heads, cams VS stroker

[oman_cobra]

which way to go ??
option a : FRPP cylinder heads + Cams
or
option b : Eagle Competition Stroker

???

please help, and my mods currently are in my sig, any other suggestions ? suspension upgrades, brakes, clutch, ??
everybody's welcome

 

[stkjock]

Both?

 

[oman_cobra]

Both?

i wish but i cant afford it

 

[stkjock]

why not throw a blower on. the cost of doing a stroker kit seems to be near the cost of a blower. ( maybe a bit less) A non-IC kit could be had for under $4K - JDM quoted something north of there IIRC for a stroker kit install.

if not....

heads/cams will give you more of a power upgrade the the 18 cubes you'd pick up from a stroker IMO.

 

[TGJ]

What are your future plans for the car? Aren't you in Dubai or something as well?

If you plan on staying N/A, a Stroker is pointless to do. I would go with Livernois or SuttonHP 3V heads over the FRPP ones and Comp Stg 3 cams.

 

[oman_cobra]

What are your future plans for the car? Aren't you in Dubai or something as well?

If you plan on staying N/A, a Stroker is pointless to do. I would go with Livernois or SuttonHP 3V heads over the FRPP ones and Comp Stg 3 cams.

yeah im near dubai, Oman.
& im close to choose Livernoi's with comp cams..
the problem is i want to stick to the stock gear ratio, & dont want a rough idle. so stage 1 will do ?! or stick with stage 3 ?!

 

[oman_cobra]

why not throw a blower on. the cost of doing a stroker kit seems to be near the cost of a blower. ( maybe a bit less) A non-IC kit could be had for under $4K - JDM quoted something north of there IIRC for a stroker kit install.



if not....

heads/cams will give you more of a power upgrade the the 18 cubes you'd pick up from a stroker IMO.

getting blown is my dream. but there arent good people here to tune SCT where i am, i get my tunes online from VMP. so prolly stick with the heads+cams choice...

thanks for the advice man...
any how i want my car to be N/A

 

[Hawgman]

getting blown is my dream.

Yea.. well.. we all have that same dream.

but there arent good people here to tune SCT where i am, i get my tunes online from VMP. so prolly stick with the heads+cams choice...

thanks for the advice man...
any how i want my car to be N/A

If you are going to keep the car NA I would say do the heads and cams over doing the stroker.. unless you are getting an equal or higher compression stroker kit than what the stock motor is.

 

[MattP343]

Like I said on SVTP, Livernois Stage 2 Heads with Stage2/Stage3 Comp Cams is a great choice!

The only cams that really seem to have that ROUGH idle is BBR. There will be a noticable lope with Comp, however nothing extreme, even with the heads.

 

[jbailer]

I say the stroker. The trick is you need to decide if you will keep it NA or go FI. If keeping it NA go with a higher compression, plans for FI, go lower compression. Then you have a stout bottom end, you can do whatever. Get the cams and heads down the road, they'll be a nice addition and/or get a blower and not worry if you are on the edge of disaster constantly. To start with though, the stroker will give you more displacement and potential for everything else. -Joe

 

[kleistang]

In my opinion if i would do one of them only, i would do the heads. but it also depends on what kind of hp you consider is enogh for you and if you want to go n/a, turbo, supercharged or Nitrous. since the end internals will only handle so much power you will be limited with any time of force induction. also remember that to get full advantage of headwork and valvetrain u will need a type of F/I. or you will only be getting half or less that what you can get.

the Stroker kit in the other hand will give you more CID most of them from 298 to 300 CID in most cases your current CID is 281 this would make a bit of difference in power if you use the stock C/R but it would be even better if you use a Higher C/R (this will require you to use higher octane gas) good thing about doint the stroker is that you kill to birds with one shot, you get strong internals and you get more power. after this you will be able to use F/I with no problem, since there is a lot of ppl just running forged internals with the stock valvetrain. So basicly it would be up to your future plans. both of this mods will take some money to do. stage 3 heads from livernois are close to 3k using your core. add $380 for arp head studs and you are at 3k already add around $660 for cams. labor cost (i have no idea what it would be) lets just say $1000 for swaping the heads. lets say total cost would be around $4600

Livernois stroker kit will be around $2400, add arp main studs. plus all gaskets arp head studs (i would do the right away since you would need to raplace the factory ones for new ones anyway) add cost for the labor (again i have no clue) lets just say you will spend around the same amount of money. and stoker kit will have more potential in the long run if u would go F/I. i hope it helps you. im doing both things at the same time, but im doing everything my self im at $5k spend right now and still need to spend another $1500 to finish.

