TFS 11R 170 Heads on a 331?

darkfader · May 20, 2019

I’m looking for a little advice as I’m about to assemble my stroker bottom end and take some final measurements and order the top end parts.

I called Trick Flow this morning with a few questions regarding the Track Heat top end kit and the guy suggested the 11R top end kit from Summit Racing. This is the kit:

Trick Flow® Twisted Wedge® 11R Top-End Engine Kits for Small Block Ford TFS-K525-432-370

Find Trick Flow® Twisted Wedge® 11R Top-End Engine Kits for Small Block Ford TFS-K525-432-370 and get Free Shipping on Orders Over $99 at Summit Racing! Tuned by Trick Flow® engineers to deliver optimum horsepower and torque on a small block Ford, these kits will save you cash and take the...

www.summitracing.com

The heads have a 53cc chamber and that cam has Advertised Duration 275/279, Lift .499/.510, Lobe Sep. 112

I asked about what intake would be suggested for that and he said either the Box or the Track Heat. He told me the kit made 432hp but I don’t know if that’s a stock 302 or what. Obviously I plan to call back with more questions but I was curious what experienced guys here thought about all this. My original plan was to bolt a Track Heat kit on and call it a day, but the thought of 80 more naturally aspirated HP certainly peaked my interest.

Of course I need to assemble the rotating assembly so I can measure deck clearance to calculate compression ratio, and maybe I can make a more informed decision but I’m curious what you more experienced guys think. Can anyone enlighten me on how this setup would perform on a street driven fox?

General karthief · May 20, 2019

You be like Godzilla take'n on Tokyo!
acually I have no idea, I just wanted to say that

RangerJoe · May 20, 2019

The heads will work good for a 331. The cam is pretty mild for a stroker setup. The intake is not bad, but there are better in my opinion. Although, there is really nothing wrong with any of those parts and they will work fine together.

Joe

darkfader · May 20, 2019

RangerJoe said:
The heads will work good for a 331. The cam is pretty mild for a stroker setup. The intake is not bad, but there are better in my opinion. Although, there is really nothing wrong with any of those parts and they will work fine together.

Joe

Joe, I’m curious what intake you might prefer for this? In the end, I’m wanting reliability and drivability for a car that will only be driven once in a while. I’ve already completed the suspension and brakes with full Maximum Motorsport coilovers, K member, Panhard bar, control arms, SFC’s and the brakes are 5lug ‘95 cobra front and rear. The rear end is fitted with 31 spline Moser axles, FRPP Trak-Loc and 3.73’s.

I figured long tubes, off road H, flowmaster catback, CAI, 30# injectors and a higher flowing fuel pump. Haven’t really researched TB’s yet but everything will be new and sized to match. Probably adding a megasquirt or Microsquirt depending on what will be the most sensible for my situation. I’ll certainly need to research the hell out of that soon too.

I appreciate your opinions.

96pushrod · May 20, 2019

I don’t know what you plan on keeping your stock hood, but with the box that’s tough to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love mine, just something to be aware of.

A systemax is a solid, well rounded intake as well. They fit well under stock hoods too.

I’d just get a 75mm or bigger Tb; you can’t go too big.

The megasquirt pnp systems are quite nice, stinger makes one that uses ms3 so you can keep the sequential injection. A microsquirt will also get done almost anything the average person needs.

And also, that trickflow cam wouldn’t even get it done for a decent 302, not gonna cut it for a 331. I would also just get the 190 or 205 heads. These are tried and true on strokers and stock bottem ends alike. Not to say the 170s won’t get the job done and it is a good price for the whole kit. Sucks you can’t get it with another cam though.

darkfader · May 20, 2019

96pushrod said:
I don’t know what you plan on keeping your stock hood, but with the box that’s tough to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love mine, just something to be aware of.

A systemax is a solid, well rounded intake as well. They fit well under stock hoods too.

I’d just get a 75mm or bigger Tb; you can’t go too big.

The megasquirt pnp systems are quite nice, stinger makes one that uses ms3 so you can keep the sequential injection. A microsquirt will also get done almost anything the average person needs.

And also, that trickflow cam wouldn’t even get it done for a decent 302, not gonna cut it for a 331. I would also just get the 190 or 205 heads. These are tried and true on strokers and stock bottem ends alike. Not to say the 170s won’t get the job done and it is a good price for the whole kit. Sucks you can’t get it with another cam though.

