chief455

If you're switching from ported LT1 on the car in your sig to an LT4 top end, I think you'll be happy. A cammed 383 is a ripe candidate for better airflow.
good luck.

sbs

Absolutely you are correct in you answer to his original question. LT4 is always > LT1 for same $ in portwork.

But you also are saying that there is some economic soundness to choosing LT4, and there is none. You are encouraging the oldest LTx noob mistake in the book.

When talking about any kind of dollars ("MODIFICATION" or "Monopoly" or whatever), the LT1 >> the LT4.

If I'm sitting here with a set of stock LT1 and LT4 heads/intake and $1000 cash then my choices are

Sell LT1 heads and intake = +$250
Money left for LT4 porting = $1250

or

Sell LT4 heads and intake = +$1650
Money left for LT1 porting = $2650

The LT1 heads with $2650 in work will beat the snot out of the LT4 heads with $1250 in work.

There will eventually be a price point where you just can't get more out of the LT1 heads so the LT4 will catch up, but long before you get there you should be using aftermarket heads.

chief455

Thanks for the feedback as I am pretty new to the LTx mod world myself.
I just don't see him coming out that far ahead by selling the LT4 stuff to bankroll porting the LT1 to equal or superior power levels.
Would anyone really buy used LT4 heads and intake for $1650?

I feel - and by his last post I think he does also, spending the money on his LT4 heads and grabbing the intake will be his best option for this situation.
You bring up good points to consiider for those starting an LT1 build though - use the LT1 heads can be just as good as LT4 without the dollars spent on the heads/intake initially

96capricemgr

Notice the guys pimping the superiority of the LT4 heads and AFR for that matter lack TRACK NUMBERS, this is VERY TYPICAL.

A lot of guys buy the "best" and are just in denial when their numbers don't turn out as they "should" have.

Dyno numbers don't count either, big head, big cam combos can VERY easily be awesome on the dyno and slow on the strip.

dangalla

QFT

and if you already have a set of stock ported heads, why would you go and pay to have another set of stock gm heads ported, the difference is going to be so small its not worth it

tireburnin

If I had a set of LT4 heads and an intake sitting in my garage, I would have them ported. I hear there are some new things (porting/valvejob wise) coming out from some companies (Dec 07).


For exactly the same price as LT1 200cc porting you could get some MEAN heads.



vs.

speed_demon24

Even there your only talking about a less than a 10cfm difference in the lift range that a street motor sees with a runner that is over 10cc's bigger. I doubt its worth the extra $1000+ for LT4 heads on 95% of the cars on here.

tireburnin

I thought he already had them and was debating over which to port. My mistake.

speed_demon24

I guess he does I just re-read the 1st post. I'de call the head ported and ask them their opinion on what heads to go with for their application.

chief455

I was thinking this as well. From scratch I could see chosing to go LT4 but pulling off ported heads? *** mentioned above - spending to port LT4 heads to replace ported LT1 heads will likey gain a small amount of poer. If and when I remove the LT4 heads from my 383 I'll be looking into proven aftermarket heads for the upgrade. Similar to posted above.

Second post you made without offering advice or data - just anger

I get that you and others have sucessfully made factory LT1 motors compete with or beat worked LT4 or aftermarket stuff. Great.
Are you in DENIAL that side by side in 1996 GM produced the LT1 and promoted the LT4 as a performance upgrade? Why are we so wrong to "pimp" LT4 or aftermarket when the parts can likely be obtained used at a reasonable cost vs. maximum tweaking LT1 parts to the same conclusion?

Your right - I don't have track numbers from my car to post - not this year.
I guess that throws 30 years of engine building out the window of credibility.

tireburnin

I agree. LT1 vs LT4 is irrelevant if neither are maximized for your application.

96capricemgr

Not offering anger just trying to help the original poster see through the hype and find REAL DATA.

Someone on here has a quote in their sig I think from Smokey Yunick about "give me one good test ver 1000 expert opinions", that is basically all I am trying to say, look at RESULTS not bench racing.

Many of you are saying LT4 stuff is better but offering no hard proof, so how are those posts of any use?

You are right my car has outperformed 383, 396, LT4, ported Trickflow etc. same track same day, the ONLY think unique about my car was my choice in topend, I have fewer boltons than most and leave more bolted on than most. I also drove to the track 500 miles instead of trailered and was still the number 2 NA ET for the day by like three tenths. To me that says something, I made better choices than most who bought into what "should" be best. The number 1 NA ET was running similar heads to mine AI 200cc. A friend's cam only car was just .2-3 behind the strokers, guess who spec'd the cam for that 160K mile cop car.

There is a trend to be seen but most people are in denial and I am not one of them.

Want to compare race cars even look in the April GMHTP for the EFI drags results, compare Ed Wright and Rick Abare's cars, VERY similar cars, VERY similar performance, IMO the engine specs and weight have to raise an eyebrow as to how could these two run so closely. Bench racing would have the one with a few points more compression and highend worked LT4s way out in front even without the slight weight advantage.

The reason my opinions vary so greatly from the norm is my focus on results rather than what "should" be, I am sure if I went along with the flow and did everything as I "should" have I would have a slower car and be better liked, but neither of those is my goal.

I wanted a fast street car I take to some test and tune nights maybe once a month, mission accomplished, I did not expect to outrun stroker cars or comparably modded f-bodies, but wont complain now that it happens.

chief455

Dwayne - great reply - I sent you a pm
Geoff

gpss97

yeah, well i can see where you guys are coming from. but what i paid for the heads with only five hundred miles on them i think it was well worth it. i paid 600 for the heads. they were on for 500 miles and they guy some how ruined a cam, flattened it our something to that effect. and they were ready to install as they were. he himself bought them new from gm, and they are in really good shape so i figured i would give it a try. i myself am new to the lt1 scene as well, i've had several mustangs before this camaro. didn't mean to start a debate over this, but appreciate the replies,lol.

Ultra_Dog

Just a note of otherwise opinion:
Not all engines are built to be drag raced. Therefore, peak power, airflow numbers and other variables only of importance to a drag racer, do not come into consideration. Those of us who have to navigate the smog laws and maintain insurance and vehicle registration and commute to work in our cars and still require the occasional meal of Sushi or Horsemeat, have other requiremens dictating our designs and engine evolvement.

My car is supercharged (ATI P1SC). It could be a lot more powerful if I changed the cam and pulley. I have the LT4 setup, because I originally was running a Hotcam. With the supercharger I changed cams. The heads were already ported, something that probabably didn't make much difference when going supercharged, but had tremendous effect on the hotcam. My original LT4 setup pulled 339RWHP with the 24# injectors, LT4 manifolds and a stock PCM tune. My suspension (Bilstein Level II) is completely at odds with drag racing. But let's meet up on the highway and we can both drop into 2nd or 3rd and see what happens. Maybe a little Hwy1 between Bodega and Fort Bragg?