 

[oman_cobra]

im really confused now.. seems both ways have pros & cons..
but bottome line i want more reliable, usable hp & tq for a NA engine
so is it head & cams or stroker ?

 

[Boss281]

For the money, if you're doing heads and cams, you're about 1/3-1/2 to a stroker anyhow, right? I'd do the built engine...

 

[94tbird]

I voted head/cams over the stroker, however forget the FRPP heads and get the livernois stage 3 heads. You will not be dissapointed. as for cams i went with the BBR Stage 2 cams. What a badass sound.

 

[TGJ]

If you are staying N/A, the stroker is by far the dumbest thing you could do. It is your money and your car, you are free to do as you like you.

Let's say you decide to do the stroker and keep the compression level stock. How much power are you gaining? I am willing to say, you will LOSE power. Upto 3500 RPM, the Stroker will make more power and TQ than the stock shortblock, around 4000 RPM the stock block will catch the stroker, after that, the stroker will make less power. I haven't yet seen an impressive N/A 2V, 3V or 4V stroker.

Awhile back, JDM did an article for MM&FF on a stroker install. On another board, I ripped apart that article and showed people that the car JDM did for the article was not that impressive. It opened quite a few eyes.

I know this, you add the cams and heads, you will see around a 35 - 50 RWHP gain and be reliable. The same compression ratio stroker won't add any power although might seem like it as it will boost the low end. A higher compression stroker will see gains due to the raised compression level.

 

[jbailer]

If you are looking for reliability, again I'd recommend the stroker. Plus much of the gains from heads and cams aren't realized until you are increasing the air flow. That is done by forced induction and yes the stroker engine.

Another thing to consider is emissions. Are you subjected to emissions testing where you live and need the car to pass? If so, be sure you look into that and what the heads and especially cams might do to that before proceeding.

Either way you'll get more power. In my opinion it is better to start at the bottom though. If you do the heads and cams now, then decide to do the stroker or built bottom-end later, you have to pull the heads back off and have them checked for straightness and possibly machined vs just an add-on later.

If you are sure you will never be going forced induction and are positive you will never do both the heads and cams AND the stroker and emissions won't be an issue, I agree with Ron, the cams sure make it sound nice and you will get an increase in power, plus it will cost less. -Joe

 

[Boss281]

If you are staying N/A, the stroker is by far the dumbest thing you could do. It is your money and your car, you are free to do as you like you.

Let's say you decide to do the stroker and keep the compression level stock. How much power are you gaining? I am willing to say, you will LOSE power. Upto 3500 RPM, the Stroker will make more power and TQ than the stock shortblock, around 4000 RPM the stock block will catch the stroker, after that, the stroker will make less power. I haven't yet seen an impressive N/A 2V, 3V or 4V stroker.

Awhile back, JDM did an article for MM&FF on a stroker install. On another board, I ripped apart that article and showed people that the car JDM did for the article was not that impressive. It opened quite a few eyes.

I know this, you add the cams and heads, you will see around a 35 - 50 RWHP gain and be reliable. The same compression ratio stroker won't add any power although might seem like it as it will boost the low end. A higher compression stroker will see gains due to the raised compression level.

Ok, I can buy that. But to me, if you're pulling the engine for heads and cams, it's not that much more effort to dissassemble the rest and put in some forged internals. Not stroking anything, just a built block. Can always put on f/i later and have bit more confidence.

I've been considering ported heads for a while, but I figure if I'm pulling the engine, what the hell...

John

 

[jbailer]

Ok, I can buy that. But to me, if you're pulling the engine for heads and cams, it's not that much more effort to dissassemble the rest and put in some forged internals. Not stroking anything, just a built block. Can always put on f/i later and have bit more confidence.

I've been considering ported heads for a while, but I figure if I'm pulling the engine, what the hell...

John

I agree but if you are going to put forged internals in, why not stroke it while you're at it? You already need to or at least should bore out the cylinders. Some just hone but to do it right they should be bored at least .020 over. Plus if you are replacing the rods and crank with forged parts, why not increase the stroke on them?

 

[Boss281]

I agree but if you are going to put forged internals in, why not stroke it while you're at it? You already need to or at least should bore out the cylinders. Some just hone but to do it right they should be bored at least .020 over. Plus if you are replacing the rods and crank with forged parts, why not increase the stroke on them?

I guess we all draw lines at different points. One could argue if it's getting pulled, why not throw in a 5.4l? As usual, the real constraint is likely the almighty $$ for most of us.

John

 

[94tbird]

why do you need to pull the engine to do heads cams? Cant it be done in the car?