Chinese made alloy heads

[teacherspet]

Just wondering if anyone out there has used the Chinese made alloy cylinder heads that are now popping up on Ebay. They seem very reasonably priced but I do know you get what you pay for.

[BAC]

Yep, I was wondering about that too.

A lot of the time with Chinese stuff it's pot luck - if you get something from a 'good' factory it's a huge bargain but without prior knowledge of exactly what you're getting you could be in for a world of pain...

At under a grand they are certainly cheeeep!

[shaunp]

The cheapest good castings are Edelbrock E street

[shelby_mustro]

What shaun said is true! ive tried pro comp before more like pro crap!!! think they lasted a few weeks. materials in the head they use are too soft. guides are shit too.

[peter9231]

Yep, I was wondering about that too.

A lot of the time with Chinese stuff it's pot luck - if you get something from a 'good' factory it's a huge bargain but without prior knowledge of exactly what you're getting you could be in for a world of pain...

At under a grand they are certainly cheeeep!

This is the secret...knowing the manufacturer over there.
We get some product from China but you need to where and who is manufacturing and visit them.
Otherwise it is "pot luck"

[flatchat]

Pay the right money for reputable products  and all  will be  good
Buying facsimile products for bragging rights or bling factor --- well, you 're  on your own and good luck with that

[BAC]

Pay the right money for reputable products  and all  will be  good

How many of the reputable name brands make their low end products themselves in their own factories in Western countries? 

A lot of stuff comes out of China to cut costs, sold both under name brands as well as generic...

[boofhead]

You need to be more specific with the band your are querying.
Also, you need to provide an idea how you intend to use the product.
Do not expect a cheep set of heads to last in a big performance build though they maybe fine in a near stock build.

[teacherspet]

You need to be more specific with the band your are querying.
Also, you need to provide an idea how you intend to use the product.
Do not expect a cheep set of heads to last in a big performance build though they maybe fine in a near stock build.

I am thinking about getting a set for my convertible when I get it back on the road. It has a very mild 289 & auto but just want to give it a little more power. The car will just be a cruiser for me & the good wife.
On Ebay there are the Edelbrock E Street heads for about $1500, then what I think are Chinese manufactured heads such as AFD ($1950/ pair), Aeroflow ($1400/ pair) & a few sets of un-named heads starting at $995/pair. I was told that the Edelbrock heads are also Chinese manufactured. Does anyone know if this is true? Apparently most of Summit's own branded components are Chinese manufactured & I would imagine that they would sell shit loads of stuff so maybe we are underestimating the quality of Chinese manufacturing.

[boofhead]

It can be Chinese made and still be reasonable quality - you just have to be more careful as the costs get lower. I also agree the E-Street heads are the best quality in the low cost sector and would suite your goals perfectly. The others around that price sector would also be fine for your purposes. The Procomp/Speedmaster heads (which I assume are the sub $1k) would be best avoided. They can be fine for near stock runner just they have the lowest quality parts. If you upgrade the parts then there is no point in buying a set in the first place.

In my experience most of Summit own brands are rebadge products that are sold. I have had no issue with the summit branded gear I have purchased - though I have generally worked out which manufacturer it is before getting the gear. For example, I have summit rear disk brake kit which I new was SSBC kit just less expensive. When it arrived it was the SSBC kit exactly - they did not make it as a summit brand kits. I guess it is a bulk purchase financial agreement hence the cost savings. Also, Summit owns Trickflow systems which produce very very nice heads. My preferred brand actually.

[shaunp]

Most alloy heads have 62cc chambers which make getting compression up in a 289 a bit hard, particularly if it doent have flat top pistons, AFR do 58cc but they wont be Chinese price

[boofhead]

SP is right - good compression on a 289 is hard to get to without modifying the heads.
The E-streets are 60cc chambers and so were some of the others.

If it was me I would purchase a set of 58cc TFS 170 twisted wedge heads (older casting) and deck it to at least 54cc (or possibly less) and run a true flat top piston with a zero decked block. You would then be close to 10.0:1 which would suite a very mild street cam. On summit the heads are around $1200 US complete. So I would guess 2K landed.

Do I like them, indeed, I am running a set on my mustang so are many friends of mine. There are better (such as the 11R TFS head) but not for the price range.

One last comment - once you start it is hard to stop so be prepared to spend more than your were initially thinking.

[teacherspet]

One last comment - once you start it is hard to stop so be prepared to spend more than your were initially thinking.
[/quote]

Yeah, that's what really worries me! First of all, heads, then roller rockers, then, oh wait, gotta get a set of hardened pushrods, might as well put in a new set of lifters while I am at it, & a better camshaft, as well put on a better timing chain .........cha ching cha ching cha ching. 

