W2/W5 heads worth the price for performance?

[Racerjr]

Thinking of investing in a set of new heads for my 360 anyone have any recommendations or experience with W2 or W5 heads or any other performance small block mopar heads? I'm running "J" heads I ported myself right now.




'71 Duster no electronics bracket racer 360,904,83/4
11.22@117.80 best so far....

[blackcuda]

I'll go out on a limb here, I have not used the w2 or w5. I think that they had some problems with them early-on like they leaked water or something. Research this if you are planning on buying used heads. I think that if I were to build another small block I would use the Edelbrock head. I have seen a lot of good press on this head and I think it is more bang for the buck. The w2 design was a great step when it came out but I belive that there may be a more modern option. My advise would be to figure out what you need and then shop to find what fit's your needs / budget...

Good Luck!

[BugEyedValiant]

I have w 2 heads on my car and I really like them. I have seen the Edelbrock heads and was not impressed with them by there looks. I am no expert, but I think that there is a lot more potential with the w2, so it all depends on how fast you really want to go.

[JCFcuda]

W2&W5 will make horsepower and lot of it. But, You need to put a pretty big cam in, and run the RPMs up to take advantage of the air flow these heads can give You.Those heads are really happest at the track. What are you going to be doing with your car?Race,street/strip,or just street?

[Racerjr]

Thanks, JSHERROD
exactly the kind of info I need,only I need more of it!
please send me another email and give me your address so I can ask you about your W2/360!

[waynebo]

Edelbrocks are great street heads,probaly the best bang for the buck,but they have stock pushrod location which will keep them out of W/2 or W/5 country. edelbrocks 171cc/int runner. W/2 198cc w/5 219CC and no pushrod to have to squeeze around.But with the w/2 and w/5s you have to buy rockers for off set pushrod hole,if you gota buy rockers anyway then its no problem as they cost the same as rockers for the standard head. Street edelbock/race w/2 or 5s. waynebo

[waynebo]

by the way racerjr,mancini is having a sale on their W/2 and W/5s right now,it'll probaly be over soon. W/2 for $598.00 a set and W/5s with m-1 single plane intake manifold for $995.00 a set.thats a lot of money off on the w/5s. www.manciniracing.com

[70AARCuda]

It appears that you are racing the car.....In the long run the w2/w5 head will be the best way to go...just some bowl work and matching of the gaskets on the w-2 will increase their flow greatly....also the standard heads will never be able to compete with them....as always just my opinion..


I race a 69 Barracuda in Las Vegas...the old motor kicked a rod a year ago after 6 or 7 yrs of racing.....but would run 10.70 with ease ...it was 360-W2s with heavy TRWs...stock rods...Mopar 590 cam...750 DP Holley...904 with 5.13 gears...

Fact I bought those W-2 back in the early 80s went Chrysler was going broke..paid 75 dollars apiece for the heads...then I found a deal of the life time...guy had a complete W-2 setup..heads..intake(still in box)....valves..rockers..shalfts with stands...got them all for 300 bucks....I just bought a set of the W-5 from Mancini.....Now working on a 417 small block...should have it ready to run by end of year...or sooner....

But still racing with an old tired 340....standard heads with 557 cam....runs 11.50s here...

good luck..
tony

[MoparBilly G]

In my opinion, the W/2 is the only choice, for going fast on a budget, obviously if you must HAVE aluminum, they are out, but they will out-flow the edelbrocks by a bunch, and are practically bolt-on when compared to the w/5.
A friend of mine, who has contacts though a dealer just bought 4 sets of new W2s for $217 a head bare!!! Where else can you get a true perf. head for the less than the price of a stock replacement!!!! He had a set of old W2's from the eighties, and apparently MP has improved the castings several times, these new ones have more meat in critical areas (around head bolts etc), better cooling, and better combustion chambers than his old ones!!!!
One of these sets are going on a 10 sec. Demon, because the owner is disgusted with the EDELBROCK heads he's been running for a year, and feels the W2's will make more power! He' also adding a stroker to his 360, so he feels the W2 will feed the 410 better than edelbrocks.
Another friend just finished putting a nine sec. W5 360 together, and said that after all the hassle getting everything to fit, and buying all the proper pieces, he should have stuck with his old W2 combo....both engines have run 9.70-9.90@137 in a 70 Challenger SG car.
I'm a big block guy to the core, but these are observations of some of the small block racers in my area.

