I wonder why Marc 85Z28 didn't respond to my Dart results before he left the thread....

 

I did state I would stay out, but I can't resist an encore.

Your Dart results? YOUR results? Did you actually build that car, or was it another one of the "bought it already built" cars that fill up your sig?

You list those heads flowing 296cfm with a 225cc port. AFRs numbers hold true on even the stingiest benches. AFRs, like the Darts, are aftermarket castings. Even with the additional 20ccs of volume, the Dart heads still fall behind the 205cc AFRs. On the exhaust side, please. They're TERRIBLE! I think they barely hit 200cfm

Hell, even Dart stated when they came out they were aimed towards the porter, and although would work out the box, that's NOT what they were meant for!

 

with your mods already and cam choice i would highly recommend afr 205 cc heads on a bone stock ls1 99 corvette the gained 40hp with tuning and with all your bolt on goodies i don't see why you shouldn't get at least another 55 hp.

your choice.

 

I really don't know what you've got yourself all worked up about. The man asked for recomendations on a budget set up for heads. And all you can focus on is that Dart heads are junk, they're terrible, they don't make any power unported. But I offered that for a budget build that they can make decent power. Now your main focus is on how heads that cost almost 2 times the money work better. Well duh. They should.

 

FMS built the car in question.

 

Not like it matters though, if thats what it has on it, and those are the numbers it made, who turned the wrench is irrelevant.

This is entertaining though, this guy apparently doesnt know the credentials of the people he's arguing with

 

You're treading on thin ice, so cool it with the rumour-starting and snide remarks.

The car was purchased bone-stock and I built it to what it was (Futral did the wrenching)

I was the first person in the nation with any kind of LS1 Dart results in a build. Only a few people in the nation had them at the time and the first batch wasn't even shipped out yet. I used the 225cc set that Allan had at the shop and they produced wonderful results.

BTW -- AFRs were also flowed there and like most heads -- don't live up to their advertised numbers. But we're not going to get into that kind of discussion here.

 

geez....i could have sworn i posted this on camaro28.com ......not ls1tech.com?

 

Sorry, but I hate disinformation and feel the need to battle it.

My thoughts with the Dart 225s were to install them out of the box and see what they do then maybe next winter pull them and have them ported and milled to see the gains from that. I installed ARP head studs the very first time that I had the heads off so I'll never have to buy new bolts.
I gained about 15-20 hp over the stage I ported LS1 heads that I had on there and don't consider the results as bad. Maybe I can catch another 20+ when I get them ported? We'll find out.
I took this approach because I'm retired and do not have huge amounts of cash to throw at the car.

 

no problem al....i understand about disinformation. bottom line is there is no "perfect" head for every situation...

the more i'm reading around, the more confused i am.

at first i was set on getting some of the small runner heads....terminator 200s, dart 205s, and if i upped my budget AFR 205s or TFS 215s.....just to maintain the good low/mid range power that i like on the street. big numbers are fun for bragging...but i'm not even big on that.

now i'm looking at some other porters and seeing really good deals on heads. talked with TEA and they have some ported stock castings that flow REALLY well, particularly exhaust, for a very nice price. problem is they are 225cc runners. i'm worried that will hurt my low end.

although everyone reccomends the 5.3L heads...which have a 220cc runner.

UGH...i wish money wasnt the limiting factor...

i did plan to do studs....so i can play with the heads later, and since everyone says they are so much easier than bolts.

 

Hey Jeff, boy you really know how to stir up the hornets nest. I hope your taking all this information with a grain of salt . As stated ,alot of the so called "budget heads" do actually make decent power, hell if they didn't ,they would be out of bussiness by now, so don't be so quick to discount them, especially Patriot . I have read a few posts where people who bought ETP heads and had nothing but problems out of them and those surely are NOT budget heads .Does that mean ETP heads are crap? No, all that means is a few sets were simply not up to standard . You can usually find a set of used heads and head studs on the for sale forums on the popular message boards for a reasonable price. I personally think the head studs are the way to go, but certainly not mandatory . You can get GM MLS head gaskets for $50-$60 a set which is not too bad considering cometics are around $`180- $200 a set . I would hold off on the FAST 90/90 for now, you will get more out of a set of ported heads than just the intake and TB for the same money. If you do the work yourself you will save a ton of money and have the satisfaction of knowing that you built your own engine , at least the top end of it . If you need a hand, let me know . Good luck!

 

you should see me on the spearfishing boards....alot of those arguments are about things i have a college education and 6yrs of job experience working on.

definaly plan to do the heads myself.

i think with my budget constraint this holiday season i'm just gonna get a good street tune. then save up for some heads for spring/summer (said that 2yrs ago).

but i'm still taking any and all info.

think i'm gonna look more into the TEA heads. i like their flow and price.