** NEW ** Trick Flow LA cylinder heads introduced at SEMA

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I don't expect it to be a W2 head and really don't need it to be for my mainly street driven application. An OOTB W2 or with just some light work would provide the HP level I'm looking for at this point. The TF have a couple things going for them over the W2 even if the flow don't match up. Aluminum weight savings and potential to run a little higher compression on pump gas, standard rocker gear (hopefully), and standard intakes and header patterns. But, the W2 probably have more potential with a full porting job that would better support a stroker if I go that way down the line.
 
yellow rose said:
Do NOT buy a cylinder head based on flow numbers. That ain't the way to do it.

If you have the choice of W-2 or the Trick Flow the W-2 is the answer. I don't care about flow numbers the way the advertising guys like to care about them.

That Trick Flow head will never be a W-2 head.
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Just curious but I would love to hear your reasoning for this statement
 
gzig5 said:
I don't care if they are shipping right away this month, I just want to know how expensive they are going to be. Trying to decide whether to go with a set of W2 heads for my 340 and if these flow as well as that table shows my decision will be made, as long as the cost is reasonable and they don't require $1500 rocker sets.
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They will take standard rockers, intakes and headers.
I was given a price of 1100 each. This included quality mechanical roller cam springs, valves and hardware, valve job, all assembled.
If they indeed are in this price range and make good power out of the box( and i suspect they will), they will be a great deal, and should support enough power to get a race prepped small block in a typical A body in or mighty close to the 9’s
I intend to find out
 
yellow rose said:
Do NOT buy a cylinder head based on flow numbers. That ain't the way to do it.

If you have the choice of W-2 or the Trick Flow the W-2 is the answer. I don't care about flow numbers the way the advertising guys like to care about them.

That Trick Flow head will never be a W-2 head.
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W2 head is fine. But its also iron, crack prone, takes special rockers and headers and has its limitations.
 
The W2 is a very good head, after porting. The stock sets i've checked on my flowbench flow 260 cfm at .450 lift then fall on their face because of speed issues. So porting is needed to get them right, plus like it says above EXPENSIVE rockers, limited intake choices and intakes that need porting work, special headers or pain in the butt adapters, crack prone on some part numbers, (mine cracked by the bolt holes and leaked water) plus the FACT they are quite heavy.
 
On more compression with aluminum
you may be able to run more compression but you loose the heat into the aluminum
almost a wash power wise
If you do not run the more compression aluminum looses
unless you were having to retard the iron
If you can run more advance and it helps power then al wins
 
2200.00 looks pretty good to me. Looked into W2s total conversion with porting was going to be 5000.00 plus. Rocker arms are crazy high for these things.
 
aaronk785 said:
2200.00 looks pretty good to me. Looked into W2s total conversion with porting was going to be 5000.00 plus. Rocker arms are crazy high for these things.
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Yep. Guy has a W5 topend for sale on here and wants over 4 grand, and nobody makes headers any more.
These trick flows should be able to make 600 horse on the right build
 
yellow rose said:
That Trick Flow head will never be a W-2 head.
Click to expand...
That’s for sure but with the expense of building and porting a bare head vs the OOTB performance at a lower cost not including the rocker arm set up expense, I see the W2’s days numbered for street bound cars. Circle track and a few MP diehards will run the old iron W2 on the drag strip.

If the Head flows what they say it will, and make power within the W2 area..... dum da da dum

Every half wit will say and point out the things don’t matter much on the street.

Half wit says, “Iron heads are heavier”

But your running A/C!

Half wit replies, “I’m hot in summer..... and they weigh less.....”

And this is the case with the arrival of the Edelbrock head. Now with the bigger advertised eye catching numbers..!!!!!

In the half wits eyes, the winner is, the aluminum head. It’s the “buzz word!” Get used to it. Intelligent free thinking minds that are open minded and seek actual knowledge and proven results are in short supply and there numbers are diminishing!

What these trick flows hold in the future remain to be seen. And see we will.
 
B3422w5 said:
Yep. Guy has a W5 topend for sale on here and wants over 4 grand, and nobody makes headers any more.
These trick flows should be able to make 600 horse on the right build
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Freakin A or even a bit more.
 
Wyrmrider said:
but you loose the heat into the aluminum
almost a wash power wise. If you do not run the more compression aluminum looses
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This has been proven incorrect and a farse several times over already. Squeeze is squeeze. The aluminum is more detonation resist squeeze a squeeze.
 
gzig5 said:
I don't expect it to be a W2 head and really don't need it to be for my mainly street driven application. An OOTB W2 or with just some light work would provide the HP level I'm looking for at this point. The TF have a couple things going for them over the W2 even if the flow don't match up. Aluminum weight savings and potential to run a little higher compression on pump gas, standard rocker gear (hopefully), and standard intakes and header patterns. But, the W2 probably have more potential with a full porting job that would better support a stroker if I go that way down the line.
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You can run the same compression with iron or aluminum.
 
