6.0 heads and cam

[Tamcphail89]

Just picked up an 05 Escalade 6.0 LQ9.

Looking to possibly do a head swap and cam. I plan on going with the BTR truck Norris cam. Heads I'm a little more unsure of. I have 317's currently which I know flow well but are much better for boost. I can get a set of 706 heads locally for $100 and have them gone through and freshened up.

Won't the 706 heads bump up my CR and give me more bottom end torque? This is a daily driver, minimal towing. I want more usable power down low to mid. I know the 706's fall off in the upper rpm's but that shouldn't be an issue cause I'm not looking for that.

Thanks all.

 

[S33k3r]

Search this guy's YouTube channel -- everything you need is likely there, and then some:

Richard Holdener

 

[Tamcphail89]

Search this guy's YouTube channel -- everything you need is likely there, and then some:

Richard Holdener

I watch a lot of his videos. He's the reason i'm going with the truck norris cam.
On some of his cylinder head videos, he seems mostly concerned with top end numbers which don't really interest me.

 

[Mudsport96]

Im pretty sure 706s would give you waaayyy too much compression with the flat tops in the LQ9. Something like 11:1 which in a heavy Escalade will ping, probably even with 93. Add in the Truck Norris cam that is building more cylinder pressure by nature you will again be running into detonation risk. So i would probably try avoiding that unless you want to build a dedicated e85 engine. Which would probably get away with that much compression just fine, but how many places aroumd you sell it?

 

[THarber]

243 heads would be my choice. Those will give you 11to1 but that lq9 will take it with a good tune. I ran the same setup but with a BTR Stage II low lift cam in my Hummer and it was an absolute beast.

 

[iamdub]

Just picked up an 05 Escalade 6.0 LQ9.

Looking to possibly do a head swap and cam. I plan on going with the BTR truck Norris cam. Heads I'm a little more unsure of. I have 317's currently which I know flow well but are much better for boost. I can get a set of 706 heads locally for $100 and have them gone through and freshened up.

Won't the 706 heads bump up my CR and give me more bottom end torque? This is a daily driver, minimal towing. I want more usable power down low to mid. I know the 706's fall off in the upper rpm's but that shouldn't be an issue cause I'm not looking for that.

Thanks all.

Compression gives power across the board. 706 heads will certainly raise the compression, to the tune of ~11.5:1 if not higher. But, in stock form, they will be a choke the higher you rev it which counters that cam. Yes, you could have the 706s worked over with some porting and larger valves (at least the intake valves), etc. If the compression is too high (and I think it is), you could get thicker gaskets to help. But, you're throwing all kinds of money and effort at the 706s when, as @THarber mentioned, you could slap on some stock 243/799s and have compression and flow. It'd be an iron block LS2. 93 octane would be mandatory.

It sounds to me like you want this Escalade to get moving with less throttle input, like when accelerating around town and aren't looking for a hard top-end pull when passing on the highway. I'd get the 243/799s. I'd also suggest a slightly looser stall.

 

[Mudsport96]

Compression gives power across the board. 706 heads will certainly raise the compression, to the tune of ~11.5:1 if not higher. But, in stock form, they will be a choke the higher you rev it which counters that cam. Yes, you could have the 706s worked over with some porting and larger valves (at least the intake valves), etc. If the compression is too high (and I think it is), you could get thicker gaskets to help. But, you're throwing all kinds of money and effort at the 706s when, as @THarber mentioned, you could slap on some stock 243/799s and have compression and flow. It'd be an iron block LS2. 93 octane would be mandatory.

It sounds to me like you want this Escalade to get moving with less throttle input, like when accelerating around town and aren't looking for a hard top-end pull when passing on the highway. I'd get the 243/799s. I'd also suggest a slightly looser stall.

Looser stall or maybe regear. The heads and cam will give more power and a regear is " more expensive" initially. But, if the build requires a constant diet of 93 that gets expensive for the life of the vehicle.

 

[iamdub]

Looser stall or maybe regear. The heads and cam will give more power and a regear is " more expensive" initially. But, if the build requires a constant diet of 93 that gets expensive for the life of the vehicle.

