Edelbrock Performer RPM 440 Head Review

[@craighuff1775]

I called and asked for an opinion on my sbc profiler head valve geometry. I could tell you were busy when you answered the phone. While our convo was to the point, I didn't take it as rude or short just working and things to do. You took a minute from your day to give a guy a pointer that did not purchase his heads from you. Thanks for your videos and time. Many of us send thanks.

[@yarrdayarrdayarrda]

I think Edelbrock chose their market wisely. They filled voids in the market for a lot of off brands where all you had to work with was junky factory castings. We've built and dyno'd several 383 to 500+ inch B and RB Chryslers with their E street, RPM, and Victor heads with great results. These heads are street oriented, so if you want to spin the engine north of 6000, they need work. If you want to build a street monster that makes 550 HP and 600 LB FT, they are an excellent choice.

[@thepowershift]

Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge. It doesn’t matter much what head it is the info pretty much applies to all heads.

[@LimitedGunnerGM]

Your intro alone means that when it’s time to build my engine I WILL be ordering through you. What the intro tells me is that I need to start off ordering the head. Then start sourcing the rest of the parts.

[@griffittsgarage]

Finally! Truth about these heads, I’ve been saying this since they came out years ago. The Brodix B1-bs buries this head! Thanks Eric 👍🏻

[@Torquemonster440]

Yes, they do.. but for over twice the price. 95% of guys dont have the budget to drop 3k+ on a set of heads.

[@griffittsgarage]

@@Torquemonster440 I hear you man. I didn’t have the money back when I bought mine B1-BS’s in the late 90’s. Took me a year to save up. You really can’t price compare when it comes to highly developed quality engineering. Buy it once 🏁

[@Torquemonster440]

@@griffittsgarage yep..buy it once. I'll probably never figure that out.. lol.😂

[@markwise9868]

Two totally different audiences for the heads you mention.

[@griffittsgarage]

@@markwise9868 there’s a right way and a wrong way to design a head. You don’t copy all the bad parts of a head and then call it a performance product. They could of just as easily built a nice piece. I’m not talking about the OG B1 bad boy head I run, I’m talking direct replacement. It’s that simple.

[@slowg8701]

Nice to see a mopar head reviewed. Thanks

[@Rrottweiler]

Cant wait to see Gen 3 Hemi stuff. Rly hard to find good info.

[@nova467spanker]

Also, Trick Flow came to the rescue and made the Power Port 240 BB Mopar heads. Fully CNC and they changed the combustion chambers. Take a look at those. Too bad you cant get your hands on these to test them.

[@theshed8802]

I can empathise with you. Some days I get 30 plus phone calls and messages, which is great, except for when I am on the phone I'm not working. And I don't count the people that ring 5 times in a row, and send 3 messages as 5 calls and3 messages, they count as one. It costs money to answer a phone, and it delays completion of a job. I can't have my phone in my pocket when I'm working because it fills up with metal chips and they kill it. People don't realise the cost of tooling to do what appears to be simple stuff. Another great video. Regards Greg

[@xr7coug]

Very few dealers/sellers would take the time to explain the issue of time versus income. You pour your knowledge and heart into the discussion and in the end you're disappointed. As prospective buyers for anything that is not a commodity, we all need to keep this in mind.

[@nova467spanker]

That's what Edelcrock did when they came out with their Cleveland heads. Us Cleveland guys were so happy an American company was making aluminum heads for us. Low and behold they are basically a copy of the 2v iron head. Yes they did change the chamber but for the cost of those heads vs the power they make, just not worth it. Then like always, Trick Flow came through for us and I bought my Trick Flow 225cc Cleveland heads in 2012. Great deal too. $2500 assembled to my door. I will never have anything Edelcrock on my car - never!

[@peterfairlane2065]

Nailed it on the heads being an aluminum copy of a factory head. Seems the same for the Olds , Pontiac and Dodge big and small block. And I can see the same as you did. small improvements would make the world of difference in the way they perform . I remember calling Edelbrock years ago with the same suggestions. Got the brush off and no one was interested. Shame because they were a power house of top performing and innovative company at one time.

