How much hp with aluminum heads?

spraypaintman

spraypaintman

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2005
Location
Greensboro
How much horse power would I gain with some aluminum cylinder heads on my 360? Might be able to get some used Edelbrock ones.
 
well because of the properties of the aluminum heads, i dont think just bolting them on will give you more power ness... but aluminum heads allow you to run alot higher compression ratios on pump gas... and that is where you get the power...

so you might be able to get more power by running an aluminum head with a smaller chamber, and maybe can advance your timing some as well
 
the linked heads have larger runners and ports, slightly larger cc, and better valve seats.

So they will definitely help. But like was said above without more info on mods etc. it would be impossible to throw a number down.
 
So I guess I would need a high performance cam & lifters too to optimize the hp gain from the aluminum heads. I already have an aluminum edelbrock performer intake and TBI.
 
If your running a tbi & change the cam would you not need to burn another computer chip to truly optimize all the mods??
 
It is an adjustable/tunable TBI from holley.
 
Noah, several variables as stated above. To gain HP, it's a combination of things to get the most/best combination. What CC are your stock heads? if about the same then only a small amount of HP gain. You main gain will be in flow, compression change, timing, and so on. Also to be factored in is what piston you are running. If you change the heads would be a great time to upgrade on your cam. Yeah, it kinda builds up $$ wise as you go. For wheeling, you need more low end grunt, than HP. HP tends to break more stuff, but it's nice to have when you need it. I would say these heads would add more, but, to get the most bang for your buck you would need to upgrade the cam, lifters, possibly the push rods. A nice set of edlebrock shorty headers would get all that flow out of the engine. so, would be easy to go from 180-200 Ho to 300-350 with simple bolt on's.
 
Yeah, I think I'm going to pass on the heads. I have plenty of torque/low end muscle already and am pretty happy with the go pedal! Thanks everyone for the info!

:beer:
 
A thing to ponder on Heads, The large runners are not
understood by half the folks running these large heads.
For good low end torque you need to stay in the 180
to 190 range, I Didn't look at the heads in Question
but Unless you are going to be Drag racing your 4x4
don't get caught up in this Advertising ploy. An Engine
has to be Matched with components for and Expected
out come. Strapping on Intakes or Heads without
matched Exhaust or cam is a waste of money. There
Has to be a balance in what you are trying to acheive.
What gets me is the amount of people that do this.
One of the worst Parts is intakes, Dual plane or single,
High rise or not, Heat Risers or not. These are the type
of things people have no clue on.
 
What some folks don't realize is, iron heads actually make more power than aluminum heads....if both heads are exactly the same otherwise. Aluminum dissapates the heat faster than iron, so they actually waste more of the energy from the heat.
That's why you can run more compression with an aluminum head...in fact, if you had identically cast iron and aluminum heads, you'd have to run more compression in the aluminum head just to have the same power as the iron head.

Aftermarket aluminum heads usually make more power because they are a better-flowing head design than stock.

Plus, you can modify the aluminum heads much more easily. Not to mention repair them if they break.
And there's always that lighter weight factor to consider.

Anyway, I guess the answer to OP's question is, yes, the Edelbrock heads are a superior-flowing head to stock AMC boat-anchor heads, and will make more power as a result...you might want to get the matching cam and intake to get the best results.
 
Thanks for the info guys! :beer: I'm going to keep my Iron heads for a while!
 
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