I was wondering, since I have both parts for the LN2 2.2 and 2200. Which head is better? I am most likely looking and a rebuild and ebay turbo build up. Reason Im asking which flows better is because we now can get adapter plates through IPP for the intake manifold for the older head. Should I pay for the adapter or just get the 2200 upgraded and use it?
Which block are you using? An older 2.2 or a 2200?
A 2.2(1997 and down) head on a 2200(1998+) block gives you stupid compression; something like 14:1(guestimate). Also what header/exhaust manifold are you using? The 2200 head's exhaust ports are a little higher than the 2.2's. Using an adapter would probably make it work but I don't see it being the best option for flow/performance. Others who know much more will chime in to talk about which is actually better, I think the ports are a TINY bit bigger on the 2.2 at least on the exhaust side but DO NOT quote me on that.
"In Oldskool we trust"
I agree with porting 2200 head. exhaust ports are small on 2200 and can be opened quite a bit, did it on my old 98 and made a difference
FuzzMASTA9
actually as of now this all is in question for a new build... most likely an ebay turbo build. I have a spare 2.2 block and head as well as a 2200 head left over. The cav Im driving daily actually is the stupid high comp swap.... runs fine on 93 octane no ping... but my valve seats keep giving up on me... its slowly lost power... I was aware the exhaust ports are a bit smaller in the 2200 head, plus the intake manifold on that head would make it easier to upgrade the fuel system aswell as TB. I was just wondering if anyone had done any testing on the heads to see about how much a difference there is in the heads.. like how much cfm they are capable of flowing.... main concern is the combustion chambers.... does the heart shape help? There's just a lot to think about... The only plus about buying the adapter plate for the intake manifold to go on the 2.2 head is that I wont have to deal with the ridiculous cooling system of the 2200's....
I would run a complete 2200. If youre going to turbo it, you dont need and will have tuning trouble with the higher compression. Hog out the ports on a 2200 head and throw that on a 2200 block and turbo it. If youre planning on porting it anyways, then the stock size of the ports is negligible. I wouldnt run either on a turbo setup without porting them just because its easy enough to pull them and to do.
I think you're overthinking a bit, and in ~50k boosted miles with various changes and power levels I have yet to have a cooling system issue.
"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire
I know I haven't fully explained this out yet.... I have only the 2.2 block just setting in my shop, I have time to rebuild it completely just waiting on the money. The plan is to renew all the surfaces... Deck the block, bore it out as little as I can for turbo seeing as the bores are scarred. I just wanted to know which head has better capabilities as far as flowing and pure amount of air. I was leaning towards the older style head with the adapter for the newer intake manifold, but I figured I'd ask if anyone knew if there was an advantage or not to using one head or the other... Yes, I realize that I am overthinking. One way or another both spare heads (2.2 and 2200) are complete virgins, so they both would need porting done as well as new springs and possibly guides as well on the 2.2. Since I only have the 2.2 block would it be unwise to use the 2200 head? If not it would save me time and money to just use it... The only other questionable thing I'm thinking about doing is swapping out harnesses to the tune-able ecu. Only thing is I have to many questions about whether its worth it seeing as I'm most likely just going to send out an ecu to tune.
Seriously all I can do is take it step by step. I am just thinking ahead to keep from causing myself headaches in the future...
Any suggestions are helpful. I know it seems trivial, but I just am not that savvy at knowing exactly what I am going to do let alone need to do for this kind of build. (First time turboing.)
The safest bet that I would recommend is run the block and motor that came with each other. Mixing and matching is something I would consider for an n/a build, but for a boosted build, you should be able to make some solid power with either one as it came.
Since you have the older style 2.2 head and block, thats what I would run if it was my car. This takes the guessing out of what will/wont work and leaves more effort for different areas that need it.
1 area of concern with the older style motor is the injectors. Youll need to do a top feed conversion to get the 2200 style injectors to work with the older style head. There area few people who have done it and it doesnt look to be all that difficult actually.
Second area of concern is tuning. I dont see what year the car is, but youll need 97+ harness to tune with HPT. I know there are a few tunes out there for 97 (i think its 97) that are speed density tunes which are more ideal for boosted cars. I would find someone local to you with HPT that has experience tuning these cars with boost. They can be a bear if you have never done it, especially since the alpha-n system doesnt read boost. I imagine it wouldnt be any issue running the car on a 98-99 2200 harness as the motor is basically the same.
Im pretty sure that the older style head will take an aftermarket spring easier than the 2200 but i would research (madjack has a thread) first. I know what worked in my 2200 head but its not the same.
It depends on what power level you're going for as far as what parts and mods youll need to do. If youre looking for "a little more power" you can really just do that with a stock motor and a turbo/fmic and a tune. If you are looking for 250+ hp, thats when you really need to get into more serious upgrades as far as i have seen and experienced. What is your goal with this car?
"A car just isn't a car without a little blood, sweat, and beers." -- Shadowfire
I know about the fueling issues the older style head has, I've found out IPP makes an adapter plate for under $200 that allows the plastic intake manifold from the 98' up heads to be used. So I can get the injectors I'd need to turbo it...I do have a whole gutted 99 Cavy with the harness and ecu intact. but its an automatic.. not sure how different the harness is for a manual tranny... If I can get my a/c compressor on with a header I might ditch the turbo idea... Mainly to save money for now... My cavy has just been acting up with the Head swap I did to make some extra power... I pretty much took my 95 head that's been ported, polished, and valve springs shimmed and stuck it on a 99' bottom end stock with around 100k miles on it.... Other than that all I did was swap the 95's cam into the 99' block for more top end... as the 98' up cams produced less hp and more torque, opposite of the pre 98's. Ohh, also I have the crank swapped over aswell... It has been turned once before I think .020 on the Mains and polished.001 on all rods.. with clevite bearings, racing coated rods for a small journal 327 for rod bearings, and normal clevite 77'f for the mains. nothing done at all to the pistons... no new rings, nor did we re hone the cylinder walls.. It was literally thrown together. I don't have a hp goal, originally wanted to keep it N/A but was considering turbo for a rebuild but don't really want to have to upgrade too aweful much. I don't wanna have to redo the whole fuel system..... new racetronix pump and new injectors... more money than I can tie up into it right now.... Plus Its my main car not a toy... daily driven. So I'd want something reliable.