[@brucesherrill4116]

Thanks to whoever sent these 440 Edelbrock heads in! I'm shocked to hear how poorly they flowed. No wonder Trick Flow claims a 100hp improvement over stock. Surely someone has a set of Trick Flow's that would send them in for a $30 evaluation! Eric, too bad you don't have anything to test small block Mopar heads with. I have 3 sets of stock iron ones that I'd like to have evaluated.

[@danielslocum7169]

they are advertised to flow 290 and they came very close[@.600 lift]. that happens to be much better than stock iron, flowing 225-240. they are therefore a great street head and the aluminum is much lighter and allows more compression without pre-ignition. yes trick flow and indy flow a lot more but also cost a lot more. torque happens to be king on the street by the way,as many big chevys and 426 hemis without steep gearing have learned the hard way vs 440 mopars and buick 455s.

[@zaifi1000]

Love your videos. Very informative. I have a pair of Edelbrock victor max wedge 440 heads if you would like to make a video with them. They are new in the box (just heads and valves, no springs or hardware) and have not been valve jobbed yet. You can be brutally honest. I've had them a long time and nobody has any reviews of the max wedge version. Let me know. Thanks.

[@ratherbeboating10]

Eric, I completely understand where you're coming from. We have people call every day looking for us to build them a product. (Home recreation without going into too much detail). They go "I would like an estimate" and I immediately follow them up with "well just so you're aware, we are currently taking appointments for June 2023." because that's how booked we are. Except the answer is normally "there is no possible way you're that far out." we are and they normally say they'll look elsewhere. All I tell them is don't let anyone try and tell you it'll be finished by the end of the year. All my competitors in in a similar situation. We all talk and know what's up so... I just try to be upfront and honest before wasting their time. Some beg and say they'll pay extra but honestly, while I'd like extra cash, I'm just going to run with it in the order it came to me and be done with it.

[@vrm86gt]

thanks for being upfront Eric!

[@Torquemonster440]

It's tragic what Big Block Mopar guys have to use for heads.. pretty much an SBC head..😪. I'm building a 505ci 440 based stroker currently, poor thing is gonna be choked by the heads. Gonna widen the pushrod pinch, they measure in at 2" port csa stock [pushrod pinch].. pretty sad, hoping to see some benifit from opening them up to about 2.3" csa.. we shall see. Thanks for the info as always Eric.. I've learned so much from you this past year. Much appreciated. 🙏

[@seancollins9745]

Well, how many guys have the $$$$ for badass head ?

[@markwise9868]

These were originally released late '90''s as I recall and are one of Edelbrock's best selling heads. They were meant to be a stock replacement head with a little better flow. Lots of guys running them and making 500 hp and 600 ft/lbs. is super easy. CNC porting these or the Stealths (440Source copied these ports, they both use the same program) makes 600 hp a breeze. For a street car, that's a lot of bolt on, reliable HP. The Victor was meant to be the Mopar BB race head and Edelbrock failed with them on a number of levels.

[@f-bodyjon2189]

Thanks for your phone call with me this week. I kept our conversation short since I imagine your busy. We weren’t able to take on my project but thanks again for the call. Jon

[@timarnott4483]

A final btw, i ALWAYS stick around to the end of ur vids...always more info to be had.. TY SIR!!

[@greghouser1338]

Your in business! Thank you for all the information you give on your videos.

[@big3fan916]

For a long time you didn't have much choice for the Mopar guys , You had heads from mopar , and Brodix B-1 then Indy , Edlebrock was the only one making a aluminum head for big block Chrysler that didn't cost an arm and a leg . Chrsler guys have the same problem with blocks , ya got to spend 5500 to 7500 on a block - you can buy 2 to 3 aftermarket chevy blocks for that .

