If given a choice which ones would you guys choose? The Roush 200`s are $978.98 The RPM`s are $1059.98 Of coarse the RPM`s are aluminum and the 200`s are cast Iron But from what I hear the 200`s make more power(better flow) Yes I would like a set of AFR 185`s but they are more than I want to spend. Also someone told me the 200`s are hard to change the plugs on due to plug relocation and tight header bends (like on our cars!)
if it was me, I'd go with the RPM heads. Aluminum will be about 50 lbs (total) lighter, plus the cooling system doesnt have to work as hard. Also, because aluminum has better heat dissipation, you can run more timing and get away with around 11:1 compression on pump fuel (with a big cam and lots of tuning). Plus the spark plugs are easy to change as they are in the stock location. Another consideration is Edelbrock's excellent technical support and parts availability. I just bought a pair of valves for my Vic. Jr's and the people there were VERY friendly and willing to help. I've not dealt with Roush heads, but have heard that they need some port cleaning and bowl blending to get their maximum potential. Just some things to think about, FWIW
Have you thought about the trickflow twistedwedge heads they are nice heads for about the same as the RPM's.
Keep in mind, the twisted wedge heads require custom pistons if you put much lift on them. IMHO, the best way to go would be the performer rpm heads!!
Well, the Trick Flow heads are designed for flat-top pistons, and they can handle a cam with up to .543" lift without needing pistons....i don't know how much lift the Edelbrock heads can handle with stock pistons but i would doubt it's a whole lot more. To be honest, i have never liked edelbrock products (of course, your Vic Jr's probably flow like crazy, but...) i have always found that there are better deals in terms of a lot of things. Personally i think the three best heads for a street driven 302 would be #1) AFR 165 or 185, #2) Avenger and #3) TFS. They're probably in order from most expensive to least expensive too. Keep in mind that almost no matter what you get, you're also going to need roller rockers and pushrods. Here's a link to some flow charts: http://www.jason.fletcher.net/tech/flowdata/aluminum.htm They also have the iron heads on there, but not the Roush 200--i have seen the flow numbers for the 200's and they're not too great (but that doesn't mean much, they can still outperform other cylinder heads in other areas). Good luck with what you decide!
Thanks for the opinions guys,I thought CometGT 1974 had AFR`s for some reason. Anyway as you can guess I`m on a pretty limited budget I really dont need to go too overboard on the heads for now beause the engine in my car is pretty mild (flat tops and an X-303 cam) See I have future plans to put this engine in a daily driver 1970 Mav and at that time I`ll put in a smaller cam and a set of really nice ported and big valved cast iron 302 heads I have. And then the Aluminum heads I`m about to by will get a top notch port job from Killian`s head porting service www.killiansportingservice.com and then be placed on a 393 w stroker engine that will be going into my Green `72. Anyway , I `ve about decided to go with the Performer RPM`s Mr. Killian says he can make `em "ready " for the 393!
After giving it some more thought...Maybe AFR 185`s or A set of Victor Jr.s would be better on the 393...I didnt really want to spend the money ,but man I want to get this right the first time . Do any of you have any thoughts on which one I should get? Also whats the best place to get AFR`s from? The only place I `ve seen to get them from is AFR ,I was wondering if someone else had them for a little less money?
well after just geting my AFRs i would say get them from AFR theres places that sale them under the afr casting and use there owen valves and stuff and sale a stage two and all they do is order them from AFR and have them shiped to you and up the price mine was a little under 1600 with shipingi told him what i needed and what i was going to spend and he cut $200 off of the upgrades took a little over 4 weeks for them to build them and me to get them they look great
Again, i'm coming from a viewpoint of not liking Edelbrock products, but i've heard good things about their Vic. Jr's. On the other hand, AFR's are top-notch, and if you spend a little bit more on the AFR's you're getting a cylinder head that can't be beat. I would definitely go for the AFR's.
OK, I just want to start off by saying that Edelbrock was making intakes and heads before AFR was thought of !! I"m not saying that AFR stuff isn't good, you can look at there work and tell that they make some good stuff. What I am saying is that if you walk into a "Big Time" motor shop, (i'm not talking about your local machine shop) i'm talking about guys like Billy Glidden and Kuntz etc. you will not see alot of AFR stuff, if any. However, you will see alot of Edelbrock stuff !! Period. Go with the Victor Jr's, or better yet the Victor's. You will not be dissapointed!!
my personal opinion is this. I've used Vic Jr's, RPM's, and some early 351 castings, all successfully. I liked the RPM's the best for the 302, as they allowed the engine to spin in excess of 7500 with the right cam and exhaust combo. Again, that was on a 11.5:1 306. I'm running some Vic. Jr's on my 351w now, and yes, they do work well. They are pretty good heads out of the box, but have them ported, and that's when they really shine. If memory serves me correctly, it's possible to get 330 Intake CFM from the stock sized runners--supposedly there is some short side radius and bowl modifications to achieve this. I cant remember where this information came from, so bear with me. The early 351 heads are ok, but they are iron and heavy. Not to mention that they hold a lot of heat, normally take a lot of machining/porting to make them work, and did I mention they are heavy? They can be made to flow as much air as an out-of-the-box RPM aluminum head, but they usually dont make as much power, possibly from the differences in chamber design. I can tell you this, a set of early ported heads on my old 302 were changed to the aluminum RPM heads, and with no other tuning (not even timing changes) I picked up .7 second and 9 mph at the strip. All said, they were worth just under a full second and 10 mph.