True, but OP was already mentioning higher compression. Besides, it's an LQ9- it should be fed high octane as it is. IIRC, those rigs came with 3.73, so he's doing alright there. If he doesn't mind the extra RPM and reduced fuel economy (although minimal?), 4.10s would be more fun. I guess it really is up to what kind of driving he does. Really, with a looser stall and/or a lower gear, his city MPG would drop more. So, running 89 or 87 (if tuned for those) could possibly be a wash versus setting it up to run 93.

I've recently pondered switching to 4.10s when I swap in a TrueTrac, if not a whole other rear end. With a 4L60E, 3.73s and 32" tires, I'd only be turning 200 more RPM at 75 MPH on overdrive. I do more highway/cruising than stop-and-go city driving. So, it might not be worth it to me to bother. Or maybe it would.

Buuut, I'd also like to turbo mine some day. Stretching out the gear pulls would keep it loaded up with boost longer.

Anyway, just posting relative numbers for the OP to compare.

 

[Mudsport96]

Ok lets go back to the beginning.

Just picked up an 05 Escalade 6.0 LQ9.

The whole Escalade or just the LQ9 for a transplant?

Looking to possibly do a head swap and cam. I plan on going with the BTR truck Norris cam. Heads I'm a little more unsure of.

The BTR cam will be a decent upgrade.

I have 317's currently which I know flow well but are much better for boost.

Misnomer there, the 317s were designed with big chambers for the 6.0s displacement to put the compression in a reasonable range. Like has been stated the 706 and 799 will put you in high 10s low 11s for compression. The flow is similar to the 243/799 head, so boost performance is similar but compression is down so overall power is down for the same level of boost

I can get a set of 706 heads locally for $100 and have them gone through and freshened up.

If it was an LQ4 i would probably go this route as it starts with lower compression than the LQ9.

Won't the 706 heads bump up my CR and give me more bottom end torque?

Yes

This is a daily driver, minimal towing. I want more usable power down low to mid.

So just trying to get more driveability out of the vehicle for around town or town and highway combined?

I know the 706's fall off in the upper rpm's but that shouldn't be an issue cause I'm not
looking for that.

They do, but in a 6.0 test with a wilder cam than the Truck Norris it only lost out by 12 hp but gained 12 TQ down low. In a truck or suv i call that a wash. But again with the LQ9 compression 706s are going to require a real good tune and good fuel always. I mean maybe you could do injectors and get a e85 tune. That would be the best octane there but sometimes hard to find.

Thanks all.

So what are your goals for the vehicle? The more specific the better we can help.

 

[Tamcphail89]

It is the whole escalade.

I've backed off on the heads and cam honestly. I was thinking just a head swap with some 706/862's would be sufficient for my desires, but i'm not sure now. I want more useable power down low and around town, but the cost of everything piling up is a little daunting. I was just gonna get a set of 862's with new springs and seals locally but it seems like the compression ratio will be a little too high for pump gas 91.

I am about to install long tubes, y pipe and a si/so borla, then I plan on getting it tuned by a local shop for 91. I do not have 93 readily available near me so that's a no go, as well as e85 swap.

I am hoping with the better flowing exhaust and tune, it will appease me and save me lots of money on a head/cam swap.

I have a gt4 rear end, no g80 though. That was another thought down the road, but that kinda install is very intimidating to me doing it on my own.

I just changed the fluid and filter on my 4l65e, added the corvette servo and a new tru cool 40k cooler this weekend. So that should all be buttoned up for future mods.

 

[iamdub]

It is the whole escalade.

I've backed off on the heads and cam honestly. I was thinking just a head swap with some 706/862's would be sufficient for my desires, but i'm not sure now. I want more useable power down low and around town, but the cost of everything piling up is a little daunting. I was just gonna get a set of 862's with new springs and seals locally but it seems like the compression ratio will be a little too high for pump gas 91.

