[Kurtalexis]

Has anybody use ProMaxx head and do they like the results they get from them. Gen 2 lightning

 

[Certified Drunk]

You would be better off with a set of TFS heads.
How much power you looking to make?
Buy them bare and have them built to your HP level.
You should have them drilled to accept the 10mm front cover bolts.

 

[Dusten]

I've personally never heard anyone using them. That's not to say theyre not good. Just zero experience.

But I'm with @Certified Drunk, buy a pair of bare castings. Have hardware installed to match your goals. Ensure bronze guides are used.

 

[Kurtalexis]

Yes, I wanted to go with a trickflow but the combination is around $4500. My stock cylinder head call total air flow said I had to send them in to get CNC was $1500 I bought the valve guide springs retainers was $900 total in a stock head $2300 promaxx head total $2000 and there already CNC the only thing is a 46cc stock is a 44cc. Trying to make 650 to 700. I have 2.3 Whipple Camshaft xe270ah just asking to if anybody running these hands. I found no reviews on these heads and talk to Promaxx about them they said it running for for 18 years with no problem.

 

[Dusten]

The trick flow heads have 10 thread plug holes. A better designed combustion chamber. Better valve layout to combat quench. A 3/4" deck surface. Replaceable cam towers.

You're getting a better head for the money. And who's quoting $4500 to build a set of heads?

The only cost difference between ported stock heads and tf's is the cost of the head.

With both heads you'll need valves, guides, springs. And tf heads don't need port work.


650-700 on a 2.3 in street trim is pushing the blower. You'll want better cams. I hope you're planning on e85 or race gas.

 

[[email protected]]

Or here is a crazy idea, you could use a set of 44cc Trickflow heads right out of the box complete ready to go with the 125lb springs and the right cam for around $3200 including cams to achieve your goal.... Oh I know here come the "the trickflow valves/guides are junk" people and I can respect your opinion but the cold hard facts are that you wont find anyone who has installed and tuned more sets of these heads, right out of the box with no issues then me and my shop.

You want an Eaton truck with trickflow heads and the right cam on pump gas making 585-600hp? I got you
You want a Whipple truck with trickflow heads and the right cam making 650 on pump 93? I got you
You want a Whipple truck with trickflow heads and the right cam making 750+ on E85? I got you

You see I put those combinations together on a regular basis and over the last 13 years since these heads became available I have had only one issue related to the heads themselves and I have done most likely over 100 or so of these combinations using the Trickflow heads right out of the box.

Can you upgrade them? Sure, its not a bad idea to do so if you have the coin. Is it really needed? IMHO no not really but for those wanting the absolute best parts they can get sure why not. Its kinda like using mobil 1 synthetic oil in a beater car, it may not really need it but if you have the extra coin why not?

Lastly, for those who will come in here and argue that they "know of failures" for the trickflow heads, especially when it comes to followers knocked off and dropped valves I can say for certain that the majority of those failures are from improper installation or the use of a camshaft that was too big. (You cant use stage 3 PI Cams in these heads but people sure do try because they dont know any better, then they blame the head)

If I can be of any help with the OP aquiring a set of head and a set of great cams spec'd for those heads and your needs please let me know. I will be happy to help.

www.woodbinemotorsports.com

[email protected]

 

[Dusten]

I personally know 5 people with tf failures due to bad valves or guides. Me included.

I don't know of a single follower problem. I know of 3 bad guides and 2 valves to that had the head separate.

My cams are custom spec's for my truck and heads.

 

[[email protected]]

I personally know 5 people with tf failures due to bad valves or guides. Me included.

I don't know of a single follower problem. I know of 3 bad guides and 2 valves to that had the head separate.

My cams are custom spec's for my truck and heads.

You would think that me and my shop would have had at least one failure considering how many sets of these heads we have installed over the years. And I'm not talking just Lightnings or Harleys here, I do quite a bit of Mustang work as well and alot of 4.6 2V TF head installs and even in that community where those heads are used at least 10:1 over Lightnings the failure rate is pretty low.

Over the years I have seen a few threads or posts about a particular failure and each one of those instances were due to improper installation procedures or using the wrong cam.

Personally I would like to know more about these failures and the circumstances behind the failure, if that is even possible.

JJ

 

[Dusten]

Fuck I had a long post and accidentally reloaded the page

@BlowerWhore and @Leeproctor83 are both personal friends. I'll let them describe the failure.

Scott cedergreen who's passed away had a valve head come off. 200 miles after his new motor was running. Tf admitted a part failure and warrantied it.

