Aluminum Cylinder Heads
The structure and strength of quality cylinder heads are designed to resist extreme conditions that a motor typically produces. Cylinder heads were first constructed out of cast iron. Cast iron cylinder heads today are becoming harder to find because of the superiority that aluminum cylinder heads provide. Cast iron heads are known to only last a certain amount of time until they eventually crack or break from usage. The quality of aluminum has made it an ideal material to use for cylinder heads for a number of reasons. They are lighter, transfer heat faster, crack resistant and they also produce more power and larger ports.
A significant amount of weight is eliminated off of the motor when replacing cast iron heads with aluminum heads. Aluminum is very light weight and durable. Even though aluminum is lighter than cast iron, it provides more strength and structural integrity than cast iron does. Another benefit with using aluminum cylinder heads is its ability to transfer heat. Cast iron doesn’t transfer heat as well and can heat up too hot. Extreme heat makes it possible for the cylinder head to crack and break. Aluminum dissipates heat a lot faster than most materials. That same idea is involved with aluminum cookware that is used when cooking.
Aluminum cylinder heads are widely known for their ability to resist cracks. Cracks may occur in cast iron cylinder heads once it reaches to a hot enough temperature. Aluminum heads rarely ever crack because of all the heat that is being transferred out of the heads. One surprising benefit that aluminum heads provides more power. When a motor runs too hot it begins to lose torque and horsepower. If these elevated temperatures are not able to be cooled down in the cylinder heads, a significant amount of power loss will be experienced. Aluminum cylinder heads provide more power at more extreme temperatures because of their ability to dissipate heat.
The size of the ports in aluminum heads can be larger than typical ports found in cast iron heads. With cast iron, structural integrity depends on the thickness of the cast iron. This limits the size of the ports because the area between the ports needs to be structurally sound. Aluminum doesn’t require the same amount of thickness as cast iron does. Larger ports provide more air flow and fuel flow as well. This increases performance by a significant amount.
High performance race cars typically will always use aluminum heads. Using these types of cylinder heads may reduce the over all weight of the vehicle by up to 100 lbs. As stated before, larger ports for both exhaust and intake provide increased air flow and fuel flow. Performance engines require these specific aspects in order to compete with other high performance motors. Another huge benefit with aluminum cylinder heads is that they are less expensive to repair. Cast iron heads are costly and may need to be replaced all together. The total overall repair costs associated with aluminum heads is also lower than cast iron because they last longer than 100,000 miles.
Customers who are looking to purchase cylinder heads are advised to purchase aluminum heads. Saving money on better performance parts is something that everyone is looking for. Many businesses online carry aluminum heads for all makes and models of vehicles. When comparing cast iron heads with aluminum heads, there really isn’t much to say about how cast iron heads are any better. The benefits of aluminum heads obviously outweigh everything there is to know about cast iron cylinder heads. Aluminum is far more superior and has taking over the cylinder head industry.
