I am trying to find out the cost of the AFR heads that would be used on a 400 or a 350.
I see the Fastburn heads are around $1200. I thought I remember someone saying that the ARF's were that much. Wouldn't the AFR flow much more and therefore deliver more power?

Minion

 

Yeah afr's are better. Fastburn are about $1000 from the right place, afr's are 1200 like you said.

 

Better is a subjective term...

The AFR's may flow more but the Fastburns have the huge dealer and service network to back them up.

Some reality needs to be brought into the head debate around here. The Edelbrock RPM heads easily make 425hp (look at their website for the details), how much do you really need? If your target is 400hp from a 350 then why would you spend an extra $200 on the AFR's?

Stop the insanity!!!

 

My goal is 500HP, that should be enough to take care of most cars I'll ever meet on the road. Naturally my drivetrain and chassis will need to be upgraded.

Minion

 

AFR's are amazing heads. They are by far IMO the BEST head out there.

Big cube Small Blocks seem to love them. I think they are deemed one of the best heads for stroker small blocks.

They retail for $1250 U.S. complete for 195cc street head and they feature 68cc or 74cc chambers with angle or straight plug & with or without EGR crossover.


Good luck...

Let's hear your setup then we can give you opinions on what type of heads will be cost effective for you.

 

Im more just planning, my setup is still on the drawing board. I have a 400 block and crank sitting there waiting for me. I plan on some 4" rods, forged pistons.
Then something like:

:Bore 30 over~406 CID
:Edel Perf RPM intake,
:roller cam (specs:I have no idea yet, That will come after heads are chosen)
:Holley 750 Carb

All componets are changable, I'm just trying to draw up a plan and estimate costs.
: And if the budget allows, I'd love to get a blower, nothing huge, just get a 10 pound boost, though I doubt the crank would last long under that stress.
Minion

 

I'd suggest a bit longer rod

 

Maybe he wants to make her a screamer ! Err... maybe he wants to make A HIGH rpm screamer ! LMAO

 

HAHA, whoops, Make that 6"

 

Good idea to have it on the drawing board MINIION.

How much hp/tq do you want to achieve? And what type of driving is the car mainly goin to be used for? This is a very important question & sacrificing driveability for .2 tenths is where most people go wrong.

What are your intentions? If the heads you choose are a killer head for a .550" + lift cam then there's no point in spending the extra $ when your gonna be using a .480" lift cam. Know what i mean? In this case a set of Vortecs may actually even make more power than a set of AFR's or whatever. The vortecs flow awesome at low-mid lift in stock form.

Get back to us.

 

Whoops wrong post

 

The car will be used as a semi-daily driver. I drive the car only when the weather is nice. IE not driven in snow are not often driven in rain. I am looking for about a 12 sec-low 11 times in the quarter mile.
I intend to keep AC, power locks, windows and all the other nice accessories.
Though when the time comes can lay tracks against any car. My goal would be to beat a new Viper.

Though I'd be content with beating most every mustange and to beat every import.
Thanks for all your help.

Minion

 

AFR's are best?

http://www.procylinderheads.com/find_main.htm

 

Vader that site is awesome. Makes my Sportsman II's look kinda wimpy.

 

I went with Dart pro1s for my stroker and I could not be happier with them.

 

being a local michigander and not worryi ng about smog I would say the AFR 's they are what I am lookinnat doin and have done alot of research and I can't see anything better really. They are expensive but its worth it. Good luck with your engine and I hope to run into you sometime...and see what you got.

 

I said....."AFR's are amazing heads. They are by far IMO the BEST head out there. "

Key word IMO

Just i see alot of buildups around and they dyno very well with AFR's.
No harm intended

Oh let's not forget those Canfield heads too

 

Don't waste money on heads if you plan on running a supercharger. My buddy runs low 12's on stock heads, ported of course, and I plan on running high 12's on stock heads with headers and slicks. Buy some Vortechs and go to town. In my opinion AFR's are great heads, but way overpriced for power gains. If you could spend $1200 and gain maybe 50 horse with heads or spend $1500-$2000 and gain 100-200 horse with a charger, which makes more sense? The same scenerio with N.O.S. in my opinion aftermarket heads are a waste of money barring strictly racing applications. Good luck with whatever you decide!!

