Im debating on either taking my l98 heads to a machine shop or going with one of the cheaper aluminum aftermarket heads, Im trying to figure out which one would be more cost effective and have better results with my new setup, xfi268 cam and ported tpi until mid smmer, i dont know that much about heads so any help and recommendations would be awesome

basic valvejob, with slight mill, and new springs. invest in a lt1/lt4 type hotcam. and spend on exhaust system and calibration. will make for nice street performer.

After market heads.

ya ive got a complete exhaust, the cam, ect, but what would a ballpark price range be for getting decent flow out of them

im going with this guy......l98 heads are junk flow wise

im going with a set of world product sportsman II heads or the cheap aluminum ones on ebay(procomp IIRC)

bigger valves and much more room in the intake runners

Most aftermarket aluminum heads are better out of the box than the best set of ported stock heads. And for the price of fixing stock heads, you can get better heads.

And just be careful about buying cheap heads. You get what you pay for.

I was looking at some of the heads summit had for under $1000, has anyone heard anything bad about the summit heads?

Just make sure you check gasket sizes on the summit heads. I bought a set of Patriot 195cc freedom heads with the intention of using them with my TPI and that was a no go because of the 1206 gasket size of the heads and there isnt enough material on the tpi to port em out from 1205 -> 1206. Now Im forced to get a Stealth Ram rather than go through the hassle of sending them back and swapping heads again....oh well.

what about these http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku or these http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku would the D shaped exhaust ports work the hooker 2055's both of those heads have angled plugs too as opposed to the straight, i hope there wouldn't be any clearance issues

I am in the exact same situation. I just got the same cam with the matching springs and retainers etc from summit. Upon pulling the heads I found that the valve guides were toasted and the valve seats are pretty beat up. Rather than invest money into the 083 heads I am concidering the ProComp's. My budget is fairly tight, and 1000 for heads is out of the question. Whats the word on these procomps? (I'll try not to hyjack your thread to bad)

ya im also in a money time situation, i figured while i have the heads off i could get them machined and performing better than what they are right now for cheaper than new heads, it just seems like a waste putting the stock heads back on with the new cam and everything, it would be nice to get some better performing heads but i dont think im gona have the time/money to do it now

those heads you leaked will blow your budget. I doubt you noticed but the trick flow's you linked from summit were priced per head.. I was in the same situation and wanted a nice set of heads for under 1k. I went with the Patriot Freedom 195's...awesome head so far..just make sure you are aware of the 1206 gasket issues.