Im thinking of getting the World S/R Torquer cast iron heads for my new 91 Z and was curious if anybody has used these, and what they thought about them. Ive thought about having my heads ported and having the bigger valves put in, but after seeing how cheap these heads are, I couldnt justify keeping the stock ones.....and they seem to flow pretty decent. Are there any other heads that work well with the TPI? Im not planning on putting a HSR, or the like on this car. I LOVE my torque and plan on keeping it basically stock. I also plan on putting a COMP nitrous HP, but nothing too wild. So, any suggestions or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance..

 

I have trickflows 64 cnc alu heads, im very pleased with them. For the price of those considering buying ironheads sounds like a bad idea. My car still have the stock chip, the fuelpressure have been bumped up a few psi, so for when it comes to a strraightforward bolt on I think these heads qualify. Havent lost any torque down low, would actualy say I have gained everywhere. best 800 I have spend on the car sofar.

 

Ive heard good things about the Trick FLows....but Im not really wanting Alum heads....I like cast iron better....makes more HP..

 

You really should rethink that one! That's one of those old wives tales that keeps going around. If it were true, don't you think the Pro Stock guys would use them? Any .001 gain to them is well you know ...fill in the blank.
I vote for the TFS too because the SR tq's require a lot of work before they flow good. ( not good out of the box)
Don>>>

 

Actually the theory is that iron heads make more power, and in a test one of the car mags did a couple years ago it was true, BUT the difference was so miniscule that it would be way overshadowed by the increased compression ratio allowed by aluminum heads, not to mention the weight reduction.

On the other hand take a look at my articles on porting the l98 iron heads. Stick to stage one or 2 and your not in much money, especially if you can do any of the work yourself, add in some hi-flow valves (like manley pro-flows or milodon megaflow) and you'll get a decent set of heads for fairly cheap.

I personally don't like the s/r torquer for a performance head, i've seen too much variance in them.

the pro topline heads are pretty good and offered in iron for not much more than the torquers. and aluminum if you decide to go that route.

 

If your gonna stay LTR why not use vortecs and the vortec base?

 

I would just use the Vortecs...but by the time you get them "reworked" they cost about as much as the S/R's and really dont flow much better. Then you have to buy the base and then they end up being as much as some ALum heads. I have AFR 195's on my race car, and they are great....just not a good street head. I was just looking for a decent set of heads to put on and have it stay "stock" looking. What about say the Dart Iron Eagle?? I will look at Trick Flows numbers.......maybe it will convince me.....

 

Hmmm, I was thinking they flow a LOT better than the S/R's; and you really don't want to use the stock base with a good set of heads do you?

 

Actually the difference is minimal.

World S/R Torquer@28inH20
.1 68 55
.2 128 104
.3 179 140
.4 205 156
.5 221 166
.6 225 170


Vortec(L31)

.1 59 50
.2 118 111
.3 177 148
.4 217 160
.5 226 164

Vortec(855)170cc@28inH20

.1 70 49
.2 139 105
.3 190 137
.4 227 157
.5 239 160
.6 229 162

I know the Vortec flows slight more on the intake, but is pretty equal to the Torquer's in exhaust flow, which is what IM most interested in, hence the name "torquer's". Ive already ported my intake base. I semi-siamesed the base about an inch and plan on port matching the intake to whatever heads I decide on. The thing I like most about the S/R's is they are ready out of the box for a cam with more than .450lift(safely) and need little porting from what Ive heard. Thats why I was curious if anybody has them or has heard bad things about them.......

 

I had the S/R Torquers on my 355 tpi with 700r4. The torque was a TON of fun. In my opinion the S/R's are worth the money, they're cheap and from what i've seen there is plenty of room to port later if you feel like it. If it were me i wouldn't use them. But i'm just chiming in to let you know that I think you'd be happy, the torque was excellent.

 

I just thought the flow rates and high velocity small ports would work well with the TPI setup. From what I understand you dont really need huge intake runners on the heads for TPI. Torque comes from complete cylinder fill....and the faster the air can get there= more torque right? I know that the TPI dies after 4500rpm no matter what you do to it(intake runners, etc)......but heres my thing.....why rev it to 6500rpm when you dont have to? Thanks for the tip.......

 

just wanted to add that the only reason i wouldn't use them is because i'm building a car to do something different than what you're doing. That's all, they're good heads, make good power....I don't think you'll be dissapointed, just make sure that you get a cam to take advantage of them. Later

 

I ran the Torquer S/R's on my last setup. With a Super Ram, Lunati 218/224 cam & Edelbrock TES it ran 13.1 @ 101. However the valve hardware was cheap low grade stuff. Their stock springs just plain suck. The valve seals self destructed in less than 5000 miles. The center intake bolt holes stripped out very easy, the cast iron was very thin in that area & actually crumbled due to poor casting quality. Fortunatley I was able to repair with a Helicoil. The bare castings are basically a good design & can be ported out. I would consider the Sportsmans with a hardware upgrade or Pro Toplines over the Torquers.

 

Yeah I have been eyeing the Pro Topline's also. I might just go ahead and go alum since Im getting a big cam....The comp ratio with the Alum heads will be more tolerable...and good for the cam. I might just go ahead and get the AFR 190's. I have the 195's on my 383...and I must say they are the best head Ive ever dealt with....excellent quality. I know they are ALOT more than the World Products S/R's, but you get what you pay for right??????

 

For a TPI engine, the Edelbrock Performer RPM are an excelent choice and here's why. They have small intake ports (170cc), yet they flow better than other heads with larger intake ports. The result is high velocity and when combined with a TPI results in more torque.

Here is a link to some basic flow numbers:

https://www.epsb.net/~mstrembi/sbcheads.htm

If you were using siameased runners or a superram, then I'd suggest a larger intake runner in the heads.

Edelbrocks, like all aluminum heads also have screw in studs, guide plates, Huge springs, and very nice swirl polished valves (2.02/1.60).

The vortec heads do have similar flow at 0.400 lift, but beyond that point, they just don't flow. Thus if your running a higher lift cam, you will see more benefits with Edelbrocks.

My 2 cents.
Mark.

 

I am looking to get some heads for my 305. The Torquer 305 heads are $540. Are these the best heads for the money for a 305?