Mr. Gizmo

Anyone on the forum using these or have opinions on their durability and performance compared to stock? Thinking about a set of these possibly ported with all other aspects of the engine remaining stock - cam, tune etc etc.

http://www.usedvictoria.com/ReportSe...osition=7&hb=5

LS9Drew

Porting of the heads is really gonna require a tune. If you want to keep the stock tune for whatever reason have your stock heads worked over with no porting/unmilled

Pb82 Ronin

Brodix is a proven performer in the aftermarket head realm. I would look into their website and try and find another guy running them. Most folks here like the WCCH heads. Personally, I want to run the Brodix for durability and deck thickness. I just haven't gotten around to bolting a set up yet. You may very well be one of the first few to run them. I know I would benefit from reading your results.

Just FYI though...his price is good, but you can get the 273 heads (the better flowing ones) or these ones brand new from summit for 300 bucks more. Factor in shipping and that price is closer to $100 less for the used ones. Figure out if that hundo is worth the risk of buying used.

LT5 John

I got my Brodix heads directly from Richard @ WCCH...He uses the Brodix castings only...Does his majic porting, competition valve job, and messages the heads. My heads have SS exhaust valves and Ti/mo intakes...WCCH are a work of art...

Pb82 Ronin

The 273 head already flows 415 cfm...hell i don't think they can go any bigger. The BR7 though is the baby Brodix head and they can be worked for some good flow. Let me re-phrase...all of them are the same casting, just the BR7 is not ported. All of Brodix's other heads are already CNC'd. A cheaper way to go about this OP is to buy a bare set and then get your own valve train. Could be the cheaper alternative to a true ready to run out of the box setup.

You can buy bare BR7's for $1014 from summit. Factor in 1500ish for porting/parts and you can see that it's cost effective in comparison to 4500-5K to buy direct from a vendor.

LT5 John

Pricing will depend on other factors, such as what valves you going with?, or if you want to use C.H.E. rockers C.H.E. recommends to use there bronze guides...

Mr. Gizmo

What was total cost up to the point where the heads were completed and ready to install on the Block?

Griffee

Not as huge a savings as you make it sound if you have Richard do them. Maybe by having a local guy do it you could get it done for the 2500ish. Either way I agree castings and going from there is the way to go if you don't mind the little bit of hassle.

Pb82 Ronin

Or you could buy the already ported castings for 2 grand and put what ever parts in it you want. Use your stock valves and then purchase whatever springs/retainers/guides/seals/seats you want to use...put the stuff together yourself and that same 5K set of heads that user X bought, you just made for less than 3K. This is the route I'll be going when the time comes. Re-using your stock valves (which are already good valves) makes that figure surprisingly low.

Keep in mind, some of these shops make it sound like they're hand porting every head. They're not in most cases. To ruin a perfectly good (and almost identical from port to port) CNC job just to say you "ported" them further is ruining a perfectly good head. Most shops know this. Most customers do not. So the end user is paying big bucks "for a superior" product when in fact you're paying just to have them assembled and MAYBE flow tested. I also seriously doubt that they're flow testing "your particular" heads. Often they print out a flow sheet from a set identical to yours from months maybe years ago and throw them in the box for your viewing pleasure. Once again giving the customer that warm and fuzzy feeling that they can justify spending thousands more than the other guy for the same part. I for one am the type that will forever laugh in the face of the "corvette tax".

Personally I think Texas Speed has one of the better deals going in which case you can take your supplied heads, they re-CNC them in house and use your valve train stuff. Or you can upgrade various parts. They'll include/install new guides if yours are shot for $150 bucks. So total you can have ported stockers with fresh parts for under $1500. That's a decent price. That's also what makes the Brodix setup appealing. For another 500 you can have a new casting that's CNC'd and flows better and will accept your factory valve train. Just assemble and bam, 415 cfm heads for less than $2500.

Unreal

Just remember to get TI intake valves if you want to keep the rev limit up there. A lot of people are looking at brodix or PRC heads but aren't figuring in the Ti valves which add a lot to the cost.

JoesC5

I've been eyeballing the PRC heads from Texas Speed and they show a price of $3,000 for new heads, new Ti intakes and SS exhaust and new springs/retainers/locks. I think the rocker arm upgrade is around another $500.

Then see if I can sell my old heads for a grand or so.

Pb82 Ronin

Stock intake valves are titanium. Why re-buy them?

