WEDGE WORLD NEWS
From Hughes Engines
Dedicated to bringing news
And truth to wonderful
World of Mopar wedge engines
Issue #9 Aluminum Heads
The words “Aluminum Heads” make strong men faint. They are so magical that they can turn any engine into a top fuel challenger. Common street stock engines would be pro-stock material if they only bolted on a set of magical aluminum heads. It’s gotta be true, I read it in a chat room… or was it written on a public toilet wall??
Aluminum heads are lightweight, about half the weight of iron heads. They are designed for performance with smaller combustion chambers; 58cc for Magnum heads and 63cc for LA style heads, 75 to 84cc for Big Blocks. They have bigger valves, and they flow more air. The answer to a young (and old) man’s dreams. But like we say in Wedge World Tech #4, there are tradeoffs.
First of all, they will cost more, they will need aftermarket rocker arms, custom pushrods, and maybe different head bolts or studs. But the Big Deal is aluminum heads dissipate (that means “takes away” to the chatters) heat out of the combustion chambers faster than iron heads. The engine reacts like you lowered the compression ratio. This means when you use aluminum heads you must run a higher compression or give away considerable power, usually about 1 ½ to 2 points or more. That is why you see some of them offered with small combustion chambers.
However, once you put all the right parts together with the aluminum heads, they definitely can make more power.