[@cfmechanic]

Send in for evaluation seems like a coil deal. That exhaust valve massive compared to my small block chevy 440 c.i.

[@dbc105]

Good video, thanks. You mentioned the after valves job flow numbers but I didn't see them, I know you are busy but if you have a minute can you just post them here as a reply? I was looking at the 440 Source heads for a 383 street engine I'm planning for my Roadrunner and seeing as how close the numbers are on those and the these heads I'm thinking that seeing the after a good valve job numbers would also be about the same. I'm not building a racing engine so I'm thinking either of these will flow enough. Thanks for the work your putting into the vids, I'm learning a lot.

[@dbc105]

Forget what I said here, I just found the follow up video. Thanks Eric.

[@michaelloth5870]

Eric, have you flow tested Edelbrock Victor Cylinder Heads, for a 440? I believe I heard you say you tested those heads in the 440 Source Head test video. I searched KZbin but did not see a video for the Victor heads. The wait for those heads is about 1 year.

[@WeingartnerRacing]

I have but it was pre KZbin

[@jimmy_olds]

and us Olds guys are even a smaller group. Man I’d love to send you a BBO Edelbrock head to flow but they’re so damn expensive, I can’t decide if they’re worth the money.

[@karlsracing8422]

Stock replacement head. Get trickflow if you want to step up. These were always intended for stock.layout.

[@YerkitRacingChannel]

Yikes! What was edlebrock thinking with those chambers?! I guess maybe it's supposed to be an economy performance head?

[@boharris8179]

Edelbrock Victor Jr sbc heads have no back cut. I bought a set from a individual that bought em 5 yrs ago and nvr used em. One head has Ferrea valves and the other says Edelbrock. I just figured Ferrea makes valves for Edelbrock maybe I'm wrong but the valves are getting back cut and the springs are not gonna work. Also the core shift is terrible so as cast they suck. After porting they are pretty good.

[@alexlandsberger1423]

The same heads with the 75 cc chambers are more heart shaped

[@Bdoyle909]

A 383 or a 426 wedge mopar has a 4.25in bore so for all the naysayers this is still relative

[@TheProchargedmopar]

Larry Smith (Flowtech 2 on FB)ported a set of RPMS end Of Jan. Flow chart shows 285/193@400 and 332/249@600 34/45/60 seat 2.14/1.81 valves.

[@TheProchargedmopar]

He took em out to Max Wedge intake window....

[@tedslife7086]

Are these Edlebrock heads just bolt on and go ? I had a machine shop laugh at me

[@WeingartnerRacing]

Most heads are ok out of the box but its not worth the risk in my opinion.

[@dwaynehagle7445]

It's about the area under the curve. Which the valve sees twice.

[@WeingartnerRacing]

yes

[@chevyrc3623]

Well now I know about elderblock nice review I am trying to learn as best as I can for a cylinder head for my asphalt late model and a future wingless Sprint car spec motor

[@chrisw5837]

There’s little selection for Mopar small block and big block because of demand. Just not enough mopars out there vs Chevy and fords. And plus it’s old technology. Small block mopars are 50+ year old engines. everyones moving to HEMI,s LS etc. no one is going to design a great head, charge for it and sell it, won’t make any money. Luckily trick flows are out there, but no one is going to get into this market and I’m a Mopar guy.

[@danielslocum7169]

true; from another.

[@blown572hemi]

Indy make the best castings for Mopar in my opinion

[@j.d.b.pennamesonofharraant3367]

👍 ... I don't mean to be a jerk either ... I'm just super Technical

[@JohnThomas-vb9se]

I had a set of rpm XT’s that were 185 cc, cnc, sbf deals. They were pretty good for a street small cubic inch combo. Some guys really like the victor jr. sbf ones too. Also do you have to cut the seat in the head to match the back cut or is it on the valve only?

