Night Hawk

I'm looking into the AFR 190 or 195 heads for my 1988 L98 GTA. My car is stock other than MSD ignition, ported plenum (upper), SLP Headers, Flowmaster Catback, 100,000 miles.

I have a the following questions:

1. (most important) With this setup, will I need to use higher than 87 octane gas, and how much MPG will I lose.

2. I drive my car everyday, with these heads will I lose any driveability?

3. What makes them so much better than other brands such as Twisted Wedge, and Edelbrock.

4. Are they cast iron or aluminum?

5. With my setup how much of hp / torque will I gain?

6. How hard are they to install, can I do it in my driveway?

7. Are there any concerns or comments about these heads or maybe reccomendations that would better fit my needs?

Thank you for all that reply!!!

RARE-ROC-Z

well it will give you well over 300HP ( your stock is 230) and it will be driveable since you still have the restrictive runners that came stock. AFR's are ALUMINUM. you can do it in your driveway if you know what you are doing. all you have to do is pull all the top end off the motor. AFR's flow the best for our engines i believe. and yes you can use 87 Octane, but why. i always use 91-93 its better on detonation probs. and one recomendation would be while you are doing this do a Header swap. put some in there so these heads can actually work. and i think you will be totally happy.
well worth the money... if you have it

------------------
1990 IROC-Z L98/G92 350 TPI
5,507 IROC's; 2,415 5.7L IROC's Produced in 1990

DAILY DRIVER: 1991 S10 2.5L/5SPD WITH CAMARO RIMS
MUSTANGS...ONLY 4 LUGS....HAHA THAT IS HILARIOUS.

86TpiTransAm

1. You can use 87 octane gas but for best performance on ANY stock or not stock thirdgen you should use 91-93!! Also, your gas mileage will probably go UP with these heads because they'll flow better than stock!!

2. The car will drive just like it does now with a performance increase!

3. Check the flow numbers...they say a lot!! Go to www.airflowresearch.com and go to the articles...find the one called "flow to go" and check it out!!

4. They are all ALUMINUM

5. You should gain about 50 -100 HP easy...torque should go up a bit too!!

6. You could "probably" install them in your driveway but man that would be a major b*tch to try to get to all the head bolts with the engine still in the car!! I would recommend taking the engine out to do the head swap!!

7. Here's a list of the features of the BASIC AFR 195 package!!

100% CNC Ported Combustion Chambers
100% CNC Ported Exhaust Ports
70% to 100% CNC Ported Intake Ports
3-angle valve job
2.02/1.60 standard length valves
1.450" OD Hydraulic Valve Springs, 120 lbs on seat, .550" max lift
10 degree 4140 Chrome Moly Retainers
10 degree valve locks
3/8" Rocker Studs
Guide Plates
Valve Seals
Hardened Shims
Intake and Exhaust Valve Seats
Bronze valve guides

That's straight from the AFR catalog itself!!
AFR's and thirdgens are just a match made in heaven!



------------------
1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
200,000+ miles (speedo/odometer non-funtional! Odometer reads 142,000)
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear (2.73's....oh joy) :P
Completely Stock
Soon to upgrade to a 350 converted from TPI to Carb, Edelbrock 750CFM Carb, Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake, Headman Shorty Headers, Some sort of ported heads (undecided), XE268 Cam, Moroso HEI ignition kit with external MSD Blaster II Coil and an MSD 6-AL Box!!
Current project: Keeping my 305 running until I get my income tax returns!

Dan87IROC-Z

What would that set of heads even cost??

------------------
1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
L98 TPI 350 (5.7L)
TH 700R-4 Transmission
Borg Warner 7.75" 9 Bolt Rear End

Current Mods: LT4 Hot Cam, Comp Cams 1.52:1 Roller Rocker Arms, Edelbrock TES 1 5/8" Headers, Hooker 3" Aerochamber Cat-Back System, Performance Resource Chip, Accel Ignition Coil, Cap, Rotor, 8.8mm Wires, K&N Filters, JET TPI Air Foil, All Free Mods, Falken ZIEX Z-Rated Tires.

