Anybody?

 

Yes bronze guides are worth it.

If the heads are ported properly the guides have to be reomoved anyway.Bronze guides offer a tighter clearences and longer life .

 

Are the guides valve specific? I guess my real question is, If I had Fox Lake put in Bronze valve guides in bare heads, will they need the valves for sizing or is the stem on the valves a standard diameter?

 

JAC...talk to Fox Lake and ask the differences and recommendations. I talked to a reputable builder locally when I was considering bronze valve guides (for the heads I never received from DTA) and decided against them. I can't remember exactly why, but I think it had to do with life expectancy. They can be machined to tighter tolerances, and bronze is a softer metal than steel. This means it will seal better but wear quicker. Also, bronze probably reduces the friction of the valve stem to guide interface. The guy I talked to said he recommends them for cars that see low mileage (summer weekend cruisers) and race cars, but recommends the stock steel ones for daily drivers types.

 

If you are having Fox Lake do the port work, then I guess I would have them do the valve guides as well. If you are only going to send the heads to Fox Lake in order to have the guides installed, then you have a local option. If you want to look into it, there is a head shop on Prospect Road just north of Commercial Blvd named "Cylinder Head Exchange". They installed bronze valve guides in my DOHC Cobra heads four years ago, back when everybody told me that bronze valve guides were unavailable for a mod motor. They also have a Serdi valve machine. You will have to have the valve job re-done if you get bronze guides installed, as the guide will no longer be exactly concentric with the valve seat.

Bronze is self lubricating and offers high wear resistance under high temperatures. This is why it's popular as a valve guide.

 

Thanks guys, Jared you answered my question perfectly. Thanks for the tip on the shop.