4 valve heads

[GPFish]

A thread has just popped up on clubgp about making 4 valve heads. People are trying to get a group buy for a company to make them. Id say this is a very big step for the 3800 community. Check out this thread for more details.

http://www.clubgp.com/newforum/tm.as...mode=1&smode=1

[38fury]

That would be damn near impossible, There isn't really any huge advantages of for four valve heads, plus the only 4valve v-style chevy(that i've ever heard of), is the LT5 and that is a dohc co-developed with lotus. If you could enlighten me with a link to a website that makes 4valve heads for a pushrod engine. Anyway wouldn't be worth it for the gains they think they MIGHT get. Think about the new Z06 500 hp n/a pushrod, 30 mpg highway. GM engineers took SEVERAL months to figure out the geometry on the prototype 3 valve head, plus how many people think it's wise to put 5k dollar heads into their 4-10k car?

[GPFish]

If you went to the thread they posted a site that does heads for pushrod engines. Here is a link.

http://www.araoengineering.com/Chevy/chevysmb.htm

It all depends. If more people were interested and more heads were made, the price may go down. Who knows. Maybe Some other company IE ZZP or Intense, or maybe a 3800 RWD company would help put toward this head fund.

I always thought new options in our small aftermarket were always welcome. Then again, opinions are always welcome too. I just wanted to spread the idea and maybe get some people interested.

[HAZ-Matt]

This is interesting and all, but supposedly the 3 valve GM heads, whenever they actually come to market, were rumored to be able to be somewhat backwards compatable.

Oh, and you won't see nearly the gains the GTP guys will unless you have FI or some sort of serious NA motor.

[ February 25, 2005, 01:32 PM: Message edited by: HAZ-Matt ]

[articacid]

that one guy on there is like youll be able to get into 11's! i think they'll help but not that much. esp on n/a cars.

[Drone51]

if those heads flowed 300+cfm you could run 11's on motor alone easy


wicked could run a mid 12 with his ported heads that might flow 240cfm

if the 4 valves could flow 300cfm that would own thats ported ls1 heads flow

[HAZ-Matt]

It doesn't work like that. You can bolt on some magical heads that flow eleventy billion cubic feet per minute, and that wouldn't give you 11's necessarily.

At 6000RPM, a 3.8L can flow ~400CFM if volumetric efficiency is 100%, which it isn't (for comparison a 5.7L flows ~610CFM using the same criteria). At any rate, that is total airflow. Even if you can suck in 400CFM, how much horsepower will that give you? Enough to run 11's when pushing a 3300 pound car? I'm thinking any NA 3.8L running 11's will be spinning higher than 6000RPM. Maybe these heads will allow you to do that, maybe not. Either way I don't see anybody that will be running 11's NA "easy."

[T-Punk]

i dont see an NA 3800 needing to flow anywhere near what these heads would do. Now for us FI guys this might be a good option but it depends on how low we can get the cost. I still think a good set of pnp heads will do the job just as well. If we are going custom heads why not go hemi :D ?

[South Tampa V6]

Too much $/Hp, get a V8.

If you want an R&D project, look to the hemi.

[T-Punk]

I think the hemi option would be more realisic and cost effective. You guys looking into the custom heads should talk to the machinist about that over a 4 valve system.