AUGUST 2020 | ENGINEBUILDERmag.com 15
range, and usage. “If a customer is in between
runner volumes, we can drill down to vehicle
weight, nal drive, transmission type, N/A
versus power adder, and so on.”
Marlan Davis of Hot Rod magazine recently
wrote it all begins with the cylinder heads. To
summarize the article, he says the potential
power of a normally aspirated engine can be
directly attributed to its cylinder-head intake-
port ow numbers. As Comp Cams’ Billy
Godbold explained to Davis, “ e greater the
cylinder head’s intake-port ow, the less cam you
need to make the same power at the same rpm.
With similar-duration cams, higher- owing
heads will raise the rpm points where peak
torque and power will occur.”
If you took the best Vortec head from
a Gen 1 SBC, it owed much less than the
worst LS engine because of the port design
inherent in those engines. While the LS is not
a perfect platform, it has much greater ow
potential thanks to larger, more direct ports.
And aftermarket heads can improve on the stock
design by quite a bit.
Torrecarian says aside from the technical
aspects, one of the signi cant factors
determining head selection is the customer’s
budget. He says that is why they introducedtheir Enforcer series of “As-Cast” cylinder heads
earlier this year.
According to Torrecarian, their new cylinder
heads are not only budget-friendly but come
fully assembled with the same high-quality
components found in their higher-end CNC
ported cylinder heads, such as ARP rocker studs,
PAC Racing springs, Viton valve seals, hardened
spring cups, ductile iron seats, AFR adjustable
guide plates, and stainless steel valves.
AFR’s Enforcer LS heads are listed as LS
heads because they use cathedral-ports with
a 3.900 ̋ minimum bore size to t the intake
and exhaust valves. e LS heads feature 210cc
intake runner that ows 262cfm, while the 82cc
exhaust runner ows 207cfm. Torrecarian says
they ow even better than the OEM 243/
GM heads.
e company’s Enforcer line is made from a
permanent mold casting that comes with as-cast
surfaces on the intake runners, exhaust runners
and combustion chambers. According to AFR,
these heads are intended for those who want to
upgrade to aluminum heads with modern port
designs for their muscle car or street rod.
While LS and LT engines have been on re
lately among engine builders and enthusiasts,
they still can’t match the overall volume ofWhen it comes down to choosing
or comparing cylinder heads,
the best way is to bolt them on
and make some dyno pulls. Peak
power may not always be the
best choice if the rpm range is
narrow. You may want a broader
range of power and torque.
14-18 eb.aug20 Cylinder Heads.indd 15 8/7/20 9:44 AM
Naresh Jariwala