best heads for the money?

jake_1977_77 · Apr 2, 2007

hey fellas,

I have a 1992 GT 5.0 (302) 5 spd I am looking into getting some heads here in the future to replace my stock ones, I have an E303 cam, the block is bored 30 over, I just bought a cobra upper and lower intake and 1/2" spacer kit. I know heads are important for horsepower, I will also be adding a supercharger within the year as well, so any input would be great!!!!

Cwalk · Apr 2, 2007

I say either AFR185's or Edelbrock Victor Jr.'s. You wont be disappointed with either.

bullitstang1313 · Apr 2, 2007

I'd have to agree with Cwalk. I just ordered some AFR 185's for mine.

2000xp8 · Apr 2, 2007

Don't waste your money on afr's.
Just use TW's, they are the best bang for your buck out there, for a mild combo.
Sometimes they can be found for $1050-$1100.
And there is plenty of places to have the TW's, cnc'ed should you up the displacement later, making them very versatle.

Is your engine stroked? If not, it's a 306 right? A 306 is not much different than a rebuilt 302, 185's and victors are too much head for that setup.

Flavadave4 · Apr 2, 2007

185's would make the low end a little sluggish on a 306, I'de be shooting for the AFR 165's

2000xp8 · Apr 2, 2007

Flavadave4 said:
185's would make the low end a little sluggish on a 306, I'de be shooting for the AFR 165's

Exactly, which brings us back to the original post, "best head for the money".
TW's and Afr 165's perform very similar, but the TW's cost less.
Making them the better value, along with better cnc options later if need be.

Flavadave4 · Apr 2, 2007

2000xp8 said:
Exactly, which brings us back to the original post, "best head for the money".
TW's and Afr 165's perform very similar, but the TW's cost less.
Making them the better value, along with better cnc options later if need be.

Very true, I see alot of people going with AFR cause thats what everyone else is doing.

Do you have to notch the pistions to use the TW's? The AFR's are bolt on replacement, no mods.

jake_1977_77 · Apr 2, 2007

bullitstang1313 said:
I'd have to agree with Cwalk. I just ordered some AFR 185's for mine.

do you have a website for these? how much do they cost?

jake_1977_77 · Apr 2, 2007

2000xp8 said:
Don't waste your money on afr's.
Just use TW's, they are the best bang for your buck out there, for a mild combo.
Sometimes they can be found for $1050-$1100.
And there is plenty of places to have the TW's, cnc'ed should you up the displacement later, making them very versatle.

Is your engine stroked? If not, it's a 306 right? A 306 is not much different than a rebuilt 302, 185's and victors are too much head for that setup.

yes it is a 306, I would like to stroke it to a 347, what all does that entail? I plan on yanking the motor anyway as I just bought the car and go through everything just to make sure the guy I bought it off was telling the truth, I do know that it has a cam, on that subject how can I find out what cam it is? by part #? TW you are referring to is Twisted Wedge correct? thanks

jake_1977_77 · Apr 2, 2007

2000xp8 said:
Don't waste your money on afr's.
Just use TW's, they are the best bang for your buck out there, for a mild combo.
Sometimes they can be found for $1050-$1100.
And there is plenty of places to have the TW's, cnc'ed should you up the displacement later, making them very versatle.

Is your engine stroked? If not, it's a 306 right? A 306 is not much different than a rebuilt 302, 185's and victors are too much head for that setup.

do you have a website I can check out for these heads available?

ninety15.0 · Apr 2, 2007

I also agree that 185's are too big for your setup. Port velocity is just as important as port volume...especially on a small cube motor. Your low end torque with 185's is going to be weak. Go with 165's and at that point i would also say save the 300 bucks and get the TW's before the AFR's.

jake_1977_77 · Apr 2, 2007

thanks for your input guys, if I were to stroke it to a 347 what all does that entail? I would like to do that honestly! if I do then I should go 185 right? I am not very experienced with all of this stuff as of yet, I am learning though, I appreciate the replies!!!
:SNSign:

Cwalk · Apr 2, 2007

You could still use the 165's. But with a 347 you would WANT the 185's.

Flavadave4 · Apr 2, 2007

jake_1977_77 said:
thanks for your input guys, if I were to stroke it to a 347 what all does that entail? I would like to do that honestly! if I do then I should go 185 right? I am not very experienced with all of this stuff as of yet, I am learning though, I appreciate the replies!!!
:SNSign:

It requires a new crank with a larger stroke, generlly you can buy kits with new crank, pistons and rods.
I would recomend you take it to a good shop and have them perform this.

2000xp8 · Apr 2, 2007

Everything depends on your budget and what you want to do.
for a 347, i'd get the Cnc wedges. Port volume is lower than the afr's and velocity is up over them. That equals more usuable power.
Summit has TFS twisted wedges and track heats. I'm pretty sure summit actually owns TFS now.

Keep in mind, you use a 347 with a supercharger, you are going to be well past block breaking power.
Unless you have a very large budget, i'd just go NA, and forget the SC.
You can get 425rwhp+ out of a proper 347 with good heads, that's plenty for most people. And it will be more reliable than an SC engine with the same power.
You cross the 475-500rwhp line without a race block and your engine will be a timebomb. Some people get 5 years, some get 5 days.

Flava, 99% of the time there is no notching necessary for TW's. But you always should check before installation.

Grn92LX · Apr 2, 2007

Flavadave4 said:
185's would make the low end a little sluggish on a 306, I'de be shooting for the AFR 165's

Not very true

http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=599345

I do agree with the twisted wedge recommendations though. Back years ago when I bought mine they were even more of a bang for the buck @ $935 to my door

KcMstang · Apr 2, 2007

GT-40p can find them for $300 already machined! They are great for a mild street car...I planning on the same setup with cobra upper/lower, ecam, GT-30p heads, 3.73 and just ride on it. I might even slap a blower on it and when it blows running a 331 stroker.

BlownFiveLiter · Apr 2, 2007

I see there's the old TW vs. AFR debate going on in here. Personally, I opted for the TW heads because of some of the reasons mentioned here about larger displacement down the road. They're the only head available that I'm aware of which allows a 2.02 intake valve without having to notch the pistons for clearance. If you try that on a stock engine with AFR 185's, you'll need to run a low-lift cam or notch the pistons. Out of the box, the 165's and TW heads are very similar in performance, so it's all a matter of how much money you want to spend, or save by choosing one over the other. When I ordered my TW's last year, I believe they were around $1295 from Summit, but I couldn't touch a set of AFR's for less than $1400, from the places that actually had them in stock, so that also made the decision that much easier. I'd pick up the TW's and when you get a 347, give Total Engine Airflow a call and see what they'll CNC them for.

Sicarius428 · Apr 2, 2007

Bang for the buck with upgrade potential, my opinion is TFS. Don't get me wrong, AFR makes a great set of heads but for the "bang for the buck" TFS will work great for your current setup and when and if you go with a stroker, it has the potential to be worked over to be optimized for the extra cubes. I would hate to chop up a set of CNC 165s at 1400 bucks to make them work better on a stroker later on. You pay for the CNC initially... why throw that away.
Kevin

mstngjoe · Apr 2, 2007

ninety15.0 said:
I also agree that 185's are too big for your setup. Port velocity is just as important as port volume...especially on a small cube motor. Your low end torque with 185's is going to be weak.......

Port velocity is tied to the cross section of the port.

Do you know the cross section of the TFS head? It's 2.18.

How about the AFR 185 head? It's 2.23.

A difference of .05. Or less than 3%.

So how is it that the AFR 185 head is "too big" but the TW is ok?

Just curious.

best heads for the money?

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