Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

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Justa1time
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Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by Justa1time »

Good Evening,

Looking for insight both good and bad on the E tec 170 heads. I have searched and searched and not much information on them and they are in my budget. The valve size and runner sizes are about right for my application. Many other cylinder heads in the price range are larger... everything. If anyone knows of a cylinder head with these smaller port sizes please chime in and NOT iron Vortecs- that is what the new heads are replacing.

350 1pc roller block
Cam to be speck'd for heads if chosen.
6krpm ish shift point
10.1 static comp
Street driven/weekend warrior. Pump gas.

Thank you,

Bryan from Oregon
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by mag2555 »

Those heads will fill your needs very nicely and with a usable power band up to 6K should not require a bunch of rear gear.

You should run a Cam of .550" lift and one that makes good usage lobe center and overlap wise to those heads greater Exh flow numbers.

With .550" lift you should be accessing 215 cfm which should get you to the 440 hp level even with only a performer RPM Manifold for instance.
I would also think about getting your compression up to 10.5 .
Last edited by mag2555 on Fri Jan 14, 2022 6:17 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by Dragginwagon406 »

Back in the early-2000s, the Etec 170s garnered a lot of attention for their low and mid-lift flow. I ended up with the 200cc Etec only because they were going on a 406. 170s were tempting though, especially for a hydraulic-cam engine.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by rfoll »

A quick look on Summit shows them at $858.50 each or $1718.00/pair. Surely there are better heads for that price.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by mag2555 »

Better in what regards other then price if the OP thinks that for his needs a 170 CC head serves him better on average?
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by rfoll »

My response has to do with my belief that Edelbrock stuff is over priced. In my experience, most of the stuff suffers from bad machining and core shift all at 10-20 percent over what others charge for the same thing. $1700 dollars should get you more than a head that only flows slightly better than a Vortec. This according to the Stan Weiss site. For the OP, I'm sorry Brian if this sounds like I'm bashing your choice. The truth is they will work fine for what you are doing. But Brodix IK 180 heads are $500+ cheaper.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by rebelyell »

in addition to IK 180, Trick Flow DHC 175; although their chambers are only 60cc. While others get great results w/ Pro-filer.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by BOOT »

Lots of heads I'd buy NEW before the eddy's

Why do you want that valve size?

Are the eddys new or just a good deal?
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by dfarr67 »

My choice was the AFR vortec, I needed a good head that was to be bolt with no checks- Eddy valve guides are an old issue along with their use (or was) of grease in the guides that blocked oil flow. The 200 was supposed to be a great head- after being worked on.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by F-BIRD'88 »

Summit Racing has a good house brand label entry level street 170 cc port aluminum 23° SBC cylinder head 2.02 1.60 . 62cc chambers
I believe they are made for Summit by brodix OR tfs.
The high velocity 170cc ports are great on street motors and will respond to hand porting like any other typical as cast SBC head to take it to the next level if desired.
It is a quality casting.
I believe they have angled spark plugs so check header fit.
Last edited by F-BIRD'88 on Sat Jan 15, 2022 4:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by F-BIRD'88 »

The "grease" in the valve guides on MOST ALL OFF THE SHELF assembled cylinder heads is for shipping/storage purpose.
On all assembled heads the end user is supposed to dissassemble, clean and check over these heads. Then clean and oil up the guides/valve stems with motor oil on re-Assembly.
Often the afermarket valve stem seals are TOO Efficient at keeping engine oil out of the valve guides. Can make for accelerated valve guide wear. You need a bit of oil in the guides for running lubrication and cooling.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by steve cowan »

Justa1time wrote: Thu Jan 13, 2022 11:11 pm Good Evening,

Looking for insight both good and bad on the E tec 170 heads. I have searched and searched and not much information on them and they are in my budget. The valve size and runner sizes are about right for my application. Many other cylinder heads in the price range are larger... everything. If anyone knows of a cylinder head with these smaller port sizes please chime in and NOT iron Vortecs- that is what the new heads are replacing.

350 1pc roller block
Cam to be speck'd for heads if chosen.
6krpm ish shift point
10.1 static comp
Street driven/weekend warrior. Pump gas.

Thank you,

Bryan from Oregon
I have 1 x TFS 175 camel Back head still waiting on the other one,March apparently.
Out of the box they suffer same problem that most as cast 23 degree heads have.
Turbulence around that 400" - 500" lift area.
Pushrod area is very small 1.67in2. After porting 1.75 as big as can be without raising roof to get area.
Airspeed is fast 415 ft/ sec pinch
450 at centre of SSR on the floor.
Valve job and chamber are nice but still need a bit of blending from top cut, I changed top cut to 40deg but keeping rest of valve job stock initially.
As cast throat is 88%
Bowl is 94%
Window area at SSR is 2.26 in2
I cc at 176cc as cast
I done some work now 186cc
Flow 270cfm @ 0.500"
282 cfm @ 0.700"
Throat still 88%
Pinch 1.75 in2
Window 2.30"
Bowl is 96%
350 ft/sec pinch avg
Apex 400 ft/sec avg
Floor 380 ft/sec avg
Common wall 280ft/sec
I tested a few different Manley valves
#11566 race flo worked well
Valve job
40,45,52,65,80.
If buying bare, guides will need to be sized correctly they are tight
steve c
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by RevTheory »

^^^Looks like you did a nice job keeping them stable^^^ =D> I sure wish I had a bench to verify my work on these DART 180s but I'm having to use The Force and hope for the best.
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by steve cowan »

RevTheory wrote: Sun Jan 16, 2022 7:21 am ^^^Looks like you did a nice job keeping them stable^^^ =D> I sure wish I had a bench to verify my work on these DART 180s but I'm having to use The Force and hope for the best.
It takes a few trips on and off the bench,
Flowbench was a decent chunk of money for a hobby guy but I doubt I could do it without a bench especially when starting out.
I think the bowl can go to 98 -100% of valve on most 23 deg heads in a street application
The biggest things I find for stability are short turn height and shape.
Width of window area behind the pushrod so the air can turn.
Valve job and chamber transition,.
steve c
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Re: Edlebrock E Tec 170 on 350

Post by Robban 54 »

Hello
I have had the Edelbrock 430 horsepower top end kit with E-tec170 cylinder head on my 383 sbc for about 10 years in a T23 Rod with a th350 and 3.07 rear axle.
Could not be happier.
Approximately 950 idle superb throttle response and pulls like an express locomotive to 6500 rpm.
Spins the rear tires whenever you want.
zero to 60 mph 3.7 sec have not tried 1/4 mile.
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