AFR MOPAR 340 HEAD TEST!
- Thread starter 273
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hmmm... 2K for thems? that's a lot of bread to lay down for those kinda gains.
but if you don't have a set of heads, that's a no brainer.
but if you don't have a set of heads, that's a no brainer.
340 xe268h airgap headers
Stock 1.88 heads 375 hp @ 5,200 rpm, 406 TQ @ 4,200 rpm
AFR 441 hp @ 5,900 rpm, 442 TQ @ 4,300 rpm
Pretty impressive results especially for comp xe268h cam, 442 TQ is a decent 360 number never mind a 340.
Stock 1.88 heads 375 hp @ 5,200 rpm, 406 TQ @ 4,200 rpm
AFR 441 hp @ 5,900 rpm, 442 TQ @ 4,300 rpm
Pretty impressive results especially for comp xe268h cam, 442 TQ is a decent 360 number never mind a 340.
Guess depends what your going for, TF's would be able to make more power especially with bigger cams, but at this 450 hp range wonder if TF's would make similar torque per cid as the AFR did ? too bad they didn't have a set on hand.
would you spend 2K for 60hp and 39tq?
Probably not, but people do, Edelbrocks cost a bunch people still buy them.
$2k is on par with Edelbrock and Trick Flow. Seems like a decent price for Aluminum heads.
I wonder what they would do professionally ported?
With that cam don't know if you could get too much more out of it, but imagine with better .200-.500 numbers there's gains to be had.
There's always more.
Trick Flow is above the competition in both price and quality.Charlie Chan heads will take some money to be on par with the American made product and still be behind in overall quality.
I 100% knew when 273 posted this thread, just by the title, it would be a video of Richard Holdener.. LOL
Just a Copy and Paste
Another Foreign Recopy
Oldiron440
Big blocks rule small blocks drool!
I’d bet that you could get 40+ of that AFR hp with a die grinder and a set of bits and flapper roll plus a set of 2.02 valves. Sure you would need to buy valve springs and hardware, maybe reface the heads and seats but your pockets will still have $1500 in them for other things. So what are you paying for the fact that you think you need aluminum heads or power? $1500 for 20 to 30 hp seams fk’n nuts to me.
NC Engine Builder
Grumpy Old Man
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Its probably not gonna make that kind of power
Still be nice to see how they respond, with your build.
My guess was 418 hp so there's a little more hope now
AFR is using 8mm valve stems. Nice, everyone else seems to be using 11/32 valves.
The 60hp number doesn’t seem to be that impressive until you see the full graph:
Also Dulcich’s dyno is running Windows 95!!!!
The 60hp number doesn’t seem to be that impressive until you see the full graph:
Also Dulcich’s dyno is running Windows 95!!!!
A lot of people would be happy with that 340, especially when it's putting out 360 torque numbers.
gzig5
Well-Known Member
And how long would it take half of the garage mechanics to go too deep and ruin them? Being able to purchase what is wanted or needed is a requirement for a very large portion of the people in this hobby.
I’m all about doing most of this stuff myself, and I do. but I know for a fact that many of those reading this don’t have the skills or drive to effectively port heads. And porting steel heads is even more of a PITA. Finding a competent shop is a crap shoot and when you do you’re paying $100-150+ an hour for the skilled labor. It’s not 1985 anymore.
Having options is nice, especially when Mopar has historically sucked hind teet in the aftermarket.
Oldiron440
Big blocks rule small blocks drool!
Mopar made templates and there’s plenty of videos about unshrouding the valves, port matching etc.. There’s plenty of power to be gained just by cleaning up under the valves and port matching and using 2.02 valves. Maybe you’re a person who just can’t do it for whatever reason, drop the bucks those heads are for you but for me my background was building a car and bringing up my family comprised had to happen in-fact doing heads came from need because there wasn’t anything better. If you wanted to make power you had to build your own. I’ve never trashed a head but I’ve known people who have, I’ve been lucky to have been given advice and smart enough to listen.
But if a body and paint guy can build a 650 hp iron headed 440 and have it live for years I don’t know why you can’t work over a set of small block heads. Just start by unshrouding and port matching, no water involved.
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gzig5
Well-Known Member
I'm not going to argue with you. Glad you can do your own work, so can I. I encourage everyone to do as much as they can for themselves. But I stand by my statement that most people in the hobby, cannot for whatever reason (skill, space, time, tools) port an iron OEM head with positive results that approach the performance level of one of these aluminum heads. Thus, having ready to go options off the shelf that provide a significant increase over stock iron heads, is a good thing. Doing a gasket match on the ports and knocking some burrs off isn't going to take an OEM iron head into the realm of an aftermarket Eddy/ProMaxx/AFR type aluminum head. Getting that kind of result from an iron head takes skills and tools that 90% of enthusiasts just don't have and these days finding a shop that can/will do a set of iron heads to that level will likely cost you the same as a set of Trick Flow 190's.
Earlie A
Well-Known Member
Here's my 0.02 on a few of the issues being discussed here. Can the iron 360 heads make as much power as the AFR? Maybe, but it would take a huge amount of work. The restriction to flow in the 360 style head is mostly around the apex area. That huge, ugly valve guide vein takes up too much real estate. To get a 360 head flowing much over 200-210 cfm requires a lot of deep port work. Opening up the pushrod pinch will do some good (very little really) in the mid lift range. A 2.02 valve with a nice valve job and bowl blend will help low and mid lift flow a bunch. Without addressing the flow restriction at the apex, opening the pushrod pinch and opening the valve and bowl area will actually HURT high lift flow due to increased flow separation over the short turn. Then there's the issue of the 72cc 360 chamber vs the 63-65cc AFR chamber. Totally different compression and quench characteristics.
As far as the TF vs the Chinese heads. The TF probably is a little nicer than the AFR, but only a little. TF uses multiple foundries in the states and has some difficulty maintaining consistent supplies. I have a set of TF heads that are a few years old and those heads look quite different from a TF head I purchased a few months ago for porting work. It is obvious that they came from 2 different foundries. The AFR head comes from the Steven Sun foundry, which does a really nice job with their castings. The brass guides and seat rings are pretty good stuff and machinability is on par with the TF. TF valves and springs are nicer than any Chinese products I have seen. I have no idea what valves and springs AFR is using.
One other note. I have flow tested 8mm valves vs 11/32 valves. There is no difference that I could detect. Going from a stock 3/8 stem factory valve to a reduced stem 11/32 valve is worth about 4-5 cfm on the top end. There is a significant weight difference in an 8mm valve vs the 11/32 however.
As far as the TF vs the Chinese heads. The TF probably is a little nicer than the AFR, but only a little. TF uses multiple foundries in the states and has some difficulty maintaining consistent supplies. I have a set of TF heads that are a few years old and those heads look quite different from a TF head I purchased a few months ago for porting work. It is obvious that they came from 2 different foundries. The AFR head comes from the Steven Sun foundry, which does a really nice job with their castings. The brass guides and seat rings are pretty good stuff and machinability is on par with the TF. TF valves and springs are nicer than any Chinese products I have seen. I have no idea what valves and springs AFR is using.
One other note. I have flow tested 8mm valves vs 11/32 valves. There is no difference that I could detect. Going from a stock 3/8 stem factory valve to a reduced stem 11/32 valve is worth about 4-5 cfm on the top end. There is a significant weight difference in an 8mm valve vs the 11/32 however.
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