Hey Fellers It's Me again.
Iwould like to hear Your opinion's on brand's and type's of alluminum heads.
I have decided to take the plunge and purchase a set of alluminum heads for My 454 stroker(489).
My question is ,what do You think the best head is for the money,Edelbrock,Brodix,World Merlin,AFR or TrickFlow?
I know some of You guy's are running allum.head's.What head's are You running and what do You like about them.
I do not have unlimited resourse's(cash),so I am looking for the best bang for the buck!Thank's for You'r input....Hal
These are a little spendy but I would run the AFR305 w/cnc chamber option
They will net you 645hp/615lbs W/victor jr. and 850. And dare I say a cam
W/245-250@.050 intake and 248-253@.050 exhaust. 112lda And .570-.640lift
You better have headers. Contact me if you need a set. I'll check them out for spring preasure/clearences ect. for you.
This is cool you sure know how to stir a pot.!!
If you order the AFRs, make sure you tell them its for marine use before they start to machine the heads. They can be treated for marine use, but it needs to be done before they machine them.
Jay
you said,"most bang for your buck". so I definitely would stay away from aluminum! Is this a race deal or pleasure? how much horsepower are you trying to achieve???
you said,"most bang for your buck". so I definitely would stay away from aluminum! Is this a race deal or pleasure? how much horsepower are you trying to achieve???
Why stay away from aluminum. HP potential to total $$ spent, a new pair of aluminum heads typically will beat out a set of 990s or 049s. Sure if the guy is going to run a flat tappet hyd. cam, then might as well not waste your money on a head that will never see the flow. But if he is going to step up to a decent roller profile, he might as well spend the smart money on a set of heads.
The late model GM rectangle ports and Word cast Iron heads use a false seat that is notorious for dropping in marine application. So what if you can score em cheap when they pose a greater risk of failure and taking out your engine.
If you try and go with some older heads, you have to have em checked out $$$. Many of them have been ported to death, and have excessively large chambers, or worse, thin domes or deck mating surfaces from being reworked numerous times, which will ultimately lead to a cracked head and again, possible engine damage. By the time it is all said and done, spending good money on a good set of heads, is always a better investment than spending less money on a used set of iron heads thats been around the block, only to either suffer a loss of HP compared to the same motor with better heads, or worse, have to turn around and buy the aluminum heads after you've dumped the money into the iron set in the first place. Buy once, Cry once.
Additionally:
holorinhal, you should definitely think about adding the Canfield 310 to your list of possible heads. There are also other CNC port sizes available depending on what compression ratio you want to end up with. I'm running them on a 498 and am nothing but happy with em!
Chris
What about a set of Dart 360's, those worked great for me in the past.
Why stay away from aluminum. HP potential to total $$ spent, a new pair of aluminum heads typically will beat out a set of 990s or 049s. Sure if the guy is going to run a flat tappet hyd. cam, then might as well not waste your money on a head that will never see the flow. But if he is going to step up to a decent roller profile, he might as well spend the smart money on a set of heads.
If you try and go with some older heads, you have to have em checked out $$$. Many of them have been ported to death, and have excessively large chambers, or worse, thin domes or deck mating surfaces from being reworked numerous times, which will ultimately lead to a cracked head and again, possible engine damage. By the time it is all said and done, spending good money on a good set of heads, is always a better investment than spending less money on a used set of iron heads thats been around the block, only to either suffer a loss of HP compared to the same motor with better heads, or worse, have to turn around and buy the aluminum heads after you've dumped the money into the iron set in the first place. Buy once, Cry once.
Chris
Somewhat off topic but........
Having "been there, done that" I'd have to agree with most everything Chris has stated here. I had a set of BBF iron DOVE heads worked over by a guy (supposed professional) and he removed too much material in porting process. Both heads cracked by a valve guide on their first outing. I paid close to a grand to have the work done. Rather than find another set to be reworked by another "professional" I picked up a set of Edelbrock aluminums for $1600 all loaded up with valves, springs etc. and ready to bolt on.
I'm still running a flat tappet hydraulic cam and probably not getting the full benefit of the heads, but they're working just fine for my purposes. Personally, I'd never spend the money on another set of iron heads when there are so many competitively priced aluminum ones available. Also very nice to shave about 60-70 lbs of weight.
I'm sure that the iron heads can be made to work fine by someone who truly knows what they're doing. I just wouldn't want to gamble on it again.
You're not going to get a better head for your money than the Canfields. You can spend more, and get more, but for the $, they have the best numbers for their port size, and unless you're building an all out racing motor, you don't need more.
Typically, across the board, you're going to make anywhere from 5-8 more hp with iron heads with the same flow numbers and characteristics, than what you will with aluminum. That's just a proven fact.
A 360cc port would be way too big in a jet boat for this motor. Stick with something under 320cc's.
Typically, across the board, you're going to make anywhere from 5-8 more hp with iron heads with the same flow numbers and characteristics, than what you will with aluminum. That's just a proven fact.
I am curious as to why iron will make more hp versus alum?
What are the physical properties that make this possable?
Does anyone know the answer to these questions?
I think Hotrod did a test on this in the last few months(may have been Car Craft or Chevy High Performance too) On their specific combo aluminum and iron performed the same, well over 10:1 too. Apples for Apples comparison I believe. Didn't detonate either with the iron. Not that that should end the long argued"aluminum allows more compression" debate, nor the "iron holds more heat and makes more power", but on their test engine they were equal. All I know is aluminum is a lot lighter and you will benefit from that in a jet boat.
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