looking around on the internet and asking a few engine shops gives you some idea what engine builders think of them
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=389&p=7266#p7266
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=534&p=669#p669
http://reviews.ebay.com.au/Guide-to-Alu ... 0005730226
Guide to Aluminium Cylinder Heads for Small Block
by: loud350( 52Feedback score is 50 to 99) Top 1000 Reviewer
23 out of 24 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 2545 times Tags: Chev | heads | procomp | aluminum | alloy
I wrote this guide as a person frustrated by buying items claimed to be manufactured in a country other than China only to find that an item is indeed manufactured in China, and only marketed through the said other country. Secondly, building an engine can be a hugely costly and frustrating excercise and you should be fully informed before laying out some hard earned cash on some alloy heads. More often than not its definately worth the extra 300 or 400 bucks for a set from a trusted manufacturer.
Fitting a set of alloy heads for your Small Block Chevy carries several advantages in weight, heat management and the flow properties usually associated with an aftermarket head. They are however one of those items that the term "you get what you pay for really rings true."
For some time there have been sets of Aluminum heads for sale called "Procomp" heads claiming some great flow numbers for around 1200 to 1400 bucks Australian. Doing a search on these heads and perusing information available from people who test them reveals a stark contrast between claimed flow numbers and actual flow numbers, and claims that they actually make less power than stock factory iron heads. There is also evidence of very shoddy workmanship, with one user claiming that even the location of the spark plug ports varied by up to 1/2 an inch! Also there are claims that the valves are seated on raw aluminum! Some people say they are OK after receiving extensive machine work to tidy them up and correct the plethora of errors encountered straight out of the box. Consider the cost of this machine work to what you will pay for a good set of heads.
The most aggravating thing is that some people claim them to be manufactured in Australia, which is not the case at all, they are cast in China. Do you really trust a cheap Chinese product with your big dollar American Small Block? When was the last time you saw a Chinese car with an American V8 in it!
With some research you can still find cheaper but good quality heads. For example, and no I am not affiliated with any of these people, RHS heads 180cc great flow, cast in Australia. Summit Aluminum Heads from Summit Racing, reputedly Brodix IK200's re-branded. Brodix are excellent heads and have an excellent track record in Drag Racing and other forms of motorsport.
Read this : http://www.boatstoreonline.com/procomp.html if you want more info on Procomp cylinder heads, then do a search on them and work out the ratio of good to bad feedback on them and you you should have your answer to whether you should just save a bit more money and buy good heads. Hope this helps someone.
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, CAN YOU AFFORD TO DO IT AGAIN?
TEST RESULTS
http://www.boatstoreonline.com/procomp.html
HYPR WROTE
As a personal experience with the ProComp heads
a buddy of mine bought a set and even after I told him of the horrid reviews on them he went ahead and had his engine builder install them to a tune of $500 in machining labor to "correct manufacturing flaws which made the heads incompatible with the block and intake" The labor included re-drilling mounting holes re-machining the valve spring seat areas on several valves, re-machining inconsistent rocker stud mount surfaces to make all match, re-machine spark plug holes, machine all head surfaces, port match the head due to inconsistent port numbers and port alignment. Other work included inspecting and machining all valve guides, valve seats, re-tapping all threads, and on and on. In the end of the day he ended up with what sounds like a custom set of heads only he ended up spending far more and the performance will still no better then a set of as cast heads. To improve the performance would be twice that amount according to what the builder told him.
BTW, when the builder called my buddy he told him the heads would require extensive machining to make them work and he ok'd the work despite the builder recommending replacement.
End of the day sometimes you get what you pay for...or not!
At least with a brand name manufacture you know the quality going in and they stand behind their product.
I support and agree with Grumpy's statement"
* Quote:
"personally Id buy TRICKFLOW,AFR,BRODIX,DART ,EDELBROCK" but no mater who you buy heads from, youll need to carefully disassemble the heads and verify the valve job, valve spring load rates and all clearances on the valve train and look for casting flaws and machine work screw-ups, before you use the heads
heres my opinion
brodix and trickflow have in my opinion,the best looking machine work
dart,edelbrock and AFR all come in a close second
some of the other stuff looks like its slapped together by drunk monkeys
Id suggest sticking to those 5 brands
which of the 5 I use depends on the application but BRODIX,AFR,TRICKFLOW. DART,EDELBROCK, in roughly that order for SBC, and TRICKFLOW,AFR,BRODIX,DART,EDELBROCK in roughly that order for BBC I feel are the best value,..I.E. price for what you get
BTW the ADVANTAGE in buying bare heads is in that you get to select each component and the clearances that are too be used in the assembly process. with no parts paid for then thrown away, its seldom cheaper because you tend to buy much better QUALITY parts and take a good deal more effort in checking the assembly and clearancing process.
off the shelf heads normally use far less expensive parts and have noticeably less care taken in the assembly process simply because they are assembled in large batches and the price rather than getting the most potential from those heads is a big factor.