My heads lasted almost 10,000 miles. Cam specs are 237/239 .556 lift and 114 lsa. Spec'd by Todd Warren for my heads and engine.
Shitty powdered metal valve guide disintegrated and bent a valve.

 

[Dusten]

I'm not saying every head is a time bomb. But if you're already spending good money, buy bare castings and have good parts installed.

My springs and guides, along with having the head resurfaced was $1100. Add in a set of valves and that's cheap piece of mind honestly.

 

[Kurtalexis]

I'm not saying every head is a time bomb. But if you're already spending good money, buy bare castings and have good parts installed.

My springs and guides, along with having the head resurfaced was $1100. Add in a set of valves and that's cheap piece of mind honestly.

I’m

I'm not saying every head is a time bomb. But if you're already spending good money, buy bare castings and have good parts installed.

My springs and guides, along with having the head resurfaced was $1100. Add in a set of valves and that's cheap piece of mind honestly.

 

[Kurtalexis]

I’m

Thanks for the input
Only reason I was asking is because I have enough funds to do trickflow and they won’t be available till February the only reason i looked into promaxx look good he said they’re using Pac springs and ferrea valve I’ve already ordered them two weeks ago, but like to see how they perform, I can always sell them later once I get enough money for trickflow. I know or the best head you can buy for 5.4
What camshaft do think have the best camshaft where to buy

 

[stoffer]

I'm not saying every head is a time bomb. But if you're already spending good money, buy bare castings and have good parts installed.

My springs and guides, along with having the head resurfaced was $1100. Add in a set of valves and that's cheap piece of mind honestly.

maybe you should have gone the proven route thru Woodbine MotorSports

 

[stoffer]

Has anybody use ProMaxx head and do they like the results they get from them. Gen 2 lightning

they look like cheap copies of stock heads

 

[Dusten]

Thanks for the input
Only reason I was asking is because I have enough funds to do trickflow and they won’t be available till February the only reason i looked into promaxx look good he said they’re using Pac springs and ferrea valve I’ve already ordered them two weeks ago, but like to see how they perform, I can always sell them later once I get enough money for trickflow. I know or the best head you can buy for 5.4
What camshaft do think have the best camshaft where to buy

If you're in a rush to put together a motor, I'd suggest dropping the word best from your search.

The best cams are custom. Jj on here can spec you some. So can Todd Warren.

JDM and jlp have their own cam sets that are probably easier to obtain and are both going to get the job done.

 

[BlowerWhore]

Fuck I had a long post and accidentally reloaded the page

@BlowerWhore and @Leeproctor83 are both personal friends. I'll let them describe the failure.

Scott cedergreen who's passed away had a valve head come off. 200 miles after his new motor was running. Tf admitted a part failure and warrantied it.

My heads lasted almost 10,000 miles. Cam specs are 237/239 .556 lift and 114 lsa. Spec'd by Todd Warren for my heads and engine.
Shitty powdered metal valve guide disintegrated and bent a valve.

View attachment 549296
View attachment 549295

I hate them heads so much. They cost me so much pain and agony and money. Yes I agree with Dusten. Buy bare TF heads and have a reputable head shop build them with good parts and save you a lot of time and stress in the future. Cry once pay once. Dont do what I did on my third , forth and fifth built engine. Second built engine was a failure to “well known” vendor that people nut swing on. But that’s another story

 

[BlowerWhore]

You would think that me and my shop would have had at least one failure considering how many sets of these heads we have installed over the years. And I'm not talking just Lightnings or Harleys here, I do quite a bit of Mustang work as well and alot of 4.6 2V TF head installs and even in that community where those heads are used at least 10:1 over Lightnings the failure rate is pretty low.

Over the years I have seen a few threads or posts about a particular failure and each one of those instances were due to improper installation procedures or using the wrong cam.

Personally I would like to know more about these failures and the circumstances behind the failure, if that is even possible.

JJ

JJ my TF heads failed even using correctly specd cams you sold me. Not saying every TF head is affected but enough for me to not buy them heads and use them out of the box. You must be one lucky SOB to have zero failures

 

[[email protected]]

I hate them heads so much. They cost me so much pain and agony and money. Yes I agree with Dusten. Buy bare TF heads and have a reputable head shop build them with good parts and save you a lot of time and stress in the future. Cry once pay once. Dont do what I did on my third , forth and fifth built engine. Second built engine was a failure to “well known” vendor that people nut swing on. But that’s another story

JJ my TF heads failed even using correctly specd cams you sold me. Not saying every TF head is affected but enough for me to not buy them heads and use them out of the box. You must be one lucky SOB to have zero failures

Here is what I dont understand. You are willing to hate on Trickflow because of your bad experience but I dont think you have ever once mentioned who your failed built motor was purchased from. Why not? I mean if you are making statements about your experience with TF why not make the same statement and mention the built motor supplier?

