Okay, my usual research for parts, and this is a topic that I've yet to find any good info on. There's a lot of good company's out there and they all have their "stage" of heads. If each level of head meant the same thing from one company to the next it would maybe make things easier to decide. BUT they don't. So i'm guessing that like most of you, when you decide on buying a head, you research and go with what sounds to be the best head for your application and hope you've chosen wisely in your decision.

That's all fine and dandy for you 2.0 guys and I realize that most of the vendors out there are geared towards the 2.0 guys out there cause plain and simply put, there's more of them. Then there's us 2.3, 2.4, etc. guys that are trying to find what's best as well. Some websites like MachV, Slowboy, or others have their "race only" heads. Is this only meant for the 2.0 guys? How would one like me determine the best head to go with?

I'd like this thread to be good for all of us stroker guys and not just my own personal interest but for an example, if I were running a Magnus intake, FP3 cams, Dejon Tool FMIC, etc., how in the world would I know the best one to go with? On a side note, I plan to run mainly at the drag strip and street use. Sure the variables are many because of those wanting to auto-x, etc. or whatever the goal. But overall, how would one narrow it down from say, a Slowboy stage 1-6 head? With the amount of money I plan to spend, the last thing I wanna do is just go saying the,"catch a tiger by his toe," rhyme and hope I've made the right choice for my intended setup.

MachV = slowboy heads

I would go with someone who has a proen track record when it comes to heads. Buschur, Polk and JAM are all good choices. FFWD seems to have been around for a long time as well. AMS is high on Forrester as well.

What aer your power goals? What turbo do you want to run? The 20g would be maxed out on pump gas with a stroker with the right supporting mods even withought head work.

Very interested in this as well, I am building a groden rod 2.4 with a BR580 turbo(56trim).

nanokpsi said:

MachV = slowboy heads

I would go with someone who has a proen track record when it comes to heads. Buschur, Polk and JAM are all good choices. FFWD seems to have been around for a long time as well. AMS is high on Forrester as well.

What aer your power goals? What turbo do you want to run? The 20g would be maxed out on pump gas with a stroker with the right supporting mods even withought head work.

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It's really hard for me to decide who I'd want to go with as far as heads go when I can't even see good pictures of the work performed on them. Just one or 2 small ones that don't show much for detail. Otherwise I can only go off people's opinions and that alone (well, that and cost). Sure some of ya'll would say you get what you pay for but Extreme has heads for sell that cost over $3,000!!! Heck no!!!

As for my power goals, if I could hit a 10.999 I'd be more than happy but sure once I get there I'll want more as does everyone. The 20g may be on it's way out but gonna use it at least when the car is 1st built. Still no opinions on how you'd go about knowing which level head would be best on a stroker though.

im running a 2.3 stroker w/ a FP3575, FPcam3's, buschur stage 3 head w/ 1mm oversize valves and double valve springs w/ titainium retainers. havent dynoed the car yet or even tuned it w/ the boost up.. but il tell you 1 thing the torque that this setup makes w/ 14psi w/ the boost controller off is just crazy.. i cant wait to get the boost turned up to 35psi +.

Does it lag at all with such a big turbo and bigger cams and all? Kinda like if you were to throw a big turbo on a regualr ole 2.0? Can ya tell us when boost comes on? Did the Buschur stage 3 head come with double springs or did ya have to order them and put them on later? And how was the port work? Nice and smooth? Rough? Anything else ya care to tell that I can't currently think of? Thanks!

well on a 2.0L with those mods and turbo it spools 30psi about 4700-5000. So I would guess that it would spool in the low-mid 4000's on a 2.3 or 2.4L.

the ports start off smooth and get a little bit rough as you get closer to the valve.. i bought the head w/ out springs and retainers and put them on after i got the head... and actually this combo spools MUCH better then my old combo of the FPred on the 2.0.. this turbo starts to spool at 3300 and i havent turned the boost up yet past 14 (boost control off) still in the break in period. so im not sure exaclty when it hits full boost, but it sure doesnt take long and it hits hard.......even for just 14psi, but then again this turbo is basiclly a gt37.

What is good for a 2.0 is going to be good for a 2.3 setup. Once you get into the bigger bore of the 2.4 block there is going to be work shrouding the valves that would help with flow.

Keep in mind if your not going with something bigger than the fp2 or 272 cams you wont need any heavy duty valve springs on the stroker because it has a lower rev limit.

v8s_are_slow said:

It's really hard for me to decide who I'd want to go with as far as heads go when I can't even see good pictures of the work performed on them. Just one or 2 small ones that don't show much for detail. Otherwise I can only go off people's opinions and that alone (well, that and cost). Sure some of ya'll would say you get what you pay for but Extreme has heads for sell that cost over $3,000!!! Heck no!!!

As for my power goals, if I could hit a 10.999 I'd be more than happy but sure once I get there I'll want more as does everyone. The 20g may be on it's way out but gonna use it at least when the car is 1st built. Still no opinions on how you'd go about knowing which level head would be best on a stroker though.

