I have owned both,,,afr's and tws. AFR's are a far better product! Both in performance and craftmanship! TWS are good for the buck, however, you get what you pay for! Why not spend another 2-3bills and get the best since a pair of TWS are almost 1000$ anyways!

I must apologize up front for the length of this reply, It is very long. Feel free to email me directly if there are any questions on any of my statements........
craiger: The "bad experience" you had with our heads was discussed in depth on a different thread. You had the G1 heads, NOT the G2's. Here is part of that thread:
I spoke with craiger via PM. There were a couple of reasons as to why his particular combination failed. The first reason, He used a set of stock GM stamped steel rockers with a camshaft that exceeded .460" lift. Anything more than .460" lift and you will have an issue of the rocker arm binding on the stud. When a rocker arm binds up on the stud you will have a sideloading issue at the valve tip. Guess what happens next? (And in a hurry....)
The second reason, He used the Manley "plastic rocker" type of pushrod length checker.
The problem with that type of checker is that it does not know what type of rocker arm you are trying to simulate. In hindsight, The pushrod length was probably not correct after all. Allow me to explain why we do not recommend using any type of "generic" rocker arm type of tool for verifying pushrod length:
Remember how I mentioned that rockers have different center-to-center lengths between maufacturers? We are going to expand on that with this; Depending on the manufacturer (Heck, Even the series of rockers from the same manufacturer...), Some rocker arm bodies sit lower on the trunnion than others. For example, If you look at the pushrod cup in a Harland Sharp rocker, You will notice that the cup is recessed quite a ways into the body, Then look at the pushrod cup in a Crane "Gold Race" rocker. You will see that it is not recessed nearly as much. There are two trains of thought when it comes to valvetrain geometry. One says that you want the rocker arm to start on the inside edge of the valve and travel across the tip as the valve opens to max lift (Body sitting low on the trunnion). The other, Wants the rocker arm to start slightly towards the inside edge, travel to slightly past the center of the valvetip, and then come back slightly towards the inside edge at full lift (Body sitting high on the trunnion). We set up our heads to use the latter type of rocker arm. Which is why we recommend the Crane "Gold", TFS, Summit "Black Extruded", As well as the Comp Cams "Pro Magnum" roller rockers.
The only correct way to verify rocker arm geometry/pushrod length is to use an adjustable checking pushrod, with the correct rocker arm for the cylinder head, that you will be using on the engine.
Please do not misinterpret what I am saying about the Harland Sharp / Crane "Energizer" rocker arms, They work fine on our inline valve 23* head. They just plain do not work on the twisted wedge head, Whether it's the G1 or the G2.
For the record, The stock GM stamped steel rockers work just fine on the TW's, just do not exceed .460" lift. Actually, I tell everyone to not exceed .450" lift when using stock rockers so as to be on the safe side. (Due to the wide variance in ratios on the stock GM rockers I would not use them anyways, But that is a different discussion altogether...)
I understand your frustration in trying to pick out the perfect cylinder head for your engine, But please refrain from passing along misinformation.

FlashGTA: That is an arguable statement. But that is the beauty of it, Everybody has their own take on everything.

craiger: So long as you follow the instructions that we include with the heads & heed the recommendations, you will not have any premature valveguide wear issues. Remember to verify the rocker arm geometry with the rocker you will be using, Not the plastic "checking rocker".

drive it: Due to the MISinformation being spread, You were lead to believe the G2 heads have a premature valveguide wear problem.("I know the g2's had a reputation for guide problems due to the diff. angle.") That is incorrect, The G1 heads were the ones that had the problem, Not the G2. Now, If you fefuse to read the instructions & heed the recommendations, Then YES, you will have a premature failure. Was that failure caused by the heads or by the person who installed them? We have not had a single failure with the G2's that was related to the head itself.