[Racerjr]

Great input guys!
exactly the kind of info I was looking for,engine combos and E.T.s they ran. I think the small chamber W2 heads are going to be my choice.Now if I can just find a set at a price like billyg's friend..........
Thanks alot guys

'71 Duster no electronics bracket racer 360,904,83/4
11.22@117.80 but in the 10s soon I hope w/W2's....

[Racerjr]

OK next,what intake does everybody run with their W2 heads?

[waynebo]

Yea biily g is right on when he talks of the improvements that have been made over the years to the W/2s,the engineers go in periodically and do what they call rubbings which means the rub the sand casting mold to remove sand so it will thicken the casting in that area.They have also been doing the same thing with the W/5s as well a complete recast on both heads starting in 1995.The old w/2s and w/5s are not a reflection of the newer heads,the ones now are solid race heads,not performance heads as the edelbrock head was designed to be. waynebo

[waynebo]

by the way,race w/2s require every single part to install as the w/5s do,the only cheaper route is to go with th econo w/2s and save buying the rocker stands.thats probaly the heads mancini has for $598.00 aset.imagine the race w/2s are around the regular price of $550.00 a piece/$1100.00 aset with no intake.still only a 198cc intake runner compared to 219cc for the new w/5 castings which come with intake for $995.00 right now,what a deal. waynebo

[Racerjr]

I checked out the mancini sale and they have the P5249002 W5 heads with the P4529460 W5 small runner intake for $995.00 Great deal!

[Christopher]

I built a 10:1 318 about 15 years ago for my 69 Cuda with stock 340 heads,then switched to the W-2's.The difference was night and day!! I had a old set from 1976 and they really made a big improvement.With those heads the car ran 11.08 best with the .557 Mopar cam.I used the Holley strip dominator intake,but the Edelbrock W-2 intake is very good.The Holley I'm sure you can find used.

[BugEyedValiant]

I have a Edelbrock Victor single plane on mine

[blackcuda]

I'm glad so many people chimed in on the subject, I have talked with a buddy of mine that runs sm. block's and he agrees with what has been said here. If it were a street car he would consider the Edelbrock's but on a race car go with the w2/w5. I have read good things about the Edelbrock heads but most people agree that it can't flow with the w's. I hope that my earlier statement didn't mislead you or anything, and let us know how you like those w2's.

[Billydelrio]

I have been working on my Big 318 (as compared to my little 273). I like the look of the new small chamber W2 head. I measured mine and got 55.8 to 56 cc on each chamber. I have decided on a stock 3.31 stroke and am now ready to talk to C&A about the pistons. It looks to me that there is an easy 500 hp in my W2 318 in the 7500 rpm window.

Billy

[A990]

I'm glead I found this thread. I sprung for Mancinis deal, and haven't heard anything real promising on the other boards. What I have in mind is a quench motor, do does anyone make pistons with the right dome? Who besides MP makes valves? Dinero dont sprout on any trees close by so if theres some savings to be had I'm all for it.

Anyone see Mancinis new deal? TTI W2/W5 stepped headers (1 5/8-1 7/8) for $550 or so. What RPM will these be good for?

This looks like a good well rounded board, so I'll add it to my shortcuts.........

[70AARCuda]

Milodon and Manley both make valves for the W-2/W-5 heads......and there are probably a few other brands

tony

[SB Racer]

With that Mancinis $995 deal on W-5's I wouldn't hesitate a bit. I've run these heads for years now and couldn't be more happy. W-2 isn't bad either but still theres several advantages on W-5. It flows more
out of the box and has more potential ported. It's easier to repair if accidents happen. Aluminum takes 1 point more compression with same fuel etc. etc. Mine flow 290 cfm nonported, only changed over 11/32" valves 2.08" / 1.60" and some seatwork. That equals 600 hp in pretty much out of the box condition. Not bad and definately something Edelbrocks won't do. Even W-2's will need professional porting to reach these figures.

Check out my combo at:
http://www.paalupaikka.com/racevaliant

[mopars1]

Just to put my 2 cents in a little too late, I have never owned a set of W2's but do run some old W5's on top of a 360. The heads have been flow ported. As you can see by my signature the car runs decently. The w2's are a very good head. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a gain. NO head is a great gain out of the box! You have to work on them. You just have to choose the path you want to take to end up where you want to be when you are starting the project so you don't end up throwing your money away buying new parts over and over. If you want a fast car go with the W5's. If you want to have a street car most of the time, go with the W2's.