B3422w5 said:
W2 head is fine. But its also iron, crack prone, takes special rockers and headers and has its limitations.
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If you have the dual pattern exhaust you can use a non W-2 header on the W-2. The port March isn't perfect, but the exhaust port is so much better the header won't kill it.
 
aaronk785 said:
2200.00 looks pretty good to me. Looked into W2s total conversion with porting was going to be 5000.00 plus. Rocker arms are crazy high for these things.
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It won't take much porting if you get the valve job right. You have to buy rockers anyway, unless you already have them.

When you pencil it out, the actual cost isn't much more. There are used intakes for sale.

In the world of standard port height heads, the W-2 would never be obsolete. I've been hearing the cost thing since 1980 or so. The Chevy guys used to ***** (just like the Chrysler guys) about how much the valve gear was going to cost. But just a decade later, the Chevy guys were spending big $$$$$ to get rid of the worthless ball and stud rocker gear. Even on relatively soft cam lobes.

You can't make the power with a head that uses a stock rocker compared to one using an offset intake rocker.

Again, flow numbers shouldn't decide what you buy. The biggest issue getting the W-2 cleaned up port work wise is a quality valve job. And get the chamber blended off. Once you do that, flow the port forward and backward. Then turn the pressure up and do the same tests. Then turn the pressure down and do it again.

Won't take long to see the W-2 is far from obsolete.
 
yellow rose said:
It won't take much porting if you get the valve job right. You have to buy rockers anyway, unless you already have them.

When you pencil it out, the actual cost isn't much more. There are used intakes for sale.

In the world of standard port height heads, the W-2 would never be obsolete. I've been hearing the cost thing since 1980 or so. The Chevy guys used to ***** (just like the Chrysler guys) about how much the valve gear was going to cost. But just a decade later, the Chevy guys were spending big $$$$$ to get rid of the worthless ball and stud rocker gear. Even on relatively soft cam lobes.

You can't make the power with a head that uses a stock rocker compared to one using an offset intake rocker.

Again, flow numbers shouldn't decide what you buy. The biggest issue getting the W-2 cleaned up port work wise is a quality valve job. And get the chamber blended off. Once you do that, flow the port forward and backward. Then turn the pressure up and do the same tests. Then turn the pressure down and do it again.

Won't take long to see the W-2 is far from obsolete.
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All good points, and true.
That said, something like this new trick flow will lkely be able to support as much power as sensibly should be thrown at a decades old stock block. I am talking stroker, compression and roller cam like i plan on
In my case i dont want a 9 sec motor to put in my 3300 pound car. Been there done that. Dont want to fool with all the gear, licensing, and cage that entails.
I can go 10.20’s or 30’s( hopefully) with these new heads and likely wont feel much difference from the 9.80’s my old combo ran with an X block in the seat of the pants.
Few guys are building stuff that runs 9’s or quicker N/A. For the vast majority, my guess is this trickflow will be good enough to push a stock block and run 9’s capable ET’s in a lighter type drag cars.
Hard to say until we see these new offerings, but cant wait to try them
 
B3422w5 said:
All good points, and true.
That said, something like this new trick flow will lkely be able to support as much power as sensibly should be thrown at a decades old stock block. I am talking stroker, compression and roller cam like i plan on
In my case i dont want a 9 sec motor to put in my 3300 pound car. Been there done that. Dont want to fool with all the gear, licensing, and cage that entails.
I can go 10.20’s or 30’s( hopefully) with these new heads and likely wont feel much difference from the 9.80’s my old combo ran with an X block in the seat of the pants.
Few guys are building stuff that runs 9’s or quicker N/A. For the vast majority, my guess is this trickflow will be good enough to push a stock block and run 9’s capable ET’s in a lighter type drag cars.
Hard to say until we see these new offerings, but cant wait to try them
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That I understand. I didn't use the W-2's I have because I just don't need them. I don't want a roll bar, and quite frankly, I spent enough time sitting in tech lines, with a rule book trying to show block headed bracket race tech guys how rubber lines from the barrel valve to each nozzle doesn't constitute a "connection", explaining that if the tech guy wants to see the cert sticker on my bell housing he can pull if off because I'm not doing it, and of course, all the discussions required when the fuel tank is up front and the pump and shut off are all right there, but I don't have a low oil pressure shut off switch built into the fuel system.

