which heads to buy

[unclgreggy]

thought Id spark another debate. Forgetting about cost, what are the best performing heads to put on the car - or should I say where should I buy the heads from whether bought from a company or sent out to be done. any opinions?

 

[Martin D]

I vote for Hennessey!

For Dyno numbers, see below!

Regards,

 

[Chuck 98 RT/10]

Does Doug Levin do engine head work?

Would there be a difference between heads modified for the dragstrip and heads modified for the road course?

I had to edit this because of Scotts infantile remark. BTW where's my hat!

 

[LTHL VPR]

I am not sure if everyone is answering the question asked, but I took it to mean what heads to start with. Obvisouly there are a number of choices when it comes to porting, polishing, assembling, etc.. most Viper tuners, and even high performance engine machine shops will do good work. But where do you start?
It depends on how you will be driving?
Mopar street heads(when properly modified) will outflow stock modified heads and should work great for normal use. GTS-R heads (also sold by MOPAR) will work on a regular GTS block with no problems and are more suited to race use (beryllium, bronze, and other high $ metals), and will raise the compression on your car. These would probably work best with a rebuilt bottom end.

On the other hand, stock heads with mods should work good to if you are on a budget.
Hope this helps!

 

[Maverick The Electrician]

We are about to do some of our own head work for testing purposes, so my TNT heads will be for sale if anyone is interested.

 

[treynor]

Hoo boy. Pardon me for a moment while I don my fire suit...

Judging from what I've read on this board, the three most common heads suppliers for street cars are Hennessey, TNT, and Caldwell Development. I've heard of people getting excellent power from all three. There are obviously other head suppliers out there who are perhaps less well-represented on this board.

For my own car, I chose Hennessey heads, primarily because I knew John personally and trusted that his shop would do a good job. The flow #s I got from his heads confirmed that the work was excellent (see the "Better than Caldwell" thread in performance modifications). I'll have dyno results in about 2 weeks, once the heads are installed.

This might be an opportune time for other list members with ported heads to post dyno figures and mods lists. I'll compile a database to be added to the FAQ section.

 

[Gerald]

huh?

 

[Jay Herbert]

Yes, Doug Levin does build Viper heads. I was talking to him the other day (via email) and he mentioned he has done quite a few sets of Viper Heads. We also had a good discussion on the topic of head gaskets. He sent me a failed head gasket to show me the area that fails on early cars and a new (used) metal head gasket for comparison.

We also discussed tailoring heads for the specific type of expected use. He is certainly worth a call.

Besides Caldwell, East Coast Performance, Heffner Performance, HMS, JBE Racing, L&B Engine development, Doug Levin Motorsports, Lingenfelter and TNT (lots of suppliers now!) .... another option is a shop that specializes in heads. Several folks have posted here who have used BPE Racing heads with success on their Vipers. Don't know where they sit on the cost spectrum.

BPE Racing Heads www.bpeheads.com
Contact: Steve Bronston
702 Dunn Way
Placentia CA 92870-6805
Tel 714-572-6072
Fax 714-572-6073
e-mail: [email protected]

 

[LTHL VPR]

Another thing to keep in mind everyone.....
There is nothing tricky or fancy about the Viper heads. Any competent race shop should be able to do them with no problem whatsoever. Don't get lured into thinking that just becuase someone doesn't specialize in Vipers, they can't do Viper heads. Now if you are building up a shortblock then I might recommend a Viper tuner only because they are familiar with the right cam, and other internals, but for heads, any good shop should do fine.
Heck, you might even save some money too.

 

[David Jenkins]

98rt, I'm not too sure why Steve hasn't e-mailed you back. BPE has done several sets of Viper heads for us. None of which are on Mumford's car!! Steve does very high quality work. BPE heads and MITECH are basically the same company. There's more to the story then people realize. Mike LeFevres (MITECH) is an engine builder/engine shop manager for Carrol Shelby Ent. and Steve has done Viper heads for a major Viper "tuner". I moved out here from Ohio 10 years ago and didn't know of a good machine shop. A friend of mine at J+E Pistons hooked me up with Mike and Steve. We all know CDI, TNT, and HMS stuff works. No doubt about it. I use these two guys because I've worked at race engine shops and I know what to look for in quality work. Also the fact that they are only 20 miles away helps too. Right now I'm putting the finishing touches on a customers car that is MITECH/BPE powered. Should be somewhere around 600-640 hp on a small cam. dj