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Thread: Which Cylinder head?

  1. #1
    BrendellaJet
    I was planning to have DNE build me up a 496. Shit happens and it turns out my block is not a good candidate for the power I would like to make. I found a deal on a Merlin block, and am going to build a 540. I need to buy a set of heads too and was interested in using a set of Trick Flow's. They have available either 340 or 360 cc intake port volume-I was thinking bigger would be better given the cubic inches I will have. Anyone have any experience with them? Im looking for a nice out of the box cylinder head. I expect I will have power to spare, so I dont imagine a port/polish will be necessary. I do however want a head that is capable of more power later on when i upgrade boats...I will be buying them bare/unassembled, so that Dave can assemble them with quality marine compatible parts. What sort of power do you think Is possible with a pump gas n/a motor like this? Intake will be a victor jr with hp950, cam not decided yet, but likely a hydraulic roller with .700 lift. Oh yeah, boat is an 18 foot Jet.

  2. #2
    BrendellaJet
    hmmm, I wonder if I should post over in the Just Jets forum? this is for a JET BOAT after all...

  3. #3
    Nstigator74
    Bigger is not always better..........Especially with port size.....I know a few engine builders who really like the Dart Pro-1's for an out of the box head (raised exaust port 2 degree rolled valves)My point should really be ....TALK TO AN EXPERT BEFORE WASTING YOUR MONEY

  4. #4
    Fiat48
    Big cubic inch motors use the cylinder head up faster. That's why flow is everything. Big Intake ports are for the large cubic inch. The limiting factor in any engine is the cylinder head. What Pro stock racing is all about. Contact Larry Olson at E.P.D. cylinder heads and chat with him. He loves boats. It's a relief from all the pro stock heads he works on.
    775-246-5015 as I remember.

  5. #5
    flat broke
    Let's try this again... (I tried replying yesterday but Hot Boat whacked me)
    Brian,
    My advice is ask Dave. I'm sure once you broach the subject, you'll find he has a lot of input on the subject. It's cool to come on here and get some suggestions, but I'm a firm believer in the fact that if you hire someone to spec a motor for you, that person should have first crack at parts selection. They should also be able to tell you why the made the choices they made. Recommendations from 3rd parties are fine, but make sure that you get the theory behind why that person recommends a product. Not just, "I heard from so and so that this is the hot setup".
    Dave has a lot of experience and dyno proven information on 540 jetboat setups. If you ask, I'm sure you'll be overwhelmed with the information he'll unload on ya. One thing to remember when specing ith a price concious approach; the heads will probably end up being detailed/cleaned up by Dave. This means that you should weigh the price of the heads against the shop hours it will take for him to go through them. Sometimes the cheapest recommended head may not be the cheapest once you factor in the man hours required to clean it up to Dave's liking.
    For reference, head selection for my motor (a little harder to come up with the perfect candidate because of application and CI) took a couple of weeks. This is largely due to the fact that we were waiting on some particular specs and responses from 3rd parties. If Dave is setting up a complete package for you from spec to dyno, the synergistic effect of just the right parts selection is part of what you are paying him for.
    Good luck with your choice and let us know how things go.
    Chris

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