So I get that part of it. At that point, they should have made the head with T/A offset rockers to clean up the outside port wall.

I've already posted I'm not a fan of 4 inch stroke anything using a head that doesn't have an offset rocker. I've done it, but when you see the numbers, it makes you sick knowing what was left on the table.
 
yellow rose said:
That I understand. I didn't use the W-2's I have because I just don't need them. I don't want a roll bar, and quite frankly, I spent enough time sitting in tech lines, with a rule book trying to show block headed bracket race tech guys how rubber lines from the barrel valve to each nozzle doesn't constitute a "connection", explaining that if the tech guy wants to see the cert sticker on my bell housing he can pull if off because I'm not doing it, and of course, all the discussions required when the fuel tank is up front and the pump and shut off are all right there, but I don't have a low oil pressure shut off switch built into the fuel system.

So I get that part of it. At that point, they should have made the head with T/A offset rockers to clean up the outside port wall.

I've already posted I'm not a fan of 4 inch stroke anything using a head that doesn't have an offset rocker. I've done it, but when you see the numbers, it makes you sick knowing what was left on the table.
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That really makes sense as I see non stroked engines that put down numbers rivaling stroked engines. Not as high but closer than you would expect.
 
Right now our 408 is consistently a good 2 tenth faster then the 370 small block it replaced using the same heads, intake, carb...ignition sytem....The motor is fairly new while the 370 small block did not achieve it fast times until it had 6 or 7 seasons on it....also the 408 is running with a 35 yr torque converter that will be replaced this winter as we are using a TA 3800 series that I bought back in 1983 from Herb McCandless for a whopping 250 bucks. That converter is an 8 inch converter that was design for Stocker back in the OLD days.....I am hoping to have a video camera in the car this weekend to see what the tach shows on the launch. But the weather will be around 100 degrees with the DA over 5000 ft. So time will tell....and Bakersfield in November should be exciting....
 
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70aarcuda said:
Right now our 408 is consistently a good 2 tenth faster then the 370 small block it replaced using the same heads....The motor is fairly new while the 370 small block did not achieve it fast times until it had 6 or 7 seasons on it....also the 408 is running with a 35 yr torque converter that will be replaced this winter as we are using a TA 3800 series that I bought back in 1983 from Herb McCandless for a whopping 250 bucks. That converter is an 8 inch converter that was design for Stocker back in the OLD days.....I am hoping to have a video camera in the car this weekend to see what the tach shows on the launch. But the weather will be around 100 degrees with the DA over 5000 ft. So time will tell....and Bakersfield in November should be exciting....
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Bakersfield in November is much better than Bakersfield in September.

Seems like last time I went to Bakersfield it was early August 1999 and the DA was up around 7000 IIRC. I was sweating like a fat man at a free BBQ and thinking at that time that this **** was fun. That day, not so much.
 
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B3 - do you know if they will be available with just the valves? I already purchased springs, retainers, keepers as I was going to get the Sidewinders from Todd at March. He's been trying to get the cores since Feb. and still doesn't know when they are coming in. So it looks like the TF's will be out first and I was planning on going with the TFs now (due to their advantages). But if they are twice the price, I still can get the Promaxx (same as sidewinder) from Jegs, with just the valves.
I'd really like to get my engine finished and in the car by the end of the year.
 
roadrunninMark said:
B3 - do you know if they will be available with just the valves? I already purchased springs, retainers, keepers as I was going to get the Sidewinders from Todd at March. He's been trying to get the cores since Feb. and still doesn't know when they are coming in. So it looks like the TF's will be out first and I was planning on going with the TFs now (due to their advantages). But if they are twice the price, I still can get the Promaxx (same as sidewinder) from Jegs, with just the valves.
I'd really like to get my engine finished and in the car by the end of the year.
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Dont know for sure. When i called them i was under the impression they would come fully outfitted with applicable hardware for the intended usage
 
The trickflow heads are sounding more like the november-december timeframe, they are supposedly making some small changes from the sample head that they are saying will make buyers even more happy
 
Mstall said:
The trickflow heads are sounding more like the november-december timeframe, they are supposedly making some small changes from the sample head that they are saying will make buyers even more happy
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Yep. I just talked to Howard at Trickflow and that is the same info i got. I asked if they will move more air with these improvements. He said, not so much that, just improvements in the head and he isnt allowed to talk about it
I again asked about intake manifolds, and Howard said expect a manifold to be available along with the release of the heads or very shortly there after. He said single plane. I hope so.
He took my name and hone number to give me a heads up on release date
 
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