Head/Cam Choice for LQ9 SS Pickup

**krexken** · 07-19-2012, 06:21 PM

Hey, yall. A good friend has an 04 SS truck and really wants to wake it up and make it sound good. He wants the idle sound to be very noticeable. I've told him the nastier the sound, the more low end you lose and he's willing to cope with some loss down low. I'm thinking some AFR heads with 205cc intake ports and their small chambers will up the compression a bit and keep things moving quickly to help with low speed power. Then again perhaps a head designed for a 4" bore will work better. Not too sure. Cam selection is where I'm reallly lost. Again I'm thinking tightish lobe centers around 110-112 for extra cackle and maybe 228 degrees duration? Not real concerned with peak power since it won't be entering any dyno wars. Anything else I need to know about hot rodding this truck? Thanks in advance.

**askkmb** · 07-20-2012, 09:45 AM

If he really wants a nasty cam he would need to change some internals of the head. Maybe some valve springs, valves and/or pushrods. For a cam you would like to look in this forum for engine internal>camshaft guide. There is a very good write up about which cam to use. And for a head i would choose the L92(6.2l) what came on the gmc denali or cadillac 2007 and newer. They are very good heads. You can get them new for a very good price. Those are the heads i'm am running on my LQ9.

**askkmb** · 07-20-2012, 11:16 AM

For a cam i maybe would choose the Thumpr from Comp Cams. This is the product number if you want to search it: 54-600-11

**WICKEDLS1** · 07-24-2012, 04:03 PM

your theory on low end loss is the opposite of what it should be. the choppier the cam the more low end there is. now with it being an lq9 no need to raise the compression since it already has flat top pistons. 205cc heads wouldnt be a bad selection on a street truck but there are MUCH cheaper selections then AFR's i.e. PRC's or patriots. if he does go with a set of 205 heads you can just up in cam size since you will have the ability to flow it. i would stay around the 234/238 range and no more then .605 lift DONT go lower then a 112 lsa unless you plan on a big convertor and getting shot by your tuner.

you will need a stall convertor with what ive mentioned thats at least 3400 or bigger. but are you just running all motor or do you plan on spraying it as well? if so theres a lot of stuff that needs to be done to the stall to prevent damage

**krexken** · 07-24-2012, 10:11 PM

Thanks for the replies. I was hoping to get by without getting a converter. Sound is more critical to this guy than hp so I don't need or want any more cam than necessary. Heads will just be my icing on the cake. Will these cams require fly cutting the pistons? I really rather not hassle with that.

**WICKEDLS1** · 07-25-2012, 07:41 AM

no you wont have any ptv issues unless you change to a bigger rocker but stock rockers will work fine as long as you have the correct strength valve springs. .600-.650. as far as the sound goes whats the point in doing all that work just for sound? however its not my vehicle it just seems like a pain in the ass just to be able to listen to it.

**2000redcamaro** · 09-07-2012, 06:51 PM

im with wickedls1, no point to make it sound fast if it is a turd. ive learned the hard was if you are going to do something, do it right the first time. it will cost alot more to go back into it later to make the combo run right and get more power. cause once you add the go fast you will only want to make it faster and faster.