Cylinder Head Comparison

[philstar]

I'm about to purchase a set of dual port cylinder heads for my stock 1600cc motor, but I don't know which to go for.

There seem to be 2 common types, Auto Linea ones and EMPI ones.

At Machine7, the Auto Linea ones have been recommended and are slightly more costly, but at most other outlets the EMPI ones are advertised as being better and cost a little more.

Has anyone got experience or an understanding of these heads and can shed some light? I previously purchased a pair as cheaply as I could but they both cracked in no time so I am looking for quality.

 

[vinvan]

Go for stock German VW ones
Have a word with "Afonso" on this forum he has just rebuilt a 1776 engine for us did a fantastic job, he is very knowledgeable and knows his stuff

 

[philstar]

Thanks vinvan, I have messaged him directly so hopefully he will be able to shed some light on the matter in this thread.

 

[atafonso]

Hi all

Thanks for the kind words Bob, hope you enjoy your new engine for many years to come

Auto Linea makes decent heads, in fact, they are the sole supplier of heads to CB Performance, and have their own castings such as the Panchitos and 044. They also make stock replacement for the Brazilian market and supply these to the export market too. Short reach plugs.

Empi has a really nice casting, very well made and decent material. The area around the chamber is really thick, which is good. Only downsides are the short reach spark plug and the cooling area is reduced greatly compared to a stock head. So expect higher head temps.

Then we have the AA 043 casting. Now that is a really nice head. There is a lot of free flowing cooling vanes; casting is not as nice as the Empi but quite decent. The real advantage is the modern chamber design and the long reach spark plug, which makes it less prone to crack. It's also very thick on the combustion chamber area. One thing though; the chamber is quite big at 55 or 58 cc's(i can't remember correctly), so you have to check your deck height and calculate your compression to make sure no flycut is needed. These are the ones i would use if buying heads for a stock quality engine.

Cracked heads are the result of excessive head temps, if your engine is not tuned/built correctly, new heads can crack too, only it might take longer depending on features or quality of the new head. So make sure you get it properly tuned, and if rebuilt, done to a proper standard.

Abel

 

[atafonso]

If you can get hold of an original used gen VW set, without cracks, good guides and cooling fins, as long as you tune the engine properly and is built correctly with the right compression ratio, you should be fine for many years. They will only crack if the above is not observed.
Finding a new set of stock Gen VW is really difficult; the last ones made are the 040 casting which is made in Brazil.

 

[K@rlos]

I'd agree with Alfonso, I'd say some good stock og vw heads would be best in an ideal world but the AA 043's are lovely! Great cooling fins and have the luxury of a temp sender boss too I have CB's 044 ultra-mags on my bus which from a performance point of view are fantastic in regards to porting, valves and the CFM they will flow but we did need to spend a few hours tidying the cooling fins and passages. However on a low compression stock engine the rougher fins most likely wouldn't be an issue

 

[philstar]

Thanks for all the advice guys, could you please explain to me a little more about the "AA 043" casting? Who makes these heads and where can I source them new?

 

[K@rlos]

Thanks for all the advice guys, could you please explain to me a little more about the "AA 043" casting? Who makes these heads and where can I source them new?

AA are the brand and 043 are the casting. Last set I got were from cool air. I’ll see if I can find a link.

 

[K@rlos]

https://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Baywindow_Products~Baywindow_Engine_Products~Baywindow_Type_1_Engine_Products~Barrels-C-_Pistons_and_Cylinder_Heads~Cylinder_Heads~Standard_Cylinder_Heads~Twin_Port~1600cc/043101355CK/1600cc_040_Twin_Port_Cylinder_Head_-OB-35.5x32-CB-_-_1971-79_-_T1-C-T2-C-KG-C-T3.html

AA 040’s sorry thought they were 043’s.

https://www.coolairvw.co.uk/Item/Shop_by_Vehicle~Baywindow_Products~Baywindow_Engine_Products~Baywindow_Type_1_Engine_Products~Barrels-C-_Pistons_and_Cylinder_Heads~Cylinder_Heads~Standard_Cylinder_Heads~Twin_Port~1600cc/043101355MEX/1600cc_043_Twin_Port_Cylinder_Head_-OB-30mm_x_33mm_valves-CB-.html

Genuine Mexican Volkswagen fuel injection heads, pricey but nice.

 

[philstar]

So let me get this right:

043 are the genuine brazilian VW heads ( 30 x 33 ) and are the money no object first choice
040 are the AA heads ( 35.5 x 32 ) and are a highly recommended aftermarket head

Or, does the "040" or "043" just refer to the mould, with several different companies able to utilise the same moulds, resulting in both a genuine VW and an aftermarket 043 head being available?

044 Jopex heads are also on sale at coolair and priced in-between the 040 and 043, but have bigger, stainless valves ( 35.5 X 40 ) - what are the opinion on these? I have read http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/heads-things-to-think-about.60334/ on the late bate showing the issues with simply bolting on big valve heads and hoping for free power.

Massively appreciate your help here fellas so I can put my money into the right product ( and hopefully have enough left over to give to the forum! )

 

[atafonso]

The original 043 from VW is entirely different from what AA sells as their 043.

Using 40x35 on your engine will hurt low end torque. Unless you want to upgrade to a bigger engine that makes power higher up in the rpm range, i would stick to stock size valve heads. Also if you want to use heat exchangers, you can use them in a bigger engine if you keep the stock valves size, but not with bigger valve heads. Then you would need big bore exchangers which are expensive and not so effective on the heating side of things.

Go to the AA site, look for the 500 series cylinder heads. You can buy from them straight, it will even cost less that way. There is a discount code of 15% when you register on the site.
Abel

 

[atafonso]

This is the link
https://aapistons.com/collections/cylinder-heads-components/products/new-vw-1600-stock-dual-port-cylinder-head-35-5x32
I suggest you ask them first if the head is the long reach plug and it has the modern chamber just to be sure, the pic does not correspond to the description. :roll:
Abel

 

[philstar]

You sir are an absolute saint! Jonathan McMillan at AA has confirmed that the photo is indeed wrong, I will be placing an order with them shortly. No mention of the 15% discount, I will ask them again about that.

Thanks for all your help!