Is the improvements to the new LA heads, enough to not reproduce the W-2 head anymore

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Abodybomber

Abodybomber

Breaking street machines , since 1983.....:)
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Ported aluminum Eddy's, sold 'em to a member here.. They " flowed 280 ,with the stock valve job" I considered fair. ( Thank you,fellow FABO member..) I always loved the immediate response the W-2 's worked with deep gears (& converters) hammered with.. When I built my 408,( mentally) Spec's W-2's..couldn't find iron,couldn't find a set,come high dry or water.. Now everyone's doing improved Magnums,( love them..),cheap eddies, )... Why not W -2 cast irons? Such a wonderful cylinder head, ( Hate INDY, won't deal with them, Brodix too pricey..) Chime in,good or bad..
 
No. A ported W2 is still king. Cause I said so.
 
I dont know man. I think the market is too small. Plenty of people KNOW they are the best, but not many people have ALL the dough to buy ALL that it takes to make them work. First, there's the initial cost, then the 1200-1500 MORE for the right valve gear. That's a lotta coin.

I think Chrysler phased them out the same reason they phased out the Gen I Hemi. Valve train too complex and costly to make.

It would be nice to have them as a choice though. They would be billy badass on a hot street car. Somebody would have to have somethin REAL to pass you. LOL
 
QUOTE=RustyRatRod;1971029197]I dont know man. I think the market is too small. Plenty of people KNOW they are the best, but not many people have ALL the dough to buy ALL that it takes to make them work. First, there's the initial cost, then the 1200-1500 MORE for the right valve gear. That's a lotta coin.

I think Chrysler phased them out the same reason they phased out the Gen I Hemi. Valve train too complex and costly to make.

It would be nice to have them as a choice though. They would be billy badass on a hot street car. Somebody would have to have somethin REAL to pass you. LOL[/QUOTE]

Agreed, too much silence Rob, My heart still pounds.. Fer jack...
 
With everyone worried about weight they all seem to go with aluminum.

With the stroker world seeming to be gaining in popularity the better heads are needed. I am no expert but i would rather see aluminum w5 heads again.
 
W-2s are good heads but I'll take aluminum for many reasons. I have a good set of ported Edelbrock's and a set of Indy's that are going on my 434. If you really want to make some steam with a small block you need a set of W-8s or W-9s.

IMO we as Mopar guys shoot our self's in the foot when it comes to new stuff. We don't embrace new improved technology and design like other brand loyalist do. If you don't believe me look at the popularity and available parts for GM's LS engines. How many times have we heard "I won't buy it because doesn't look like my (whatever) head does".

I will lay part of it on Chrysler, to a large degree they don't support performance or race enthusiasts. If you want a travel cup, floor mats or a sweater they can fix you up. Walk into any dealer and try to order a performance cam or a better set of heads for your 5.7 and the parts guy will look at you like you have three eyes.
 
Time and technology made the W2s less cost effective, and in time, not very effective. It's simple economics: if people buy, they'll keep up support. Fact is in the late 70s & 80s W2s were "the head". But you had to buy the heads, the valvetrain, the headers, and the intake to get them to run on your engine. In the 90s it was about weight and better port layout - the W5s were "the ticket" as far as Mp product. But the execution was so poor on the base castings taht they immediately got a bad rap that continues to now. Time has added new port design, chamber design, flow theory, and priority on weight (mostly for the circle/dirt track guys) added many new options. The W2s became the equivilent of the 392 hemis. Great engines that can make power - but technologically out of date and unable to make the power a top-of-the-line race wedge or hemi can do now.
MP is phasing out all wedge based stuff. Big and small. The production line Hemi stuff is just taht good, and cheaper to re-tag and sell. They are trying to keep in step with their market. The old stuff isn't their market any more. Hasn't been since the late 90s when the aftermarket really jumped in to Mopar.
 
justinp61 said:
If you don't believe me look at the popularity and available parts for GM's LS engines. .
Click to expand...

Personally I think that's a VERY poor example. What we are talking about here, is something people can afford, swapping into an older car. The LS or at least "some of it" are available OEM. What do we have? Not so many Rams with 200K wore out Magnums? And, really, the Mag was just a "mild rehash" of the LA platform, suffering many design faults along the way

In other words the quantity, availability just is not there. Maybe "the same outfit" who makes EQ heads could be persuaded to do a "ripoff" casting of W heads
 
67Dart273 said:
Personally I think that's a VERY poor example. What we are talking about here, is something people can afford, swapping into an older car. The LS or at least "some of it" are available OEM. What do we have? Not so many Rams with 200K wore out Magnums? And, really, the Mag was just a "mild rehash" of the LA platform, suffering many design faults along the way

In other words the quantity, availability just is not there. Maybe "the same outfit" who makes EQ heads could be persuaded to do a "ripoff" casting of W heads
Click to expand...


LS engines are pretty cheap, $1500 for a 100,000 mile running engine is not bad. With the support they have it's pretty much plug and play now.

My main point is that Ford and GM still support their guys. Heck GM is still making stuff for their small block and it came out in 1955 (?).

If it wasn't for the sprint car program from several years ago, Edelbrock and Indy we'd be screwed.
 
My take on the W2 head is, Too expensive for most people. Now that the costs are getting closer together to make the step up from a Edelbrock head to a W2 not to terribly expensive, the bang for the buck is hardly worth the move. Judging by published flow numbers from various porters the spread between the flow numbers for both above mentioned heads fair better for the Edelbrock heads even if peak isn't as high as the W2.

The other thing that bothered me as well as prevented me from going W2 was the entire top and is removed enough from the factory that nothing works unless it is a W2 part. The entire top end is changed over. Making a stock iron intake fit requires a good bit of work! Might as well she'll out for the pricey intake. No dual planes ether. But they always did say, "Race head!"

I would love to see a revival of the W5 done right! With updates ports for a higher ceiling and fatter flow curve should one desire.

Brodix = pricey
Indy has such a bad rap, I'd have to get one of our resident builders to do a set for me. When all is said and done, there cost isn't worth a street effort.

A OE ported head can go 260cfm enough power in the right weight car to run really well. There is a thread going on now about fellas RHS & EQ heads doing very well.
 
A friend/customer had been running 12.3-12.6 & 109-107 depending on temps
baro/humidity etc., with a 340 TA headed 6bbl.,9.7:1 AAR. He had purchased W2's, and I was
prepared to port them for his new stroker combo.But his desire to keep the 6pak and the cost
of changes incl. headers,which the custom extra capacity pan another friend had built around
made him decide on LA-X Indy's. It ran like a monster,till a week ago,when he had to pull over
for a solid misfire. After taking the covers off and running thru' the valves he spotted it,the
retainer for exh.#8 was up against the rocker,the valve wasn't that far down in the head but..
...... I am waiting for an update.Modern combustion chambers and port tech. make the W2 an
outdated head for most applications,which are not Pro-Stock level efforts.Yes ported correctly
w/ large valves the high port W2's may still be king for flow,but most modern heads will run
better on 80% of the engines out there.
 
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