power! Also, you can get smaller combustion chamber (more compression) without sacrificing piston to valve clearance! They are also priced so that the average enthusiast can afford them without taking out a second mortgage!

We've been seeing an average of 10-15rwhp more from these heads over the ported GM casting. :brock:

[Mier]

http://www.texas-speed.com/p-3200-prc-aftermarket-ls3-250cc-cnc-cylinder-heads.aspx

With the new PRC aftermarket casting head, you can get the same airflow you are used to get from the ported GM castings, but through a smaller port, which means more velocity and therein power! Also, you can get smaller combustion chamber (more compression) without sacrificing piston to valve clearance! They are also priced so that the average enthusiast can afford them without taking out a second mortgage!

We've been seeing an average of 10-15rwhp more from these heads over the ported GM casting. :brock:

How would they behave with a supercharger?

[Matt@Texas-Speed]

How would they behave with a supercharger?

Very well! They have a "thicker deck" as people say, which means added material in the crucial areas around the chambers and other weak points in the casting. This means more strength and resistance to warping or lifting heads under the added pressure of forced induction! They also have the 6-bolt provisions so if/when you ever go to the LSx Bowtie block, you are already setup to run the 6-bolt per cylinder heads bolts or studs!