Aluminum vs Cast Iron heads

TurboWh1

TurboWh1

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2002
Im getting ready to pull my engine to address some leaks and thought about going with a set of aluminum heads to lighten the car a little more. I currently run Champion irons which perform well but I wonder if there is any HP gain with the aluminum heads.

A little about my engine.... 10 second motor. 4340 bottom end, girdled with je pistons and a 212/212 roller cam. 6262 precision ball bearing turbo. Running ally with pump gas.
 
I know that I have read it several times before but Bison has stated that most combos on this board would never max out the potential of an iron head. I have ran a full second faster with an ESP cnc iron head but that motor has to come out , wiped #3 cam lobe. I know of one racer that is running in the 8's on a 200 trans that is iron headed, defying all laws of logic. In the event that you do sell your heads they will be gone within 5 minutes of listing them, guaranteed
 
Even tho boost is just a number, how much were you running on your 10.84 pass?
 
You might make more power on less boost, but not really worth the money.
What converter are you running? Probably more to gain there, and you can gain from a 66 turbine instead of the 62.
 
I love my TA heads and I believe they will flow better then your irons right out the box
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TurboWh1 said:
Im getting ready to pull my engine to address some leaks and thought about going with a set of aluminum heads to lighten the car a little more. I currently run Champion irons which perform well but I wonder if there is any HP gain with the aluminum heads.

A little about my engine.... 10 second motor. 4340 bottom end, girdled with je pistons and a 212/212 roller cam. 6262 precision ball bearing turbo. Running ally with pump gas. What are your goals? Aluminium heads for 9s and faster. Cast champions have been in the 9s...
Click to expand...
 
forcefed3.8's said:
You might make more power on less boost, but not really worth the money.
What converter are you running? Probably more to gain there, and you can gain from a 66 turbine instead of the 62.
Click to expand...
Running a billet protourque that Vince recommended. 3000 stall, works well it flares to about 3200.
 
I'm trying to retain full streetability. Been working on my 60ft also. I bought a HR bar at the Nats last year. Just need to install it:rolleyes:
 
TurboWh1 said:
I currently run Champion irons which perform well but I wonder if there is any HP gain with the aluminum heads.

A little about my engine.... 10 second motor. 4340 bottom end, girdled with je pistons and a 212/212 roller cam. 6262 precision ball bearing turbo. Running ally with pump gas.
Click to expand...
save your money,with your combo you will not max out a champion iron.believe it or not most on this board will never even come close regardless of who told them what.the fact of the matter is the champion iron heads have been low 9s with mph mid 140's.
 
Mr.Spool said:
you will go faster upgrading the turbo and converter vs swapping from a low 9 sec head to an 8 sec head.
Click to expand...

That's good advise. I haven't pushed my set up anyways. It sounds like I should probably retain my iron heads.... Love the streetability of my set up. And it's easy for me to tune. I hate to admit this but I'm just tuning off my scan master. It works well for me and I haven't tore anything up due to tune in 10 years of racing. Obviously I'm probably not making the optimal HP either:)
 
TurboWh1 said:
I haven't pushed my set up anyways. It sounds like I should probably retain my iron heads.... Love the streetability of my set up. And it's easy for me to tune. I hate to admit this but I'm just tuning off my scan master. It works well for me and I haven't tore anything up due to tune in 10 years of racing.
Click to expand...
your doing great(y) simple is fun and can be real fast.if you can leave the car alone you should,a 10 sec buick on pump gas/alky and drag radials that stays together for 10 years is a good thing;)heading to that 9 sec area gets real expensive.
 
forcefed3.8's said:
Where does it stall under full power?
Click to expand...

Not sure I understand the question... Nothing weird. Seems to really pull down the track. Car traps 124-125 range. I have inconsistencies with the 60 foot. Car is all over the place. I'm hoping the HR bar helps.
 
Mr.Spool said:
your doing great(y) simple is fun and can be real fast.if you can leave the car alone you should,a 10 sec buick on pump gas/alky and drag radials that stays together for 10 years is a good thing;)heading to that 9 sec area gets real expensive.
Click to expand...

That's my goal! Keep it together:D
 
The converter will flash higher with more power. For example my car stalls at 4000 rpm at 0 boost, and 6400 under full power. Shifts are at 7000rpm. For best track performance, you want the engine and turbo to be in its sweet spot, which would be under 5400 with your combo. You would want a converer that stalls in the high 4000 rpm range.
 
My engine builder told me that my champion ported irons would be more than enough for my goals, mid to low 10s, and save my money on the GN1's. However, there is a possibility that one of my champion heads was going to crack at a rocker pedestal and I didn't want to take a chance, this was my thinking not my engine builders so I went with GN1's. Trust me, if I was confident in my Champions, I would have saved my money. The good news is my engine builder seems to think my champion irons are fine and he'll purchase them.

If your Champions are in good shape work with them.
 
that was pretty much spot on!

rag231 said:
I know that I have read it several times before but Bison has stated that most combos on this board would never max out the potential of an iron head. I have ran a full second faster with an ESP cnc iron head but that motor has to come out , wiped #3 cam lobe. I know of one racer that is running in the 8's on a 200 trans that is iron headed, defying all laws of logic. In the event that you do sell your heads they will be gone within 5 minutes of listing them, guaranteed
Click to expand...
 
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