[Leigh]

Check out Brodix.com. Yes, the price is higher. Do they need work. Yes. Do they have more potential than most LA heads out there, yes. The new M/C head could produce BIG #'s. My B1BA's pulled 630 hp and 535 ft. lbs. on a 388" rotating assembly. This is WITHOUT offset intake arms. Is it more$? Yes. Can it work and produce big #'s? My deal is proof.

[mopars1]

Frank from Australia you emailed me about my combination. I tried to e-mail you back and the e-mail comes back as undeliverable. I sent the e-mail to
charga770@hotmail.com.au
You may want to register at this site to make the exchange of information better. By the way, for anyone interested my 1970 Dart is For Sale.

[71 scamp]

Christopher,
Which w2 did you use on your 11.08 second 318, econo or race? Which headers did you use? I have hooker #5204.

[mr_340]

This was the head that Mother Mopar had on sale recently. I bought four of them at $210 a piece through a friend at the dealership. These are the basic race heads with the standard 340 chamber (70cc). They look different than the old W2s I had from the 70's. I should have gotten the rocker arm package they sold as well. I think they were the T&D rockers.

I had some W5 heads that I bought off the Archer Brothers when Dodge pulled the plug on the Trans_Am cars. They had them on their show car. They were using Brodix heads they got from Joey Arrington. The Edelbrock is supposed to flow as well as the W5 out of the box. Ported, I think the W5 would beat the Edelbrock, but you need all that special stuff, rockers, intakes and headers.

[prostreetchallenger]

w2's are awesome. been running mine for about 15 years and not one problem with them. to make them really work to their potential takes a cam at least .550 and some good old fashioned 340 rpm. the edelbrocks don't have me convinced, you'll love the free flowing and snappier throttle response the w2's will give you. just my opinion but using them for the last 15 years can really convince people, plus they are cast iron and that really is nice on the street.

[340king]

If you took advantage of the Mancinni deal, you couldn't go wrong. With that said, I have two sets of W-2's. One set is the 58cc closed chamber affair atop a flat top pistoned 340. I had to hand shape the pistons to fit inside the heads, the stock replacement pistons come .018" out of the block. The other set is open chamber econo heads. I custom ordered a set of Venolia pistons that come .080" out of the deck to allow custom shaping to maximize quench on the open chamber design.

I had the econo heads flow checked twice out of the box. The first numbers came back and I couldn't believe them. The heads flowed 270+ cfm on the intakes and 205+ on the exhausts. I didn't flow the race W-2's yet. They will undoubtedly suffer from shrouding, and probably won't clear 250 cfm. Neither set is ported. I have two intakes, an M1 water heated intake and a Holley Strip Dominator. The intakes are nearly identical.

I agree that to optimize the flow of these heads, porting is required. Also, I agree that to get the most out of an engine with these heads on them, you will need to run high lift. Like .600+. A roller cam would really work well with these heads, but is not required. A flat tappet cam will work well, you will just be leaving a little on the table so to speak.

[TrxR]

I find this info very interesting and I am planning on building a street/strip dart over the next two years. I t will be a stock body and interior car and i plan on running a 318 or 360 but Im not sure. I want to run mid to high 12's in the 1/4 and was wondering what engine to run or should I buy a 380HP 360 crate?
Also what heads should I use and what about stroker cranks??

Thanks

[duster360]

hi i put together a m/p short block(10-1) pre magnum with a early set of w-2's when i say early they have 1 bolt patteren, the standard patteren so i could use my 1 7/8 super comp hooker headers. any way there slightly port and polished 72cc chamber, long valves installed, titaniun retainers and keepers, iron roller rockers edelbrock rpm intake 750 holley, 582 ultradyne solid cam, 727 w-3000 stall,and a 4.10 s-g, the car weighs 3300 w/me, so far the best time i've got on street tires was a 12.05 at 85mph( motor shut off because distributor puked at 3/4 track coasted through lights) it figures it would break on the only run it sorta hooked on (1.98 60ft) before if broke it turned a few 12.8's at 118mph but in and out of the gas abunch(2.08 60fts) car has potental as soon as my wife lets me work on it instead of the house i repost and let you know what it runs. also i forgot to mention i got a deal on these also, i got the heads intake, new cam,all the valves and valve train and push rods for $500 the best place to find stuff like this is circle track racers, when the rules change stuff gets sold cheap.