All right... when in doubt, talk to the guys with the fast cars (TurboTPI)
He's got a good setup... I see he's using L98 Vette (aluminum) heads....

Some things I've read about those...

No EGR (I'll be using an Edelbrock TPI base, I think I can just eliminate that anyway, but correct me if I'm wrong)...

No accessory mounting bolt holes, so will need to be drilled...

I'm getting a BBS single turbo header setup for serpentine with AC...

My question...

Are there any aftermarket brand of aluminum heads that are reasonably priced (I don't need top of the line AFR's), just something comparable to the L98 heads... I would rather buy new that had the accessory holes, etc, then buy used and keep dumping $$$ into some used heads...

Any advice is appreciated....

Thanks,

Rafael

 

Do a little online window shopping at jegs, summit, or speedway. There's several good heads out there for less than 1k, most of them are better than l98's out of the box.

 

Summit 170cc are believed to be same as trickflow 175cc heads and are priced at 950 pair. Thats pretty close to an l98 vette head
As said above search around you will find a bunch of better or equal heads under 1k.

Dart shp heads are old dart pro1 castings and great for budget. Think you can get them in 180 and 200cc. 180 is like a mild ported 113 head.

Jegs brand heads are pro-filer castings for under a grand. Good stuff too. 180-195-210cc available. If you are goin turbo get a 195 head. 180 is good to for mild motor and would be somewhat similar to 113 head.

Afr 190 heads found used are almost exact same as a ported 113 head. I've tuned those heads and they love same timing curves as 113's. New afr's do not like same curve

 

I appreciate the info... I can find specs (cfm, valve sizes, etc), but as mentioned, I thought I read something about EGR with the L98 heads, I have an EBL P4 Flash & Edelbrock HiFlow TPI base, I think I can just turn that off and be done with it, plus I thought I read the L98 heads don't have the accessory mounting holes, I do want to keep my AC, that's the stuff I'm mainly looking answers for... with aftermarket heads.

 

Some heads have accessories holes drilled like l98's some are abit different. Afr's are modeled like l98's irons and accessories work fine with them. One reason i love those heads for these cars even tho they are abit more money.

Now with a turbo you really dont need alot of head depending on your power goals.

 

They have accessory holes.

 

L98/ZZ4 heads do not have all the required holes to mount a thirdgen serpentine accessory setup. There is one hole missing on the passenger side, i've been running without it for years and it's OK.

 

even ported the l98 heads are far from ideal, read a few links and get a much better idea about the choices

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=32&t=5521

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...14032/10002/-1

http://www.airflowresearch.com/index.php?cPath=24_29

http://www.airflowresearch.com/artic...le040/A-P1.htm

http://www.profilerperformance.com/r.../sbc-23-degree

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...php?f=69&t=519

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/....php?f=44&t=38

http://forum.grumpysperformance.com/...hp?f=52&t=5078

 

Depends on your definition of ideal. If it is maximum flow only, the L98 heads top out at 250 to 260cfm ported, other can be up to 10% higher. But if you are talking flow per cc of intake runner, they are on the high side and make great TQ.

I'm not a fan of large port SBC heads as they have the have the tendency of pulling down TQ too much...

 

Torque in lower rpms or torque in high rpms? Large port head is required to make torque in higher rpms which makes hp which makes faster cars. If you target lower ranges then higher velocity heads work better. Smaller csa's and port sizes can work here but depends alittle on port shape. An afr 195cc runner with high fps thru port will make better low to mid range power than another brand 195 head that has larger csa and slower port speeds but this head may beat the faster afr at the high end rpm limits of the head. Atleast from few engines ive seen.

If he goes turbo i dont think head size is as important. I run a setup with an oversized head and it doesnt seem to be a problem

Several vette guys running impressive times on lingenfelter cnc L98's. They finish in the 185-190cc range

 

Orr89RocZ and Grumpyvette,
I would like to know your opinions on my future combo.

I want something that has good street manners. It will not see any 1/4 mile track time. I will probably drive it everyday. I am thinking I would like to stay TPI, but am not opposed to going HSR or super-ram etc. By staying TPI I would probably want to go with Large Tube Runners and an aftermarket intake base.

I am thinking about changing over to MAP since the previous owner hacked up the wiring harness pretty bad. I will be changing it out anyway so it would probably be a good time to do that swap.

I am not stuck on any of this my main goal is getting the most out of what I have and having a vehicle that is built for 'pro-touring', something that I can take trips in and is fun to drive.


My Current Combo:
87 TPI MAF
383 (previous owner had rebuilt) Flat top pistons (not sure about any valve reliefs
etc, I am also not sure what the compression ratio is)
Edit:: 36# injectors
Stock heads
Lunati cam (previous owner said a little better than stock, don't have the cam card)

Transmission is stock and needs a rebuild, I will be going with a kit from ProBuilt and a Vigilante 9.5" torque converter (Not sure what stall?)

Rear End is also stock not sure if I need to change the gearing


Here is my Future (proposed combo):

TPI MAP
SLP Large Tube Runner
Edelbrock High Flo intake base
EBL (www.dynamicefi.com)
Comp 268 XFI? (comp recommends 1.6 rockers with this cam. Would I have
clearance issues with the Flat top pistons?)
Profiler Performance 185cc 23deg heads (will 23degree heads work with TPI? I
don't really understand the physical difference in the types of heads)
Stock Throttle Body? Or bigger?


Thanks!

 

HSR is cheaper and will allow the 383 to breath better

 

Check to see what pistons you have for sure. Most flat tops in a 383 will give near 11 to 1 comp and on stock iron heads with small cam i doubt it would run on pump gas. Need to figure that out first.

Mild torquey street combo is what tpi is all about. Definately needs larger base and runners. Id recommend First tpi. Else buy a set of large tube runners and a base and have it ported out some.
Xfi cam is nice but its alittle harder on valve train than other cams. May hurt spring life over time. Something abit more mild like an xe grind of similar duration would be nice, or comp has cc305 cam thats 220/230. Good grind. Lingenfelter has a few good tpi cams like 219/219 that works good with superram but can do well in other intakes.

Profiler 195's are what id use. They will fit. Just match the springs to the cam.
Try to keep compression down closer to 10 to 1 which would mean a larger head chamber. Most are 64cc but you would need something closer to 68-74cc, which may be harder to find.

Something like that would be a nice running combo you could drive anywhere and be fairly easy to tune. Maf would make tuning abit easier tho.
If compression stays higher then you will need a bigger cam. That would favor hsr swap but bigger cam means more lopey idle and alittle less streetable to a point. You can run a pretty big setup with a good tune and still drive it everyday

 

Awesome, thanks Orr89RocZ!!