you generally don,t get the best bee-hive springs , titanium retainers,light weight valves on off the shelf heads"
http://www.gofastnews.com/board/technic ... lumes.html
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=389&p=7266#p7266
viewtopic.php?f=52&t=534&p=669#p669
http://reviews.ebay.com.au/Guide-to-Alu ... 0005730226
Guide to Aluminium Cylinder Heads for Small Block
by: loud350( 52Feedback score is 50 to 99) Top 1000 Reviewer
23 out of 24 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 2545 times Tags: Chev | heads | procomp | aluminum | alloy
I wrote this guide as a person frustrated by buying items claimed to be manufactured in a country other than China only to find that an item is indeed manufactured in China, and only marketed through the said other country. Secondly, building an engine can be a hugely costly and frustrating excercise and you should be fully informed before laying out some hard earned cash on some alloy heads. More often than not its definately worth the extra 300 or 400 bucks for a set from a trusted manufacturer.
Fitting a set of alloy heads for your Small Block Chevy carries several advantages in weight, heat management and the flow properties usually associated with an aftermarket head. They are however one of those items that the term "you get what you pay for really rings true."
For some time there have been sets of Aluminum heads for sale called "Procomp" heads claiming some great flow numbers for around 1200 to 1400 bucks Australian. Doing a search on these heads and perusing information available from people who test them reveals a stark contrast between claimed flow numbers and actual flow numbers, and claims that they actually make less power than stock factory iron heads. There is also evidence of very shoddy workmanship, with one user claiming that even the location of the spark plug ports varied by up to 1/2 an inch! Also there are claims that the valves are seated on raw aluminum! Some people say they are OK after receiving extensive machine work to tidy them up and correct the plethora of errors encountered straight out of the box. Consider the cost of this machine work to what you will pay for a good set of heads.
The most aggravating thing is that some people claim them to be manufactured in Australia, which is not the case at all, they are cast in China. Do you really trust a cheap Chinese product with your big dollar American Small Block? When was the last time you saw a Chinese car with an American V8 in it!
With some research you can still find cheaper but good quality heads. For example, and no I am not affiliated with any of these people, RHS heads 180cc great flow, cast in Australia. Summit Aluminum Heads from Summit Racing, reputedly Brodix IK200's re-branded. Brodix are excellent heads and have an excellent track record in Drag Racing and other forms of motorsport.
Read this : http://www.boatstoreonline.com/procomp.html if you want more info on Procomp cylinder heads, then do a search on them and work out the ratio of good to bad feedback on them and you you should have your answer to whether you should just save a bit more money and buy good heads. Hope this helps someone.
IF YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME, CAN YOU AFFORD TO DO IT AGAIN?
TEST RESULTS
http://www.boatstoreonline.com/procomp.html
HYPR WROTE
As a personal experience with the ProComp heads
a buddy of mine bought a set and even after I told him of the horrid reviews on them he went ahead and had his engine builder install them to a tune of $500 in machining labor to "correct manufacturing flaws which made the heads incompatible with the block and intake" The labor included re-drilling mounting holes re-machining the valve spring seat areas on several valves, re-machining inconsistent rocker stud mount surfaces to make all match, re-machine spark plug holes, machine all head surfaces, port match the head due to inconsistent port numbers and port alignment. Other work included inspecting and machining all valve guides, valve seats, re-tapping all threads, and on and on. In the end of the day he ended up with what sounds like a custom set of heads only he ended up spending far more and the performance will still no better then a set of as cast heads. To improve the performance would be twice that amount according to what the builder told him.
BTW, when the builder called my buddy he told him the heads would require extensive machining to make them work and he ok'd the work despite the builder recommending replacement.
End of the day sometimes you get what you pay for...or not!
At least with a brand name manufacture you know the quality going in and they stand behind their product.
I support and agree with Grumpy's statement"
* Quote:
"personally Id buy TRICKFLOW,AFR,BRODIX,DART ,EDELBROCK" but no mater who you buy heads from, youll need to carefully disassemble the heads and verify the valve job, valve spring load rates and all clearances on the valve train and look for casting flaws and machine work screw-ups, before you use the heads
heres my opinion
brodix and trickflow have in my opinion,the best looking machine work
dart,edelbrock and AFR all come in a close second
some of the other stuff looks like its slapped together by drunk monkeys
Id suggest sticking to those 5 brands
which of the 5 I use depends on the application but BRODIX,AFR,TRICKFLOW. DART,EDELBROCK, in roughly that order for SBC, and TRICKFLOW,AFR,BRODIX,DART,EDELBROCK in roughly that order for BBC I feel are the best value,..I.E. price for what you get
BTW the ADVANTAGE in buying bare heads is in that you get to select each component and the clearances that are too be used in the assembly process. with no parts paid for then thrown away, its seldom cheaper because you tend to buy much better QUALITY parts and take a good deal more effort in checking the assembly and clearancing process.
off the shelf heads normally use far less expensive parts and have noticeably less care taken in the assembly process simply because they are assembled in large batches and the price rather than getting the most potential from those heads is a big factor.
you generally don,t get the best bee-hive springs , titanium retainers,light weight valves on off the shelf heads"
http://www.gofastnews.com/board/technic ... lumes.html