I'm going to be buying a new set of heads (AFR), cam, and roller rockers very soon. My motor is currently pretty much stock L98 (rebuilt .030 over). The shop who rebuilt it (4000 miles ago) put in "corvette pistons" that raised my compression a bit (I have to run 93 octane now). I don't know my actual compression. It has headers and true 2-1/4" duals with two catco cats and two Flowmaster 50 series. The motor is currently out of my vehicle. My vehicle is an all wheel drive S-10. It can put a lot of torque/hp to the ground off the line without wheel spin and pretty much at full throttle.

I have a modded LT1 intake and will be doing some prom tuning after converting to speed density. From the little research I've already done, it looks like the AFR190s are the way to go. You'll see I still need to understand much more before I make a decision.

So here are my questions:

About the heads:
Are AFR190s the way to go for my motor and LT1 intake? and why?
What combustion chamber sizes do I want on these heads? and why?
What's the deal with AFR's hydra rev kit? Will it move my "redline" ahead?

About the cam:
What are my cam options, any recommendations?
Will I have a difficult time tuning my motor (prom burning) with a somewhat radical cam?
I want the motor to idle well, but doesn't have to be as smooth as stock.

Misc:
Will I need new lifters?
What about push rods?
What's the difference between 1.5 and 1.6 roller rockers?
I'm assuming I want the self-aligning ones?


If your response is, "have you ever tried the 'search' button", then I'd appreciate if you'd gladly leave this post without a reply and move on to another post. I'm asking about a complete motor package...not one individual component, so please take this post in that regard.

 

AFR 190 heads flow VERY well and I think they are the way to go. The combustion chamber size will depend on what compression ratio you want, so you need to find out about those pistons so you can get the right size chambers with them.
The hydra rev kit will help you if you rev the motor high enough, it will keep you from floating the valves. Whether you need it or not depends on what cam you get and how high you will be revving.

If you want a great street cam w/ the LT1 intake, I'd recommend the LT4 HOT cam. If you want something that will flat out scream, look at the Comp Cams 306. The HOT cam should idle a lot better than the CC306 and it will not rev as high, but you will also not see the power that the CC306 could offer. It's a trade off.

GM sells a HOT cam kit, you might want to look into that. You do not want self-aligning rockers with AFR heads. 1.6 rockers will give you a little more lift from the cam, since you are getting new rockers anyway, I'd get 1.6's. Also, when you get the AFR's, I'd get the upgraded springs that are good to .600" lift.

 

The LT4 HOT cam kit sounds like a good way to go, but i wish i could hear the idle of the LT4 cam vs the CC306.

I would like to see mid to high 12s. Do you think it's possible with the AFR190s and LT4 HOT cam kit (and the LT1 intake of course)?

Dose the LT4 cam fit in my block with no mods? Doesn't the LT1/LT4 block use the cam for the optispark module? If not, isn't something different?

 

Mid to high 12s - yes, easily if you can put the power to the ground. You've got slp or hooker headers, right? The LT4 cam will have to be modified a bit to fit - just a little pin at the front that needs to be taken care of.

 

actually i'm using sanderson 4x4 S-10 V8 headers

unfortunately the primaries are something like 1-1/2"...just a bit smaller than the usual header...it's a must for shock tower/steering shaft clearance

hopefully it won't be an issue....they flow much better than the exhaust manifolds