Need input from people who have done it before. Bought a lq9 to go in my 00 single cab 4x4. Dont plan on towing just wanting a badass street setup. All the performance shops in my area are too busy to take my money so im doing it myself. went to summit last night picked up the comp trunnion upgrade so thats one part off the long list. need help picking a cam, and heads. as far as the cam goes i want it to be off the charts, i want the cam that guys point at and say "damn i wish i had done that cam" after they finished their cam swap. id like my power on the low side but not a dog on the high side. and like i said im 21 years old i could care less about drivability or gas prices. also plan on adding a stall. On the heads i was thinking about Ls6 heads, but according to the book i bought last night at summit (Building high performance ls motors by Will Handzel) it says ill grenade a piston with that high of compression (11:1). All inputs, opinions, and F U `s welcome.

 

First off, F U ha ha j/k

Sounds like you've got a good plan. There are many proven cams out there, something in the upper 220s range would be good for what you're describing.

The stock LQ9 heads are, for all intents and purposes, LS6 heads with larger combustion chambers. You will gain compression with the LS6 heads, but otherwise no change. The Stock LQ9 317 casting heads are excellent in stock form.

Correct torque converter will be the most critical piece in getting the setup to work right.

 

if the book says you'll grenade a lq9 with 243 heads, throw the book away. the LS2 is basically an aluminum block Lq9 with 243 heads from the factory. I run higher compression on my pump 93 stock bottom LS2. there is no such thing as that magical cam.

 

6.0 block, L92 heads, 2300 blower.
cram 15psi down its throat.

call it a day.

 

The money you would spend on Ls6 heads, say ~$600, I would put towards a good port job on your stock 317 heads. This will be a better bang for your buck IMO and will help magnify the gains with a higher lift longer duration cam. You will need to decide how big of a stall converter you want to run before you spec a cam for the setup.

 

^^ what he said ^^

 

I have a set of 799 heads for sale if you are interested. Just had new viton seals, guides, 3 angle valve job, and dual coil springs on them.

 

You will be just fine with 243/799 heads