Z.06

Good point Smokin04, but my bet is that you will not get a grand for your old heads if they do not have oem Ti valves in them. You might not get $200 for them.

Pb82 Ronin

Who cares about re-sale? I would never buy aftermarket heads with the intent of making top dollar for my stockers. Hell probably wouldn't even sell them...but that's me.

Z.06

Just trying to make a point that justifying aftermarket heads on the basis of selling the OEM parts for $1000 or more only works if one is selling the most valuable parts( ie the Ti valves) at the same time.

Please show your math on getting the ported Brodix heads that you only have to transfer your hardware over to for $2500. Even with moving ones inlet valves over I still think you will require some SS exhaust valves and a good spring set. I expect this will cost closer to $3000.

Ben01C5

The point behind the PRC's with Ti valves would be you buy the heads and they are ready to go thus limiting your downtime. If you pull your stock heads, send them to Texas Speed or at least the valves, you increase your downtime as then they have to build the head with your stock valves and make sure all is good. For some not an issue for others it is.
Selling the stock heads complete for a grand offsets the costs. Whomever buys the stock heads most likely is buying them to have them shipped to WCCH or other vendor to limit their cars downtime.

Pb82 Ronin

I'll show the math later...in a way it feels like I'm doing other peoples home work for them. But, hey why not.

And Ben, I agree with you. Cars are going to be down for a while when you pull the heads anyways. A new (bare) casting really only requires guides to be installed (unless there are no seats in place). Any Napa or local engine shop can do that provided you have them ready to be installed. Removing the stock valve train from heads is equally quick...if you have the tools. Install the stock valves, lap them, check for leaks, and go. Shouldn't take a shop more than a couple hours to accomplish. Hell, I've done it in my garage in less than 3 hours on a set of LS1 heads. Time can be a bit more if you need to replace valve seats for whatever reason. Should never take longer than 4-6 hours at an equipped shop.

Pb82 Ronin

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bro-1178000

Here's a bare set of ported Brodix STS (CNC ported) heads. All of the LS7 hardware fits. So if you can assemble heads...you can have a bad-*** set of heads for $2250. If you're running a big cam, aftermarket springs can be had from 150-350 depending on where you buy from. Keep in mind the valves Chevy chose are already top quality. People for some reason like to hate the sodium filled exhaust valves. I don't understand that thinking. NASCAR (and numerous other racing bodies) use sodium filled exhaust valves because of their heat-mitigating properties. No reason to replace them unless they're damaged. This of course would change the cost involved because now your fixing damaged pieces.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bro-1170000

This is the non-ported Brodix BR7 (same as casting above...just non-CNC'd) at $1015. Flows almost identical to stock LS7 castings (actually a few CFM better) and you get the 3/4 deck and 6 bolt capability. All the LS7 hardware once again fits perfectly. Notice these are already gasket matched and have blend work done and bronze guides installed. So, say you have a particular head porter in mind. Get these for 1K and pay 6-800 for porting and 350 for springs and you're at 19-2200 total investment. And you still have your bare LS7 cores to sell. Probably pocket at least a couple hundred for those...if you want to sell them.

These are just two examples of how some researching and time/patience on your part can reward big power and awesome results. I've done my research and have a H/C/I package ready to be purchased. Because I install/assemble myself...I'll be into it for under 4K out the door. Actually, $4190 out the door after gaskets and misc. hardware. Should be a 600 HP combo. I think that's a great price considering some folks pay 4+k for just heads.

Cheers

JoesC5

I'm not physically able to do the R&R of the heads so, by buying new heads etc, I have them ready to be installed when I take the car to the shop. I'll probably have a shop in DFW do the R&R so I'll be able to schedule the date for the installation, drive to DFW(6 hours), give them the car that afternoon and have the work completed by closing time, the next afternoon, or sometime the next morning. Three days with two nights lodging, and I'm back home with new heads installed. Might even have a Katech 110 installed at the same time since they have the car torn down.

It's way too much trouble to drive 420 miles to DFW, then take a cab to the airport, fly home, wait 2-3 weeks or the shop to remove my old heads and have them sent out for rebuild, the fly back to DFW, grab cab to the shop and then drive 420 miles back home. I could spend a $1000 for airline tickets and cab fare with that route, to get my heads done.

Pb82 Ronin

Not to be crude, but if the "shop" you're taking your car to has to send the heads off to be finished or assembled, you should NEVER bring your car there to begin with. That my friend is NOT a performance shop...