I'm a college student, and work a full time job, but next semester, I'm not going to be working at all...so here's my situation. If I get heads, cam, and intake manifold, it's got to be by the end of this summer, or I'll have to wait for next year. With that and budget in mind....should I go fairly cheap and get some used vette L98's and port them, port my cast iron heads (9c1 police heads), get Vortecs (keep in mind the intake manifold is about $100 more than for the rest of the heads) or wait till next year and get a set of Fast burns (bout $1100) or AFRs (bout $1400). It's a TPI....and I'll pick the cam depending on the heads I get...thanks.

 

Since your looking for drivability in your heads, and you have stock tpi manifold which REALLY chokes your engine.... id kill two birds with one stone and get vortechs with the manifold!!!!

 

Yea, I didn't mention it initially...but I would want to get an intake manifold with any heads I got....or at least siamese the stock one....guess I better go back and edit...thanks man.

 

Why does everyone always jump to aluminum heads or Vortecs when they look into modifying a sbc? I would NEVER waste the money on aluminum heads unless the price was sufficiently low - check out World Products. Contrary to popular belief, their S/R Torquer heads aren't that hot (S/R stands for "stock replacement" guys) - the Sportsman II Heads, however, are - and they're nearly the same price. I'd go w/sportsman II heads ($900 fully assembled, plates, studs, polished 2.02/1.60 valves) and get an appropriate intake or modify yours. Aluminum only matters if you're racing.

TP

 

You might want to check out the Dart Iron Eagle heads. They come in 180 and 200cc and perform pretty well. They can be had for about the same price as the Sportman II's.

 

Everyone looks at the aluminums cause the best flowing heads out there are aluminum....(fastburn, AFRs, Edelbrock), and they're lighter. The fastburns are only about $200 more than the sportsmans and Trick Flow so why not spring the extra $$$ for the 50 lb weight savings? I'll admit that AFRs are very expensive, but they're also THE best flowing heads out there...it's been proven. And as far as the Vortecs, they're probably the best flowing cast iron heads available, and they're also only $450 for a pair...only downfall for those is the special intake you have to get. You could also get new vette aluminum heads for $900...so why not pay the same for some aluminum heads that you can for the sportsmans of Trick Flows? We dont consider the aluminum heads BECAUSE they're aluminum, we look at em for other reasons...at least I do. And the reason I'm considering getting L98 Vette heads and porting them isn't cause they're aluminum, it's because I want the 58cc combustion chamber to raise my compression.

 

I have to ditto this whole statements, glad I didnt have to type it, one more thing I know of plenty cast heads that will out flow aluminum

 

The vortecs are most certainly not the most cost effective or performance smart heads out there. Everyone rants and raves about the power they make, that's all well and good, but you can't run huge lift, you can't run a regular intake, you can't run a normal egr, and you will most likley have a hard time getting them 2 seal with a total of 8 bolts holding the intake on. Car Craft and CHP won't tell you that - they just make a footnote about the additional $300 they'll spend on studs and guide plates. Also, there's plenty better ways to raise compression than swapping small chamber heads, in fact, i'd rather go with a normal chamber and run flat-tops or dome piston b/c at least then you don't start shrouding valves. There's no reason why aluminum heads inherently flow better than iron ones. Aluminum buys you only 1 thing - weight loss. If you can't get iron heads to flow, trade your small block for a 2.2 liter VTEC. I've seen 3 motors within 3 months of each other built using the Sportsman II Heads that made around 500 or 600hp that weren't anything extraordinary besides well chosen parts.

TP

PS - you also won't hear about the AFR's problems with leaking guides.

 

1. So what if I can't run huge lift w/ the vortecs, this is a daily driver...therefore can't have a radical cam.
2. I know there's other ways to raise compression ratio, but I'm not going to put in different pistons to raise compression when my motor has only 11,000 original miles on it. (i know i didn't mention that, but all the parts are going on right when the warranty goes this august) Plus, why would anyone wanna go through the trouble of swapping pistons unless they were building or rebuilding a motor. If I have my motor apart, it's not going to be for the sole purpose of swapping pistons to raise compression ratio. The only other option would be to mill the heads...which I wouldn't do to new heads...that's why 2 of my options are porting my stock heads, or corvette L98s.
3. I know there's no reason why aluminum heads flow inherently more than casts....but that's the truth. All the best flowing heads i've seen are aluminum...i know it's not cause they're aluminum.
4. How dare you even mention the evil letters VTEC in this forum?!?!? Are you trying to convert me to the Dark side!!! (also known as the slow side)
5. I'm not trying to start anything man, you had some good points, but I hate that people flame me (as well as others) because our heads of choice happen to be aluminum. Like I said b4....I dont need to hear the cast iron vs aluminum deal, because I'm not making my choice based on that.

 

You guys aren't listening. I don't care if the heads are iron, aluminum, wood, plastic, whatever. I asked you guys to help me pick some heads, but you instead start debating that cast is just as good as aluminum....i know that...that's why 2 of my 5 choices are iron heads. I know that there's plenty of cast heads that will outflow aluminum, but that's not what I asked.

 

get Brodix they are aluminum j/k....the sportsman 2's are a nice set of heads, so are the AFR's. i would not go with the vette heads because they arent all that, an aftermarket head will flow more than a stock head will ever dream of. also by the time you get the vette heads and have them ported you are allready at or very close to the price of an aftermarket set. key factor is what intake and cam you decide to go with. i have my head selection narrowed down to the sportsmans and the afr's, but i am still undecided.

 

How come no one has mentioned the edelbrock rpm performer heads. are these heads any good. do they have potential on a midley modified tpi engine