What kind of heads do you guys think that i should put on my 355 shortblock?

 

AFR vortec 190cc intake

or just AFR in general there a little pricey but it is a great product

 

Yeah those are good heads but they are a little pricey, what about some cheaper ones.

 

gm performance vortec heads - 751.9

edelbrock heads are between 1000-1200

world producks head are between 760-1000

prices came out of summit racing

i've heard more about the gm vortec heads and there cheap

look on summit's web site it huge.
(youll need the vortec manifold for the vortec heads)just in chase you didnt know.

let me know what you do sound like you could do some damage with that motor

 

What do you think of those vortec's with the big ports? I would like to do these but that vortec tbi intake is friggin $300. Can you put a different intake than that one?

 

Any vortec carb intake will work...

 

What are your power goals? If they aren't huge a simple set of ported castings could suffice.

 

i agree. the gmpp heads should get you to 350 hp eazy.(with a good cam)
a carb setup can give you better high rpm hp. but for a 5500 rpm the tbi will work well
and like you said it is up to the power goals

 

remember a smaller port w/ a good design(like the vortec) will make better low to mid range hp and high tq . big ports are deseaving ,pay more attention to the valve size. port size normal gives you rpm potintal. bigger port = high rpm

 

I bought a set of these back in December on sale for 650:

Tri-State Cylinder Head - Chevy, Ford, Small Block, Performance, Aluminum Cylinder Heads

They flowed 262cfm @.600 stock, which is about what he told me they would over the phone. I know some people are afraid to buy from "unknown" smaller shops, but I did and it worked out for me.

 

I'm wanting around 350 hp or so.

 

Best bang for the buck IMO are Vortec's that have been machined for higher lift. I think SDHP sells these Vortec heads (good for up to .600" lift I think) for about $650-700 per pair. From serveral builds I've read about, these heads with the right cam will get you to ~400 FHP on a 350 motor. That's carbed. Your tuning TBI setup and tuning skills will be the limiting factor to hitting that level. Higher priced aluminum heads will net you few more ponies, but is the $$ per HP worth it?

 

Would stock tpi heads make for some good horsepower? Or are they poopsters like the tbi heads?

 

If I were to go with the vortec big port heads, what kind of roller rockers should I get? 1.5 self aligning or greater than 1.5?

 

Neither are any better or worse than most GM castings. What makes the TBI heads poopsters?

I have a stock medium duty GM crate 350 with a few bolt-ons that has pulled a 5,300 lbs G-Van down the track.

0060' = 02.15 @ 33.93
0330' = 06.67 @ 58.76
0660' = 10.25 @ 71.23
1320' = 16.18 @ 87.95

 

If you get roller rockers, get "full" rollers, meaning bearings at the pivot and a roller tip. The bearing at the fulcrum is where the biggest gains come from, not the one on the tip.

If you don't use self aligning, then you need to run guide plates. If you use self aligning, then DON'T use guide plates. In other words, use one or the other, but not both. Vortecs are centerbolt heads, so for either choice you need to use the "narrow body - for 1987 up" type (unless you're willing to hack up the baffles on your valve covers to make clearance).

1.5 vs 1.6 . . . you can go either way. I'd recommend selecting the right cam that gives you the performance and driveability you're after and use 1.5 rockers. Most of the cam lift specs you see are based on 1.5 rockers, so if you go bigger than that, do the math to make sure your springs can take the extra lift. 1.6 rockers will generate 6.67% more lift than 1.5 rockers.

 

I believe my cam is between .440 and .460, that is a guess i don't have the specs on me I am at school. And i can't remember what the duration is.

 

the stock cams are preaty week.
crane makes duel paturn cams that give you a lot of power
just look for your rpm range and rember what kind of lift your vortec heads can take.gmpp has two types of vortec head
the base 170cc intake for small cam (max lift is at .45 or so)
and the bigger 200cc intake for high lift cams (max lift is .55 or so)

 

Iam running a stock vortec 350 in my camaro and it runs 14.1 @98 with 1.9 60's and like I said its all stock motor out of a 98 truck I put a rpm air gap on it and headers and I am now about to start tunning it and put a 2'' bore tbi on it so I would go vortec they can make the power.

 

Do all the vortec heads from GM performance require vortec style manifolds? I was looking to buying a set of vortec "large port" heads from jegs for 499 a piece. They accept both early and late style valve covers and it says it accepts manifolds from early 6 bolt main or late model 4 bolt main vortec designs. Where can i get a vortec style TPI manifold ? the only one i see in jegs is the edlebrock one fore 400 bucks that i really dont want to buy.

