Bill Martens Gives Us The Lowdown On Chevrolet Performance LSX Cylinder Heads
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While there’s no shortage of aftermarket performance parts companies offering products for Chevrolet’s small-block V8 engines, there’s a certain sense of security that comes with using parts designed, engineered, and tested by the manufacturer. So, for those looking to take the safest route to squeezing extra power out of their LS motors, a pair of high-performance cylinder heads from Chevrolet Performance might fit the bill.
In the video above, we get to hear from Chevrolet Special Programs Manager Bill Martens as he gives an overview of Chevrolet Performance’s LSX heads. The heads are based on production parts, Martens says, but are made stronger with thicker decks, and given more clamping force with a 6-bolt-per-cylinder design (as opposed to the production heads’ 4 bolts-per-cylinder) to better hold up to the abuses of forced induction and nitrous.
Check out the video to hear a bit more on these LSX heads, and if you’re hungry for more information on Chevrolet Performance’s offerings, click here.
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It would be interesting if someone like Hennessey Performance adopted this type of technology to their engines as more people would be willing to spend the money on something like a HPE850 for their 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE if they had confidence that the engine doesn’t blowup after 20,000 miles and with the 6-bolt-per-cylinder design, the engines might be as durable as the production supercharged V8 engine.
Hennessey and the rest are just building on the foundation already there aren’t they? That foundation can only handle so much. While the LS (GM) smallblock that replaced the Chevrolet smallblock in 97 had many improvements, I still wish it kept more of it’s Chevrolet DNA from the old days of the now defunct Chevrolet Motor Division. Things like the 5 bolts per cylinder design instead of 4 like Ford’s smallblock always had. That’s one of the things the Chevy guys would always point to as superior for clamping force when using high compression or supercharged/turbocharged use. If they upped it to 6 bolts across the board like the LSX, Chevy guys could have once again boasted of superiority, but they didn’t.
They also went to the Ford smallblock firing order which I never liked. It never sounded as good as the Chevrolet’s when using a larger cam. Chevy had the 18436572 firing order from day 1. Like the 5 cylinder head bolts, it was part of their heritage. There again just like going to Ford’s 4 bolt design, they went to Ford’s firing order too. It’s almost like saying Ford had been right all along. A third thing was the even cylinder head exhaust port spacing. I can live with that one just because at least Chevrolet’s Big Block used that. But rumor has always been the LS head was based off Nascar designs that were in fact suspiciously similar to Ford’s racing heads hence the need to go to the 4 bolt per cylinder block design bringing us full circle.
I dunno, as nice as the GM LS engine has been, I really wish it
was more genuine Chevrolet in it’s design and heritage. Especially since that’s what GM tries to tie it’s legacy to. The LSX 6 bolt with a 18436572 firing order would have really given us Chevy guys the ultimate gift had that been what replaced the old 350 back in 97.