MikeH: I am sure you will pleased with our product. Let me know how it runs....

craiger: You are correct, the only way to get a set of the 23* heads for under $1,000. is to get the as cast chamber. We offer a CNC chamber option only. We do not have a fully CNC ported head available. The twisted wedge heads you had failed prematurely due to a combo platter of mis-matched parts. The 23* heads are much easier to set up since any rocker arm can be used.

camaroguy99: Our CNC chamber option heads have a 64cc chamber, Not 67cc as you mention. (Our G2 TW & 215cc 23* heads have a 67cc chamber, But the 195cc head is 64cc.)

mtx28: You are very correct in your suggestion to look at the whole flow sheet, Not just the peak numbers. Too many people get caught up in racing flowbenchs.....

gta324: Our heads have both the EGR port as well as the temp sender hole.

Guido: Those are nice flow numbers. There are few things we need to address so the people who do not know any better will have the facts for the next time somebody brags about there flow data. ALL flowbenchs have their own personality, Some are VERY stingy with cfm, Some are not. I have had people email me a flowsheet showing our out of the box heads flowing near 260, On the other hand I have seen them flow 240 on a different bench. Remember guys, We do not race flowbenchs.....

gofasterfirebird: They had alot of problems with that set up from the word go. Everything from a fuel pump to a slipping tranny. That combination IS big for a naturally aspirated car, But it would be rocket with a blower. At any rate, It was mentioned in the article that a blower was in the engine's future.....

Harley83: What is your friends combination? Were there any issues with the workmanship of the heads? Let me know.....

grneyemnst: The problem with flow data is the fact that it is all subjective. It is subject to the flowbench itself as well as the person operating it! If I remember correctly, Superflow says they have seen +/- 10% in flow numbers between to flowbenchs.

Harley83: Again, Flowdata is subjective. As for the 18* flow numbers, Are you talking about the G2 TW (16* int / 18* exh) or are you talking about the 18* raised runner head?

grneyemnst: The 23* 195cc head is smog legal, CARB E.O. # D-369-4. For the money of porting, Have bigger valves installed, have the chambers worked over AND have a killer port job done on the L98's you can get the 23* heads that will make the same power right out of the box. Ask me how I know this.......

Harley83: Basically, What you are saying to keep your options open. That is the one thing to many people forget to do....

grneyemnst: I agree wholeheartedly that heads are the single most important purchase you can make for your engine. What I do not understand is the "and afr heads are all made on a cnc, with tight tolerances, tfs heads are mass produced for summit." statement. Do you really think we are all standing around a table with a hammers, chisels & stone valve seat grinders making heads? We use Fadal & Haas CNC machining centers, As well as Serdi valveseat cutting centers. And yes, We maintain tight tolerances as well.

NOSFEDGTA: So long as the valve & valveseat concentricity is good, Any valve will seal. REV valves do flow very well. We use Ferrea brand valves in all of our heads.

chacane67: Finally! Alot of people get so "blinded" by the magical letters "CNC" that they tend to forget that our product is making the grade with as cast ports / bowls. Not that it really matters, But with a cartridge roll clean up you will easily flow into the 280-285cfm range with the as supplied 2.02" valve.....

grneyemnst: You are correct on a couple of statements. Although I am wondering if you would clarify the following for the rest of the world:
" a good set of heads shouldnt need to be reworked to flow, and anyone looking to buy trick flow heads in the first place isnt looking to build a race motor.."

camarojoe: By now, I am sure that we are all aware of the fact that not all flowbenchs read the same. Some are stingy, some are not. Please refrain from quoting flow numbers like they are written in stone for every flowbench in every shop, It is misinformation to do so.

chacane67: I agree 100% with all of your statements. (Except for the ignorance thing and the *** handing statement. I know it is frustrating at times when it comes to communicating with people, Especially when dealing with the area of peformance, But I do not like it when people let their ego get in the way of everybody else learning something new....)

grneyemnst: Anybody who says the AFR head sucks is an idiot, But at the same time we need to look past our noses to see that there are other products out there they make similar power without CNC porting. It's refreshing to see that you build your own engines and have actual experience, There are so many people that do not know how to verify rocker arm geometry, Yet they are "cylinder head experts".......

