What would you change on lq4

[Tahoe03mm]

So craigslist is at it again.. Someone's got a whole setup out of a 2004 silverado hd including engine, trans, and transfer case
I'm seriously considering it for the price at least the motor as it supposedly only had 35k on it.

What's the list of upgrades I should look at doing to it before I wind up dropping it in there?

I'm already thinking cams, obviously swap over the long tubes... what else?
I'm seriously considering doing this over a supercharger, just due to the cost to performance...

thanks for input

 

[03_Denali]

First off, what would you like to achieve and how much is your budget. Also, what is your gear ratio?

Greg

 

[Tahoe03mm]

Stock gearing for now about 2000-3000 on top of the motor price. Magnacharger tvs1900 is planned but it will be a bit little longer if I decide to go 6.0 first. I will tow, nothing too extremely heavy though. I want a daily driver reliability with a nice sound so probably more lopey.
I'm looking at some lingenfelter cams, probably some comp springs.
Wasn't sure on pushrods, might as well replace them with better ones if i'm gonna do head work.
I know a great machine shop locally that I could have do some work for cheap. I was going to go with LPP headers, but I haven't ordered them yet, no cats.
I should be getting my pcm back from Justin today or in the next few days so I can install my e-fans, so yeah tune will be a must

 

[03_Denali]

Stock gearing? 3.42 or 3.73?
What kind of idle do you want? Stockish, lopey, choppy?
Do you tow?
Of course you know a tune will be a must. I recommend Justin (BB) he's a great tuner, great customer support, and has great prices.
Headers: I recommend ARH 1 3/4" longtubes, unless a supercharger is in the future.
Cam: It's going to depend on your gearing and what you want out of the setup.
Pushrods: is a must, 7.4"
Converter: Depends on your cam

You need to give more detail of what you want from the setup.

 

[Tahoe03mm]

Will the 4l80e fit without a gigantic amount of work? Guy told me 500 for xfer case and 500 for the trans

 

[TIM Z]

That will be a great engine for your vehicle!

I reccomend a good cam ( i like comp cams) . Make sure to get a boost friendly grind if a blower or turbo is in your future.

Definitley a good stall converter to match your engine mods. Precision industries makes the best converters. Stay away from Tci, and B&M.

AGood tune is a must. I reccomend finding someone in your area that can street tune with you or dyno tune. mail order tuning isnt the best, as it takes some trial and error before you get your combo right, but if you dont have a wideband or scanning software you wont be able to give the tuner good feedback. But sometimes this is your only option.

Also make sure to get valve springs to match your cam. You can save money with using corvette Z06 valve springs if they support the lift of your cam choice. They work great.

So you really dont have to do many mods to make this engine run the best it can. A cam and tune really wakes them up.

my friend has an 02 HD truck with a 6.0, comp cam. Z06 springs and tune and it runs like a ***** ape. Its soo much fun to ride in a cammed LS motor.

 

[03_Denali]

Magnacharger tvs1900 is planned but it will be a bit little longer if I decide to go 6.0 first. I will tow, nothing too extremely heavy though. I want a daily driver reliability with a nice sound so probably more lopey.
I'm looking at some lingenfelter cams, probably some comp springs.
Wasn't sure on pushrods, might as well replace them with better ones if i'm gonna do head work.
I know a great machine shop locally that I could have do some work for cheap. I was going to go with LPP headers, but I haven't ordered them yet, no cats.
I should be getting my pcm back from Justin today or in the next few days so I can install my e-fans, so yeah tune will be a must

I would go with an EPP blower cam, it has a nice lopey idle and will perform well with or without the FI. Lingenfelter GT2/3 cams are proven with FI, but without the blower they don't perform, plus they idle like a stocker. A 2800-3200 stall would work nicely with the EPP cam.

I run a lunati voodoo 60512 232/238 113+4 LSA , with a yank PT3200. I do bleed off boost with my cam selection, but I have no problem at all spinning all 4 tires mashing on it to pull out in front of traffic. So I have no complaints about lacking power and tq.

Using your flex injecters with the cam and header will probably get you by without having to buy new injectors. Non flex injectors will end up short with a cam and headers.

Greg

 

[Tahoe03mm]

What's the easiest way to tell if it's a 6.0 engine at a glance? The heads? The cover isn't on it and it's not in a vehicle

 

[03_Denali]

317 casting aluminum heads, not iron! 6.0L should be stamped on the block RF on the engine.

 

[JennaBear]

The LQ4 is the lower compression 6.0. I wouldn't bother with the 80e as you will notice a decrease in low end HP/TQ compared to what you have now. If you were to do anything I would suggest beefing up your 60e.