Best ET (w/o LT4 cam): 14.32 @ 97.7mph
(corrected for elevation)

7.5" 10 Bolt with 3.42s soon to come!

blak92!

I have a set of 58cc AFR 190s. They cost $1650 with shipping. I believe it was an extra $200 for the angle milling to get 58cc's.

THese heads have extra thick decks, are about 14 lbs heavier than stock aluminum corvette heads, and CNC ported- %70 intake, %100 exhaust and combustion chambers. They are very durable, ideal for nitrous or blower.

If you use a mild cam, such as a ZZ4 or LPE/Accel 211, these heads will be extremely subtle to drive everyday, you will not have any surging problems at very low RPMS with a TPI. Port your base and plenum and buy AS&M SS runners.

------------------
Hybrid Black 5.7L 5 Speed
'95 Competition Yellow Corvette Coupe ZF6

86TpiTransAm

The basic AFR 195 head (basic package listed in my post above) is a 68cc head and cost $1250/pr!! You can get them milled to 64cc's for an extra $200!! Each head weighs 33lbs!!

------------------
1986 Trans AM
305 TPI
200,000+ miles (speedo/odometer non-funtional! Odometer reads 142,000)
4 Wheel Discs
9 bolt Borg Warner Rear (2.77's....oh joy) :P
Completely Stock
Soon to upgrade to a 350 converted from TPI to Carb, Edelbrock 750CFM Carb, Edelbrock Performer RPM Intake, Headman Shorty Headers, Vortec Heads, XE268 Cam, Moroso HEI ignition kit with external MSD Blaster II Coil and an MSD 6-AL Box!!
Current project: Keeping my 305 running until I get my income tax returns!

HiTech5

iTrader: (4)

If you decide to go with the AFR heads,get the 190's. The 195's have a bigger intake port entry which will be a little big for your TPI manifold.

------------------
D&Z Performance
"Putting Power to the Pavement"

IrocNround

Ive been reading up on heads and it seems that AFRs are the way to go but Im pretty new at all this. I would like to know what it means when its a 58cc, 64cc, 68cc. What applications would be best for the numbers Ive stated? Thanx guys, Im trying to learn all I can so that I can do it correct the first time.

Steves ZZ5

IrocNround,

The cc size you were asking about(58cc, 64cc, 74cc, etc.) is the volume of the combustion chambers of a cylinder head.

The combustion chambers are the areas of the cylinder heads that cover each cylinder. It's the portion of the head where the valves protrude into the cylinders.

The cc(cubic centimeters) size is a deciding factor in the over-all compression ratio of any given engine, and must be correctly selected when purchasing new heads, among other cc determining factors.

five of the major things that determine compression are:
1) Piston stroke (3.48" in a 350sbc).
2) Piston top design (dished, domed, valve reliefs, etc.).
3) Head gasket thickness compressed (.039" and .041" are common aftermarket sizes).
4) Deck height (varies between .000" and .035")(.025"-.030" are common deck heights).
5) Head cc size (anywhere from 58cc to 74cc are the most common).

once you know all the measurements mentioned above, and you want to know what size cc heads to get, go to the following link and start plugging the known numbers with different head cc sizes to determine what you want as far as a compression ratio is concerned. http://www.prestage.com/carmath/calc_Compression.asp
Many people overlook this important sizing factor when building an engine or swapping heads. Its VERY important not to overlook this, because a change of just a few cc's with a gasket for example, can raise or lower your built compression considerably.

Hope this helps a bit,

Steve




------------------
86 Trans Am WS6 Black with tinted windows, shaved door handles
ZZ4, Mini-ram, true duals
***Too many other mods to mention***

"In the future, cities will become deserts,
roads will become battlefields, and the hope of mankind
will appear as a stranger" The Road Warrior