It reminds me of another person I dealt with about two years ago that contacted me about a spun rod bearing in his new build that was done by another shop. I spent alot of time on the phone trying to help diagnose the issue and help him figure out a solution and when he told me the story I was amazed he wouldnt say anything about it publicly, especially since he swung so hard for this company on Facebook and here. After spending about 35K with them they told him to pound sand. The mentality of this has always amazed me... Anyway..

Trickflow failures.... Lets discuss... Actually let me toss out my unpopular to those who have had failures opinion...

I will preface this by saying yes, Trickflow has had some failures that were a direct result of product failure. However the three failures I have seen in person were all due to improper installation procedures for the camshaft.

You see most people do not have the tool that compresses the valve spring to install the follower after the cam has been installed, so they install the followers, find a roughly "neutral" cam position and lay the cam in place, then tighten down the cam caps, hopefully torquing them to spec and that is the absolute worst way to install a cam in a cylinder head. The proper way is to have the lifters in place, install the cam with no followers in place, torque the cam caps and make sure the cams spins freely in the head before you use the tool to compress the valve (with the piston down) to install the intake and exhaust followers. (cam lube everywhere of course) Doing it the wrong way does not ensure proper cam cap torque and can "bind" the valve train which will result in kicked off followers, valve/piston damage etc... All easily blamed on Trickflow of course.

Most likely the above paragraph should explain why I have had Zero failures of any Trickflow head in house.

[email protected]

 

[Dusten]

Here is what I dont understand. You are willing to hate on Trickflow because of your bad experience but I dont think you have ever once mentioned who your failed built motor was purchased from. Why not? I mean if you are making statements about your experience with TF why not make the same statement and mention the built motor supplier?

It reminds me of another person I dealt with about two years ago that contacted me about a spun rod bearing in his new build that was done by another shop. I spent alot of time on the phone trying to help diagnose the issue and help him figure out a solution and when he told me the story I was amazed he wouldnt say anything about it publicly, especially since he swung so hard for this company on Facebook and here. After spending about 35K with them they told him to pound sand. The mentality of this has always amazed me... Anyway..

Trickflow failures.... Lets discuss... Actually let me toss out my unpopular to those who have had failures opinion...

I will preface this by saying yes, Trickflow has had some failures that were a direct result of product failure. However the three failures I have seen in person were all due to improper installation procedures for the camshaft.

You see most people do not have the tool that compresses the valve spring to install the follower after the cam has been installed, so they install the followers, find a roughly "neutral" cam position and lay the cam in place, then tighten down the cam caps, hopefully torquing them to spec and that is the absolute worst way to install a cam in a cylinder head. The proper way is to have the lifters in place, install the cam with no followers in place, torque the cam caps and make sure the cams spins freely in the head before you use the tool to compress the valve (with the piston down) to install the intake and exhaust followers. (cam lube everywhere of course) Doing it the wrong way does not ensure proper cam cap torque and can "bind" the valve train which will result in kicked off followers, valve/piston damage etc... All easily blamed on Trickflow of course.

Most likely the above paragraph should explain why I have had Zero failures of any Trickflow head in house.

[email protected]

Scott cedergreen had a valve come apart
I had a valve guide fail and installed my cams as you've stated and degreed them
Kenny proctor had a valve head come off
I don't remember Mike's failure.

Again, I'm sure the heads for the most part are fine. But blaming the end user is a cop out.

 

[[email protected]]

Scott cedergreen had a valve come apart
I had a valve guide fail and installed my cams as you've stated and degreed them
Kenny proctor had a valve head come off
I don't remember Mike's failure.

Again, I'm sure the heads for the most part are fine. But blaming the end user is a cop out.

I'm not blaming the end user for all Trickflow failures. I even stated that Trickflow has had some failures due to the product itself. I'm simply stating that the ones that I have seen in person were due to improper installation and I'm also posting that incorrect installation of the cams and followers is a very common practice used not only by DIY's but I've even known other shops that do it to save time.

I also forgot one other reason why there are some failures, too big of a PI cam being used.

[email protected]