Pro Elite Cylinder Heads - LS7UP

When we first caught wind of the all-new RHS Pro Elite LS7 cylinder heads, we knew that they would have enthusiasts salivating. On paper, the specs are impressive, with tweaks and optimizations made in all of the right places at an affordable price point. Built from 355-T6 aluminum and featuring .750-inch thick decks and provisions for the ever-popular 6-bolt clamping design, these are an obviously stout piece, but the good stuff doesn't end there. Boasting the same sought after 12-degree valve angle as a factory LS7 head, the RHS engineers were able to go above and beyond what the General could provide, adding a couple of unique touches that really help the head stand apart in a sea of aftermarket offerings. On the intake side, the RHS engineering team worked hard to build all new raised (.220-inch) intake runners, which improve both the "short turn" and provide better line of sight into the cylinders, a move that results in improved performance. In the past, such an offset may have required custom spacers and/or different intake manifolds to make everything work, but RHS worked hard to add material where needed, allowing both stock and aftermarket intakes to bolt directly in place. At 291cc, the intake runner is large, but surprisingly, both the height and width of the intake port opening measured in smaller than a stock LS7 head we had laying around, proving that most of the girth is made up inside the CNC-machined ports and in the raised runner design.

On the exhaust side, CNC-machine work abounds, with .100-inch raised exhaust ports that mate up to either factory or aftermarket exhaust manifold offerings. 1.615-inch exhaust valves are a little larger than stock (by .005-inches) and sit next to the large 2.200-inch intake valves stuffed into the 69cc combustion chambers. For racers looking to add their own take on the chambers, RHS offers these heads without a valve job and P-Port chambers for total customization. Additionally, the RHS heads boast .400-inch raised valve cover rails for maximum clearance and can be outfitted with either stock (LS7) rocker arms or shaft-mount articulators from your valvetrain company of choice. Billed for use "in small and large cubic-inch, hardcore street applications," these Pro Elite RHS heads fit right in line with most enthusiasts' idea of a street head gone wild. So the only question is, how well do they work in the real world? To find out, we decided to outfit our LS3 test mule Camaro, owned by AntiVenom, with the first pair we could get our hands on. Follow along below for the install and stay tuned for results as soon as we get them. If you need to know now, hit up our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/gmhightech) and check out the video!