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Testing The New GM L92 Cylinder Heads - 550 hp for Under $4,900

Parts List
DescriptionPNSourcePrice
LQ4, iron 6.0L, usedN/ALKQ Auto $1,100.00
L92 aluminum head, complete, 212582713Scoggin-Dickey798.50
Rocker arms, intake, 812569167Scoggin-Dickey70.00
Rocker arms, exhaust, 810214664Scoggin-Dickey70.00
Rocker support stand, 812600936Scoggin-Dickey11.98
Rocker-arm bolts, 812560961Scoggin-Dickey61.92
Valvesprings, kit, LS6 (16)12499224Scoggin-Dickey 52.25
GMPP L92 carb intake25534401Scoggin-Dickey299.50
Fel-Pro LQ4 head gasket1027Summit Racing41.95
Fel-Pro intake gasket, L921222-2Summit Racing N/A

Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Rocker Arms
The wider, rectangular intake... 
   
  read full caption
Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Rocker Arms
The wider, rectangular intake port moves the pushrod laterally, which requires an offset intake rocker arm. This is the first situation we can recall where a GM production engine uses an offset rocker arm to clear a wide intake port.
Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Exhaust Ports
Comparing the exhaust side... 
   
  read full caption
Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Exhaust Ports
Comparing the exhaust side of these stock heads with the fully CNC-ported LS7 heads indicates that the stock L92 heads are slightly better at lower valve lifts, which is what you want with street-oriented cylinder heads.
Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Piston To Valve Clearance
After removing the stock 6.0L... 
   
  read full caption
Testing GM L92 And LS7 Cylinder Heads Piston To Valve Clearance
After removing the stock 6.0L heads, we took the time to check for valve-to-piston clearance to make sure we wouldn't bend a bunch of valves with more lift from the Comp cam. We needn't have worried, since we found a ton of room. This is partly due to the Gen III engine's taller 15-degree valve angle. We're used to working with 23-degree heads.
Flow-Chart Comparison
Factory L92 head
2.160/1.59 valve sizes, stainless steel
15-degree valve angle

Factory CNC-ported LS7 head
2.20/1.61 valve sizes, titanium intake, sodium-filled exhaust
12-degree valve angle
Valve LiftIntake L92Exhaust L92Intake CNC LS7Exhaust CNC LS7
0.10072637160
0.200148126145120
0.300212162222159
0.400264189271192
0.500302205315207
0.600322214348219
0.700316221352221
For this comparison, we tested the L92 heads on the SuperFlow 600 bench at Jim Grubbs Motorsports using a 4.030-inch cylinder adapter, while the LS7 head-flow numbers came from the GM Performance Parts '07 catalog, as we did not have access to LS7 heads to test. We also measured the L92 heads for their intake-port cross-sectional areas and came up with a cavernous 3.19 square inches. That is roughly the cross-sectional size of an oval-port big-block Chevy intake port, which means that intake velocity on a small-displacement 364ci engine like ours will certainly suffer. This explains why the torque dropped at lower engine speeds, especially when paired with the longer-duration camshaft. The most impressive point is that the L92 flow numbers are close to the LS7 through 0.500-inch lift, yet a pair of CNC-ported LS7 heads will drill almost $2,500 out of your savings account versus $800 for the L92s. Which would you buy?

Cylinder-Head Spec Chart
Part number, complete12582713
Casting number5364
Valve angle15 degrees
Valve size2.165/1.59
Combustion chamber70 cc
Intake-port volume260 cc
Exhaust-port volume90 cc
Valve-stem diameter8 mm (0.315 inch)
Intake portRectangle
Exhaust portD-shape
Intake-port cross-sectional area3.19 square inches
Conical (beehive) valvespring*1.290-inch diameter at base
*Requires offset L92 intake rocker


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