Will going too big on heads hurt performance?

[253862656971]

I'm considering Indy heads for my 500 stroker.  Indy has quite a few different heads for different setups and I'm thinking about getting a 440-1.  This head flows 370 or 380 cfm and has an intake port volume of either 325 or 345cc depending on which design you choose.  Indy says that the larger of the two is for 4.375 in bore drag race/ roller cam in a 500-540 motor.  The other is supposed to be for 470-500 drag race roller cam combo.  There is also a 440-sr with a 295cc intake bolume and flows 355cfm.  This is for 383-500 any combo.  My question is going to big going to hurt the performance and is the cam a major factor.  I'm thinking something like a solid with a 255@.05/112 duration or a hydralic with similar characteristics.  I don't know what those numbers mean but it was what was reccomended to me by you guys.  It was also suggested I get a set of eddy's but from what I've seen in their magazine the heads don't flow much more than a stock head.  Am I mistaken on this and the eddy would be a better choice? 

Let me know what other info you guys need.

[firefighter3931]

You need to be careful when choosing a head for this type of application. Port volume will have a major influence on how the engine behaves. Big port volumes hurt low end response in street driven applications. The best port isn't necessarily the biggest port. High velocity is what you're looking for. A 440-1 is a race head, plain and simple. The sr's are nice heads and will make excellent power, but you need to contend with the raised exhaust port. TTI is your only option when it comes to headers with the SR's which is fine if you're starting from scratch.

Edelbrock closed chamber heads will also work with this type of application. The smaller ports are very efficient and will provide excellent low end tq and descent upper end hp. It's a good choice for a 600hp 493 stroker build. Stock heads aren't anywhere near an e-head....even the best ported stock head won't flow as well as an out of the box e-head.     If you're looking for much more than that power level a bigger head will be required. The downside is that there are no free lunches....bigger heads will hurt the low end power, but ultimately make more horsepower.

Ron

[Ghoste]

Funny ain't it?  We've gone in a very short period of time to have limited head choices for Mopars to almost having too much to pick from.  No wonder those Chevy guys always have such a confused look.

[morepower]

indy also has the new ez head, then thier are he bulldogs etc....i went ith eddies on my 500 ci stroker..not in the car yet butim sure its gon be life threatening..haha

[253862656971]

So if I were to buy a set of eddies do I just get them from the catalog or do I go to a special supplier that does some more modifacations?

As for the EZ how are these compared to the eddies?  I know they're more expensive but is it worth it?

[Chryco Psycho]

I have seen many engines run slower than stock due to overporting the heads , head chioce can be critical
buying from a local supplier is fine but if you are going to modify & or port the heads buying from a company that offers reworked heads can be an advantage depending on the skill either you or a local machinist has with heads
I have a set of EZ on order but I have nott seen them up close yet ... I am told they are very similar to the Bulldog & use stock rockers , no external oil lines etc 

[firefighter3931]

The EZ's are a nice head that come in 4 different versions:

Basic EZ: standard port window, standard oiling
EZ 1: max wedge intake port, cnc bowls, standard oiling
EZ 295 cnc: max wedge intake port, external oiling
EZ 325 cnc: max wedge intake port, external oiling

The basic, ez-1 and cnc 295's all use stock rocker arms. The 295's use the external oil lines.
The 325 cnc version uses an offset intake rocker and external oil lines.

Ron

[253862656971]

I have seen many engines run slower than stock due to overporting the heads , head chioce can be critical
buying from a local supplier is fine but if you are going to modify & or port the heads buying from a company that offers reworked heads can be an advantage depending on the skill either you or a local machinist has with heads
I have a set of EZ on order but I have nott seen them up close yet ... I am told they are very similar to the Bulldog & use stock rockers , no external oil lines etc  

Well I'm a better machinist than the local shop and I'm a beginner.  I'm not comfortable doing heads at all and I really don't trust the shop here to get a good job done.  They have a difficult time boring cylinders properly.  So what's a good source for the reworked heads?  I did a search for bulldog heads and didn't find anything other than a couple references to them on a hot rod forums.  I think I would rather guess a little small on head size and open it up later than to go too big and be junk from what you guys are saying.

[morepower]

companies like aerohead offer eddy heads with stage 1, 2,3 port jobs and other upgrades

[Chryco Psycho]

http://www.bulldogperformance.net/Dealers.html

Muscle Motors in Lansing MI  will get you virtually any head you want to use

[Ghoste]

Don't Hughes also offer a stage 1,2, and 3 on the Eddy's as well?

[253862656971]

Thanks guys you've all been a big help! 

[69bananabeast]

hughes engines also offers the dogs heads ; though currently  when i spoke with some one ,those heads are really available at the moment.

[phat69charger]

Pretty good article to read up on: http://moparmusclemagazine.com/techarticles/5115/