I have no problem ordering things separately, in fact that’s probably what will happen anyway. I’m sure a custom cam is preferable in most situations from what I’ve read since getting the car.

So the 190 has a slightly larger CC. I’ll be limited by this once I’ve calculated my deck clearance since I’ve got to be able to stick with 91 octane, correct? I’m still trying to learn about compression ratio. I gather that I need to be 10.5:1 or less to use pump gas, right? I definitely want to be able to use pump gas. I haven’t fit the bottom end yet to check deck clearance so I can’t complete the compression calculations just yet. This is first on the to-do list though. The larger the CC, the lower the compression, but what does that do to the power? And do I still run the 1.6 rockers and just use a pushrod measurement tool to find the proper length there?

As far as the hood, I had my heart set on the heat extractor Cervini hood, which looks to actually dip down into the engine compartment at the vents. This “want” is based purely on aesthetics because I think they look badass. I suppose I’d need to call Cervini to get specifics on that hood. I’d really rather not have a cowl hood taller than the stock.

This is all pushing me back to the track heat kit. The multitude of possibilities makes it easy to be indecisive.

96pushrod · May 20, 2019

darkfader said:
I have no problem ordering things separately, in fact that’s probably what will happen anyway. I’m sure a custom cam is preferable in most situations from what I’ve read since getting the car.

So the 190 has a slightly larger CC. I’ll be limited by this once I’ve calculated my deck clearance since I’ve got to be able to stick with 91 octane, correct? I’m still trying to learn about compression ratio. I gather that I need to be 10.5:1 or less to use pump gas, right? I definitely want to be able to use pump gas. I haven’t fit the bottom end yet to check deck clearance so I can’t complete the compression calculations just yet. This is first on the to-do list though. The larger the CC, the lower the compression, but what does that do to the power? And do I still run the 1.6 rockers and just use a pushrod measurement tool to find the proper length there?

As far as the hood, I had my heart set on the heat extractor Cervini hood, which looks to actually dip down into the engine compartment at the vents. This “want” is based purely on aesthetics because I think they look badass. I suppose I’d need to call Cervini to get specifics on that hood. I’d really rather not have a cowl hood taller than the stock.

This is all pushing me back to the track heat kit. The multitude of possibilities makes it easy to be indecisive.

One nice thing about the custom cam is that it is tailored to your car and driving habit. It’s a pretty good extra $50-$70 bucks to spend. And you don’t have to pour over pages of cam specs.

The extra combustion chamber volume will lower your compression ratio a couple points. It would be like going from 10.3 to 9.9 or so. That’s only About a percent and a half less power, barely noticible. With a quench of .040 ish you should be good to run 10.5:1 on 91 octane. I don’t think you’ll be quite that high though.

The track heat is a fine intake, I’d honestly rather have the systemax though. Or ditch your hood and get the box r lol.

FastDriver · May 21, 2019

Old rule of thumb is 3% more power for every point of compression. I'd bet dollars to donuts you'd make more power with the 190cc heads, even if the combustion chamber is a bit larger. You could mill them down, but I wouldn't. Leaving the extra material means more ability to flatten them again between builds.

I like the Systemax Intake & a custom cam. I agree with the other comments. That cam is very small. It's not that it won't make power, but you're going to leave a lot on the table. I'm a believer in custom cams, and I've always used Ed Curtis on the expensive builds.

RangerJoe · May 21, 2019

I am with the others, the Holley is hard to beat. I would also buy the biggest heads I could within reason. Again, the kit you posted will run just fine, there is just more power to be made.

Joe

96pushrod · May 21, 2019

darkfader said:
I have no problem ordering things separately, in fact that’s probably what will happen anyway. I’m sure a custom cam is preferable in most situations from what I’ve read since getting the car.

So the 190 has a slightly larger CC. I’ll be limited by this once I’ve calculated my deck clearance since I’ve got to be able to stick with 91 octane, correct? I’m still trying to learn about compression ratio. I gather that I need to be 10.5:1 or less to use pump gas, right? I definitely want to be able to use pump gas. I haven’t fit the bottom end yet to check deck clearance so I can’t complete the compression calculations just yet. This is first on the to-do list though. The larger the CC, the lower the compression, but what does that do to the power? And do I still run the 1.6 rockers and just use a pushrod measurement tool to find the proper length there?

