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Hiya Guys, Which do you think is the better?? And why?? Thanx, Ol' John

Neither....use 040 castings and work on them....

If you gotta have one of these 2, use the 044s, but don't trust their valves.

Whats wrong with 044 valves? (i have a pair on my 1915 and just want to know what to look out for)
http://kghia71.8k.com/

044's. No doubt.

CB's 044 heads are great, but their valves have gotten a bad rap from some folks, for reasons of failure. There have been past discussions here about it.

040 castings will afford you better cooling but 044's will perform better for the same money spent and will run a little hotter. 040's also need to be welded to accomodate larger than 40x35.5 valves.

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68 Beetle, 70 Karmann Ghia
My VW Page

Go to the "Virtual tour" on my webpage and see the last few pics of my trophy shelf. All of the snaped off valves in the one pic have something in common, guess what?????and they all snapped the same identical way on engines with proper geometry and no valve float, one even did it at 2500 RPM.

NOTHING beats an 040 head for cooling, the fins are thing and long these are my choice for every street engine I build, regardless of state of tune, or size....

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Jake Raby
Raby's Aircooled Technology
www.aircooledtechnology.com

The BP heads still use a 14mm spark plug (better IMO for 40x35 valves) I think there is a difference in the way the valve guides are supported in the ports. When I compared them a couple of years ago, I noted this difference, but recently the CB heads have removed the exh guide support.
For my current engine I really wanted to use 043 castings for better cooling, but the cost of installing 40x35 seats was substantially more than just buying the CB heads. The CB heads are $120 each, bare. A 043 head is $99 then you have to do all that seat work. IMO, the 043 casting is superior to the 040 for 2 reasons: 043s have 3/4" long spark plugs and the exhaust port does not widen around the guide for increased port speed.

Not all 043 heads have 3/4 reach....both of them are better than anything aftermarket...


The Bugpack heads suffer from a really weird short radius on the exhaust port, and don't like to flow without alot of pocket work, and then they like to crack clear through the port...

Yikes!!!!
Jake, have you had any experience with the MOFOCO heads?
Current Mexican production 043s have 3/4" length plugs. Old German 043s had 1/2". Are those the two versions you are talking about?

Early 044s had problems with guides and seats falling out or coming loose. These problems have long ago been fixed.

We currently use the 044 casting on all our ported T-1 heads, it's very good. It is true it doesn't cool as well as an 040 or 043 casting, but the 044s strength and designs engineered in (no welding required, lots of meat around combustion chamber) are what makes it run hotter due to less fin area. Not much, but they do run a little hotter, but are much stronger.

The problem now is with the valves. "Some" 044s are supplied with valves that just snap off at the keeper groove, specifically certain "single groove" keeper and valve combinations. It's not a problem with the single groove design, it's a problem with the way the groove is cut, cheap valves, or a combination of the two.

Be REAL careful where you get your heads from, not all "44 X 37.5" heads are the same, there's as much difference between valves supplied as there is between a Yugo and a BMW. Caveat Emptor.

John
Aircooled.Net Inc.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by JohnConnolly:
<B>

SNIP
there's as much difference between valves supplied as there is between a Yugo and a BMW. Caveat Emptor.

John
Aircooled.Net Inc.
</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Was at the dealer today and ordered me a brand new metallic red Caveat Emptor Brougham Coupe' with the faux convertible roof treatment and the optional fender mounted candleabras.

I wish my brother George was here.
-ANT

In cases where welding needs to be done, I do agree with John about the 044 castings. Welding on an 043 head is difficult, and then it yields some notorious problems from heat distortion.....I still like them, but most of my engines do not need welded ports.

Have any of you used 040's in high boost applications? Along the lines of 24-28 psi.

Most I have ran was 18PSI on an 040 casting.

I ran 17psi with the old turbo setup and 8mm chromoly studs. It showed no signs of lift off. I now have 10mm and a larger turbo with a 3bar map. My main concern is head strength with the new combo. I guess we will find out on the dyno.