First Mis-step - I Didn't Ask Enough Questions!
 

Hi, new guy here, but a lot of hot rodding under my belt. I'm building 4" stroker from an '01 block with streetable cam (224/228-.570/588-112) for a swap.

I got the PP Stage 2 98 heads (great deal). Well, I got them the other day and realized I didn't ask about the chambers. Oops! They are not polished and blended. The heads and workmanship are outstanding though and are plenty worth the price with the big valves and dual springs. I'm satisfied, especially after saving the $$$.

Anyone have a idea of how much extra the chamber polish might be worth in terms of performance? It doesn't really matter for what I have in mind, I'm just curious. Thanks for the input.

Just a polish does nothing. You can have the chamber shaped a little to ward off hot spots, but it's good the way it is. The rough surface will build up some carbon, which will help retain heat in the combustion chamber.

I don't think much chamber work is done (if any) on any of the 5.7L LS1 heads. The 5.3L heads have unshrouded valves, and the rewelded LQ9(LS6 Style) have full chamber work also.

Thanks, folks, for the replies. As I said, I'm plenty satified with the product, great for the price. I guess I just expected to see polished chambers. My bad! :) If that's the worst thing I've done, then I'm off to a great start!

I recently received a set of these heads as well. It seems intake and exhaust valve stems are not aligned. It looks as intake spring installed height is consistantly less than exhaust and there will be clearly less lifter preload for intake valves. Is this intentional ?