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Its really difficult to say "you need at least 'x' level head with a 2.3/2.4. I think power level is a good starting point. You would generally want to pay for the least amount of head you could. I am sure a basic clean up/bowl work would suffice to give you the power to get into the 10s. I wouldn't base my choice on price alone. I would try to find someone running the head you're interested in and see what kind of power at what boost the car made. That is a good indicator of the system's flow. You can also call the shops up and see what they recomend. I am a big advocate for POlk as I have mentioned on DSMtalk. I'm going with a CNC'd level 4 head with supertech dual vs and retainers. IMHO Extreme is overpriced, but they may have more time in combustion chamber detailing, etc. that my head won't have. That adds a good chuck of change.

hostile said:

What is good for a 2.0 is going to be good for a 2.3 setup. Once you get into the bigger bore of the 2.4 block there is going to be work shrouding the valves that would help with flow.

Keep in mind if your not going with something bigger than the fp2 or 272 cams you wont need any heavy duty valve springs on the stroker because it has a lower rev limit.

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..........what he just said.

Won't the 2.4 need a good flowing head? The most cfm gain possible is the best right? Say 2.4 with comp 400's and FFwd level 4 head spinning to 8k. What do ya think?

Just an idea but wouldn't you guys think it'd be so much easier if we had a "Everything Stroker" section? That way, everyone who has a stroker would be posting in there and it'd be so much freakin easier to see what someone has to be able to compare with. otherwise it's like I'd have to just click on every single profile to see who has what. I may just post this in the Site Feedback section.

i think that would be a good idea as well..

Best head for a stroker? Thats like one word away from being really dirty.....

Stroker's don't need a different head, but a different cam. The head is a resrtiction at 'x' amount of airflow, which obvios;y happens sooner on a stroker. You can probably get away with more aggressive port work on a stroker becasue you have more vaccuum and more bottom end. Displacement may may you change valve size, but that is pretty standard on any head build. Going 2mm+ gets really expensive.

nanokpsi said:

Stroker's don't need a different head, but a different cam. The head is a resrtiction at 'x' amount of airflow, which obvios;y happens sooner on a stroker. You can probably get away with more aggressive port work on a stroker becasue you have more vaccuum and more bottom end. Displacement may may you change valve size, but that is pretty standard on any head build. Going 2mm+ gets really expensive.

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To add to that, is having a built head with full race ports and 2mm overkill for a street car that is going to run 20-22 on pump most of the time? I can get a built head like that for a good price and was wondering if that is too much for a street car? It will also have 272's in it. Thanks.

You can make craploads of power on an unported head with some springs/retainers and some 1mm over valves thrown in. I wouldn't spend a bunch of money on head porting until you have the best of everything else and can't find any power elsewhere. A lot of the normal turbos will maxout airflow wise on a 2.4l a lot earlier without even having a ported head on the car. I would get a big turbo, huge FMIC with a quality core and short route piping, a big ass intake manifold(the new AMS one looks insane), maybe a bigger throttle body, some decent cams, a 3.5" or bigger exhaust, a good exhaust manifold, and something good to tune with, before going deep into a head that might or might not make a big difference.

On the opposite side of the coin though, the square lobe FP cams might help offset the midrange power loss that might occur from an aggressively ported head.

The hard part is finding someone good at porting DSM heads and for a decent price. The heads done by the reputable shops are usually very very expensive. But there are other shops that do it for cheap and you don't really know how well it will work. I have dynoed plenty of cars with ported heads that didn't seem to make anymore power than you would have expected them to make with a stock head. Doing a before and after tuning session on a dyno would tell a lot, but that is more work and money than most people, including me want to go through.

Very good points Shane. I found this on the AEM boards and figured I would carry it over. Very basic set up and a stock 1g head, not to mention only being a 2.0. Maybe I will just opt for a clean up and os valves. Sure would get me back on the road faster

http://forum.aempower.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=13940

Okay well maybe if the turbo isn't all that large I wouldn't see a need in going with a head that's been ported a lot and 2mm oversized valves. Say for example a um 20g. But on the other hand, maybe a T67 or FP3575, FP red, etc. How would you know when that level of a head is just overkill for the street?

I've been thinkin it over for my setup a good bit. I'd like my spool time to be somewhere in the 4k range but probably going with a magnus intake, FP3 or 101400's, get rid of the 20g for "x" turbo (although I'll at least run it for a short time while breaking in the motor), and the main deciding factor is what head choise to go with cause it's either gonna help or possibly hurt my setup if i don't choose wisely. So trying to take my time but having a whole new motor, tranny, etc. it's not like I can just slap it on a dyno ahead of time to test out the parts I'm wanting to see what might work. I will say I won't go any larger than 1mm oversized valves though.

I'm maybe leaning towards a Buschur stage 3 at the moment. Any thoughts on it? Does anyone know what the head comes with such as valve guides, size valves, etc.? Any yay's or nay's about his headwork?

With that spool requirment you are looking at a 56 trim/gt40 based turbo. You really don't need massive headwork to max on of those out with more displacement. Cams, SMIM and a stock/cleaned up head should max that turbo out around 30psi. That being said you can probably save some money there. The fact that the guy on the AEM boards made 645whp on a stock 1g head tells me its not really needed. If you absoulutly have to have a ported head, I am sure the Buschur stage 3 is a good choice. THey state they made 700whp with it, so there doesn't seem to be a retriction there. I still think you would be fine with a more normal head. The guy on the AEM boards was down a decent amount of power form Ecoli, but also has 20% less motor.