 

that would be a good reason to buy some better heads right there

that way the pressure from the supercharger doesn't get very high and back up in the intake which would cause the intake temps to go up and being it iwould be after the IC it would not doo you much good

also with a SC if you get a better head you could run a high CR b/c detonation issues and I would think that a aftermarket head would be easier to manage it

higher flow rates are very good on a supercharger

you might be running less boost then the guy with stock heads but you will be making more power still b/c of better flow

 

I can agree that you will be making more power with aftermarket heads, but will it ever justify the cost? You can take a pair of nice cast iron heads and port them out correctly and I doubt you would see a 50 h.p. jump if you went to a set of A.F.R.'s. If you are dead set on aluminum, which I understand I would like some myself, get some Vette heads and port them. If you have money to burn get the aftermarket heads they will make more power, but if you are on a budget like me use cast iron and know you aren't loosing too much. Good luck!!

 

canfield. the updated TFS head.
The pro1 cast iron and iron eagles are not bad. But they will need work to flow what most alums flow out of the box. Price will probably work out about the same.

I really don't like the idea of "maybe adding a SC". You should really plan/build the motor from the ground up with SC intergrated or not. Ring gaps, cam exhaust duration, lobe separation angle and exhaust port config would need different combinations with a SC.

Get a 1000 dollar head and spend $400 to have it flowed. Then call the cam grinder (cam motion is a good start) with the vehicle specs and head numbers. You will get the best grind available for your needs.

If your going 400 cid you need more than a 2.02 intake and 195cc port. They really can take advantage of a 2.08 or 2.05 min and 210-215cc port.

 

If you plan on running 20lbs of boost then you have to plan accordingly, of course. If he get's the 12lbs ATI with a 383 it should put him around 9 or 10 lbs. Build a 375-400 hp motor, charge it and put close to 500 to the ground.
I've never seen the AFR's in person, but the pics I've seen of all heads, the AFR's are incredible. You could dump money in Trickflows or Edelbrocks and have to spend time cleaning castings and other BS. Or get the AFR's and bolt them on. If your not experienced at head porting then your negating the money savings of the L98 heads by sending them out to get ported.
Your plan sounds pretty close to what I want to do. I need to buy a house first though, LOL.

 

IMO.....no factory iron head that came on any cars EXCEPT for the Vortec will ever come close to a good aftermarket head.

Budget is one thing, and speed is another. Usually they dont go hand & hand. Ever hear the saying IF YA WANNA PLAY< YA GOTTA PAY?

This is one of the most accurate lines i've ever heard when it comes to cars. Aftermarket heads will open many doors for you. Also, your mods & that slip is harsh! No offense, but that 383 with a 3.73 and the rest of your stuff should be in the mid to high teens AT LEAST! I bet ya if you bolted on some AFR's you'd be in the low teens easy!!!!

Factory cast iron, escpecially 80's & early 90's are junk IMO. They flow worth of ****, and the castings are junk. Not that i am a big porter or anything, but honestly those heads are junk!

 

If you read my entire sig. then you will see that is running on street tires just like I drive it everyday, I didn't even run it up on the stall if that gives you an idea of how little I tried. With slicks mid to low 13's and with headers high 12's are pretty much a given. I didn't even let any air out of the street tires because I wanted to know what it would run on the street. Those heads are basically junk to you, but as you can see they work for what I need, soon they will be replaced with some ported 041 castings. If I was to spend $1000-$1200 on A.F.R.'s then I could probably pull off a high 13 on those same street tires, no better though because of traction issues, however if I bolted on a supercharger for about the same price 11's would be mine for the taking with slicks of course. I don't agree at all that you can't make power with cast iron heads though, my buddy runs 12.39 at 117 naturally aspirated with a set of cast iron heads, factory issue. I had a shop teacher in high school who ran high 9's with 041 heads on a 350 and a supercharger, he had about $8000 in his car because he built everything himself and he believed in doing it cheap like myself. In my opinion a lot of the people who buy aluminum heads for their engines could never use the full potential because their setups are too mild, if you want to pull 10's or below I understand the need for them, if not forget it.
The saying if you wanna play you gotta pay is true, I pay and I play, but I don't pay for something that I don't need. Actually ported Bow Tie heads beat the Vortechs for all out racing.

 

I dunno, Vortechs have a way of increasing the amount of air going into the cyl by adding lots pressure.......anyone catch on?

 

Alright, I am going to leave it NA. I don't feel like popping a hole through the hood to make room for a blower, ruins a sleeper look too. How much power will a stock cast crank handle?