Assembled Trick Flows okay?

[plovett]

Are the "assembled" Trick Flow heads good as is?  Good valve job?  Well put together?

Or is is better to buy them bare? 

The assembled versions look like a good buy even if you have to change valve springs.

pl

[Chrisss31]

Brent seems to have the most experience with these, hopefully he'll chime in.

[blykins]

I use them both ways, probably 50/50.   Their hydraulic roller spring package is nice, springs are made by PAC, retainers are Crane, etc.  Not cheap, quantity, rebuilder stuff.   Good valves, good seals, good valve job that obviously works well.

When I buy them bare, they get detailed and washed, cc'd, oil feed hole tapped for restrictor or plug, then assembled with valve springs for the engine.  Valve jobs are checked.

When I buy them assembled, they get disassembled, washed, install heights and spring pressures checked, oil feed hole tapped, etc, etc.  Valve jobs are checked.

I sell them drop shipped from Trick Flow sometimes, so I don't have any control over what is done when they get them, but I would suggest that they be disassembled, cleaned, blueprinted, etc.  I have noticed that a lot of the assembled heads have aluminum flakes/trash in them.  I've looked down the intake ports and saw aluminum flakes stuck in the assembly lube that they use on the valves. 

So the answer is they are nice out of the box, but no, I wouldn't just slap them on out of the box. 

[plovett]

Thanks!  What would you do for a smallish solid roller?  Get the titanium retainer version and change the springs or just start bare?

pl

[blykins]

Thanks!  What would you do for a smallish solid roller?  Get the titanium retainer version and change the springs or just start bare?

pl

Depends on what smallish is. 

[plovett]

Thanks!  What would you do for a smallish solid roller?  Get the titanium retainer version and change the springs or just start bare?

pl

Depends on what smallish is.

Around 248 to 252 on the intake?  Around 650" lift?

[blykins]

What size engine?  If it's gonna be peaking at around 6000 or so, then no need for solid roller and no need for titanium retainers.  If it's gonna go on up, then I would try to lighten the valvetrain up. 

FWIW, on a street engine, I'd use a hydraulic roller up to 7000-7500 rpm.  Lots of longevity advantages over a solid roller.   But anytime I cross the 6000-6200 rpm line, I start putting effort into lightening stuff up. 

With the work that I've done on the hydraulic roller stuff over the past 2-3 years, I just can't justify a solid roller on a street application.  Street/strip and full race is a little different.   A hydraulic roller will hang right with a mild lobed solid roller for a long time.   When you start getting into more aggressive lobed solid rollers, then the spring pressures go up and you stand the chance of pulling stand studs out.   When I cross the 600 lb open pressure line on solid rollers, aluminum heads automatically get T&D race rockers.

[plovett]

What size engine?  If it's gonna be peaking at around 6000 or so, then no need for solid roller and no need for titanium retainers.  If it's gonna go on up, then I would try to lighten the valvetrain up. 

FWIW, on a street engine, I'd use a hydraulic roller up to 7000-7500 rpm.  Lots of longevity advantages over a solid roller.   But anytime I cross the 6000-6200 rpm line, I start putting effort into lightening stuff up. 

With the work that I've done on the hydraulic roller stuff over the past 2-3 years, I just can't justify a solid roller on a street application.  Street/strip and full race is a little different.   A hydraulic roller will hang right with a mild lobed solid roller for a long time.   When you start getting into more aggressive lobed solid rollers, then the spring pressures go up and you stand the chance of pulling stand studs out.   When I cross the 600 lb open pressure line on solid rollers, aluminum heads automatically get T&D race rockers.

I've seen the progress you've made with hydraulic rollers.   It's pretty crazy how different it is from 5 or 10 years ago.  However I have a set solid rollers that I got from you many moons ago.  I would like to use 'em now that I am going to be using a 428 block instead of the center oiler. 

It's looking like I am going to be in the 448 452 inch range.  Max rpm 7000 or less. 

I have the 6 bolt per side Dove rocker stands.  I was hoping with time serts in the heads they would work okay with a "mild" solid roller.

Thanks for all the advice,

pl

[My427stang]

To answer your questions, I haven't had as many cross my bench as Brent, but a couple of points

1 - They usually need some valve spring tweaking, even if the springs are right for the application.  A shim here or there, not bad, but not as fussy as I would like

2 - They generally are not exactly the same from left and right, although close enough to run (1/2 cc difference, valve springs close), not exact.  I can live with a 1/2 cc, but I get all the springs where I want them.  I have never seen more than 1/2 cc difference though

3 - There was a run where they were real dirty, but they seemed to fix it

4 - The last set I got, one head had some goofy helicoils, I think they may have been slightly tightened too deep, and spread a little.  I had to chase with a tap, which if it didn't go easy, I would have replaced them.  The bolt and a thread chaser were binding, not locking up, but not perfect  They looked normal, but the threads just felt tight to me, no issues after a clean up pass 

5 - The PAC springs have lots of room to shim and change things, but even if not, likely cheaper to buy assembled heads and change springs than buy bare and buy valves and springs.  I'd look close at the 1.55 spring assembled package, non-titanium, and see where coil bind is, might be able to work with those springs.  If not, I would buy the 1.46 spring package (cheaper) and buy springs and any other parts you need

[plovett]

Thanks Ross!

Those Trick Flows are looking more and more mean the more I see the results.  Trick Flow tells me they are cast and machined in the US, too.  I am on board that train!

Now I can just find someone to build my shortblock. 

pl

[CV355]

Lots of good info in this thread...  This answered some questions I had too.