Gen II Striker heads cost?
- Thread starter GTS1997
- Start date
Question....
Why would one of the engineer /designers of the OEM Viper heads
(Jeff Mory) feel it was necesary and beneficial to build a complete seperate head casting (STRIKERS) for the high performance application?
Stick with the Strikers....
Why would one of the engineer /designers of the OEM Viper heads
(Jeff Mory) feel it was necesary and beneficial to build a complete seperate head casting (STRIKERS) for the high performance application?
Stick with the Strikers....
Don't forget when comparing cost. The Striker price includes:
-set of T'D Roller rockers
-custom, hardened pushrods
And...
-Your car is not down while heads are being done
- You still have a perfectly good set of heads to keep or sell to offset the -cost of the Strikers.
FWIW... I did some extensive research on this before I built my engines. Talked to Jm several times. After all, he is involved with the design of both.
I didn't have a preference between JM and Greg Good before I gathered the info and made my decision. My blower intake was already ported by Greg Good and he did a great job. I went with the best performance solution possible. I based my decision on the all the info facts and opinions gathered.
I have Strikers on my S/C Gen 2 and JM Stage 3 heads on my TT Gen.
Again, FWIW...
-set of T'D Roller rockers
-custom, hardened pushrods
And...
-Your car is not down while heads are being done
- You still have a perfectly good set of heads to keep or sell to offset the -cost of the Strikers.
FWIW... I did some extensive research on this before I built my engines. Talked to Jm several times. After all, he is involved with the design of both.
I didn't have a preference between JM and Greg Good before I gathered the info and made my decision. My blower intake was already ported by Greg Good and he did a great job. I went with the best performance solution possible. I based my decision on the all the info facts and opinions gathered.
I have Strikers on my S/C Gen 2 and JM Stage 3 heads on my TT Gen.
Again, FWIW...
Bolt
Viper Owner
Greg Good just did my heads. We did some extreme stuff. I'll be doing a write up on it soon. Watch for the write up.
Here is a short version of what he did:
Put Gen III valves in GenII heads (special machining done)
Port
Isky bee hive springs (special machining done)
Upgraded the rockers Replace GenII rockers with GenIII rockers (special machining done)
Total flow testing
Pressure tested
Surfaced
From what I understand this has never been done before.
See pictures at the very end of this album. Photos #315 thru 321 Sorry for all the extra pictures in this link. (be sure to click the show all to see all thumbnails)
Viper build
Again, There will be a detailed write up in the near future.
Greg Good is great to work with.
Here is a short version of what he did:
Put Gen III valves in GenII heads (special machining done)
Port
Isky bee hive springs (special machining done)
Upgraded the rockers Replace GenII rockers with GenIII rockers (special machining done)
Total flow testing
Pressure tested
Surfaced
From what I understand this has never been done before.
See pictures at the very end of this album. Photos #315 thru 321 Sorry for all the extra pictures in this link. (be sure to click the show all to see all thumbnails)
Viper build
Again, There will be a detailed write up in the near future.
Greg Good is great to work with.
Simms
Enthusiast
What kind of build are these heads going on?
BOTTLEFED
Enthusiast
to answer your question,
I'm not positive but I have heard the set goes for $5-6k depending on where you buy them
SSSSE YA
Enthusiast
I do not know if I should post the price but they are good for 100+ HP.
BigBadViper
Enthusiast
I did alot of research on this. I had stock heads that were done by Greg. The difference is that Strikers are a bigger casting. So if you want the ultimate head, take the Strikers and have Greg port them. He has a street and a race version of the port.
Typical cost of the strikers is about 8-9K. I bought mine used for $5300 and sold my Greg goods for $3800.
Typical cost of the strikers is about 8-9K. I bought mine used for $5300 and sold my Greg goods for $3800.
eucharistos
Enthusiast
if you do either of the heads mentioned, do you need to change stock fuel supply, and stock (late) gen 2 headers
tia
tia
Russ M
Enthusiast
No way will stock heads even ported be able to match Strikers.
Alexarz
Enthusiast
Strykers flow about 340 cfm. Ported Gen 2 heads flow about 320 cfm. 8-9k for heads is ridiculous. My 454 vette heads flow 370 cfm and they cost me $1500.
GTSnake
Enthusiast
"Typical cost of the strikers is about 8-9K."
