Easy horsepower is all the rage. How much do you want? You are seemingly limited only by your budget and your imagination. But there are pitfalls. It is all too easy to buy the wrong combination of parts — and getting advice from no-nothings on your favorite Facebook page will probably only compound the problem.
Vortech Superchargers, Air Flow Research, SCAT, and other legendary go-fast companies are now under one roof in Oxnard, California. This group can deliver anything from a rotating assembly to a set of lightweight aluminum cylinder heads, a camshaft and a supercharger right to your door. That makes getting easy horsepower — and lots of it — much simpler than in years past. In fact, according to Jimmy Martz, General Manager of Vortech and SCAT, one of its goals is to deliver performance packages with perfectly matched parts that power-crazed individuals can buy with confidence.
“With our Andrews Products acquisition, we’re designing new camshafts and working on [head-cam] packages for small-block Chevys so we have proven Stage 1 and 2 packages,” Martz said. “They’re dyno proven and we’re working on small-block Ford, and then moving on to big-block Chevy and the rest of our Airflow Research cylinder head applications.”
From Cranks To Cams To Heads
There are all kinds of new products available from these and its other brands. Air Flow Research has recently introduced new street and street/race cylinder heads for such varied applications as traditional small-block Chevy and Mopar, 4.8, 5.3 and LS3 Chevrolet, Gen-III HEMI and more. SCAT is now offering billet flat-plane crankshafts that are made in California.
“It’s basically an easy button for the enthusiasts — make this power with these parts. It has legacy parts on it. If you were doing it on your own, you’d want Air Flow Research and all of our brands anyway, so now we’re putting it together and making it super easy for customers,” said Martz.
This is designed to take the guesswork out of buying aftermarket parts. This will really be a solution for the modern era, as a lot of enthusiasts are not as tech savvy as they used to be.
Air Flow Research is on a bit of a tear, with numerous new cylinder head offerings . There’s a new 5.3L 6-bolt, as cast head, plus a fresh LS3 big-valve “Mongoose” head.
The 270cc head is CNC ported and is designed to move serious air where modern LS3/rectangle-port engines make power. The 2.200-inch intake valve increases curtain area and intake charge efficiency, supporting strong mid-range and sustained top-end. Designed around the 6-bolt option to enhanced head-gasket stability under elevated cylinder pressures that are ideal for high-boost and heavy nitrous applications. They are also available in a 4-bolt configuration upon request for those straightforward fitments on traditional LS blocks and gaskets.
“We tested it with Steve Morris Race Engines and he tested it on a stock engine with a cam and it made 40 horsepower. Then boosted, we were able to get it into the 1100-1200 horsepower range,” Martz told us. “It worked out a lot better than we thought it would. There is a custom-ground Andrews cam in it.”It worked out a lot better than we thought it would. There is a custom-ground Andrews cam in it. This cylinder head also features the six bolt design.”
One area of business that is really taking off for all the brands is Gen-III HEMI stuff. Between RaceTec, AFR, SCAT, Andrews and Vortech, it can sell you everything short of a complete engine.
On the subject of Mopars, AFR has a new small-block Mopar cylinder head. According to Mark Ward of AFR, the heads fit 1964-1992 318, 340, and 360 LA engines. They come as cast with a three-angle valve job, 175cc intake runners, and 62cc combustion chambers. They are available fully assembled with 2.02/1.60 intake/exhaust valves, or in “no parts” form.
AFR also has a new LS1-5.3-4.8 cathedral port head. The new CNC-ported head has 2.05- and 1.60- intake and exhaust valves. They are available fully cnc ported and come with a hydraulic roller spring good for .600-inch lift and 6,500 max rpm. The intake runners are 210cc, with 65cc combustion chambers.
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