J-Rod

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/zerothread?id=656708


Hello Everyone....
This is Tony Mamo from AirFlow Research.....First I would like to say that I have been following this forum as a "reader only" for quite some time, and I think it is a top notch site that provides a wealth of information and offers different viewpoints on just about every conceivable "mod" a Corvette owner might consider. Its helped me numerous times to track down some information concerning my own Corvette "project" (2000 MN6 coupe) that I have been modifying in my quest for "Supercar" performance at a fraction of the cost.

I thought it was time I confirm rumors regarding AFR's upcoming release of our "LS" line of cylinder heads, and fill you guys in on some of the particulars. We will be producing at least three different configurations initially, the first two to be available some time this December, early 04' at the latest. Our 205cc head will be offered fully CNC ported with a smaller 200 cc "as cast" version offered as well. Even the "as cast" version should outflow a stock LS6 head by a fair margin, and do so with an 11 cc smaller intake port. Our focus with the entire new line of Gen III heads is efficiency....anyone reasonably talented with a grinder can make a bigger port flow more air....we try and raise the bar by offering a smaller port that can flow more air....not as easy to achieve but a very desirable situation if you are concerned with low speed torque production and stronger "average" power and torque figures. Our fully CNC ported 205 is barely larger than the stock LS1 cylinder head, and still 6 cc's smaller than the LS6 head, but flows 70 CFM and 40 CFM more respectfully on the intake side and shows about a 40 CFM gain on the exhaust side (I've seen very little difference in peak flow on the exhaust side comparing the LS1 and LS6 exhaust ports). Of course the low and midlift flow is alot stronger across the board as well. The 205 flows over 290 CFM @ .550 lift and peaks around 300 CFM @ .600.....the good news being the big flow numbers happen early at a liftpoint that is actually very usable with most performance cam choices. You can actually hear the intensity of the airspeed entering the intake port when checking the half inch lift and higher figures....At almost 1.5 CFM per cc, the new 205 is AFR's most efficient offering to date. Due to come out sometime early next year will be our 225 cc version with an even higher flowing intake and exhaust ports, and runner volume more suited to larger cubic inch applications or more aggresive blown/nitrous injected smaller engines. But don't rule out the 205 even in those applications if your trying to build a street motor that makes huge torque and power lower in the curve (everyday usable power), while still being able to put up some impressive peak figures also. The new heads will also feature a much more efficient heart shaped combustion chamber design with a "dual quench pad" for improved atomization. More good news there is the availability of 66 and 76 cc chambers as standard, with custom milling to yeild anything in between and as low as the mid 50 cc range if desired.

Well, I tried my best to keep this as brief and informative as possible....have alot more to share but didn't want to bore everyone with a two page long post. Feel free to post any questions you might have, and I will keep you guys in the loop regarding production dates and availability....Everybody here is pretty excited about the launch of this new product....if the "numbers" are indicative of anything....and they usually are....there will be some mighty unhappy Cobra owners out there!!

Regards,
Tony Mamo
AFR Sales and Product Design

gomer

iTrader: (13)

Hmm... me wonders about a $$$ figure on those.. Anybody heard a figure, both bare and "loaded up"?

Slowhawk

iTrader: (12)

I've been following this too.Would like to see some back to back results though.From what I've heard pricing will be around $3,000 for a set They will have to produce more power than stage 2's out there to be worth a look at.

Vents

iTrader: (9)

3k? shoot.. i'll give 'em a dollar.

sounds enticing though.

Visceral

iTrader: (1)

Ive got soooo much money into my heads as they sit. These things would have to give me oral pleasure before I'd bail on my LS6 MTI stage 3s and ante up for a whole new setup.

*Especially* when our intakes may limit the true effectiveness of a 225cc big port.

I'll be watching from the sidelines with interest...

chris

CHRISPY

I'd like to see flow numbers with the intake (LS6) attached through all lift ranges at 28 inches and 3.9 bore....

BurnOut

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to see pricing for the "as cast" versions come in @$1300-$1500 (complete) for the pair. For the CNC versions, you could probably add @$800-$1000. This is a pure guesstimate, based on nothing more than their LT4 head pricing (read: a similarly "low volume" application).

In other words, I think that the pricing will be competitive with most S2 (porting + core) heads out there, with big lift low being @equal and the advantage of a smaller (read: higher velocity) port to build more torque. That being said (assuming that my pricing guesstimates are accurate), I don't know that there would be all that much of a price advantage for H/C cars to go this route as opposed to having their factory heads done (and avoiding the core charge, bringing the price down significantly). However, since S3 upgrades usually tack on another $500-$1000 on top of an S2 port job, the AFR's may be the way to go on big bore motors.

Or, I could be full of it. I guess we'll see in a couple of months...

SNAXS

Hmm...

SStrokerAce

iTrader: (2)

The big advantage of these heads is going to be the added meat. Every AFR has a ton of material to play with so a talented head porter will be able to get some pretty crazy numbers out of these things. I'm going to pick up one bare casting when they come out (since we are a AFR dealer)and have some tallented guys take a look at it to see what's there. Obviously these heads aren't for the faint of heart, but when you compare them to a LS6 casting then they start looking alot better.

The different port shapes that you can do in these heads is the big advantage, not worring about breaking thru to the water jacket is going to help the bowl area tremendously.

Bret

XLR8NSS

iTrader: (4)

The extra meat might be good for the blower guys also. A beefier head might help with some of the sealing problems with the current hardware available for the LS series engines.

