2013 Avalanche...LMG 5.3 to L96 6.0 (Pics)

[01FormulaTA]

I read through this entire thread for probably the 3rd time since you started this project and I love it. One question I have and I don't recall reading about it, but why did you go from the ARH headers to the Kooks. I know you are now going back to stock manifolds, but were one brand of long tubes better than the other?
I am on the fence between ARH and Kooks for my L9H Tahoe and am hoping for some info that may want one brand more than the other.

Mike, I appreciate it man. Honestly I really didn't have a good reason to get the kooks headers other than I just wanted to try them out. Both companies make top notch products and I never experienced a problem with either set of headers. Both had excellent fit, finish, and welds. I would advise you to go with whatever you can get the best deal on. You cant go wrong with ARH or Kooks.

Why not T56 swap the Avalanche?

Hell yeah! X2.

Haha that would be pretty wild but I have seen some T56 swapped TBSS's so ya never know!

 

[yukon702]

Mike, I appreciate it man. Honestly I really didn't have a good reason to get the kooks headers other than I just wanted to try them out. Both companies make top notch products and I never experienced a problem with either set of headers. Both had excellent fit, finish, and welds. I would advise you to go with whatever you can get the best deal on. You cant go wrong with ARH or Kooks.





Haha that would be pretty wild but I have seen some T56 swapped TBSS's so ya never know!

I got a set of Kooks I just purchased and decided to wrap them to hopefully tone them down. It's a mother trying to wrap them because the pipes are so tight. So that in itself is a project that I still haven't finished cause of work. Do you think it would make a difference in wrapping them to try and deaden the sound? Or has anyone else done this? Any extra info would be great

 

[01FormulaTA]

I got a set of Kooks I just purchased and decided to wrap them to hopefully tone them down. It's a mother trying to wrap them because the pipes are so tight. So that in itself is a project that I still haven't finished cause of work. Do you think it would make a difference in wrapping them to try and deaden the sound? Or has anyone else done this? Any extra info would be great

I haven’t had any experience with wrapping headers, it may help, I wouldn’t think it would make a big difference though, I do know it helps a lot with controlling under hood temperature...make sure whatever exhaust wrap you go with doesn’t absorb moisture

 

[kbuskill]

make sure whatever exhaust wrap you go with doesn’t absorb moisture

Is there such a thing???

Not being a smart ass... just genuinely curious.

What is the best way to avoid moisture?

 

[swathdiver]

What is the best way to avoid moisture?

Keep it in the garage?

 

[01FormulaTA]

Is there such a thing???

Not being a smart ass... just genuinely curious.

What is the best way to avoid moisture?

I had heard through here say that DEI's newer product was moisture resistant but I have no experience with it....he might be ok out in Vegas anyways, its a desert climate so it should be pretty dry year round

 

[Tonyrodz]

Is there such a thing???

Not being a smart ass... just genuinely curious.

What is the best way to avoid moisture?

I'd think if any moisture gets trapped within the header wrap it would burn off as soon as you'd start it and let it run.

 

[kbuskill]

I had heard through here say that DEI's newer product was moisture resistant but I have no experience with it....he might be ok out in Vegas anyways, its a desert climate so it should be pretty dry year round

I live in the land of 100% humidity... FL.

I'd think if any moisture gets trapped within the header wrap it would burn off as soon as you'd start it and let it run.

Yeah I would think that too but from what I have read the moister/water gets trapped between the header and the wrap and when the headers get hot it "superheats" it and causes the metal to fatigue and get brittle and break.

I don't know... I ran the titanium lava wrap on my choppers pipes and never really had a problem even after washing the bike and the pipes getting soaked.

BUT...

All the header manufacturers say that using header wrap voids the warranty so there must be some ill effects from it.

I have been eyeing the ceramic coated stainless JBA shorties and was thinking about wrapping them as well to keep the underhood temps even lower and to speed up the velocity of the exhaust gases by keeping the temperature up inside the pipes. I am hesitant to do anything that would cause problems down the road though.

Maybe if you really coated the wrap with the silicone spray they might be alright.

Any thought or suggestions/insight is much appreciated.

 

[yukon702]

Is there such a thing???

Not being a smart ass... just genuinely curious.

What is the best way to avoid moisture?

Yes there is such a thing if you buy the cheaper fiberglass kind of wrap. You either spray them with high temp silicone spray paint or buy basalt wrap to stop the moisture thing.

Supposedly after time the moisture degrades the wrap especially when its wet and it picks up dirt and grime. I can't believe it but I just need it to tone down the sound.

