Edelbrock or AFR Cylinder Heads on my 393 Stroker?

When you order the Heads, Be sure to have them ordered with the Severe Duty Valve & Spring Upgrade, it costs 130.00 extra

I'm building a 408 now and bought the 185 AFRs. I'm having second thoughts about them after doing some reading on a different forum. A lot of those guys think the Canfield 195 heads are great. If I had it to do over again I'd probably buy the Vic Jr's mainly because of price but my car is mainly going to be used for the street. I'd just clean the ports up on the Vic Jr's and put them on. I don't think the 185 AFRs are a bad choice (look at what gsxrken's engine is doing) though. I think if I had purchased a bigger head I would have been better off . It all depends on what you want to do with your car.

afr's are good but they do have some shortcomings springs, retainers etc....the victors are very good but a little less perf wise than the 205, have you looked at canfield heads? I'm using 205 ported TW's on my 408 as I already had the TW's on my prior engine. You can get into some canfields for less than AFR's and they will perform better

I would call AFR and ask which they would think would fit better, thne 185's or the 205's. Im betting on the 205's.

wickedmach1 said:

Thanks for all the great information but you guys are confusing me. AFR 185's on a 408 stroker? That head to me belongs on a 302 or stock 351w. It seems that the 393 or 408 would need to breath????

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I agree that the 205s would be better than the 185s for a 408. I just bought my heads before I researched enough.

longer runners for more rpms

I would always say for out of the box, the AFR's would be the best choice. If you get custom head porting, there aren't worth it, it kinda defeats the purpose. If you want a huge radical cam, I would stay away from every comapny just about, especially AFR and Canfields. They use a poorer quality aluminum which is weaker and a pain to weld if ever needed. Another reason is the head studs tend to just rip out of the head. And I believe AFR runs the .750 deck to make up for the weaker aluminum used, but it is good advertising. Edelbrocks stuff is all heli coiled except for the spark plugs.
Don't get me wrong, I love my AFR's, and I'm shooting 6-700 hp. but I have a small cam. I have also already lifted the head on one cylinder before, and had to heli coil all the exaust bolts because they galled the first time I went to replace the header gasket.

really? What is the material AFR uses as opposed to edelbrock? Perhaps AFR uses the particular material to help with machining operations as opposed to edelbrock's cast stuff. Also, have you considered using Twisted Wedge heads? Those are a cheaper alternative to the AFRs but I recall the valvesprings are limited to a lower lift. Some also say that twisted wedge heads warp? Anyone can substantiate that?

afr machine work and aluminum is top notch, but the steel parts are questionable. i had 3 visibly bent rocker studs and about half of the rest i could feel wobble when i turned them out. the shipping box had no damage. the pushrod guides are a little loose on on the pushrods compared to my old com guides. adjusting them to center both rocker tips on the stems didn't happen had to use my old comp guides. my final bitch are the valve spring dampers, at first i had valvetrain noise the engine didnt have beforethe head swap. i tried different pushrods to both satisfy the half lift method and the centered on tip method. i also adjusted the rockers so many times the locknuts turned into regular nuts, then i tried roller rockers on 7/16 studs, nothing helped. when i changed my oil for the first time afterwards it looked like a pearl brown paint being poured into the oil barel. i tore off the valve covers to inspect, no wear on the pushrods or guides pushrod holes or rocker arms. the only thing i noticed was when cranking over i could hear clicks. then i noticed wear on the damper springs and what seemed to the ends of them snapping into the outer spring groove when releasing. later i put the same heads on a different enging i had the same exact problems.

The 205's now come with Peterson solid roller valve springs, hardened ten degree locks and retainers, lightweight 8mm valve stems, and are factory ported.
Joe Sherman Racing did a test on a 10.5 compression solid roller cammed 347 and the AFR205's showed a 50hp gain over the Vic Jr's at 7200 rpm. This was on a 347

The 185's will work on a stroked Windsor but if you want the most out of it and best bang for the buck get the AFR205's. I love my 185's but the 205 are a more than a small step better.

mrmustangman357 said:

really? What is the material AFR uses as opposed to edelbrock? Perhaps AFR uses the particular material to help with machining operations as opposed to edelbrock's cast stuff. Also, have you considered using Twisted Wedge heads? Those are a cheaper alternative to the AFRs but I recall the valvesprings are limited to a lower lift. Some also say that twisted wedge heads warp? Anyone can substantiate that?

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I don't know the exact difference, but you can see it when you weld it. It's VERY porous. Aluminum has to be CLEAN to weld. Every time it gets hot enough to weld, all the crap flows out of the porosity. TW heads I have seen like to crack between the seats, and can cause the motor to have a wonderful time turning off because of hot spots. Jadesville can testify on that one.
I would go 205 if it were me, even having seen what I have. When I get the stroker and a crazy cam, the AFR's will go bye-bye.