Cylinder head help for supercharged 5.0

[90Fox]

So yesterday the car started running like shit and over heating. After some playing around found one of the heads to be cracked. Now we're looking to put a decent set of heads on it but not spend a fortune due to being on a budget with this car. It's a 302 5.0 with GT40 intake and Vortech Super Charger and some other goodies. I'm not sure which way to go with this or what other guys are running so I'm just looking for some advice and suggestions. I've been looking at the Ford Racing GT-40X ALUMINUM CYLINDER HEADS there 64cc intake and 62cc exhaust. If anyone runs these please let me know what you think of them. Like I said any and all help and suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Matt

[scott5]

Did you look into the 170cc trickflow fast as cast heads? They are 1200 bucks brand new at summit.. there is actually a set for 1050 shipped on corral that are still brand new in box

[90Fox]

Whats this corral you speak of ??? I'm unfamiliar with it. The only heads I've looked at so far have been GT40's. I'm uneducated on domestic heads to say the least so I'm looking for help choosing a set as well as an education. I'm not sure of the advantages between aluminium VS. cast besides the obvious weight difference.

[90Fox]

Goin to Summit Racing at 3 to do some shopping!!!

[Killercanary]

Since you are supercharged you want to make sure that you get a cylinder head with good valve springs. How many lbs of boost are you running? I'm an AFR fan and their new valve train components are top notch on all their new heads and unless you are running crazy amounts of boost you should not need to upgrade them. I can't speak for the TFS stuff but this is something you'd definitely want to look into before buying a set. Without enough spring pressure you may experience valve float.

[Freakingstang]

if I were buying a set..I'd buy the TW's....much better. The gt-40 alum heads were good as a budget, entry level head 20 years ago. much better choices out there unless you plan on porting them....


And unless AFR has changed....4-5 years ago, they had very bad valvetrain hardware...weak springs, keepers, soft guides and cheap valves..... I"m not saying TF hasn't had their growing pains over the years either.....

[Killercanary]

AFR's valvetrain is top notch now. They utilize LSX style components: valve springs that are 1.29" diameter, viton seals, 135lbs pressure on the seat, 8mm valves, good to .600 lift,etc. I converted my old AFR 165's to the new spring/retainer/seal setup utilizing the old heavier style valves and I still dropped 120 grams out of the valvetrain. If I could have run the 8mm valves I'd have saved even more. More pressure and lighter components make valve float a distant memory. I went with the stouter yet 1.27" OD spring upgrade on my AFR185 comps since boost and high heat are in their future. I also wanted the option to spin some crazy RPM if I wanted thus I had the shortblock internally balanced and I'm using shaft rockers and titanium retainers. I can't remember the seat pressure off the top of my head but I think it was 155lbs at the current installed height.

[90Fox]

Well ended up spending way more money than I originally planned but ohh well. Went with the TF TW's and grabbed a set of TF roller rockers, pushrods and lifters as well. ARP all the way around for the top end as well as some Fel-Pro performance gaskets. As always I went there with a list and ended up buying way more then I originally intended. Picked up sub-frame connectors, drive shaft loop, oil cooler, high volume water pump and a shit load more. Ended up spending over 3 grand... So much for the budget lol