 

[01FormulaTA]

little update...so basically I was bored lol and I decided to pull the 6.2 LS3 and sell it (Will be for Sale shortly) and I rebuilt the L96 6.0 I had originally swapped....


the LS3 had CRAZY top end and pulled like a freight train but I wanted more low end grunt for the 6.0 and I wanted to up the compression so I took it apart down to the block and went to the trusty dingle ball hone and got rid of the dished pistons for some new GM Flat Top LS2 pistons...The main bearings and the cam bearings looked good to me so I reused them, just new pistons and rings only, no rebalance required...I also sold the 823 Heads (68cc) and went with a set of 243 Heads (64.5cc) for the smaller chambers so basically built an Iron Block LS2, I should be at right around 11:1...I ALMOST went with a factory GM cam but I couldnt bring myself to do it lol.....so I also added some Pac 1218 Valve Springs and for my cam I went with the High Lift version of Summit's new Stage 1 truck cam...I didnt take as many pics this time but here is what I got...


Taking L96 Apart

After Ball Hone

LS2 Pistons

Pistons Installed

Summit Cam - Part 8719 - 209/217 .550/.550 112+1 LSA

Went with CHE Trunnion Upgrade this time (my Straub Kit held up great in the LS3 and the bushings still look new after 10k miles, I just like to try other products). I will say the CHE kit is easier to install as the new bushings dont have to be pressed in like with the Straub kit.

LS3 Out

Fast Forward 2 days later and L96/LS2 Hybrid In

Still working on some break in miles and I need to get the tune checked....I will eventually get another vid up for comparison to the LS3

 

[swathdiver]

the LS3 had CRAZY top end and pulled like a freight train but I wanted more low end grunt for the 6.0 and I wanted to up the compression so I took it apart down to the block and went to the trusty dingle ball hone and got rid of the dished pistons for some new GM Flat Top LS2 pistons...The main bearings and the cam bearings looked good to me so I reused them, just new pistons and rings only, no rebalance required...I also sold the 823 Heads (68cc) and went with a set of 243 Heads (64.5cc) for the smaller chambers so basically built an Iron Block LS2, I should be at right around 11:1...I ALMOST went with a factory GM cam but I couldnt bring myself to do it lol.....so I also added some Pac 1218 Valve Springs and for my cam I went with the High Lift version of Summit's new Stage 1 truck cam...I didnt take as many pics this time but here is what I got...

That sounds like a great torque building application with the 243 heads. I don't remember, do you run this one at the drag strip? Would love to see how much horsepower it puts down at the wheels through the traps!

 

[01FormulaTA]

That sounds like a great torque building application with the 243 heads. I don't remember, do you run this one at the drag strip? Would love to see how much horsepower it puts down at the wheels through the traps!

yah in the lower RPMs and part throttle it def feels stronger, from a stop its feels very responsive without having to give it much throttle...I havent gone WOT yet but I expect I lost some top end since I ditched the LS3 Heads, lost some cubes and I believe the Iron 6.0 is around 80lbs heavier than the Aluminum 6.2 as well, but overall I think this will be more enjoyable daily driver since most my time is spent under 4k RPM...

I havent ever taken this truck to the strip, its such a heavy ***** Im afraid ill break something lol but I do eventually want to get it Dyno Tuned, hopefully sometime next year so we should evntually know what she makes...when i had my 2011 L9H Silverado Dyno Tuned it made 374 RWHP, it was stock except for Kooks 1 7/8 Headers...I would expect similar numbers from this one since it has a cam but Im using the factory Manifolds and Y-Pipe with Corsa Cat back....

I found my old Dyno....

 

[swathdiver]

yah in the lower RPMs and part throttle it def feels stronger, from a stop its feels very responsive without having to give it much throttle...I havent gone WOT yet but I expect I lost some top end since I ditched the LS3 Heads, lost some cubes and I believe the Iron 6.0 is around 80lbs heavier than the Aluminum 6.2 as well, but overall I think this will be more enjoyable daily driver since most my time is spent under 4k RPM...

I havent ever taken this truck to the strip, its such a heavy ***** Im afraid ill break something lol but I do eventually want to get it Dyno Tuned, hopefully sometime next year so we should evntually know what she makes...when i had my 2011 L9H Silverado Dyno Tuned it made 374 RWHP, it was stock except for Kooks 1 7/8 Headers...I would expect similar numbers from this one since it has a cam but Im using the factory Manifolds and Y-Pipe with Corsa Cat back....

I found my old Dyno....

Cool, when I used to race, dyno cells were few and far between, we went to the drag strip and used math, which is what I'm proposing here. If your race weight is 6100 pounds and she puts down 375 RWHP, mathematically, she should run through the traps at around 14.7 @ 92 MPH. It's quite satisfying to beat those predictions!

