LS CYLINDER HEADS: SHOOTOUT AND CAM TEST

More than 20 years after the first Gen III LS1 V8 rolled off the assembly line for the 1997 Corvette, it seems there are LS cylinder heads everywhere, and even more stories that have tested and recommended various performance upgrades in the LS cylinder head department.

- Johnny Hunkins

Layered on top of that is the multitude of variations on stock displacement, port configuration, valvetrain type, and other evolutionary changes that have occurred over the years. It’s a jungle out there, and even though the LS is the go-to powerplant for those on a budget, there’s a lot of stuff to know before considering a build.

Here, we will dyno test three new LS cylinder heads and perform a camshaft swap on a naturally aspirated Gen III 6.0L LY6 truck engine. We’ll be using new stock-replacement cylinder heads sourced from EngineQuest (EQ), a wholesaler that has supplied cores and parts to the rebuilder industry for nearly 30 years.

Why Use Stock Cylinder Heads?

With so many aftermarket versions available, you may wonder why we’re focusing on stock replacement cylinder heads. Basically, brand new versions of stock heads are getting difficult to find. More and more, your options are refurbished heads, and hopefully, the rebuilder is a good one. As a supplier of parts for rebuilders in the stock replacement market, EQ is often the first to experience tight supply chains for factory-style parts, even before performance builders.