i'd like to hear some numbers and times b4 i put the set i have on

 

A few years back I put a set of the G2 TW heads. They are VERY good heads. A super mild 400 with a Miniram on top and the G2s we went 13.00000001 @ 110.5 MPH on street tires at 3900 lbs race weight and we didn't even know that we had the wrong injectors in it at the time (24lb instead of the 30lb units the chip was programmed for). I will put the G2s up against a set of AFR 195s any day of the week performance-wise.

The only downside is that you MUST use custom length pushrods. And my expereince with them tells me that Trick FLow's length suggestions aren't close enough that you should trust them implicitly. This is one set of heads you MUST mesure for proper pushrod length. If you don't know how..... LEARN. Don't just drop in some random-length sticks and cross your fingers becuase you're not likely to be pleased with the results.

 

i'd heard that longer push rods were required, i'll be sure to measure. i also heard only certain rockers worked on it. i'm planning on using trick flow brand rockers to be safe.

Also heard with lifts over .501 special pistons were needed because of the different angle of valve coming down. i'll stick to under .501 i suppose

This will be a carbed .040 350 with torker II intake and cam around .488 lift and 234 duration @.050 in a 82 firebird any other things i need need to watch for. Thanks for the help.

 

i have trickflow g1

 

car will be under 3000 pounds raceweight(not streat legal), on slicks and probably be sprayed on just for lil more info

 

I had their heads when they made it for the first time for a GM. It cost me an engine. Their QC sucked and they didn't know jack when I asked them if the cam will clear and whether I could use 1.6 ratio RR. I bought them anyways and foudn that they sucked in the QC. 2 weeks after I had the head assembled, they sent me another set of guideplates because they had trouble with the ones they sent with the heads. The entire bank of valves on the pass side were wobbly after 20000 miles while the driver side was ok. I saw that the guideplates were worn by the pushrod. Changed them and foudn that the spring for #4 cylinder was broken. Probably caused by all the flexing of the spring when the valve and pushrod wobbled.

Personally, I would not want those heads for anythign other than a doorstop. I went with AFR and am very happy with them.

 

Some of the first run of the TFS Twisted Wedge heads (G1s) were sent out with K-Motion springs. The K-Motion spec out to allow .500 lift, but they have tendencies to break if you run over .450 lift. They would back then and K-motion was still having trouble with those springs breaking in 1998 when I had my speed shop - their 1.25" springs are total junk. They gave the G1s a bad name,, that and people setting the heads up with bad valvetrain alignment. The G1 guides were iron, later replaced with alloy guides in the G2 heads and the original 13degree intake valve was set to 15degrees with the G2s.

Bottom line, the heads are great street heads as long as you're not going to run a lot of cam. If you think you might want to run more cam than 230 degrees and .500 lift,,,, look at another set of heads (as opposed to buying their special pistons). You always want to get the valve train geometry right,, but it is CRITICAL to get it right with the G1s or the G2s or you will have trouble.

I've run well over 20,000 miles with a set of G1s with no undue guide wear and I'm running stamped steal 1.6 rockers giving .484/.506 lift with a 218/228 cam. They're sitting on a mild 355 that's run 12.3 with a StealthRam before porting. I know a guy with G1s on a 406 running deep in the 11s so you can get them to deliver good ETs when set up properly.

 

I had gotten their heavy duty springs and they swore it would hold for 0.560 lift. Anyways, my problem was that ALL the valveguides on the pass side were worn and the valves rattled around and stressed the spring out enough to break one of them. Since this was a 2 coil in 1 and the outer spring broke, there was enough to hold the valve up but not enough to prevent valve float. The valve floated into the piston and broke it and that ended the life of that motor.

That and the lack of tech support has made me decide never ever to buy TFS heads. Now, if I need a set of heads, I will buy a used set, dump the hardware and start all over. Cheaper that way than to buy a new engine.

 

I agree that it's a crap shoot to run the springs as delivered by just about any manufacturer - no matter what they say. TFS used springs from K-Motion, Crane, and Lunati back on the G1s. I have no idea what they use on the G2s,, only that they no longer use K-Motion. I've bought a number of assembled heads, and had nothing but trouble from the "stock" springs when running a cam any where near the advertised max lift - in fact I ended up with the K-Motion springs on my TFS heads and broke 3 of them (I'm running Comp springs now). I always run "matching" springs for the cam now (after a couple "stock" failures well within their advertised limits),,, as Aklim says,, it's a lot cheaper than a new engine. I also must agree,,, if you buy a set of used TFS heads,,, you better check the guides and buy a matching set of springs!!!!!!

 

If you buy the heads used, you get to pick what you want. For instance, with AFR heads, they use severe duty manly valves. You know the head will not wear out unless you somehow get it cracked. Pressure test just to be sure and keep the valves. The rest of the stuff like guides, springs, retainers, etc, etc can find their way to the trash can. If I had say TFS heads that I had to use, I would have gotten a set of used ones so I could throw away everything except MAYBE the valves, if they are good. The rest, I would put my own stuff lilke Comp Cams, for instance and make that work right.

 

thanks guys sorry ttook so long to respond, also was wondering if a set of dished blower pistons would solve the piston to valve clearance issues?(since it's not having to match up with valve reliefs on the piston)

 

I've never done it, but it would seem to depend on the depth of the dish. At the same time you would be losing compression, so I don't know if that is the ideal way to solve the challenge.

The flip side is that their head design may be set up so you don't need as much lift. I don't know.

Jason

 

hey aklim,not to change subject but i will point out a few things..one maybe early on their qc was poor but u ask any reputable head guy and they will say trick flow one of the better out of the box head today.second you claim some heads have manley valves??well one manleys are now made in china,where qc aint so great and trick flow uses the much higher quality ferrara valves.and ask any head guy worth his salt,if you bolting a head on any real performance engine,any head right out of the box should be gone thru regardless just to ensure the quality...period..i know thats hard to phathom for some but theyre mass produced...and qc gets lost sometimes...i can show you brand new heads with lousy valve seating and leaking cylinders.and with springs you cant buy a "stock" set and expect it to work w/o knowing the specs the cam requires,and even then those cams specs are bare min. needed.......getting back to original ? the twisted wedge a great head ..but.....if you notice they dont make it anymore mainly due to valve train reliabilty problems folk had..not on trick flows end but on set up..when they tweisted the valve location the changed valve geometry which required the valve train to have to be set up differently .so youll need to pay close attention to push rod length and rocker ratios....but again with any head you should always check pushrod length in relation to where the rocker sits on the valve tip..because all engines are different in heights...is your block milled vs mine?are your heades milled vs mines..etc..all those throw off the geometry ever so slighty...bolt on heads dont really exsist....as far as flow goes,i beleive car craft did a real good comparison recently on all the sbc heads and even catogorized them in terms of intake cc volumes...of course the 220-230 cc flow best but thats a race head and only a fool would run that on street.....but they twisted wedge flowed right up there wqith the best...myself im running the g23 head..which has great flow numbers itslef(now they call it the kenny duntweiler).....and when u look at flwo numbers dont go right to the 500,600 and 700 inch lift column cause u know what,if your cam dont have 600-700 inch lift(most dont)who cares what it flows there cause you wont use it...look around the 400-500 rande and the ratio betwen the intake and exhaust.......sorry i rambled but heads are the life blood of and engine and if your going to spend the money on heads get the right ones for your application.....not the head you saw some guy in a magazine used and was running 9's...cause you know why ,he aint using your motor!!!!!!