This is sort of a follow up to a previous post I made: Rod/Main/Cam Bearings - Any Quality Differences?
I've been looking around at different aluminum heads and have decided that I want to upgrade. Basically my buildup is a mild daily driven 302/5.0L. It's not a flame thrower by any means and will be used in a good ol' pickup truck (see autosig) and will be used for real truck stuff and long distance road trips will occur with a great level of regularity. I will be using a mild performance camshaft that's on the RV level more so than anything else.
In looking at all of the different brands of cylinder heads, I'll lay out my simple requirements:
1. Must use pedestal mount rocker arms. Yes, I know studs are better, but this is not a race truck and it probably won't see more than 4500RPMs, if that.
2. Must be a good balance of cost and performance. Yes, I would like AFR 165, but I'm not looking to spend that much.
3. I "assume" any aluminum head will outflow a stock E7 head, so with than in mind, long term durability is pretty much my #1 concern.
4. I want to buy the heads bare so that I choose my own valve springs, valves, etc. and have a machine shop inspect the heads thoroughly.
5. Heads must be "worth something" as far as low end torque goes. Too much head is not good on a relatively mild build.
6. Heads must have smog ports in the rear.
7. Not necessarily a requirement, but I know cast iron GT40s are a good upgrade, but aluminum just looks cool. I have looked at the Ford Racing GT40X Aluminum Heads and they are near the top of my list.
I've done some looking and see low end bargain brands that have been the subject of horror stories such as Procomp and Flo-Tek and I've seen brands on the higher end such as Edelbrock, Trick Flow and RHS.
My question here is does anyone know of a brand that gives a good balance as far as cost and performance goes? I won't lie, I really did think long and hard about Procomp Part Number PC3035, but I'm not entirely comfortable with that. You sometimes get what you pay for and I don't want to pay to spend time on the side of the road a thousand miles away from home because of a janky set of heads.
Thoughts?
I've been looking around at different aluminum heads and have decided that I want to upgrade. Basically my buildup is a mild daily driven 302/5.0L. It's not a flame thrower by any means and will be used in a good ol' pickup truck (see autosig) and will be used for real truck stuff and long distance road trips will occur with a great level of regularity. I will be using a mild performance camshaft that's on the RV level more so than anything else.
In looking at all of the different brands of cylinder heads, I'll lay out my simple requirements:
1. Must use pedestal mount rocker arms. Yes, I know studs are better, but this is not a race truck and it probably won't see more than 4500RPMs, if that.
2. Must be a good balance of cost and performance. Yes, I would like AFR 165, but I'm not looking to spend that much.
3. I "assume" any aluminum head will outflow a stock E7 head, so with than in mind, long term durability is pretty much my #1 concern.
4. I want to buy the heads bare so that I choose my own valve springs, valves, etc. and have a machine shop inspect the heads thoroughly.
5. Heads must be "worth something" as far as low end torque goes. Too much head is not good on a relatively mild build.
6. Heads must have smog ports in the rear.
7. Not necessarily a requirement, but I know cast iron GT40s are a good upgrade, but aluminum just looks cool. I have looked at the Ford Racing GT40X Aluminum Heads and they are near the top of my list.
I've done some looking and see low end bargain brands that have been the subject of horror stories such as Procomp and Flo-Tek and I've seen brands on the higher end such as Edelbrock, Trick Flow and RHS.
My question here is does anyone know of a brand that gives a good balance as far as cost and performance goes? I won't lie, I really did think long and hard about Procomp Part Number PC3035, but I'm not entirely comfortable with that. You sometimes get what you pay for and I don't want to pay to spend time on the side of the road a thousand miles away from home because of a janky set of heads.
Thoughts?