speedemon171: Believe me, They are not mediocre my friend..

camarojoe: Take a deep breath and count to 10. Remember, You saw them tested on a flowbench, On that flowbench they flow a certain number. Great, Go to a different flowbench they will flow a different number. What does that mean? Do we race flowbenchs? I know I do not. By the way, We have all of the current SBC heads on the market in our facility, I know what they all flow on our Superflow SF600. Is it worth bringing up? Nope. Statements only matter when they are said with sincerity, If we all leave our egos at home we will all get to learn from each other.

chacane67: You have made some very good points that alot of people have no understanding of. That is why there is so many misinformed people. Looking at flow numbers alone does NOT give you all of the answers......

grneyemnst: Had to get the last word in, eh? Let's keep the replies constructive because this is ridiculous.....

IROCblueZ28: What was the issue with our heads that you had on your engine?

i agree with ya on, pretty much everything. i didnt mean that trick flows are constructed with crude tools. and for a street motor, why sink the cash into reworking heads you just bought ?but alas ive played with gm's aluminum heads, steel heads, my set now are afr street heads195cc, and as you may have read my next set of heads will not be. but my next motor for my nova will be strictly race , so brodix are lookin good.but who knows there are alot of great heads out there.

cool, I know that I DO come across pretty strong.......more that I should. That is the best thing about these forums, is what we can share of what we do know and hopefully, we can all benifit from each other!

By the way Artie, I am more than satified with the products that your company produces. If I can make 460 HP on 87 octane, with a cam under 0.500 lift.....you will always have my support. Thank you for the criticism.

I feel a group hug coming......

GMHTP's car had crappy dished pistons, and ran faster than yours without the nitrous.

group hug , thats quality. so yea , figured id say guess what ,ill be usin the afr heads another season.why? cause i cant build 3 motors this winter and still get the naova ready fornext year, gettin threatened if i dont get to work on my 88 trans am, its gotta go, and i like it , so forget that, and i need alot for next year so the nova is gettin rings, bearings, new cam ,and nitrous aside from work already in progress. and i really wanted 10's next year, o well least ill have a fresh trans am for summer cruising.

Im sorry if Ive upset anybody about their personal preferences but I feel the worst thing you can do with a motor is ground yourself and follow what everyone else does. In all reality I think experimenting with different products is the best way to suit your particular application. The Cutlass I was referring to had a 3500 stall and a lift a little over .500 It had no problems hitting 12's and was still streetable but my dad on the other hand has Ray Frank Profiler heads with a .700 lift cam and it would be a nightmare on the streets. I personally have respect for anyone who builds their own motor Chevy, ****, or Dodge so really Im just encouraging him to go with what heads he likes best not just the assumed AFR's. But in anyway I feel a great deal of respect for anyone that puts forth the effort to build up their own motor. Good Luck Man

I ordered my AFR for the motor I'm building. I ordered the 210cc AFR heads cost me 1500 bucks once I got shipping on them. But the assembly is fulling balanced forged steel and it's going to be a 383 carb with victor jr being able to scream 7k+ with a solid roller... hehe and this is my daily driver

The one thing I noticed for being 100% CNC'd theres still pretty rigid bumps in the intake port areas so I'll guess I'll see how much the shop wants to clean them up since they have to mill them anyways.

I just installed a set of Trick Flow 23* heads and i'm pretty happy with them. I haven't dynoed or been to the track since i installed them, but the Butt-dyno shows a vast improvement over the old 882 heads. My ONLY complaint about them is that i had to modify my power steering bracket to make it fit. I called trickflow about it and they said the stock one should fit perfectly and they've never heard of it not fitting, but mine didn't. I even tried another bracket to make sure the one i was using wasn't bent or something. In the end i had to bore out each bolt hole about an 8th of an inch to get everything to line up...

Eric