"I'm not positive but I have heard the set goes for $5-6k depending on where you buy them"
Ok that's WAY over budget for me (stock is good....right?) . Thanks for the answers though.
"I'm not positive but I have heard the set goes for $5-6k depending on where you buy them"
Ok that's WAY over budget for me (stock is good....right?) . Thanks for the answers though.
Alexarz
Enthusiast
You didn't just compare a Vette to the Viper did you???
A Viper head is nothing exotic.
VIPER BAZ UK
Enthusiast
Greg gets some great postings here and a lot of very happy customers/members...
I got a set of Cauldwell heads from DC performance and i am very happy...
I got a set of Cauldwell heads from DC performance and i am very happy...
The Viper has a V10 meaning that it needs less flow per port because there is more ports.
The Viper head is similar to the MP 340/360 race head design (W6 version I think).
If the port flow too much for the application then the velocity is too low and the airflow will stall. Bigger is not the whole answer.
Although a roots or ts supercharger would benefit from large ports the most. Forced Induction gets the most benefits from large ports.
I would expect less performance if a set of RACE heads were installed on a stock engine. So, the higher hp engine combination needs the higher flow heads.
Just providing extra information since the thread question of price was answered and a lot of other stuff about flow numbers was added.
Ted
Alexarz
Enthusiast
Thanks for the explanation Ted but that doesn't mean that 9k is a fair price for a pushrod V8 head.
Unless you are going for big power, +1000. I would just stick to the stock heads and have Greg port them. I'd purchased a set of used heads and had Greg port them for me, total cost was $ 3,500 and I still have my stock heads with no downtime. There no need for so much power if you can't keep it planted to the ground. 
Alexarz
Enthusiast
Unless you are going for big power, +1000. I would just stick to the stock heads and have Greg port them. I'd purchased a set of used heads and had Greg port them for me, total cost was $ 3,500 and I still have my stock heads with no downtime. There no need for so much power if you can't keep it planted to the ground.
Can you break that down?
heads + porting = $3500 or just porting? What about port matching the intake, throttle bodies etc?
I wasn't making any judgements on price, just trying to point out that the big buck heads could slow stock or slightly modified engines down and the valves and port size should be equivalent to engine mods. Nitrous and Forced Induction being an exception.
We all know that because of low volume sales Viper parts cost more than V8 parts. Porting is also more expensive because there's more ports to grind and more valves/seats to cut.
Ted
I would like to clarify something I posted...
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the work Greg Good does. He is probably the best at porting heads.
The price I paid for my Strikers was involved with a group buy. The price would not apply here.
Anybody have an answer to my question above regarding why the OE eng. felt it necesary to build a larger casting for hi perf.?.....
Hint... To port a stock head to flow as much as a "stock striker, the amount of OE casting that has to be ported (removed) leaves the thickness of metal too thin at the water passages in the head.
I know someone that said they tried this in conjunction with Greg Good.
That is one reason the Striker head casting was developed. I talked with Jeff Mory in detail about this, among other things. Jeff will custom build the spring set up also after discussing with you your build requirements.
Like I said. If JM could have gotten the same results with a ported stock head, why did he develop the Striker?
There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with the work Greg Good does. He is probably the best at porting heads.
The price I paid for my Strikers was involved with a group buy. The price would not apply here.
Anybody have an answer to my question above regarding why the OE eng. felt it necesary to build a larger casting for hi perf.?.....
Hint... To port a stock head to flow as much as a "stock striker, the amount of OE casting that has to be ported (removed) leaves the thickness of metal too thin at the water passages in the head.
I know someone that said they tried this in conjunction with Greg Good.
That is one reason the Striker head casting was developed. I talked with Jeff Mory in detail about this, among other things. Jeff will custom build the spring set up also after discussing with you your build requirements.
Like I said. If JM could have gotten the same results with a ported stock head, why did he develop the Striker?
Russ M
Enthusiast
bushido
Viper Owner
Whether if you go Stryker, or just stock ported heads. Make sure to mill those heads to bump up the compression( 1 full point or so). Thats where you get the killer power. The stock compression on the Viper is just too low IMO..
When milling the heads the pushrods also have to be shortened. Milling the heads also lowers the intake face causing msialignment of the intake ports so the intake face also needs to be milled. The Stryker heads are custom made and you wouldn't want to mill them unless told to do so. Forced Induction applications means lower compression as stock is too high for serious boost. I run Ross Racing pistons with a 9-1 compression ratio.
