Prufrock17

What type of gains can be expected (or you've experienced) from porting and polishing the heads and match porting the intake? I have a set of Edlebrock Aluminum RPM Performer heads, 64cc, and an Edlebrock RPM Air Gap.

norvalwilhelm

You can ruin a set of heads by just grinding at random. Unless you know what you are doing leave it to an expert with a flow bench. You can certainly gasket match the intakes and exhaust but actually changing the shape of the ports should be left to a professional.

Prufrock17

I agree, I was actually going to take it to a reputable machine shop here and have them do it. I was just curious as to what type of gains I could expect from having this done, or what gains some members may have already picked up. Also, generally how much does such a service run?

zwede

Every engine is different. I ported the heads on my 96Z28 myself. The port job picked up about 35 hp.

BTW, intake matching is usually a waste of time unless the mismatch is severe. It is beneficial to have the intake slightly smaller than the head to minimize reversion (intake charge pushed back into the intake manifold).

Captain Morgan

I too would like to know these answers for when I decide to buy heads. I do know one thing. If the heads are already assembled, it will cost a little bit more if you have the shop do the disassembly. Don't know if you have the tools or knowledge for that so I'm just letting you know.

I plan on buying a new intake and bare heads, gasket matching them, and then having the heads ported and polished if necessary. Since I haven't decided on heads yet, I don't know if what I buy will need work but I wouldn't mind hearing the answers to know if it will be worth it for me.

bence13_33

I agree with Norval. If you are going to do anything, just gasket match the heads and intake. Changing the shape of the ports should be left to the professionals, if porting is done incorrectly it can actually decrease performance.

Aaron-74

Your probably not going to see much more power from porting them. Yeah, you may have SUPER HIGH FLOW. But no velocity. The Edelbrocks come with good port bias, and reletivly smooth ports and they seem large enough for most applications. If anything, have a shop make the exhaust ports like a mirror. The smoother the finish. The better. Have them "blend" the bowls, and tell them to maximize port bias. Then have them polish the ever living hell out of the combustion chamber. That reduces the risk of hot spots and pre-detonation, and you'll be able to run more compression or more advanced. Hope this helps.