They should make for an interesting new year.

KraZy

iTrader: (4)

This coming year is going to be a great one for the LS1 engines!!!

Very exciting at all the new items coming, like these heads and coming intakes.

Y2K2LS1

"Hello again....

I wanted to touch on some of the topics you guys were asking about. One
thing I forgot to mention in my first post is the casting integrity of the
new AFR head.....major improvement over the stock castings. Anyone that has
seen any of AFR's other products can vouch for the casting quality....total
overkill in the strength department (.750 thick deck, reinforced rockerstud
pads, thicker spring pockets, etc.) If anything, they are probably heavier
than you might like, but I'll take those couple of extra pounds of aluminum
anytime. Ok....some issues brought up by you guys:

Valve sizes: 200 and 205cc heads will be fitted with 2.02/1.6

225cc (Only available CNC ported) 2.08/1.6

Spring Pockets: Standard spring pocket will be cut for a 1.250 spring.

Our standard spring will be non-beehive 1.250 with more

seat/open pressure than stock (130/330lbs). Upgrade

to 1.450 and 1.550 (Shaft System only @ 1.550)

As far as dyno testing, currently no information available as we do not have
a pair of pre-production heads to test yet. I will be bolting a set on top
of my own engine with a camswap at the same time....more than likely
sometime around Nov. or Dec. My current combo is very typical "max bolt-on"
scenario, and last generated a best of 346 @ the wheels. I'm bolting on a
pair of Bassani long tube headers shortly, and I'm hoping to see a 20 HP
gain with that install. I will have those dyno figures as a baseline prior
to the head/cam swap later this year. Rick Sperling, one of the AFR owners,
also has a 2000 coupe with an automatic (currently is absolutely bone
stock), that we will be doing some testing on as well. We are considering a
blower install on his car after the new AFR heads are installed.

Someone had asked about expected performance gains with just a head swap on
a Z06 application. My best " conservative" guess is a gain of 40-45 peak
HP@ the wheels, with a huge gain in the middle and lower part of the torque
and power curve due to the much higher flowing smaller intake port. I would
expect to see stronger gains in real world performance (ET/MPH/throttle
response and engine acceleration) than the peak numbers might suggest due to
the fact that the "average" power and torque figures will be much
higher....not just peak power.

Now for the really good news...Low Introductory Pricing!!

A fully assembled ready to bolt on 200cc "as cast" will retail
around $1800.00

The fully CNC ported 205 will retail for $2499.00

225cc pricing N/A at this time, but will be slightly higher than
our 205

(Projected flow figures: 320/245 @.600 lift)

Titanium retainers are standard, not an option.

All pricing is complete....parts and assembly labor included.

Spring upgrades and custom milling will be extra.

Bare heads both ported and un-ported will be available....not
sure of exact pricing yet.

Also, I wanted to mention that our 200cc "as cast" head will actually be
partially CNC ported in the bowls, so it will be a good flowing piece and
something worth consideration right out of the box. The CNC bowl blend will
guarantee consistency and is one more extra effort that AFR invests to
insure the finished product flows as much as possible.

One more thing to add, while I'm thinking about it....the 205cc flow figures
I quoted in my previous post were recorded utilizing a 3.910 bore
fixture....On a 4.125 fixture, the higher lift figures showed a 5-7 CFM
improvement.

Well, that's it for now....more to come soon I'm sure.

Regards,
Tony M."

jfm

iTrader: (4)

The bare casting heads sound great,I would buy a set right now if ready for my new motor.I would give them to Jay at Absolute Speed to hand port and finish.

Jay's ports are based on a smallest volume to achieve the highest flow.I cant wait to see what a set of your 200 cc,that outflow LS6 heads already,will do when finished by Jay.I am going to say that Jays new port will be around 205 cc when finished.

Nickn20

I would like to see what the 225cc heads fully ported by a talented shop can flow, starting with a 320/245 cfm head, I just wonder.

maddboost

iTrader: (11)

Good thing I didnt buy any heads for my new motor. Guess Ill have to wait a little longer now with these heads out soon. Please dont let us down and try and hit that December mark, but hey if the product aint done I guess we can wait.

dug

iTrader: (10)

Imagine 225cc heads and lsx intake on a 427. Would 600rwhp be possible?

CHRISPY

Great information

There will be a big benefit for the high HP seekers as well. With the added material it will be harder to lift/warp the heads under high boost, large hits of nitrous.

What are you expected the 225cc head to flow?

cheers,
Chris

SStrokerAce

iTrader: (2)

Not as much as the bare heads.

Since they are the same castings the one with more meat will make a head porter very happy, and he can make the port what he wants to make it. I'm going to get a test casting when they come out, and have the port developed with the Comp Intake manifold. I would expect we can get some crazy head flow with this thing, 320cfm is small compared to what a rough casting done the right way will do.

Bret

maddboost

iTrader: (11)

Now would these AFR heads be better suited for certain setups than others. Like N20, boosted, or big cube? Or will they benefit pretty much any setup? With these heads capable of flowing more are we going to see even bigger cams?

SStrokerAce

iTrader: (2)

The heads have a much thicker deck so N2O and Blown motors will like them.

The fact that you can probably take these ports out to a bigger volume and they will flow more air mean that they will probably also work really well on a big cube motor.

As far as the bigger cams, I don't think so. When you have a better quality cylinder head, you need less cam to make the same HP.

Bret