LQ9 (6.0L) upgrades. Trick flow worth it?
 

Hi guys, I just found out that one of my heads has a small crack so it will need to be replaced. I am not a motor guy but the person i have working on my engine recommend if i want to upgrade the motor to go with a trick flow top end kit. I guess it would take my hp up to 550. So the numbers sound good but have heard a few bad reviews about lifter noise. Anyone have experience with this kit? Ill post a link below. Anyone have any other good upgrade kits that i should look into? I was mainly wanting to get more of a muscle car idle with a cam and then i need heads. Was hoping for about 450hp but don't need 550 necessarily. Thanks for you help!

https://treperformance.com/i-2390050...or-gm-ls2.html

TrickFlow makes great stuff. You won’t be disappointed. One thing I’d check into if your considering this kit, would be lifters. I don’t see lifters listed in the ad description. I don’t see how they can offer pushrods without knowing what lifter your running. Aftermarket lifters place the pushrod length all over the place.
Certainly tithe kit comes with lifters, and it just isn’t listed?

For your goals, waste of $. Find any non castec cathedral port head cores and send them to Texas Speed or Frankentstien, have them match a cam, use your stock rockers with a trunion upgrade, LS7 lifters, get new head bolts as they're not reusable, new gaskets. Measure for pushrods order them and your all in for under $2000

A friend of mine has LS3 heads on a truck 6.0 in a 71 Nova. Medium cam. A bit of chop at idle. New springs and push rods. Might as well do the trunion upgrade. His car did 420 RWHP on the dyno. It's a great daily driver.