The goal is to run low 10's on a 200 shot but it seems there are really no shops that I can find that have concrete reps and results. I have been thinking about just going with AFR 210s with the competition porting but dont know if that'd get me there. I probably will get a custom ground cam but will stick with hyd roller due to cost of the solid roller setup. Is this my best bet to just get the AFR's with competition porting and hope thats good enough? Anything else in the $3k ball park that compares or shines over the AFR's?

 

There are numerous shops and individuals who port LT1 and LT4 heads to achieve excellent results. ARE, GTP, LPE, CNC, Lloyd, etc. all offer excellent results (although you will find individuals who might disagree with one or two people on that list). Do a "search"... these names and their flow results are posted frequently.

If you are running a 200-shot, head flow shouldn't make or break it.... the nitrous flows through just about any port.

 

While I agree those names are widely known when it comes to this subject, there are still many instances where the quality is questioned when it comes to the head porting. I have already been through a similar situation once with heads and dont wish to go down that path again, taking a chance that the end product might not be worth a **** and having really no acceptable options. I mean there are local shops that can port the heads and get similar numbers as the aforementioned for MUCH less $$. I just dont think the "normal" porting will get me to where I wanna go though. Is there no option that isnt "Hit or Miss" when it comes to buying heads? I havent heard really anything bad about the AFR heads compared to others in that price range. You pretty much know what your getting every time and wont worry about the quality of the work. I mean it just seems like its always "I know this guy that is friends with a guy that ports heads for nascar, he can port yours better than any out there for a good price." Is this really the case where you have to be in the "racer loop" to actually know where to get heads from?

 

I don't think I have ever seen anything bad about the LPE heads. I know that they were used to make huge HP in George Baxter's car (eventually the quickest LT1 ever). And he hated AFR's..... lost HP when he tried them. He used the LPE LT4 CNC heads up to 950flywheelHP, with a small amount of touchup by our local shop. Right after that, the shop picked up a fresh set of LPE LT4 CNC's for a clone of George's engine, and they outflowed George's tweeked LPE's. They were great right out of the box. The shop also had comparitive head flows on many popular LT1/LT4 heads... same operator on the same bench... and was impressed by the GTP heads. Only one sample, but the flow numbers were right up there with the best they had flowed.

What kind of HP are you figuring? With a 3,500# car, you need about 650-675flywheel to run a 10.3. With a 200-shot, thats 450-475flywheel on motor. Needs a good head. But not something that hasn't already been done.

 

One word, though, if you do go AFR, don't bother with their competition Port job. Just get the heads, and them send them out to someone else for porting.

 

475 Flywheel HP is easily doable on stock ported heads. You don't need the gigantic flow numbers, what you need is good mid lift numbers, and a cam that's matched to the heads. There's plenty of options out there, and there's more than a few characters making real close to 400 rwhp if not more with Lloyd Elliot heads. Just call someone up and talk to them, and they should help steer you in the right direction.

 

I'd like to make somewhere in area of 450rw. I guess Joe Over... not sure how you spell his name has been getting good numbers with his custom ground cams so I was thinking maybe talking to him or just going with a cc306? Haven't looked into it a ton yet as it wont happen for another half year or so. Any suggestions on heads that will get me 450rw with a decent cam and that wont break the bank IE $3k. Hows the TEA heads?