Head/cam combo

[Jaison]

I have a 93 GT with a new 302 from summit. It has a trick flow intake on it with long tube headers and BBK H pipe w/o cats. 3:73 gears. I am looking for a good street/strip combo for heads and cam. I have read a lot on line and i get conflicting info. Some say things are good and others say they’re bad. I’m looking to buy a decent set of aluminum heads bud not spend a million dollars either. Hoping to hear from ppl that have certain combos and letting me know how they are.

Thanks.

 

[broncojunkie]

I have some cheaper aluminum heads that I really like. They are Flotek and were about $900 shipped (complete heads, not bare).

Store - FLOTEK

This item is not sold as a pair, this is a single cylinder head. Please select a quantity of 2 on the following page to order a pair of cylinder heads FLOTEK Performance cylinder heads feature as-cast ports and are designed for entry level street performance applications operating in the...

www.flotekheads.com

ProMaxx is another cheap head that gets good reviews. I have a set of those, as well, but I have the more expensive cnc version. They were about $1600, iirc.

The Procomp heads are the most widely used cheap head, I believe.... branded under other names, as well. Speedway heads, I believe, are actually procomp. Possibly, ther sve heads that LMR sells. Don't quote me on that...I very well could be wrong. Procomp has had a bad rap over the years, but they could have improved their quality control since then.

You could also go the used route. I just never really trusted people enough and figured I'd end up paying a grand for someone else's junk. If you do plan to buy used, try to find some locally so you can at least look them over first.

The Edelbrock ("Elderbrawk" for you Chevy guys lol) E-Street heads looked like a good budget version of the more expensive heads, but initial reviews were pretty bad. I would do some research before buying them to see if the quality improved any.

The next set of budget aluminum heads I buy will come from my local machine shop. He buys some Chinese castings and does the valve work himself. Each head is gone through before he hands them over and a set can be had for under a grand. Think procomp with better quality control.

As for a cam, that's much easier. Pick a company you like and call them. Tell them your specs and they will suggest an off-the-shelf grind or custom grind. You'll only save about $100 or so picking one up on sale, but you very well could end up with something that doesn't work well with your combo.

 

[broncojunkie]

I may have misunderstood your question. If so, I apologize. Not going for strictly budget heads? AFR, Trickflow, and Edelbrock all have good options. For a 5.0 street car, you probably want to stick with something with a smaller port. Too much volume will only make good power in the upper rpm range. It will be slug on the street, unless you're racing at every stoplight lol! AFR 165 are probably my favorite, just going by what I've seen with friends' cars and reading reviews, etc. Edelbrock performer heads are a good value and will make some power. I don't have much info on Trickflow except that you have to be careful with the Twisted Wedge style head and too much cam. They might not work with your pistons. There are others, such as Brodix, Ford Racing, Dart. Some are more expensive and I wouldn't recommend them unless you're building a track car (Dart, maybe?).

I would suggest staying at 160-180cc port size to keep some power in the lower rpm range. Also, if you have the stock pistons (or similar), try to stay with the smaller chamber. 58-60cc will give you more compression, which these engines are lacking in stock form. It's free hp. A full rebuild might require larger chambers, depending on pistons, valve size, and cam specs. Just keep in mind you will probably want to stick with higher octane gas with increased compression. So keep that in mind, if fuel cost is an issue.

 

[Jaison]

Ok I appreciate your advise. It is just harder than it should be online. One says one is the best, then someone else says they suck. So I don’t want to waste money or time and get something that doesn’t work good.

 

[Redtwilight]

Welcome to the site!

If price is not really a concern then you can't really go wrong with offering from TFS (Trickflow), AFR, or Edelbrock. They have all been long standing brands and heads in the Mustang world.
I'm particularly interested in the new TFS 190 11R's . They appear to be doing very well.

Now the real key to maximizing your combo, no matter which head you choose, is to match everything together. Say for instance, matching the head size appropriately to the short block depending on if you have a factory short block and compression or s stroker 347 with high compression. Then you will want an intake to match that combo. Then the cam will also need to be matched for the entire setup. A custom grind will really make the most of the combo, but costs just a little more.