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Big Heads on a 346...??

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Old Mar 29, 2007 | 04:04 PM
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Default Big Heads on a 346...??

On a 346, If I changed my heads from 205 to 225 (or bigger), what differences in performance should I expect?

What compression ratio should be run for best results?
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Old Mar 29, 2007 | 05:26 PM
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Originally Posted by throwit
On a 346, If I changed my heads from 205 to 225 (or bigger), what differences in performance should I expect?

What compression ratio should be run for best results?
You can see significant gains with larger heads, Im used to seeing power levels of well over 50 HP with head and cam. Im not too sure on a number for you with just heads, but im sure it will be over 65 HP.

I would stay under 12:5.1 for compression. Otherwise race gas could be involved.
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 08:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Blown 346
You can see significant gains with larger heads, Im used to seeing power levels of well over 50 HP with head and cam. Im not too sure on a number for you with just heads, but im sure it will be over 65 HP.

I would stay under 12:5.1 for compression. Otherwise race gas could be involved.
I already have everything(cam, heads, fast, intake, headers, etc) and the car is making 480/440...but I was wondering if changing my 205 to 225 would help or hurt? and why?

thx
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 09:11 AM
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Originally Posted by throwit
I already have everything(cam, heads, fast, intake, headers, etc) and the car is making 480/440...but I was wondering if changing my 205 to 225 would help or hurt? and why?

thx
Moving up to larger heads would make more power as there will be air, and even a higher red line.
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 02:26 PM
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trickflow 215s all the head you ever need for a 346.
yes you will see NICE gains.
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 03:53 PM
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The few that I know who have made the same change, indicated a low rpm performance loss, reduction in air volocity. Good luck!

Last edited by Ricco Fabreze; Mar 30, 2007 at 03:55 PM. Reason: Typo
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 04:16 PM
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I was running 240cc heads on a 346 with over 12.0:1 compression on nothing but pump gas. My 346 results are in the sig and speak for themselves. My results were in about 75-80 degree weather not 30s-40s like all the others. If I were to put the iron rear in so I could actually launch the car would probably go 10 teens in the cold air @ 135.
Phil

Last edited by Phil97SVT; Mar 30, 2007 at 04:19 PM.
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Old Mar 30, 2007 | 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Phil97SVT
I was running 240cc heads on a 346 with over 12.0:1 compression on nothing but pump gas. My 346 results are in the sig and speak for themselves. My results were in about 75-80 degree weather not 30s-40s like all the others. If I were to put the iron rear in so I could actually launch the car would probably go 10 teens in the cold air @ 135.
Phil
I cant see your sig for some reason, so I dont know what your numbers are/were. In any case, it seems as though they are good ones.

Why is there such a mixed opinion on this issue? Do you gain power or not? If so, how much?

I road race, so I dont mind sacrificing some low end hp for more at the top end.
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Old Mar 31, 2007 | 12:27 PM
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You will be sacraficing some low end TQ for some top end HP with bigger heads because you lose air flow velocity. That's just physics. How much, I can't say. Higher compression may help recover some loss in throttle resonse. You will also need some high rpm to get the benifits from the bigger heads. So make sure your cam matches your rpm requirments. Also, bigger cam will need more compression so your dynamic compression doesn't drop too low. It's all about matching the right parts. If you are making 480/440, then it looks like you already have a good set of matching parts. I'm not sure if you will gain much more without higher revs.
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