[@timothyesmond7358]

I was going to send you one of those Chinese vortec heads and I caught covid. Still going to do it just got to catch up on bills first

[@littlewarlock9361]

Mr. Weingartner where did you learn all this information? Was it trial and error, natural talent, or someone passed it on to you. Having an understanding of aerodynamics and fluid dynamics is key for an ice engine to make horsepower, but transferring it to cylinder heads is not easy. There are so many mistakes that can be made.

[@cromBumny]

The whole pandemic thing and certain choices made in leadership I'm 2020 all play toward Chyna

[@bigredracer7848]

first 👍's up EW thanks for sharing

[@timothybayliss6680]

Right on

[@DSRE535]

Engine masters did a Dyno test between these and the 440 source heads the Edelbrocks made 10 hp and 10 foot pound torque better so they’re pretty damn similar except you get a better casting probably but Edelbrock did the same thing with the Pontiac heads till recently and the Oldsmobile Heads do use the same old chamber design, That never made a whole lot of sense to me either I mean yeah there’s a ton of improvement because you can port them and make a lot more power than the factory iron heads but still

[@aaronbarnes8938]

It's sad Edelbrock has really gone down hill over the last 10 years. both Machine shops I use rather use China castings now as they come in much nicer than the eddys do now. Very sad.

[@chrishensley6745]

Sad to hear for sure I agree man.

[@gordocarbo]

They sell them cause they make more profit not because they are any better.

[@TheProchargedmopar]

Ha, imagine. STOCK valve sizes were 2.08/1.74. Even the 915 and 906 heads. 😂

[@lucascb750]

Eric, I understand your frustration with phone in "customers", they ask a million questions, waste a half an hour of your time, and 1 in 10 show up to your shop with work, and yet you gotta do, you just learn to navigate past the BS faster, lol.

[@joanneknapik6093]

More like 0ne in a hundred.

[@HoosierRooster]

I would never buy Edelbrock heads they may be better than some heads but they're still not the best if you really want to go fast not just faster

[@timarnott4483]

Hey Eric, Tim here again...........the old chamber drives me nuts (short drive).......Edelbrock made no modern chamber for their performer RPM heads for my Pontiac......i went with Kauffman...(ok the aluminum isnt the best)....but i got todays modern chamber (need only 31° of timing) as apposed to 36°.....then, b'cuz Kauffman was kickin butt, THEN Edelbrock came out with a Pontiac D-port, with a modern chamber... altho i DO have porosity in my heads.....my Kauffmans have made SUBSTANTIAL power for 10 yrs now..............and Edelbrock hasn't changed their Pontiac performer rpm heads.......WHY WUD YOU CONTINUE TO USE A 1968 CHAMBER????........boggles my mind.......so ur 440 head for a Mopar shows their relience on OLD technology..... .bad move......i prove it in my Pontiac head!!!... .DO WHAT YOU DO!!!.....any time down, i cud be makin my suspension work better!!.....just sayin.. ok....PEACE to you sir!!....just LOVE the vids!!

[@jimkillen1065]

I was never impressed with the wedge engines of Mopar and i had a few . They were decent street engines that made torque . I wanted to be able to spin up a engine because i really like high rpm hp and that is something they these engines that I had could not do . So i moved on

[@karlsracing8422]

Well you didn't do it right guys are running 7,000+ rpms with stroker

[@karlsracing8422]

340 is a wedge and they rev pretty decent

[@rong4189]

Yeah, not enough head, but a good bit better than a stock head, which just shows how tiny a stock head is lol.

[@danielslocum7169]

the stock iron 440 heads,small as they are,outflowed [albeit by a very small margin in many cases] most other factory big block heads of the period. chrysler hemi#1,big chevy#2,ford 429/460#3,440 chrysler #4. rare pontiac ram air might have been as good or slightly better,but not over max wedge. chrysler 440 head also had very good exh./intake flow at 70% which helped power a lot. big torque of the 440 down low makes a killer street engine without steep gearing needed for giant hemi or big chevy ports,very simular to buick stage 1 455. nowdays however,everybody has great aftermarket heads to choose from and everybody easily makes much more power than back in the day. a 440 can still be a big force to reckon with in the right hands, nevertheless.

