W2 or R/T heads?

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bcbmxllc

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Which head would you go after for 550 to 600 hp. I know the W2 is a bad *** head but needing special valve train and intake. How about EQ heads? I reach out to Indy about the Indy x heads and they said it would be years before being available. No I don’t want aluminum heads
 
W2 hands down. If you need rockers, offset shafts and stands I have a complete set of 1.6 ratio MP rockers. All brand new.

You can find them in the for sale forum.

Comparing ANY head with straight rockers to the W2 is silly.

If you want to make 600 hp the easy button is W2.
 
Are any of those still actually available new?

Or are we talking marketplace hunting?
 
Timely thread. I have a set of Big Valve R/T and a set of W2s that I'm trying to decide between. Street engine.
 
Locomotion said:
Indy/RHS had LA-X heads years ago which accepted LA intakes and valvetrains with closed chambers and Magnum valve sizes. MA-X was their Magnum version. Hughes may still have some.

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Is Indy planning on another cast iron LA head?
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It doesn’t sound like the Indy heads but they do have new casting of 587 I believe the number is right
 
usp4u said:
Timely thread. I have a set of Big Valve R/T and a set of W2s that I'm trying to decide between. Street engine.
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It’s good to have a choice to pick from the two. I’m trying to decide on what route I want to go with I found a set of both each used
 
bcbmxllc said:
It doesn’t sound like the Indy heads but they do have new casting of 587 I believe the number is right
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The 3671587 heads are OEM castings that came out around 1973-1974 after the 915 J heads. Early LA-X heads had Indy/RHS (Racing Head Service) cast into them. RHS was likely dropped from later castings.

The "New 2.02" LA heads" that Indy advertises are Mopar Performance 4772576 over-the-counter castings that are very similar to OEM 308 castings but don't have the EGR hole just under the exhaust port. They were cast as 1.88" intake heads but over the years Mopar Performance sold a variety of as-cast, ported, unported, 1.88 and 2.02 assemblies as well as an offset intake pushrod T/A replacement. I guess Indy found a stash of 576 heads somewhere, the last cast iron, standard port LA heads Mopar offered.
 
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Brian at IMM is building me a 414 with W2 heads. It's finished and going on the dyno this week. We are hoping to hit or be close to the 600 hp mark.

1742296027502.jpeg
 
SSG_Karg said:
What intake is that?
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From this angle it looks like a water heated Holley 300-21 W-2 Street Dominator but has a few minor differences.....unless somebody recast their own similar version. It actually looks like a cross between Holley's Street and Strip Dominators! Water passage down the middle like a Street Dom. but open sides like a Strip Dom.! Mopar Performance version?
 
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bcbmxllc said:
Which head would you go after for 550 to 600 hp. I know the W2 is a bad *** head but needing special valve train and intake. How about EQ heads? I reach out to Indy about the Indy x heads and they said it would be years before being available. No I don’t want aluminum heads
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A bit of the HP goal is cubic inch related. Small cubes will require more rpm’s and thus a bigger cam. Moving on….

Both R/T and W2 will do better and reach the goal easier with porting. I have both series of heads w/2.02’s.

The Magnum head is limited as cast to Magnum intakes in which (IIRC) only Indy has a single plane intake for the Magnum head unless you find a MoPar M1 which will be pricey. Save redrilli g the. Magnum head for LA intakes.

The W2 has better ports for this goal and even more so for the higher hp levels stated. Do NOT cry over “It requires expensive valve trains and a W2 only intake. Power costs money and at times, you simply can not get THERE from HERE exists. Every one suffers from this so don’t *****. If you do ***** over this, then ether this game is not for you or you need a big block. Now it’ll cost you money again changing everything over to a big block.

The R/T head is a capable head & better than the OEM cast iron heads but is still lesser than a W2.
 
I’m having some issues posting this afternoon.

The W2 after fully porting the head went 323 cfm with a much fatter curve. Totally worth the expense.
 
Did someone say W2 magnum? How was I not paged?

I have both sets of heads. The W2 is a race head plain and simple. The R/T is an updated street replacement type head. They are (as always in my opinion) in different categories and used in different situations. I don’t think the R/T gets to 550-600 naturally aspirated without serious work and a LOT of camshaft. The W2 gets there fairly easily, at the cost of more expensive, harder to find valve train gear. Pick your poison really. Make sure you research how to oil the W2 on a magnum if that’s the route you take.
 
Locomotion said:
From this angle it looks like a water heated Holley 300-21 W-2 Street Dominator but has a few minor differences.....unless somebody recast their own similar version. It actually looks like a cross between Holley's Street and Strip Dominators! Water passage down the middle like a Street Dom. but open sides like a Strip Dom.! Mopar Performance version?
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Now that I look closer, it appears to have a P number cast into it in front of the water neck. Some version of the M1 W2 I assume.
 
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