Ted
bushido
Viper Owner
I was talking about naturally aspirated power. check out Fast matt's thread. His stryker heads were milled,and he got killer power(naturally aspirated). With that said my JM stage 3 heads are also milled on my 97GTS,and raising the compression a full point really woke up my motor. Night and day difference. DC Performance did a fantastic job on my car..
Bushido
Milling the heads can raise compression by shrinking the size of the combustion chamber ... bit it needs to be done properly. Shaving the heads also misaligns the valvetrain and intake ports. I bought a 70 Challenger with a rebuilt motor for nearly free because the heads were shaved. The hydraulic lifters would 'pump-up' at higher revs and lift the valves off of the seats causing the engine to shut down. It would restart after a half hour when the lifters bled down. I used washers to lift the rockershafts higher so that the valves could close and the engine run past 4,000 rpm. That 'mickey mouse' set up went 12.9 at Seattle Int. Raceway. But, it's better to not shave/mill the heads unless it's part of the engine build.
Before '99 the engines had about 9.5-1 compresssion and in 2000 the compression went to 10.2 I believe. So it's important to know what you've got to start with and then mill both bottom and intake side of the heads (there's a formula for the intake shave).
Also we have unleaded gas now so I'd recommend that you speak to a tuner and engine builder as to camshaft and tune/timing requirements. A larger overlap camshaft works to "effectively" lower compression so the camshaft requirements are also important. Too much compression will cause power loss due to detonation so there are limits to true compression because of the lousy un-leaded gas.
Ted
Milling the heads can raise compression by shrinking the size of the combustion chamber ... bit it needs to be done properly. Shaving the heads also misaligns the valvetrain and intake ports. I bought a 70 Challenger with a rebuilt motor for nearly free because the heads were shaved. The hydraulic lifters would 'pump-up' at higher revs and lift the valves off of the seats causing the engine to shut down. It would restart after a half hour when the lifters bled down. I used washers to lift the rockershafts higher so that the valves could close and the engine run past 4,000 rpm. That 'mickey mouse' set up went 12.9 at Seattle Int. Raceway. But, it's better to not shave/mill the heads unless it's part of the engine build.
Before '99 the engines had about 9.5-1 compresssion and in 2000 the compression went to 10.2 I believe. So it's important to know what you've got to start with and then mill both bottom and intake side of the heads (there's a formula for the intake shave).
Also we have unleaded gas now so I'd recommend that you speak to a tuner and engine builder as to camshaft and tune/timing requirements. A larger overlap camshaft works to "effectively" lower compression so the camshaft requirements are also important. Too much compression will cause power loss due to detonation so there are limits to true compression because of the lousy un-leaded gas.
Ted
bushido
Viper Owner
Did you read what I wrote?
DC Performance did all the work on my car,and chris did a fantastic job tuning my car to. This was on 91 pump gas..
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Greg Good Cylinder Heads
Enthusiast
Thanks for the kind words from some of you.
I like the Striker heads A LOT, and have never tried to talk anyone out of them. They flow a lot, make a lot of power, and I think it's great that Jeff gave us a great aftermarket casting to work with. As I've said before, we should support him and make sure he stays in business.
I am also a fan of higher compression on these cars, like Bushido. I'm not aware that the creampuff cars have more compression than the 96-99 cars. I know the chamber cc's are the same, and I think the creampuff piston in the hole the same amount as the forged engines.
It's easy to get around the manifold fit issue, just mill the same amount from the intake side of the head as you take off the deck surface. If you take .050" off the deck...... take .050" off the intake side of the head. I never cut manifolds anymore.
Greg
I like the Striker heads A LOT, and have never tried to talk anyone out of them. They flow a lot, make a lot of power, and I think it's great that Jeff gave us a great aftermarket casting to work with. As I've said before, we should support him and make sure he stays in business.
I am also a fan of higher compression on these cars, like Bushido. I'm not aware that the creampuff cars have more compression than the 96-99 cars. I know the chamber cc's are the same, and I think the creampuff piston in the hole the same amount as the forged engines.
It's easy to get around the manifold fit issue, just mill the same amount from the intake side of the head as you take off the deck surface. If you take .050" off the deck...... take .050" off the intake side of the head. I never cut manifolds anymore.
Greg
