W2s on 318

[Alex Vasquez]

I am considering purchasing a set of W2 econo. heads to put on my 318. Pros and cons of this?

I want a streetable, sleeper 318. I've read numerous hop-ups talking about the #302 heads, but after looking through many archived posts I didn't find anyone having tried the W2 route yet.

I am presuming these heads could not use the Edelbrock Performer intake I picked up for beans a few months back...

Any and all help/advice is appreciated.

Alex Vasquez

[Hard_ChargerR/T]

Hey Alex,
I have a feeling that some of the more knowledgable members of this board are going to tell you that those heads flow a little too much for a street 318. To use all the air that those heads provide and get any velocity at all you would really have to wind the 318 up which is generally acknowledged to be a bad idea for a street motor since there would be very little down low power. Anyway, I don't really have any experience with these heads on a 318 so I would really wait for more opinions than just mine.

Matt

[FARGO318]

I might not know what I'm talking about here, but those W2's have WAY BIGGER ports than the 318, unless of course you do some nifty porting. Might end up kinda soft low end though.

Whatever, I'm sure there's a way to make it work

[6 packin]

There NOT a direct bolt on and go, the valves will hit the bores. Better have lots & lots of gear and converter, to launch respectivly.

[73challenger_jm]

There is a victor that fits a w-2.

[dave571]

I think those heads are too big for a good street application.

You will loose a lot of torque.

Sleeper is good, but not sleepy.

Look at the heads cuda runs.

Just my two cents

[rumblefish360]

6 packin

Sorry bud, your incorrect. The heads are a direct bolt on and the vlaves will NOT hit the bore of the cylinder. You WILL need, a set of rockers that are offset. (Unless you have stock 340 T/A rockers handy.)

Alex ... In addition to the above, the bolt spacing for the intake is wider that a standard intake.
If you don't mind grinding and grinding to match the oval ports instead of the standard square, go right ahead.

But there is a light to this, MoPar makes a dual and single plain for the W-2's. (Tunnel rams as well.)

Dave is kind of right about this. The heads are race heads, so if you don't mind beefing up a 318 real well and giving it a numericly high rear ratio......

Your solution is in ethier stock heads or Edelbrock heads.
Tell us how much HP your looking for, in what kind of car.
Things like rear gear ratio, tranny being used, weight off car, and weather or not mileage is of any concern to you is very useful info to help us in helping you.
MoPar has performance guides to aid you in reaching certain speed goals in the 1/4 mile run. These tips can be used for the street with good success.

[Billydelrio]

I agree that a 318 street machine will not be hungry enough to require what a pair of W2s are wanting to provide. However, an unported W2 intake port is only about 15 ccs larger in volume than a good 360 intake port, so the low speed velocity should not suffer much more than using a pair of 360 heads on a 318. The W2s will allow the 318 make power and spin upwards of 8500 rpm if so desired, but most street machines don't desire that. I don't think too many people have used W2 heads on the street for various reasons which include:
1. Offset rockers required
2. Intake manifold bolt pattern is different
3. Exhaust ports don't match stock port locations, although stock exhaust will bolt up to newer W2 heads
4. Loss of low rpm grunt that must be countered with gears, converter, and fuel economy.
I have never used 360 or W2 heads on a 318 street machine, but If I had the $s for a good bottom end, big cam, custom headers, lots of converter, 32X14 DOTs with a 5.57 gear, then I would use W2s on the 318 street machine. OOPS, this would not be a sleeper!

I, like Cuda66273, use the small port 273/318 heads. These heads flow enough to make near 400 hp, but the small cubic inch engines need the rpm. I spin my 273 to 7200-7500 rpm, and would guess that Cuda spins his 318 to near 7000. Not too good for a sleeper street machine. For a sleeper street machine, I would not spend money on W2 heads, but instead, I would spend less for a 4" crank and pistons to get near 400 cubic inches and put a stock 360 head with mild hydrolic cam. Now you have a strong 4000 rpm sleeper.

Billy

[rumblefish360]

Billydelrio, I think you have a good idea there. The W-2's have good flow. The Edel.'s are a hair behind it whenyou compare both of them in a out off the box condition. The added expense of the W-2's is why I recomended the Edel's.
FARGO318., Hard_ChargerR/T;

I forgot to mention that the port window is about the same, maybe a hair larger than the 360 heads, but flow is up a bit. The velocity loss at the bottom end would be a bummer.
Unless you do what Billydelrio was sayin.