A cylinder head is the part that can be seen bolted to the top of each block of cylinders on an engine. The purpose of the cylinder head is to seal all the cylinders individually and to control the combustion process that takes place inside that cylinder. Cylinder heads will contain at least one intake value and one exhaust value depending on the engine and the size of the head. This will allow for the air and fuel mixture to go into the head and also allow the exhaust gas that then gets burned to exit the head. Another way to look at this is flow.
Because of its vital role on the engine the cylinder head is an understandably important ingredient in the never ending quest to find more horsepower. That said it is vitally important that the cylinder heads that are put on an engine are properly matched to the pistons, camshaft, and the proposed usage of that engine in order to gain maximum results. There are a good number of so called ‘experts’ that have let their egos get the best of them and have then selected the wrong castings and subsequently end up with a power shortfall instead of the power boost they may have been expecting. While it may seem like bigger heads should put out more power, if not properly matched, that will simply not be the case.
Selecting a cylinder head for an engine can sometimes be a daunting task. There are a number of heads that are produced by the manufacturer and also by aftermarket suppliers making for a wide selection. But truth be told there are only a few models that are truly made for certain engines that are expected to put out certain results and it is this that must be figured out before selecting a head. If a head is selected due to size only there is a good chance that the head will not be the right size and therefore not perform as anticipated.
This stems back to the days when manufacturers like Chevy had several engines for the same model car. Each engine had a unique head and each engine was designed for a specific purpose. While one head would certainly work on the intended engine that it was made for it may not work all that well with another similar engine that was designed to take a tiotally different type of head.
Still people want speed and they will always look to the cylinder head to try to get it. Another popular method to getting the most out of cylinder heads is known as porting. This can be done regardless of the size of the engine and helps with the air and gasoline flow that goes to the head. When a cylinder head is ported it is actually the intake and exhaust ports of the internal combustion engine that are being modified and those ports are located on the head itself.
A typical cylinder head will be manufactured with some design constraints and because of this they are usually made at suboptimal levels. When the heads are ported they are allowed to work at maximum potential and thus will put out maximum performance and a higher output of power.
The process of porting can and is used in the racing world and the everyday world. Depending on what the intended application of the engine is will depend on the porting process, but for both the road and track, porting provides an extra boost.
While finding the right head for an engine is vital, maintaining proper flow is also a key to the overall speed success of the engine. While there are different ways to identify each type of cylinder head such as looking for a casting number, these ways may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer but there are countless resources available that can help to determine what a certain cylinder head will work best with. Matching the right cylinder head with the right components and ensuring proper flow will help anyone get the most out of their engine.
