Champion Aluminum R Heads & Long Term Street Reliability

[~JM~]

Anyone here running a set of aluminum Champion heads on their street car? How many miles have you accumulated & have you had any problems?

Anyone else have any problems with these heads?

Thank you
~JM~

 

[bison]

Anyone here running a set of aluminum Champion heads on their street car? How many miles have you accumulated & have you had any problems?

Anyone else have any problems with these heads?

Thank you
~JM~

I've got a set that was run hard at about 1000hp and had a lot of street miles on them. The prior owner melted #1. up until then they had no problems. I see little point running those on a small bore engine. You could order the taller valves they use in a smaller diameter and run the std gn1 head.If you're making 1100+hp and running looser ex guides with a fast ramp solid you are going to be doing more maintenance to any head and have to have everything valvetrain related perfect or you're in for a lot of down time. You stay small on the cam and make less than 1000hp you can expect to get a lot more time out of them. You want to run a number the wallet better be ready for it.

 

[~JM~]

....I see little point running those on a small bore engine. You could order the taller valves they use in a smaller diameter and run the std gn1 head....

Could you explain this more?

I have no thoughts of 1K HP. Not even 750.

Thanks
~JM~

 

[Pronto]

Why then are you asking about the reliability of the Gn1-r heads? They are clearly not needed for your goals.

 

[~JM~]

Why then are you asking about the reliability of the Gn1-r heads? They are clearly not needed for your goals.

Quriosity...

~JM~

 

[slimtastic]

i wouldnt waste the time putting them on as the valves will be completely shrouded up from the smaller 3.8 bore(if you go that route) removing most gains from the bigger valves/better port flow ect

regular GN1's are about as big as id go for a stock bore...even then i guessing that i have valve shrouding issues

 

[~JM~]

What size bore diameter were these heads designed for?

~JM~

 

[slimtastic]

4.00 to start... what size valves are in it? like a 2.02 intake and a 1.60? add those together and you got 3.62 in addition to the .060+- in between both valves which is 3.68 inches across......... so if you went with a 3.8 bore youd have .12" clearance for JUST THE VALVES in the bore......kinda close and major shrouding issues. past that the combustion chamber will hang over the deck surface of the block, which isnt very cool either

 

[~JM~]

Valves measure 1.97" Int & 1.60" Exh.

Are you running GN1 heads on your car? If so, how many miles have you put on them & have you had any problems ? Any problems with any leaks, etc?

~JM~

 

[slimtastic]

mine are 1.90 valves and i havent had any problems with the heads.....just everything else lol

about 3500 miles of driving at this point and a good 300 miles that were solid WOT. im looking to weed out any weakness in my combo though lol

my heads were produced in 1999 and i had the guides replaced and a 3 angle valve job done before installation

 

[gnbeginer]

ok - so let me understand this correctly. champion gn1 r heads on a 109 with a .030 over bore would be a bad thing? The car is for the street and a a not very often on the strip. What would be some of the main drawbacks?
I know the valves will be a little shrouded. I am about the have block machined for the gn1 r to go on. Any tips tricks or just dont do it would be great.

Thanks

P.S. - any questions on my combo - pm me and I'll get it to ya.

 

[bison]

Both of my cars have gn1 ported heads on them. I've never had a champion head crack. I've melted them a few times. I repaired them and continue to get good service out of them to this day. My stage 2 has the r heads with the larger/taller valves. Under 1000hp I don't see them ever being a problem unless they are detonated or leaned out.

 

[slimtastic]

ok - so let me understand this correctly. champion gn1 r heads on a 109 with a .030 over bore would be a bad thing? The car is for the street and a a not very often on the strip. What would be some of the main drawbacks?
I know the valves will be a little shrouded. I am about the have block machined for the gn1 r to go on. Any tips tricks or just dont do it would be great.

Thanks

P.S. - any questions on my combo - pm me and I'll get it to ya.

i guess if you want to you could have them grind out some of the upper bore of the block to match the gn-1 R heads combustion chamber. but i still think its simply overkill in all aspects untill you get a bigger "hole"

 

[gnbeginer]

thats one of the things that the machine shop is going to be doing and drilling and tapping 6 more holes on each side(from 8 to 14 each side), steel caps and a girdle. But I plan on overkill so maybe this motor will last longer.

 

[bison]

thats one of the things that the machine shop is going to be doing and drilling and tapping 6 more holes on each side(from 8 to 14 each side), steel caps and a girdle. But I plan on overkill so maybe this motor will last longer.

If your going to pay a machine shop to do all that work then you should look for a better block. You will have the same amount into it and it will be stronger

 

[slimtastic]

If your going to pay a machine shop to do all that work then you should look for a better block. You will have the same amount into it and it will be stronger

quoted for truth

 

[gnbeginer]

been lookin for a 4.1 for 3 months - cant find a 291 in my area. So I am going with the 3.8. And I technically not paying for machine work. I work for the man who owns the machine shop and we are workin it out in trade. I work on his drag truck and other assorted cars and hes gonna do the machine work.

 

[slimtastic]

ehhhhh a 291 isnt quite what was ment in the better block/bigger bore comment i(or bison) made....search for a stage 2 4.1 on this website to get an idea


if you do ever run the production 4.1 have that machine shop magnaflux the PI$$ out of the block bores....and the deck to look for any cracks, then sonic check it for thickness

 

[bison]

I'm talking a stage 1 or 2 4.1. Not a production block here. I would not spend all that time adding fasteners to a pos block that will be moving all over the place. Not worth it.

 

[gnbeginer]

hmmmmmmmmmmmm - maybe forget the aluminum heads and go with my 8445's. They have had the crap worked out them and are ready to go on. And it'll save me 1500.00 from buyin the gn1's