Looking for opinions on aluminum heads

[Steve]

I am getting ready to put my new shortblock in my 87 GN and I dropped my Champion Irons off at Kimmis Racing Engines to have them freshened up and it turns out one of the them has a crack between the valve in the combustion chamber! I am thinking about biting the bullet and getting a set of aluminum heads so I wanted to get some opinions on the different versions. I want to get a 14 bolt head even though I have a 109 block because I plan to upgrade to a stage motor later. I am leaning towards the GN1's because from what I can tell the 14 bolt Champions have their own roller rocker set up that is cheaper than the shaft style roller rockers so I could save a couple hundred bucks which is always nice, but if the TA heads are a better choice I don't mind spending the extra. I know in the early days of the GN1's there were some cracking problems, has this issue been resolved in the current castings? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[BEATAV8]

the 14 bolt heads with the stud mount Scorpion rockers are a good way to go. talk to Tom at Champion about various little upgrades that are available too. The ARP rocker studs are a good upgrade for example.

I have a set on my car haven't had any issues with them at all. They're about 4 yrs old now.

 

[Paul69camaro]

Steve,

I went with the 14 bolt gn1 heads for the exact reason you mentioned. I only have a little over 2k miles on my motor but so far I've liked em. I'm careful not to let the engine temps get over 200 though since I'm still a bit paranoid about cracking the heads. I will say that with the scorpion rocker arms it has a slight sewing machine sound to the engine but its barely noticeable and I kinda like it. I think the power potential and weight savings are worth the money.

Paul

 

[jasjamz]

If your going to get them. Get them ported, and be sure the valve job and guides are inspected or done by a pro.

 

[Steve]

Thanks for replies.

I called a reputable vendor to see about ordering a set of GN1's and they said hey didn't recommend them for cars that see a lot of street miles. My car is a weekend car that doesn't see a lot of miles but I do not want to be concerned about the heads if I decide to drive it more. Of course aluminum heads are very common on all cars these days which makes me wonder about the Gn1's design. Am I over thinking this or is there an issue with GN1's on the street?

 

[turbonut85]

GN1s are fine on the street. I run them on my 4.1 with no issues. And as far as the temp getting over 200*....I had my fan relay burn up and the fans quit while I was out beating on the car...saw 252* on the scanmaster...no problems. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't wanna do that again, but the point is, they can handle more heat than 200*....

 

[whitehot1]

I've had my Champion GN1 aluminum heads since 2001 and they work great on the street. I had one overheating problem due to the cooling fan not coming on and the engine temp went to 221 degrees but i was able to drive the car back home,it was a cool night and very little traffic which helped.

 

[jasjamz]

I know of 3 cars that had GN-1 heads passing oil into the cylinders after a lot of street driving. Maybe the newer heads are better. I would gamble to the side of the TA heads if I wanted a new set.
edit....improper pushrod length and valve adjustments were ruled out.