80vettel82;3337442 said:I'm considering do an upgrade to my top end and I'm looking for some advice from some of the more experienced engine guys on here.
First, is it worth doing? Since building my first engine 7 years ago when I was 22 I've second guessed my head choice after talking with some different people. I'm running Edelbrock E-tec 170's which I had bought as part of their "power package" so it came with a matched cam and rpm air gap intake. The motor is a full roller 383 stroker (all the details are in my signature below).
I've been happy with it, it's great on the street and it's run a best of 12.044 @ 112 with a 1.6s 60'. This wasn't under the best conditions, track prep wasn't great, I'm pretty sure it has more in it.
Alas, with all the nay-sayers saying the 170's are too small for a 383 stroker, I've spent the last 7yrs wondering if I've left a lot of power on the table. I built the short block strong and the engine only has 11k miles on it, so it should easily take more power. What I'm wondering is if it would be that much of a difference to make it worth doing... I'm leaning towards it probably is, I know there's WAY better head/cam combos out there, but I'm in no way an expert.
So, in addition to your thoughts on whether the Etec 170's are sufficient or I should go to something else, I'd also like to hear your recommendation on what heads I should look at.
As a side note, the current setup has developed some little external coolant leaks from the head gaskets and intake gasket... so it gives me a decent reason to justify a head swap to myself :smackartyon:
I know head choice depends on a lot, so if you need more info than what's below just ask, I definitely have it.
Thanks for any help!
PS A little more info not in my signature:
The E-tec 170s have
-64cc chambers
-1.94" intake / 1.55" exhaust valves
11.0:1 CR
the answer depends a good deal on what your using the car/engine FOR?
every choice you make is a compromise in some area
yes your edelbrock 170cc port heads ARE restricting peak power , but they may be a good choice for your particular application.
Edelbrock 60975 - Edelbrock E-Tec Cylinder Heads
but they are also allowing your engine to operate with a crisp quick response at the lower and mid rpm ranges that YOU will notice will be minimally reduced with a much better flowing head that allows the engine to breath and make better peak power.
if your currently running close to 12 flat at over 111 mph your current combo does work very well,
but keep in mind , that too maximize head flow and power you'll likely want a bit better head plus a bit more cam duration.
obviously you need to think through your goal vs the trade offs and cost, your current combo works well but its designed to maximize power from off idle to about 5500rpm, where most of your times spent driving on the road.
a bit more cam duration would work best with a 3200 stall converter and a 3.73:1 rear gear, ratio, or a manual transmission,and about 42 lb injectors, if your running injection, if your going to burn more air and fuel you need to allow the ports to breath to their full potential
many guys don,t bother to match components effectively and a common mistake is not selecting a large enough flow rated fuel injector, to match the power level your trying to reach.
http://www.airflowresearch.com/210cc-sbc-race-cylinder-head/
http://www.cranecams.com/product/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=24187
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/a-well-designed-c4-exhaust.786/#post-57392
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ing-parts-and-a-logical-plan.7722/#post-71181
http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...ive-are-the-stock-tpi-engine-components.1509/
http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/calculate-fuel-injector-size.1200/
if your using a carb, Id use this intake with that cam and heads
http://www.jegs.com/i/Edelbrock/350...Wv7GpnLk0QtlqfnnxrJbzD0VgKTZNhrDJsaAiOH8P8HAQ
and YEAH,BEFORE YOU ASK, THE CORRECTLY MATCHED HEADS,INTAKE,AND CAM
will produces noticeably more upper rpm power , but the drive train must match the application to take full advantage of the increased power and raised average operational rpm band with that 11:1 compression 383
(notice the heads are available in BOTH 65cc and 75cc versions )
you might consider dropping compression a bit with the 75cc head version if you drive on the street to reduce the potential for detonation issues
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