howdaayyy!

as some of you may know who have seen my project thread i am now knees deep into a mk2 AFH on bike carbs conversion and basically i am wondering if its worth getting the head skimmed, ported and polished while the engine is on my spinner in pieces?

so is it worth it and what is the cost and power gains?

and if so where can i get it done (i am in leeds)

any information is recieved gratefully! :)

craig

ttt

Its a very good idea to have your head flowed , its going to be costly i would have though if your not doing it yourself.

Thing is, you can have the ports polished , or ported , or both.

You could probably polish them yourself with various mops , cloth and a dremel but i wouldnt try and port them yourself if youve never done it before. having your head ported usually needs propper equipment like a flow bench and specialized cutting tools.

Having the head skimmed is allways a good idea , be pretty cheap aswell.

Also, because your on about a AFH into a mk2 , i think your gonna have enough power as it is, Id just maybe get the head skimmed and have a go at cleaning/polishing the exhaust/inlet ports yourself, cant go wrong really.

Max

dont polish the inlet tracts, it'll be worse than before as the fuel will drop out the air!

you can polish the exhaust ports however, to ensure speedy gas exit out of the engine.

my engine builder can port and polish an AFH head for you, I've enquired about it myself, cant find you out a price if you want.

up to you if you wanna get the head skimmed, but youll need a new headgasket and headbolts, personally id just run it as is and get it done at a later date, save some cashish for all the other build parts

The fuel vapours only gonna fall out of suspension if the ports or mirror polished (which takes alot of time) , not just nicely cleaned up or polished moderately.

As for the lump, has it not got the head off allready? If it has its definetly worth getting it skimmed , Your gonna have to get new bolts and gaskets anyway.

Its just much better to give it a propper going over and change everything you can whilst its out of the bay so you dont have to do it in time, whilst its in the engine bay and hard to get to.

Max

heads still on iirc, id still rock it without, it really aint hard to pull a lump out again when it needs redoing, a couple of days work getting it out, rebuilt and back together.

and your right about mirror polishing, unfortunatly most people see polish and think mirror, like our resident deuchebag gaz golf gti

thanks for the replies!

i would rather get this sort of stuff done now while the engine is out instead of faffing around removing it and refitting again at a later date, as it is the engine is pretty much down to the bare bones already and removing the head isnt going to be much more of a chore.

as for the extra power, is it going to be much or not really noticeable? and btw the engine has just hit 100k apparently so i suppose it would be a good idea to get it done just for good measure?

craig

If you pop over to ClubGTi, there's the man in a shed thread. Have a read. Mr Hillclimber also does head work.

thanks for the replies!

i would rather get this sort of stuff done now while the engine is out instead of faffing around removing it and refitting again at a later date, as it is the engine is pretty much down to the bare bones already and removing the head isnt going to be much more of a chore.

as for the extra power, is it going to be much or not really noticeable? and btw the engine has just hit 100k apparently so i suppose it would be a good idea to get it done just for good measure?

craig

Is what going to give extra power? head skimming or porting/polishing?

Head skimming is more maintenance but some people either skim the head or block , or both to raise compression.

Having a head flowed (Port/polished) is very beneficial, It helps air flow greatly , making it easier for the air/fuel mixture to enter the chambers , meaning that more gets in quicker (If that makes sence) leading to a bigger bang.

There does have to be a reason why you would do it though if you get me, Your trying to maximise the flow rate that the carbs are giving you which is what you want.

Not much point in doing it on a standard lump because you haven't got much flow in the first place.

like our resident deuchebag gaz golf gti

LOL.

I want carbs THIS BIG cos I street race wid Corsas and is on the red line all the time.....

Innit.

hmm, still in 2 minds about what to do, if you were in my shoes and money wasnt too much of an issue (within reason) what would you do?

craig

youd probably wish you had it done once everything is all back together and itll still be on your mind wondering weather you should do it or not.

like our resident deuchebag gaz golf gti

LOL.

I want carbs THIS BIG cos I street race wid Corsas and is on the red line all the time.....

Innit.

I missed this, whats he done now?

This whole thread

YES power gains are immense with headwork.

YES power gains are immense with headwork.

pardon

YES power gains are immense with headwork.

pardon

means that there are massive gains when it comes to custom headwork.

If youve got the money to comfortably do it then go for it, its a good option to choose when your trying to unlock power from your current mods.

If your abit skint, id wait till youve got the funds, a head skim and a nice clean/polish will still help out alot.

Max

YES power gains are immense with headwork.

pardon

means that there are massive gains when it comes to custom headwork.

If youve got the money to comfortably do it then go for it, its a good option to choose when your trying to unlock power from your current mods.

If your abit skint, id wait till youve got the funds, a head skim and a nice clean/polish will still help out alot.

Max

thats just the reply i was looking for! how much are we talking roughly when you say funds? as i want to do it properly so dont mind paying the cash if its worth it as i said,

or do you atleast know where i can start enquiring??

cheers!!

Sorry mate i haven't got a clue how much it would cost to get the head flowed. It would probably be a substational fee though, i would guess like £200? one of the more knowledgeable guys will help you out.

Are you thinking of getting it done then or just polishing it yourself?

Max

Sorry mate i haven't got a clue how much it would cost to get the head flowed. It would probably be a substational fee though, i would guess like £200? one of the more knowledgeable guys will help you out.

Are you thinking of getting it done then or just polishing it yourself?

Max

oh thats the sort of price i was expecting to be honest, i will get it all done proffesionaly, do it right or not at all :)

if i was you i would just get the head properly skimmed and check the guides for where etc, i really wouldnt bother getting it ported etc, just seems pointless on an engine which is standard other than a set of bike carbs, if i had the money id be stroking it to a 1.6 and/or fitting a uprated cam kit and some solid lifters etc

oh and it think porting the head is going to cost a bit more than £200, i was thinking double that for a good job

just had a quote for skimming and portting/polishing and it will be about £350 which ime quite prepared to pay tbh if that sounds ok?

i will get a few other quotes first of course

craig