chameleongreen97ta

iTrader: (4)

I need a motor and this guy has a 96 impala ss and he said he would sell me the motor. I know an LT1 block is an LT1 block. But my question is should i stick with the iron heads or go back to some aluminum ones. I am going to port the heads a little and freshen them up with all new springs and stuff. So which one is better iron or aluminum.

moehorsepower

iTrader: (3)

The Iron LT1 heads actually flow a little better than the aluminum ones, at least that is what I read on a GM article. As far as power? I have only seen one F-body with the Iron heads but no Dyno Numbers, other than a weight savings I guess it would be a preference..

LiENUS

Once you port the aluminum heads they flow just as well as the iron ones. Aluminum ones are also less prone to detonation so you can run higher compression.

moehorsepower

iTrader: (3)

This is true to some point, If you have a cam with lot of overlap you can safely run higher compression, Again there is a big debate on iron vs alum heads, There was an article on Iron heads vs Aluminum. The shop did some dyno pulls on several different engine combos with alum heads then installed iron heads of the same equivalent. Power gains were very minimal so go figure..Some even claim more power with iron heads due to retaining heat in the combustion chamber. Of course heat is a factor of detonation to some degree. I guess the answer is if you already have Iron heads and are on a budget keep them, but if you are ready to move up, then purchase some aluminum ones..