heads and valve-train

stealth78

Full Access Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2012
Messages
2,613
Reaction score
22
Location
MA
In my quest to do a N/A build I finally bought some extra heads (factory... cant afford Strykers). Been getting some tips on different head and intake gaskets, coils, head studs...etc. Been wondering what to do for cam and spring applications. Everyone seems to say custom grind for more mid-range but I feel like the truck already falls on its face after 5600. Anyway, what brands should I be lookn at? Really shooting for well over 550whp. Any info is appreciated!
 
550 hp on a stock rotating assembly is gonna take some major porting work on the heads and the intake. you need to keep the stock bottomend under 6000 rpm max! so if it is falling on it's face at 5600 ,change gears!!! unless your forging the bottomend and boosting compression . these are my thoughts..... forge the bottom , key the crank, boost compression to 10.5 ,add the Roe 710 cam c/w the beehive springs, ARP Head studs and main and rod studs,major porting of the heads and intake and you would be close to your number! For less money , just add a paxton with 6.5 psi and you will be at about 630 safe hp !! on a stock engine, that will be very dosile until you floor it!! just my 2 cents....
 
Well it still pulls ok to 6000, but I just feel like around 5500 to 5600 is where it noticeably looses it. I havnt dyno'd it yet but Tony told me I should be at about 460-470 at the wheels now. It doesn't seem to crazy to expect an 80HP gain from some decent port work and a cam... I think! I also think its still safer than throwing boost to it with stock pistons. Im hoping to get out of this for around $3000.
 
Well it still pulls ok to 6000, but I just feel like around 5500 to 5600 is where it noticeably looses it. I havnt dyno'd it yet but Tony told me I should be at about 460-470 at the wheels now. It doesn't seem to crazy to expect an 80HP gain from some decent port work and a cam... I think! I also think its still safer than throwing boost to it with stock pistons. Im hoping to get out of this for around $3000.

You're right! Shifting much past 5300 is wasted energy with stock springs and lifters as well as cam and intake/head flow. Peak power and torque is usually about 5250-5400. Nice cam,springs, headwork, and slow bleed lifters are the key.
 
Well it still pulls ok to 6000, but I just feel like around 5500 to 5600 is where it noticeably looses it. I havnt dyno'd it yet but Tony told me I should be at about 460-470 at the wheels now. It doesn't seem to crazy to expect an 80HP gain from some decent port work and a cam... I think! I also think its still safer than throwing boost to it with stock pistons. Im hoping to get out of this for around $3000.

I have done this twice

Crower stage two cam = 501.00
cometic head gasket.027 = 260.00
oem porting job = 500.00 depends on who does it maybe more maybe less
Intake manifold = 65.00
exhaust manifold gaskets = 85.00
springs = 400.00 or so
push rods = 250.00 or so
slow bleed lifters = 540.00 or so
fluids = 125.00 or so
undersize crank pulley = 250.00 to 350.00
dyno tune = 350.00

nothing on labor if your smart enough to do it yourself
may have missed one or two small things but thats the basics
you should be anywhere between 520 to 540 hp N/A
 
I have done this twice

Crower stage two cam = 501.00
cometic head gasket.027 = 260.00
oem porting job = 500.00 depends on who does it maybe more maybe less
Intake manifold = 65.00
exhaust manifold gaskets = 85.00
springs = 400.00 or so
push rods = 250.00 or so
slow bleed lifters = 540.00 or so
fluids = 125.00 or so
undersize crank pulley = 250.00 to 350.00
dyno tune = 350.00

nothing on labor if your smart enough to do it yourself
may have missed one or two small things but thats the basics
you should be anywhere between 520 to 540 hp N/A

Hmmm... Financially not to far outta reach, but I was really hoping for atleast 550-560 @ the wheels.
 
Hmmm... Financially not to far outta reach, but I was really hoping for atleast 550-560 @ the wheels.

I agree porting stock head HAS to be done right for you to get there ,,will also help if you can get up to 10.7 or 10.8 to 1 on compression ratio ,stock heads with the thinner .027 will only get you to just a hair over 10.2 to 1 ..but that is going to bust your budget of 3k
 
I agree porting stock head HAS to be done right for you to get there ,,will also help if you can get up to 10.7 or 10.8 to 1 on compression ratio ,stock heads with the thinner .027 will only get you to just a hair over 10.2 to 1 ..but that is going to bust your budget of 3k

Well I may be putting this off a month or so to gather up a cpl more $$$ if thats what its going to take. What do you suggest? Milling the heads? How much compression can I go up to and stay with 93 octane?
 
you close to the NE Viper guru "Tater"???
 
