in all reality what is the cost difference between the two after all necessary parts are accounted for?

 

It's going to depend on the cam selections, but you're looking at ~ 35-40 rwhp difference on average.

 

If you're doing the labor yourself, there can be anywhere from $500 to $1500 price difference. It just depends on what you want and can afford. If you're paying someone else to do it, then it will be a lot more.

 

I would think if you are going to replace the springs, the difference in cost would be price of head gaskets and head work. it would be pretty expensive to have someone install a h/c package though

 

There's also head bolts, lube, and coolant for sure, maybe even new valves. There's also the possibility of extra machine work on the intake if the heads have been milled. That's if everything goes smoothly.

 

I'm gonna try to do as much as possible on my own. I was tryin to see if the major difference in price of parts is in the headwork cuz ill have to do rr's springs ect on either.

 

Correct. Check out eportworks.com and advancedinduction.com. I would look at them first. You can get entire packages or bare heads if you already have all your valvetrain parts. The more you get from them, though, I feel that the better your parts will match.

You can also buy used ported heads cheaper on here if you feel comfortable with that. Receipts are key to value of performance parts as well. I bought mine and got a pretty good deal.

 

well my overall goal is between 320-340 rwhp, and it wont see at most a few passes (at least till after college). if that goal is attainable cam only without sacrificing too much drivability then i'll put the money i would have spent back and save for suspension, if not then h/c it is. 1 question though, as long as i go with a good set of springs and rr's on a cam only set up could they be reused if i do decide to throw on some heads later?

 

If that's all you're looking for, you can get that with a cam only setup. That will save you some money for suspension, like you said, which will help with how fast the car is. That's more important than how much power it puts down.

Yes, if you choose the valvetrain wisely, you can reuse it with your ported heads. Then you can just buy the bare heads which are cheaper than getting the full package. The beehive spring setups are typically the most versatile. If you're looking to save money, Crane has a dual spring kit that comes with everything.

 

Having the heads done as well can easily add another grand to the total cost. If you are only looking for gains of around 340 at the wheels, a good cam, all the supporting mods, and a tune should easily get you there.

 

ok, with that in mind any suggestions on cam specs that won't be too harsh on the bottom end. If the cost isn't much more than an off the shelf cam where or who do i need to talk to for a custom grind?

 

There are several people around that do custom cams, but there isn't much point, IMO, if you're going to run unported heads. There are plenty of shelf grinds to choose from. Here's a list of the most popular ones.

http://getonitracing.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=376

 

i hate having to spend money twice

if i pony up for a custom grind now to use with heads later might i be better off than going off the shelf and having to get another cam to match the heads or will they be close enough to get good gains from the heads?

 

The whole point of a custom cam is 1) It's matched to your ported heads and 2) It's a package deal so you save money. So without ported heads, the custom cam loses the point. You may be able to find someone to grind a custom cam that will work with both unported and ported heads, but it will not be able to maximize either, but neither will a shelf grind. So it's a tradeoff I guess.

IMO, just save until you can get all of it at once.

 

well with my goals in mind sounds like the cam only route can get me there so would the extra money of a custom grind for non-ported heads provide for a more well rounded car or is a shelf cam still the way to go?

Sorry for so many questions, just want to make sure i get whats right and if it takes some extra money to get the right cam for what i'm wantin to do i'll make it work.