I find it funny that there is a knee-jerk reaction to aluminum cylinder heads. People automatically assume that anything made of aluminum is better than anything made out of iron. As it turns out, there are some pretty good reasons why that ends up being true in most cases, but it’s not empirical by any stretch.
Aluminum as a cylinder head material is often better, because it’s a far more easy material to use. Small boutique companies can make specialized, low-volume products, with a wide variety of combustion chamber shapes, port volumes, and so forth. That doesn’t equal a superior product, it only enables a higher level of competition in the marketplace. As my uncle, a doctor, used to say, half of all doctors graduated at the bottom half of their class.
I am really jazzed about Engine Quest’s line of iron cylinder heads. EQ has them cast in Australia by a company that pays super attention to detail. They only cast iron cylinder heads, and it shows in their product. Unlike an aluminum component, casting an iron one is a far greater investment in tooling. Here, it pays to have superior techniques and materials, such as the smooth, fine “green” sand, native to Australia. EQ uses Flow-Cast technology to make every finished head flow as if it’s been ported. That’s because precision flow modeling and mold-making techniques have been employed. Finishing things off are phosphor bronze guides, and CNC valve-guide and seat work.
Because EQ needs to make a huge number of heads to make a profit, there is a need to hit the sweet spot in the market, namely, the rebuilder, and DIY performance engine builder. In most cases, that means street applications with stock displacement, and lots of bottom-end torque. It also means having a dirt-cheap price—in most cases around $250 per head, bare. Last year, you may remember we built a Vortec-based 350 with some unported EQ iron heads, and made 447 hp on 91 octane. Now that’s the kind of performance I’m talking about. EQ makes a targeted selection of small-block Chevy, Ford, and Mopar iron heads for the street that always amaze us with great power for the dollar. So if you’re looking for an inexpensive small-block head for your street car, and haven’t considered iron, I recommend you call Engine Quest at 800-426-8771.