E88 head options

[Xnke]

I have a bone stock L24 engine. I want to eventually upgrade to the L28 block, but for now I'll have to run what I got for a few years. I'll be driving this car daily. In the future, I'll be trying to obtain a P79 or P90 head, but for now, I've got the E88.

 

It seems that the general opinion of the E88 cylinder head (open chamber type) is that it's good, but not good enough. I've got one of these in good condition, but now I've heard that even on premium pump gas (93 octane) it pings and rattles like a kettle on the stove.

 

I'm planning to run a Delta Cams reground camshaft, 285*, .480 lift, twin rebuilt SU's, and a ported and polished E88 intake manifold. I'm a college student, so I either have to work with what I have, or compromise in another area.

 

It seems from what I can read here that the E88 open chamber head has minimal valve shrouding, and so should be able to flow fairly well, but the open chambers yield crappy quench and thus ping all over the place. Assuming that I could obtain L26 pistons (these are dished to lower CR and match the open chamber better) I could probably solve this problem, but at the expense of less power.

 

What kind of work would the E88 head benefit from the most, as far as making it work with flat top L24 pistons, keeping in mind that I'd like to be able to run mid-grade gas (89 octane)? 93 is not available everywhere around here, and it leaves me with a little detonation safety. So far, the intake and exhaust ports will be treated to a decent porting job, new valve seats, and a ported intake manifold.

 

Any Ideas/suggestions?

[z-ya]

Since you are a student now, and on a limited budget. I would get the L24 tuned and running well in near stock form just for use as a daily driver. A well tuned stock L24 has plenty of pep for daily driving, and you can get upwards of 30mpg. Save your money and built yourself a hot L28 when you can afford to do it right.

[X64v]

Xnke, you have misread the information out there. The e88 will cause knock on L28 engines, not your L24. When on an L28, compression can be 10:1 or higher, depending on the specifics, and with it's chamber design, it doesn't seem to do so well.

 

On an L24, the e88 yields just 8.8:1 CR, which you can happily run on low grade 87 octane all day long without a problem. I run an L24/e88 under 10psi of boost, without an intercooler, on crappy 91 octane, with no knock.

[Xnke]

Well, this is pleasing to the ears! Yes Z-ya, I know about building it right. I work in the school's machine shop, so that part of an engine build is taken care of. For the L28, the biggest expense is getting the parts.

 

X64v, that information is very nice to know. I'll be calling Delta today to get my cam reground, and that information is instrumental to what grind I'll choose. Thanks goes to Both of you guys for a FAST, accurate answer!