[StephenSLR]

We get some product from China but you need to where and who is manufacturing and visit them.
Otherwise it's "pot luck"

Exactly; minimise your 'pot luck' by doing research; you're taking the right step by asking here and getting feedback. Google the brand and model with the word 'reviews' and see what others are saying on other sites. As you know even US manufacturers have good and bad models.

Pete's right; you can get good stuff from China and India provided they tool up to the right tolerances and use the right materials. There are also many US, Euro & Aus. companies that have their factories in Asia; they usually have a QA guy doing checks and/or training the workers how to make the product to the right standard.

s

[GLENN 70]

Dont like a lot of things that come out of china but I like Chinese food . 

[teacherspet]

Dont like a lot of things that come out of china but I like Chinese food . 

Like this you mean?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DqvweTYTI0   

[thruster]

A mate of mine bought a Capri from Cairns and was told it ran low 10s he got it home and with a little tuning was running mid 10s on closer inspection he found that it was running pro comp heads and a no name set of pistons and rods as well as a cam that he has no idea about, I'm not saying to go out and buy pro comp or any other brand, I'm just saying this is what he found when he wanted to strip it down for a freshen up ? 

[StephenSLR]

he found that it was running pro comp heads

Do you know if the heads were straight off the shelf or had extensive work done to get them working properly?

s

[GEOFF289]

We'd need to know a lot more about this Capri before we could make any judgement - engine combo, weight, trans, suspension, tyres.

Plenty of Super Sedans and Super Gassers at the drags running way quicker than mid 10's with very low stress on the engine.

[GLENN 70]

The ford Capri is light even with a v8 ,then alloy intake,heads etc even better .  To run mid 10s it will still need HP ,  if its a full bodied street car . Depending what mph it does you are still looking at around 500hp .  A lot of cars run pro comp gear but I just don't like it . I have a mate with a tuff 351c in one and its runs high 10s street trim ,and another friend has just bought one with a 347 with pro comp intake and heads but the heads had to be fully rebuild with good parts .  He hasn't  put it down the strip yet .

[GEOFF289]

As I said, we'd need to know more about it to make a judgement.

To illustrate, a Capri (Jason Simpson) holds both ends of the ANDRA G/Gas Automatic record at 8.18/163.85. In this class alloy heads are not allowed, the cars must run iron heads (and blocks) with standard port configuration and valve angles. The only aftermarket heads allowed on a Ford are World Products 53030A and 530308. They are limited to a single 4 barrel on a non tunnel ram manifold. Jason does it with 356 cubes of Cleveland and at that capacity must weigh 2,314 pounds including driver.

A four cylinder Mk 1 Capri had a curb weight of 2053 pounds. Jason is quite a big lad (hope he's not reading this) but without him in it I reckon his car is a similar weight to a road registered Capri with a V8 in it, but is obviously optimized in terms of suspension, gearing and tyres for its intended purpose.

I would say that mid 10's in a V8 Capri with even dodgy Chinese heads are quite feasible.

(All the innumerable gaps in my Mustang knowledge are balanced by being a real drag racing nerd)


   

[Kiwi Chris]

I have a 351 Cleveland, that runs the Pro Comp 3 V heads that are on Ebay from time to time for about $1200, also included was a intake manifold and a set if roller rockers, The rockers weren't much good as the push rod wholes in the heads are not 100% aligned and the push rods didn't sit dead centre on the roller,. I took then back and they swapped over a set of what resembled the old style ford rockers, but with rollers on the end and elongated sides that contain the push rod and they fitted a treat, Long story short, the engine goes really hard, i have had it on the highway and up to 100MPH in a burst and it was still pulling and i buttoned off because it was all getting a little scary.  So for $1200 for the full head combo im real happy, just my 10 cents worth  Chris

[GLENN 70]

If it we're me , I just wouldn't go there .  If you want alloy heads to me the only reason is for high performance not just looks or bragging rights . AFR or trick flow and Dart  edelbrock etc for starters and well known brands for me .  I nearly bought a trick looking 67 GTA fastback a few years ago from AZ with a 408 stroker ,then the guy told me all the internals of the engine were all pro comp ,carby to sump I WALKED .

[HEVEN67]

 
If it suits you go ahead and buy cheap, don't bore us later and come back saying how bad an experience you've had, with everything in life you get what you pay for, seems to me so many folk cant understand why some things are cheap, not cause someone has taken a hit and sold something off at a loss, quite the contrary, someone is winning somewhere.
As I've said before I taking all my cheap stuff to the recyclers so as it can be sent to some far away land and recycled into some more cheap stuff for me to waste my money on!

luvhev

[Raven]

I avoid chinese products where ever I can. Their to expensive.