I am about to install long tubes, y pipe and a si/so borla, then I plan on getting it tuned by a local shop for 91. I do not have 93 readily available near me so that's a no go, as well as e85 swap.

I am hoping with the better flowing exhaust and tune, it will appease me and save me lots of money on a head/cam swap.

I have a gt4 rear end, no g80 though. That was another thought down the road, but that kinda install is very intimidating to me doing it on my own.

I just changed the fluid and filter on my 4l65e, added the corvette servo and a new tru cool 40k cooler this weekend. So that should all be buttoned up for future mods.

The stock tune is very conservative and sloppy. If the shop very experienced, they can fix the factory shortcomings and that, alone, will make it feel more powerful and responsive. It'll also help to lengthen the life of the trans.

 

[Tamcphail89]

The stock tune is very conservative and sloppy. If the shop very experienced, they can fix the factory shortcomings and that, alone, will make it feel more powerful and responsive. It'll also help to lengthen the life of the trans.

That's what I'm hoping for. Long tubes and a good tune, torque management taken out, should be sufficient for a bit haha

 

[skyhighsami]

I am in a similar situation with my Yukon although I swapped in a LQ9 from the 5.3. I had a 416ci LS3 in my Trailblazer SS that I ran for years with a set of Stage 2 WCCH LS3 heads with a 240/250 .623 .617 114 cam and a stock L92 intake manifold. The motor had an 11.8 CR that I ran on 93 octane. I ran 28" drag radials, the stock 4.11 gears, and a Yank SS3600 stall. I really needed to swap in a 4200 or 4400 stall but with that compression the motor was INCREDIBLY responsive. So much so if I don't go FI I'm going to mill some 243s a little to get the compression up to 11.2-11.3 because the LQ9 is 10.5 with 317s and 10.9 with 243/799. Basically an iron block LS2. With 243s and a TBSS intake with 90mm TB you're very close to the 395hp LS2 in a stock Trailblazer SS.

 

[THarber]

If you're running a stock tune, anything will wake it up. I don't know what your Esky has but I bet it has almost no advance in the timing at all. You might just start there and see if it makes you happy before anything else. After that, just keep your eyes open for a good set of used heads. You don't need anything exotic for a truck since its mostly low end that you're after. Keep the rpm's usable and that makes life easier.

 

[Tamcphail89]

Still haven't pulled the trigger on any of this yet haha, was unemployed for a bit so playing catch up now.

I'm still planning on the truck norris cam and a 91 tune. I can still find some new heads locally for pretty cheap, but idk if it's worth the time and money. Hopefully the cam and fresh tune will really wake this thing up. Mid-range power right now with just a stock tune and long tubes is really strong, down low not so much lol.

 

[Mudsport96]

On an LQ9 i wouldnt worry about heads. Your compression will jump high enough that towing could cause detonation that the computer will pull enough timing to aviod piston damage. Thus negating any advantage to more compression. Leave the heads and just do a cam and springs. Long tubes would help you too.

 

[Tamcphail89]

On an LQ9 i wouldnt worry about heads. Your compression will jump high enough that towing could cause detonation that the computer will pull enough timing to aviod piston damage. Thus negating any advantage to more compression. Leave the heads and just do a cam and springs. Long tubes would help you too.

OK thank you for that. I have long tubes and y pipe already in. As well as a corvette servo and tru cool 40k cooler to help keep the tranny happy

 

[Tonyrodz]

OK thank you for that. I have long tubes and y pipe already in. As well as a corvette servo and tru cool 40k cooler to help keep the tranny happy

I have similar mods on my LQ9 swap. I don't remember--has your trans been rebuilt at all? If so, is it needed up--other then the servo?

 

[Tamcphail89]

I have similar mods on my LQ9 swap. I don't remember--has your trans been rebuilt at all? If so, is it needed up--other then the servo?

Yea it has been, and I put new fluid and filter in it this spring when I put the servo and cooler in

 

[Tonyrodz]

Yea it has been, and I put new fluid and filter in it this spring when I put the servo and cooler in

Good. Blew my (stock) trans 1st time I romped it.