I would not worry about 10-20 peak h.p. #'s

Concentrate on power under peak #'s. That's where the exceleration is. Build it to hold more across the entire range, your only at peak for a brief momment, then shifting. Maintain as much torque across the range as possible (raise CR) and have it tuned rich enough to stay happy.
 
550 hp on a stock rotating assembly is gonna take some major porting work on the heads and the intake. you need to keep the stock bottomend under 6000 rpm max! so if it is falling on it's face at 5600 ,change gears!!! unless your forging the bottomend and boosting compression . these are my thoughts..... forge the bottom , key the crank, boost compression to 10.5 ,add the Roe 710 cam c/w the beehive springs, ARP Head studs and main and rod studs,major porting of the heads and intake and you would be close to your number! For less money , just add a paxton with 6.5 psi and you will be at about 630 safe hp !! on a stock engine, that will be very dosile until you floor it!! just my 2 cents....

So when I do this I shouldn't bump the limiter to 6200???
 
It is your engine... If you are serious about taking a stock engine to 550 hp at the wheels,you will be flurting with detonation. If something fails , the crank doesn't stop until it has made a very expensive mess!!!
 
It is your engine... If you are serious about taking a stock engine to 550 hp at the wheels,you will be flurting with detonation. If something fails , the crank doesn't stop until it has made a very expensive mess!!!

Im not trying to send like an idiot here but I'm not understanding why? I know I dont want to get the stock internals spinning to fast but I didn't think 200 more rpm's was too much. And if Im achieving HP gain by increasing flow, how is this going to be more abusive on my internals without getting greedy with compression?
 
Im not trying to send like an idiot here but I'm not understanding why? I know I dont want to get the stock internals spinning to fast but I didn't think 200 more rpm's was too much. And if Im achieving HP gain by increasing flow, how is this going to be more abusive on my internals without getting greedy with compression?

These forums are for opinions. You ask a question, we offer opinions. I am not an expert. My opinion is that the factory doen't make things great! just good enough ... at the wheels , these engines make about 450hp and are capable of living a long life at that level. tweeking an extra 100 hp out of it was not factored in. there is some strength cushioned in but not sure if 100 hp more is safe to take past the 6000 limit set by the factory.. Even Roe Racing's website recommends keeping max rpm to 5500 with stock engine with their superchager upgrade. But hey , fill your boots and let us know how it works out. We all love to learn!
 
Last edited:
Cylinder heads are where the power is made.
Spend some time researching your options for modifying the Gen III heads and then choose a cam to take advantage of those mods.
With a stick truck, you have a more flexibility with maximum r.p.m. ranges as you can pick and choose when you make your shifts once your tuner has raised the rev limiter. The idea of needing more r.p.m. is to prevent the engine from dropping below an optimum r.p.m. range after the shift and/or cam choice demands it. I buzzed my own vehicle to 6100 when racing many many times, without issues. As long as the rod and rod bolts are strong enough to yank the piston back from t.d.c. at high r.p.m. you are safe. Unless you NEED TO buzz the engine that high with stock components, don't.
The Gen III combustion chambers aren't great and without pulling your engine completely apart and machining so you can run more compression, I'd stay in the low 10 range on pump gas.

Good luck with your goals.
 
Ok thanks guys for any input, opinions, and suggestions! If anyone has any other suggestions for cam profiles that have worked good for them in these trucks please let me know!
 
Im not trying to send like an idiot here but I'm not understanding why? I know I dont want to get the stock internals spinning to fast but I didn't think 200 more rpm's was too much. And if Im achieving HP gain by increasing flow, how is this going to be more abusive on my internals without getting greedy with compression?

My 2004 RC engine is pure stock under the valve covers and I had the rev limiter bumped years ago to 6200 (DC Performance). I have almost 64,000 miles and over 150 passes power shifting at 6,000 rpm and going through the lights at 6,100+ rpm and no issues with the engine, and no oil usage. I use Enios 5-40 racing synthetic. Chris Jensen(from DC Performance) did my tune 7 years ago and we did the SCT tuner race tune(91-100 mix) about 3 years ago and no problems. On the dyno peak torque is at 4100 and peak hp is at 5600, last time on the dyno at DC Performance(earlier this year, testing the JTS Venom TB) on a Dynajet I made 510rwhp and 541 ftlbs., spinning the big 22's. Some guys have said that if I shifted at 5500 I would run quicker, but I have tried that and not improved but ran a little slower(except I shift into 4th gear at about 5600 and it helps the high end ), maybe my engine is rare but it does not flatten out past 5500.
 

Latest posts

Support Us

Become A Supporting Member Today!

Click Here For Details

Back
Top