These heads have 206cc intake and 77cc exaust and 65cc combustion chambers. It says it will take up to a .530'' lift camshafts without machining. Think this is a good head for a 350 TPI? I want to buy them but only if i can find a vortec style TPI manifold for them

 

These heads have 206cc intake and 77cc exaust and 65cc combustion chambers. It says it will take up to a .530'' lift camshafts without machining. Think this is a good head for a 350 TPI? I want to buy them but only if i can find a vortec style TPI manifold for them[/quote]


unfortunitly that price is about it
at spdc online (i think that is how to spell it) they offer a diff brand but it still about 370 bucks.

but i think the 50 solid horses are worth it and with the cam that will just give you that much more to work with

i my self will be making the switch to vortec heads soon but i plan on getting the AFR head. it is alot more $ but they say it will give me another 40 hp ontop of the gmpp vortec hp output

 

What about the regular old vortec heads? They are 250 each, assembled. It says they take up to a .475 cam lift. To get a cam with bigger lift the springs would have to be changed, right? i was something in the .500 range. All these XFI cams are in the .500 range and it says "oe replacement" above the definition but that sounds kinda high for a stock head. I figure doing the regular vortec head would be easier on the wallet since i can get them, springs and an intake to fit the heads for the same price as the long port heads. I'm shooting for over 300 HP to the wheels. Another thing that throws me off is in the definitions of the cams, it says to use "headsers, 4bbl carb and a torque converter" Well i have a manual trans and Fi obviously.... what would make the difference for the manufacturer to print that?

 

i belive the springs would be it (not positive though)
for 300 at the wheels a little porting may be required
as for the cams. cams made for a auto normaly have more duration and a bigger power range but will not make as much peak hp as a cam made for a manual. a cam is the most important hp making part in your motor. spend some time and do resurch on it. chose carefully

 

To run more than .460" lift on vortec heads you need to have the valve guides cut.

 

We are talking performance here, not saving pennies to buy heads. Stock GM heads are **** compared to what the aftermarket is producing.

 

and what about the Ls1,2,6,and 7 heads true the aftermarket is better but to really beat an Ls head you would have to spend a lot of money and some poeple just don't have it. the only head that i kown off the top of my head is the AFR head and the cheapest one is only about $1300 (that is worth the $)
have you ever heard of the gmpp fast burn head?
while true the old L98 heads did have (some) problems with performance
GM has more than made up for it. name a ford head that out flows the Ls heads,there is not many, if any.

 

sdpc sells gm vortec heads that can handle .600 lift for 349.00 each

 

I never said anything to the contrary. Just that Swirl Ports were no better or worse than MOST other stock castings.

Notice what I have ready to go on my 350 when the warrenty is up 3 yrs from now.

 

whats the link to the sdpc page? I want to check out the vortec heads for 379 bucks. Im in the whole idea of turning this 350 TPI into a vortec HSR engine but im lost between cams and PROMS right now

 

Scoggin Dickey at Sdpc2000: Performance Parts, Racing Engines, Racing Engine Parts, Race Engines, Race Engine Parts - SDPC

 

I agree. Vortecs are great, and tuning with a laptop is fun!

 

I ordered the vortec heads that are machined for a .600 lift max today. I'm getting an XFI cam with .560 lift. All i need now is new rods and rockers. I'm not sure if i can use my old lifters or not and I'm unsure of what rod SIZE to buy. I'm set on the scorpion roller rockers though. Do these heads require the "self aligning" rockers like the stock vortec's? I'm guessing they do....

 

yes you do need the self aligning rockers (make sure its for nerrow heads)

you will need a tool to get the right size rod for the heads
not sure where you can get it. i know summit has it

 

This thing is going to have 12 second potential if all your bolt ons work well together. Please, please save yourself a ton of headaches and get started with learning to tune now before you get the new motor in. It's so much easier to tune when you have a running driving tune to work from. I started with a complete off the wall combo and a stock bin with no experience and it took a while to learn this way. With a completely new combo you don't know if the problem your chasing is mechanical, chip related, or just plain the way the mtor behaves. If you start from stock, you have no problems so you can see how different parameter effect an OK running engine instead of starting with a crappy running engine and trying to make it run well.

 

If you go to chevyhiperformance.com they have a head flow data base with a ton of after market heads and gm cast and if you look at the vortec and compair them to even bigger after maket heads they are close on the intake side they fall a little short on the exhaust but with porting on that side they are great and can support 400 hp out of the box.

 

im not learning how to tune. i dont have the laptop or the time to. i dont even know when ill get this engine togeather lol. im just going to have to find some place around here or order a PROM for it from some one who knows what they are doing. yeah 12 seconds would be nice... but the vehicle is 5600 pounds ;-)