Discussion
My vxr8 ran 405rwhp at SRR on the weekend. Current mods are monkfish magic cam, slp high ratio rockers, fast102 intake, vcm otr, walkinshaw shorty headers, cats & bimodal exhaust. I'm thinking the next logical mod is the heads though i'm open to suggestions. I notice monkfish have some unused ric wood ported heads listed, would that be a good way to go or could I get significantly better gains going for an aftermarket head? Only real requirement is that i'm not looking for anything that delivers its improvement all at the top end, I had read up a bit on intake runner sizing and the like previously and I understand that has a major effect on how the power is delivered but any real world advice would be appreciated.
Z0m81e said:
My vxr8 ran 405rwhp at SRR on the weekend. Current mods are monkfish magic cam, slp high ratio rockers, fast102 intake, vcm otr, walkinshaw shorty headers, cats & bimodal exhaust. I'm thinking the next logical mod is the heads though i'm open to suggestions. I notice monkfish have some unused ric wood ported heads listed, would that be a good way to go or could I get significantly better gains going for an aftermarket head? Only real requirement is that i'm not looking for anything that delivers its improvement all at the top end, I had read up a bit on intake runner sizing and the like previously and I understand that has a major effect on how the power is delivered but any real world advice would be appreciated.
Do you have ls2 or ls3 engineJust my 2p from swapping out heads on my LS2 currently.
Please do correct if I am wrong, however from my researching this is what I came up with.
I hope it makes sense
Over here your LS2 243s are worth say £450 to someone with a LS1, when I put mine up for sale I had loads of interest.
the facebook ls selling site is good.
I looked at the LS3 heads and intake set up and to be honest the cost and work of it put me off.
I bought a used (2000 miles) set of Dart heads, not the best when compared to AFR/Trick Flows but my set have been further CNC ported and cost me $500.
So selling mine has easily negated out the cost of buying them.
When looking at the LS3 heads, I couldnt find any for sale in the Uk (that doesnt bother me as I get so much from the states with family going over), but looking stateside a used set of LS3 heads are $300-500 (expect to pay more to get someone who will ship), which most will need to be re finished, even the bare minimum you would be silly not to change seals etc.
So add in the cost of re-finishing the heads, also then add in the cost of having them milled and depending on your cam flycutting the pistons.
To me even if all the above work to be cheaper, its alot of ballache as swapping heads is a big job anyway
You can buy new LS3 heads, example from Summit a set of assembled new LS3 heads are $500 a piece. But dont forget to add shipping and taxes if you have no way around it.
If you want a easy swap I would go with the Ric Wood heads that monkfish have, I did try and get a bit of deal out of them however they were pretty firm on their price, but even so they are in the UK and bolt on.
Yes, you could sell your Fast 102 and Ls2 heads and go with the LS3 head/intake swap but why bother when you already have spent the money on the Fast setup.
In my mind a decent name head and fast 102 is more valuable then LS3 parts (again correct me if I am wrong)
If you are set on buying new do look at all the companies in the states like TSP, Speedinc, Maryland (guy is an idiot) etc as they normally have sales and deals on.
I hope that makes sense and is of use!
Please do correct if I am wrong, however from my researching this is what I came up with.
I hope it makes sense
Over here your LS2 243s are worth say £450 to someone with a LS1, when I put mine up for sale I had loads of interest.
the facebook ls selling site is good.
I looked at the LS3 heads and intake set up and to be honest the cost and work of it put me off.
I bought a used (2000 miles) set of Dart heads, not the best when compared to AFR/Trick Flows but my set have been further CNC ported and cost me $500.
So selling mine has easily negated out the cost of buying them.
When looking at the LS3 heads, I couldnt find any for sale in the Uk (that doesnt bother me as I get so much from the states with family going over), but looking stateside a used set of LS3 heads are $300-500 (expect to pay more to get someone who will ship), which most will need to be re finished, even the bare minimum you would be silly not to change seals etc.
So add in the cost of re-finishing the heads, also then add in the cost of having them milled and depending on your cam flycutting the pistons.
To me even if all the above work to be cheaper, its alot of ballache as swapping heads is a big job anyway
You can buy new LS3 heads, example from Summit a set of assembled new LS3 heads are $500 a piece. But dont forget to add shipping and taxes if you have no way around it.
If you want a easy swap I would go with the Ric Wood heads that monkfish have, I did try and get a bit of deal out of them however they were pretty firm on their price, but even so they are in the UK and bolt on.
Yes, you could sell your Fast 102 and Ls2 heads and go with the LS3 head/intake swap but why bother when you already have spent the money on the Fast setup.
In my mind a decent name head and fast 102 is more valuable then LS3 parts (again correct me if I am wrong)
If you are set on buying new do look at all the companies in the states like TSP, Speedinc, Maryland (guy is an idiot) etc as they normally have sales and deals on.
I hope that makes sense and is of use!
Edited by Phillphill on Friday 17th February 10:58
Summit Racing are the easiest and best to deal with and even take care of the VAT for you via some special setup.
Just order and click, they arrive the same week at your door.
If you know what you want/need thats easiest and they have online chat or phone support too.
I have used them for 20 years and never had an issue. UK card no problem.
Just order and click, they arrive the same week at your door.
If you know what you want/need thats easiest and they have online chat or phone support too.
I have used them for 20 years and never had an issue. UK card no problem.
Thanks for the replies all. I'm actually in the US next week so I could pick up some aftermarket heads there. I had a look on the summit site and I can see they have a few options mostly TFS, AFR or chevrolet performance heads in various runner volumes. Would I be right in thinking for mostly street use a smaller running like 220 would be most suitable? And would the best bet be to buy a fully assembled head then sell on my heads complete with their high lift rockers and the like. Or would it be logical to buy a bare head and transfer those items?
Z0m81e said:
Thanks for the replies all. I'm actually in the US next week so I could pick up some aftermarket heads there. I had a look on the summit site and I can see they have a few options mostly TFS, AFR or chevrolet performance heads in various runner volumes. Would I be right in thinking for mostly street use a smaller running like 220 would be most suitable? And would the best bet be to buy a fully assembled head then sell on my heads complete with their high lift rockers and the like. Or would it be logical to buy a bare head and transfer those items?
I would transfer the 1.8 rockers over to the new ls2 cnc ported headsZ0m81e said:
Thanks for the replies all. I'm actually in the US next week so I could pick up some aftermarket heads there. I had a look on the summit site and I can see they have a few options mostly TFS, AFR or chevrolet performance heads in various runner volumes. Would I be right in thinking for mostly street use a smaller running like 220 would be most suitable? And would the best bet be to buy a fully assembled head then sell on my heads complete with their high lift rockers and the like. Or would it be logical to buy a bare head and transfer those items?
How old are your springs?For the sake of hassle you may as well buy a complete head, most shops in the states do deals on complete heads.
If you chat to any of the shops, TSP are good for this, about whats heads to go for with your spec they will give you a much better answer then anyone on here
Z0m81e said:
Thanks for the replies all. I'm actually in the US next week so I could pick up some aftermarket heads there. I had a look on the summit site and I can see they have a few options mostly TFS, AFR or chevrolet performance heads in various runner volumes. Would I be right in thinking for mostly street use a smaller running like 220 would be most suitable? And would the best bet be to buy a fully assembled head then sell on my heads complete with their high lift rockers and the like. Or would it be logical to buy a bare head and transfer those items?
http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Performance/809/19328743/10002/-1http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Performance/809/12...
Only thing is I think the bolt holes might be slightly bigger than standard?
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