x2 agreed.... when was the last time any body saw a flowbench or a engine dyno racing at the track !!!! great static tuning tools, like mentioned previously, results can be manipulated.... if you have the means to buy the big cylinder head you will be money up front .... and you can also grow in to them as the situation permits.... very important is the size,lenth, and shape of the CSA of the runners....
got a set of early model closed chamber 289 heads built. shaved ported 7/16 studs rod guides triple valve springs and i think 185 208 chevy valves. i know they had to make room for the valves. you cant fit paper between them. but they are very high compression and breath awesomely. and wont mess up if it runs hot being cast. i have a photo of the exhaust port
If you want to do it the cheapest way possible, the e7 heads are a great start. They respond well to some basic work, and can be made to flow more with more advanced work as well. Heres a good site to use as a guide: http://diyporting.com/ If you can afford a little more, want a little more performance, and maybe dont have the time/patience/skill to do it yourself, Thumpers are a great way to go. Edelbrock E-street heads are (as far as I know) Performer RPMs with a cheaper valve train. They are for cams with UNDER .500 lift. Not a bad way to go, just doesnt leave room if you decide you want a bigger cam later on. You cant go wrong with a set of AFR 165s, good quality, great flow, but I personally like the Trick Flows better because of the relocated intake valve. I didnt look at the link you posted, but as was mentioned I would make sure compression is at least 9:1, higher is better. And now for the editorial part. Not long ago I believed like everyone else that a 165cc head was perfect for a 302, and its fine, but I would rather go with a 185. If you ever decide you want to go bigger, be it cubic inches, cam, compression, whatever, you wont necessarily have to replace the heads. Also, if you read between the lines of what the guys that compete in the engine masters challenge are doing, theyre using enormous heads and intakes and making the intake runners as long as possible and using a high lift cam with (relatively) short duration. Keep in mind these engines are required to run between 2500 and 6500 rpm ONLY. To further my case, take a look at GMs LS series of engines. Some of the heads they use come stock CNC ported and flow just over 300cfm, use a small duration (~215*@.050) high lift (~.575) cam, and a long runner intake. Dont forget they have to pass emissions, start easily when cold, be able to sit through traffic, get reasonable gas mileage, and lug along on the freeway at under 2000rpm, etc. etc. etc. Like I say, you cant really go wrong with an AFR 165 or Trick Flow, but just dont be afraid to use a bigger head than conventional wisdom permits. [/end lecture]
From another forum I visit but related to this discussion, a cam designer chimed in on someone's question about the possibility of running AFR205s on a basically stock 302 "A 302 using the AFR 205 head with a suitable intake set-up and a 1 7/8 header to 3" system is going to respond like gangbusters with the stock camshaft ~210/210/115, and 9-9.25 CR is going to be real nice for it. Yes the car will be very strong, idle like a stocker, rev EXTREMELY quick and crisp, high idle vacuum and easy tunability." The stock cam he's refering to is a 5.0 HO cam which has 115* LSA.
"man that would make for a perfect sleeper"(with a t5 tranny) and I think the 85 or 86 HO cam is the best of the stock billet cams !!!!
