Which 6.0l LS engine???
 

So I've been tossing around the idea of going with a carbed 6.0l for my new car? But which one do I want? The guys selling ls1's are still wanting a lot of cash it seems, but I've found a few 6.0l for what seems to be decent money. So what am I looking for as far as a 6.0l, any 6.0 the LY6, LQ4, LQ9 :hairpullout: :hairpullout:

Some reading I've been doing the LY6 seems to be the best with the L92 heads?? With a nice cam how much power can I expect to get out of one of the LY6 or one of the others???

There is just TOO MUCH info out there now on these engines that can drive a guy crazy.

ummmmm, you might have been there waaaaay before this!!! :sarcasm_smiley:

Which ever one is the most complete and is the best price. You're looking at 6.0 motors which can handle either Gen 3 or Gen 4 parts like the L92 heads. Once you start modifying, their differences stock kind of go out the window. I do prefer the Gen 3 motors though, LQ4/9, simply because they are easier to tune. Cam only engines can easily put 400 the the rear wheels. Dropping a stroker crank into one is a piece of cake. Then 500 rwhp becomes easy with heads added in there. If I ever do the LS swap, it'll be with a cast iron 6.0 engine. They are cheap and can make brutal power. The cost difference to save 100lbs with an aluminum block isn't justifiable to me. Don't sweat the little stuff and don't fall into the bigger is better mentality that's way too prevalent in the LS world.

My LY6 was a complete pullout, meaning it came with complete uncut harness, ECM, gas pedal, had all accessories still intact, and my supplier saw it run before he told them to pull it. Cost me $2500.00, and it is guaranteed through my supplier, who claims to be the largest LS engine mover in the country.
I talked with Mast Motorsports, who is a leader in the VVT technology, and purchased a camshaft kit from them. Mast tells me with long tube headers, I will have 500 HP, at the crankshaft of course. I'll have about 4K in the engine, and that's me going through it to freshen it, new gaskets, seals, and ARP head bolts. I even threw an LS3 intake on it to make the install cleaner.

Rick, I have 6.0 block that has been magnufluxed already if you're looking for one. I also have a lead on brand spanking, new LY6 shortblocks too. PM me your cell if you're interested.

I LOVE the power from an LY6- great heads. put an LS2 front cover kit from Pace to get rid of the VVT and enjoy!

Rick,

It's very simple.

You buy the one Mark Stielow tells you to...FTW!

:D

https://sdparts.com/details/gm-perfo...parts/19171225
:unibrow:

As you can probably derive from this thread, for a normally aspirated build, the priority order as a starting point would be:

1. LY6
2. LQ9
3. LQ4

The LY6 has the later rectangular port L92-style heads, and therefore the most power potential. In my 2nd gen, I have an LS3 crate motor, 6.2L with L92/LS3 heads and LS3 intake, mild 227/235 cam, made 460 HP at the rear wheels thru T56 with a conservative tune, otherwise stock. The LY6 has lower compression (9.6 vs 10.8) and .2L less displacement, but I'd say 410 - 430 RWHP or more is still easily in reach with equally mild cam kit. And it would run pretty well on cat-pee 87 octane.

The LQ9 has one primary advantage over the LQ4 - more compression (10.0 vs. 9.4, IIRC). The extra compression might be worth 10 HP or so.

The LQ4 is still a very strong option, and more available than the others. I've seen ~385 RWHP with a very mild cam, LS6 intake, thru stock 4L65E (probably over 400 with a stick). To put that in perspective, I can't recall seeing more than about 330 RWHP from any of the iconic muscle cars we've tuned - Hemi, Six-Pack 440, 454 LS6, etc. And once again, 87 octane won't cost much if any power.

As an aside, the lower compression of these truck engines makes them great candidates for a blower. Put a Magnuson, Edelbrock, Whipple on a stock late model LS6 or LS3, and the power potential gets severely limited by knock retard due to the high static compression ratio. My biz partner's Z06 would only take about 8 degrees timing under 6 PSI boost before we hit knock, limiting us to about 480 RWHP. I'd bet we get easily over 500 with an LQ4 as a base, and the torque curve would be awesome.

Marcus give me a call! :thumbsup:

Yes Chris that's what I've heard!

Easy Skip LS7, he had a couple sitting his garage :G-Dub:

As long as your buying?? :poke: :G-Dub:

Thanks for the info, nice write up.

We put a 2001 ls1 with milled down 5.3 heads through LS6 intake and a nice cam, through a 4 speed manual trans. Made 426 rwhp!

All the engine choices you have picked are great candidates. My only advice is Do Not stick l92 heads on a 6.0L. Especially in a heavy car. The port velocity isnt there, The l92s have vvt to take care of the gigantic intake ports of the l92 heads. The l92s also have a larger bore to help unshroud the valve. The 6.0 can make awesome power with just a cam change and some long tubes. The cathedral based heads are a great unit wether they be 243 castings or 317s. I personally made 591 at the tire with a ls2 with a 239/243 @.050, magnuson 122 and kooks long tubes with a 1 7/8 primary. I would vote on the lq9 with a cam change and headers, unless you want to start playing with heads. You really can't go wrong with any of them, the LSX family is just awesome hands down.

Very nice #'s from a basic combo.

Yeah we were blown away with those numbers. It was a big cam!!

Once you do this, change that, add this, modify that, machine those, crap now I need this, forgot that, while I'm here might as well do this, nobody told me I'd need that, etc..............How many dollars difference will it be? :sieg:

Just sayin' :D