[@rong4189]

Old comment but, I wasn’t saying the Mopar iron heads are the worst or not usable, just small (and in third place of the big three) when modifying for big power (Eric’s world). I own several and they’re excellent showroom stock and modified, to a point, they‘ll run with or outrun anything in their class, to a point, that’s all.

[@timhateley]

I'm surprised, I expected that head to flow 260ish on your bench.

[@manitoublack]

Somewhat concerning that the port on my 2.0L 4 cylinder (SR20DET with 500cc per pot) outflows this head by 15CFM @ .5" lift...

[@yarrdayarrdayarrda]

I'm puzzled how any of these manufacturers can remain profitable at this point. We have a bunch of builds on the go, most of them are waiting on heads, a cam, pistons, etc.

[@danielslocum7169]

i have the same problem and wonder the same.probably some will be closing their doors soon at this rate.

[@j.d.b.pennamesonofharraant3367]

Shelby Dodge vs Shelby Ford

[@mikeleschber1316]

Amy me that isn't busy these days ..... isn't that good then. They should email you all their specs and end goal. That way you can put together a plan for them to see if it fits their budget. Then you can weed out the tire kickers. I am in the home remodeling business and have people everyday asking for prices. I tell them here is a ballpark and if that fits your budget, I will meet with them to get info for a written bid.

[@deerslayer5863]

If I call I'm ordering heads

[@TheProchargedmopar]

👍💪

[@timarnott4483]

Hey Eric, Tim here, i havn't finished the vid yet, but if these so and so's want fast return time.....mabey call a diffrent head porter.......if they cant wait, then SCREW THEM!!!......i have watched ur vids enuf to know, theres no quick turnaround....... if u want what Eric Weingartner can offer, and you want it rite away, then go someplace else......YOU sir are busy with MASSIVE orders, tryin to get em out, got ur son with swimming meets, AND doin vids........SCREW THEM FOLKS!!.....if they cant wait, then u shudn't waste ur time ......ur time is INVALUABLE!!!.....just know a dude like me understands..and wants you to do what you can, and if there's a wait time, then SO BE IT!!.......i HATE the restrictions they impose on you!!.........Do what you do, work hard, and see ur sons meets........i will be here as a loyal subscriber, and not worry about ur lead time.......even if i had a set of heads for you to play with, i wud know ur situation, and give you space, cuz GOOD stuff dont happen in a moment......it takes time, effort, and passion........ur doin FINE my brother!!...ok, done with my rant....wanna finish todays vid

[@slowg8701]

440 source did copy the edelbrock heads sadly.

[@inscoredbz]

That's small block Chevy head flow. No wonder they make shitloads of torque. Better off with the procomp Victor Jr heads for Mopar. The downside to them is the cost of rockers.

[@timjenkins6049]

10 minutes....I have guys call and straight up waste HOURS of my time daily, what I'd give for just a 10 minute tire kicker......

[@timothybayliss6680]

Ya, wow. These heads kind of suck. 1.81 exhaust that flows 200cfm? Kind if crap. The intake is worse than i thought but not terrible. The embarrassing thing is these heads flow almost nothing above a factory 799/243 head that was a regular production piece with way smaller valves. These have a 15° valve angle and that makes the chamber design so much more confusingly bad. These look like they are supposed to work with the dippy factory rockers and hydraulic valvetrain and that's fine. They are, like you said, an aluminum version of an iron head.

[@blownaway4371]

People just need to understand that "it's ONLY BUSINESS" ..No offense. Maybe put a recording on the front end of the calls, saying that there will be a $20 initial charge to talk to you! Me personally, I'm kinda surprised how much time you actually spend teaching us A N D getting 'work' done!

[@cliftonsnider5776]

Edlebrock are the worst heads they I have ported and flowed