We run ours once a year for fun, race weight is 6400 pounds and the 5.3 makes 307 HP at the wheels. Either just a plain L9H swap or something along the lines of what you've done would be fun to do someday.

 

[mikeyss]

I love your truck and all of the work you have done. But I have a burning question.... Why didn't you change the LS3 cam for something that would move the torque band down lower? My Tahoe has a L9H and it NEVER has a lack of torque, anywhere in the rpm range. I know some of that is the VVT, but still... I also have a 06 Sierra Denali with the LQ9 and it has lots of torque down low, but not like my L9H. I like your different approaches to your project, and I can't wait for what you do in the future.

 

[01FormulaTA]

I love your truck and all of the work you have done. But I have a burning question.... Why didn't you change the LS3 cam for something that would move the torque band down lower? My Tahoe has a L9H and it NEVER has a lack of torque, anywhere in the rpm range. I know some of that is the VVT, but still... I also have a 06 Sierra Denali with the LQ9 and it has lots of torque down low, but not like my L9H. I like your different approaches to your project, and I can't wait for what you do in the future.

I could have gone that route but I honestly just wanted a new project and I wanted to build a whole new combo with a set of cathedral port heads. All things being equal Cathedral heads are known to produce peak torque lower than the square port heads. With the LS3 I wanted to make the truck "fast", which for what it was it moved out very well. My buddy actually ended up buying my old 2011 L9H Silverado (still has it to this day) and we did a 30mph roll up to 100 right after I LS3 swapped the Avalanche and I gave him the hit and by the end I had about 2 lengths on him. Keep in mind the Silverado is lighter and has 3.73s vs my 3.42s but at this point it was all stock except a tune (I put the factory exhaust manifolds back on when I sold it). No video unfortunately. With this project I just wanted to build a stump puller. I have no doubt its slower than before but it drives so nice and makes gobs of torque down low right where this tank needs it.

Here's a great article talking about Cathedral vs Square Port heads.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/ghtp-1205-cathedral-vs-rectangular-port-cylinders-head-to-head/

 

[swathdiver]

Here's a great article talking about Cathedral vs Square Port heads.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/ghtp-1205-cathedral-vs-rectangular-port-cylinders-head-to-head/

That article also reiterates that it is not really necessary to lift the valves more than .500 or so, too much stress on the valve train for too little gain; IMO.

 

[mikeyss]

Ok, then the last argument over cathedral port vs square port is sound!! Haha. Square port sound MUCH better at W.O.T. than cathedral ports, lol

 

[randeez]

I could have gone that route but I honestly just wanted a new project and I wanted to build a whole new combo with a set of cathedral port heads. All things being equal Cathedral heads are known to produce peak torque lower than the square port heads. With the LS3 I wanted to make the truck "fast", which for what it was it moved out very well. My buddy actually ended up buying my old 2011 L9H Silverado (still has it to this day) and we did a 30mph roll up to 100 right after I LS3 swapped the Avalanche and I gave him the hit and by the end I had about 2 lengths on him. Keep in mind the Silverado is lighter and has 3.73s vs my 3.42s but at this point it was all stock except a tune (I put the factory exhaust manifolds back on when I sold it). No video unfortunately. With this project I just wanted to build a stump puller. I have no doubt its slower than before but it drives so nice and makes gobs of torque down low right where this tank needs it.

Here's a great article talking about Cathedral vs Square Port heads.

http://www.superchevy.com/how-to/ghtp-1205-cathedral-vs-rectangular-port-cylinders-head-to-head/

wtf happened to the maggy?!?! thats what you shoulda seen thru till the end!

 

[01FormulaTA]

wtf happened to the maggy?!?! thats what you shoulda seen thru till the end!

yahhhh I basically decided I didnt want to have that much money into it, if I could do it all over again I would have just did a AFM/VVT delete on the 5.3 and bought a TVS1900 for it instead of all the motor swaps but ive enjoyed the "build" so far, at this point I just want a solid daily and I want to get a project car, just cant decide if I want something cheap like an older mustang I can LS swap or spend a little more on a 00-02 WS6 or 05-07 NBS truck

 

[iamdub]

yahhhh I basically decided I didnt want to have that much money into it, if I could do it all over again I would have just did a AFM/VVT delete on the 5.3 and bought a TVS1900 for it instead of all the motor swaps but ive enjoyed the "build" so far, at this point I just want a solid daily and I want to get a project car, just cant decide if I want something cheap like an older mustang I can LS swap or spend a little more on a 00-02 WS6 or 05-07 NBS truck

LS-swapped fox body FTW.