roostracing

Hey guys...i received my new cam, lifters, and timing chain yesterday. I am now in the market for a new set of aluminum heads. My cam is a Comp Cams Extreme energy....i belive it is a 274/286 519/523 110lobe sep. It is a hyd flat tappet.My motor consists of a performer rpm air gap intake, 650 speed demon carb, MSD pro-billet distributer, MSD wires, MSD coil, MSD 6AL, hooker long tubes, holley mechanical fuel pump and regulator, fidanza aluminum flywheel, and a McLeod clutch/pressure plate. The foundation is there. I do not know what the short block has as far as pistons. I am assuming a flat top piston? Anyhow...with the cam that i have bought....which set of aluminum heads would work best without modifying the pistons? I know the AFR 165's will work perfect but they are a lil pricey. What about the pro-comps or the patriots? Trick flow's? All help is appreciated!

Thanks!!
Joe

69thunder

I like the Edelbrock performer RPM heads with the 2.02 intake valve that I have on my engine. Are they the best? Who knows. A lot of which brand is best is personal preference. Pick one you can afford. Almost anything is better than the stock heads.

_Remi

Dumb question: what is the price difference exactly between Edelbrock and afr heads? It seems to be quite low.

AFR: $1349
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/ite...?T1=AFR1400+01

Edelbrock: 2 x 595 = $1190
http://www.mustangsunlimited.com/ite...T1=EDL60399+01

Am I completely wrong?

Thanks.

67mustang302

Edelbrock and AFR both make good heads. Edelbrock has some newer Pro Port CNC heads out that basically replace the Performer RPM's, that flow VERY well. AFR's have excellent chamber and port designs, and lb for lb make excellent power. It's hard to go wrong with either, and you get what you pay for with heads. Also, you don't need large valves in heads to make power with a 289/302.

Starfury

Do you have the heads off the motor currently? Do the pistons have valve reliefs? When you get into high lift and large valve situations like this, it's important to check valve clearance when installing the heads.

groho

I've been seeing some posts saying the new Edel 170 CC heads outperform the AFR 185 heads. Does that mean size doesn't matter?

htwheelz67

you cant beat a twisted wedge head for dollar per hp, still about a grand and will out perform the 165's and edelbrock rpms and pretty much everything else in a 202 valved head(an afr 185 will make about 8-10hp more at peak) yet retains bottom end torque and gives better P/V clearance. Go on afr's own website and read 5.0 head shootout from MM&FF, flow #'s alone mean nothing, cross section, port velocity,port shape, chamber shape, swirl mean way more than all out cfm's, look at the chev vortech heads or the ls-1 heads, why do they make so much power? vortech's have small valves and ports but the velocity is there.

Like the twisted wedge, it has 202 160 valves, 170cc int ports, some of the smallest for a 202 head, but the int valve is rotated and closer to the int manifold so flow#'s are like a much bigger head yet velocity is like a smaller head so on smaller CI it doesn't kill low end. I'd say the TW, Canfield and afr make the most power in that catagory, the z-304 is a great head as well but most "big" heads trade low end for top end the two that dont are the TW and canfield in that order. Bigger cubes can use bigger heads but in smaller cubes (you never listed your CI) theres more to the equation.

roostracing

a lot of good info guys...

The motor is in the car...nothing wrong with it and the heads are still on the block...i wasnt planning on taking off the heads or replacing the cam until i had the heads already...so i really dont know if the pistons have been notched or not??? What heads will workIF the pistons are not notched?I am looking for a swap that will work with my current pistons AND the cam i chose...IF i need to get new pistons for the best head...then so be it...all opinions are appreciated!!

also...which trick flow head? too many out there...any part numbers? I want a great street/strip car!

67mustang302

AFR 165's work very well on a 302, and PTV clearance has more to do with duration and valve timing than lift. As far as the new Edelbrock heads, the flow dta they have shows them outflowing AFr 185's, but with a smaller port. They could have flowed them with a larger bore to try to fudge the numbers, but even so the flow vs port size is very good. Time and time, and time again, bigger is not always better is proven. The smaller you can make things and still get the flow you need, the more efficient it is. Velocity is just as important as volume.

Aussie66Fastback

i dont know enough about the subject except to say that the bigger the valves the further in the t-shirt gets sucked when a moron leaves one in your manifold

htz, 67M302 and starfury - can you guys go back a step and explain how you would choose a head/ cam combination please

my understanding is the key to the question is what rev range you want to operate in and a common mistake is to overdo cam and/or heads such that you end up with a slug down low and a rocket ship at high rpm (that subsequently grenades itself because the rest of the build is not up to the job)

any tips guys?