As far as the hood, I had my heart set on the heat extractor Cervini hood, which looks to actually dip down into the engine compartment at the vents. This “want” is based purely on aesthetics because I think they look badass. I suppose I’d need to call Cervini to get specifics on that hood. I’d really rather not have a cowl hood taller than the stock.

This is all pushing me back to the track heat kit. The multitude of possibilities makes it easy to be indecisive.

One nice thing about the custom cam is that it is tailored to your car and driving habit. It’s a pretty good extra $50-$70 bucks to spend.

The extra combustion chamber volume will lower your compression ratio a couple points. It would be like going from 10.2 to 9.9:1 cr. Wouldn’t be that dramatic.

darkfader · May 21, 2019

Thanks a lot for the input guys.

I suppose my plan of attack will be to assemble the bottom end and take measurements, and hope the 190 heads will fall within the compression calcs. Then I’ll contact Ed Curtis for the cam and go from there. I’ll plan on the Holley intake for when that time comes as well.

Thanks again!

FastDriver · May 21, 2019

He's notoriously tough to talk to. Just go here: http://www.flowtechinduction.com/cam-tech-form/ Fill out the form and then email it to him. If you need help with any of the questions, we're happy to help.

RangerJoe · May 21, 2019

FastDriver said:
He's notoriously tough to talk to. Just go here: http://www.flowtechinduction.com/cam-tech-form/ Fill out the form and then email it to him. If you need help with any of the questions, we're happy to help.

Yeah, tough as in you WILL NOT hear the man's voice unless you are some type of repeat customer.

I did a 331 with afr 185s, the Holley intake and one of his cans. It does run well for what it is. I think you will like the results.

Joe

FastDriver · May 21, 2019

Haha. It makes me feel pretty good that he's always taken my call. Though, last time he asked, "How did you get this number?" From you! 10 years ago, you old crotchety Bastage! j/k... He's really a nice man. He actually talked me through adjusting my rocker arms and aligning my cam for around an hour on the phone when I was 19 and that was the first time I'd done more than an accessory. But, I've heard how tough it is from everyone else.

darkfader · May 21, 2019

Thanks a lot guys. I’ll take a look at the site.

Mustang5L5 · May 21, 2019

Just a heads up, my custom cam came with a requirement to use different springs on my tfs170 heads. An extra $300 expense.

If you really don't want to do that, then make sure you note the spring specs and specify you want to keep them. It may change your grind.

I had no issues buying my cam. I paid for it, sent him my mod list and wishes and 3 weeks later got a cam

mikestang63 · May 21, 2019

FastDriver said:
Haha. It makes me feel pretty good that he's always taken my call. Though, last time he asked, "How did you get this number?" From you! 10 years ago, you old crotchety Bastage! j/k... He's really a nice man. He actually talked me through adjusting my rocker arms and aligning my cam for around an hour on the phone when I was 19 and that was the first time I'd done more than an accessory. But, I've heard how tough it is from everyone else.

just don't tell Ed you voted for Obama...lol

FastDriver · May 21, 2019

Ha! I was his friend on facebook for a while. I'm a conservative leaning independent, and I still couldn't take all of his rants, lol. Yeah, you definitely don't want his Obama-cam, lol.

TFS 11R 170 Heads on a 331?

darkfader

Trick Flow® Twisted Wedge® 11R Top-End Engine Kits for Small Block Ford TFS-K525-432-370

General karthief

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving

darkfader

96pushrod

I think they're a little easier to get off

darkfader

96pushrod

I think they're a little easier to get off

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving

96pushrod

I think they're a little easier to get off

darkfader

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

RangerJoe

I leave the horn on while driving

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

darkfader

Mustang5L5

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

mikestang63

FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

Similar threads

TFS 11R 170 Heads on a 331?

wonder how much it would cost to ship you a pair

I leave the horn on while driving

I think they're a little easier to get off

I think they're a little easier to get off

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

I leave the horn on while driving

I think they're a little easier to get off

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

I leave the horn on while driving

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

That is…until I whipped out my Bissell

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

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