head porting

[Augusto]

how does a diesel engine responds to a mild head porting?
I mean just a mild job meant for the rpm's that a diesel turns, maybe bigger valves.
what other internal engine modifications would you guys reccomend to wake up a diesel motor? different ratio rocker arms? port matching? headers? I have not seen performance diesel cams.

thanks

Augusto.

[DarkCharisma]

I would imagine a bit more flow couldn't hurt, but I'd wait for justy of chris_k1500. You can also try dieselplace.com.

[oldred95]

Boost is a measure of restriction. Lets say an engine with poor flowing heads under boost makes 200 hp. The same engine with ported heads is going to make quite a bit more power if you keep the boost level the same. I would think aside from the engine having a higher volumetric efficiency that you would also have lower intake air temps due to the lower boost required to make the same power. Can't really think of any cons to it.

[Big Angry]

Guy Tripp @ So Cal diesel is CNC porting Dmax heads, and selling them. Some of the serious big HP guys (especially sled pullers) are running them, and I think a few others are doing some head work, although it might be more for "in house" trucks, meaning you have to be on the inside of said shop to have access to it.

[justy]

Sure you can port heads. But I would recommend taking it to a dyno. Your air/fuel ratio may need to be altered some. You also want to keep a eye on your boost. I've also seen a while back a cam for the 6.5L. Haven't seen one for a duramax yet, Although I heard banks will make one if you ask them too. But if you want to port your heads go for it, but get it tuned well. All depends how big of valves you put into it. Alot of the reason you don't see alot head mods is because of emissions. But just like a gas engine a diesel engine can be altered. A good diesel shop can tell you what size of valves are going to work best with as little tuning as possible. It might be low enough just to use a scan tool/pc to get everything right.

[Big Angry]

If you want cams, CompCams has one for the dmax, as well as socal diesel and TTS, the latter both sell rods, pistons and other hard parts for the Dmax, and socal has released the 7.1 stroker kit, so if 6.6L weren't enough, and you got a spare $12k laying around...

[Sandracer799]

Originally Posted by Big Angry

If you want cams, CompCams has one for the dmax, as well as socal diesel and TTS, the latter both sell rods, pistons and other hard parts for the Dmax, and socal has released the 7.1 stroker kit, so if 6.6L weren't enough, and you got a spare $12k laying around...

And if the 7.1 is not enough for you Curtis Halverson of Diesel Performance Reaserch is going to be releasing a 7.3 stroker kit.

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/sho...9&postcount=25

[Augusto]

thanks for the replies but I was not after porting a D-max but a Isuzu 3.9 turbo 4 cylinder that I swaped into a C1500, it's a dayly driver not a performance puller, it just needs a bit more power, this engine is rated at only 85 hp and I would love to extract more from it, I have installed a new turbo that makes 20 psi and a intercooler as big as the radiator but didn't make a noticeable difference, please advice.

Augusto.

[Big Angry]

I would begin by looking at any performance engine builders in your area. Porting a head is fairly common and a reputable shop with experience could probably help you. Although, I think you probably need a tad more fuel to spool that bigger turbo first then port the head to increase flow and decrease smoke. Not much advice to give you on a 3.9L Isuzu. Just isn't much of a performance market for those things.

[justy]

Do you know if they make marine injectors for the isuzu 3.9? Might be something to look into.

[Augusto]

there is no problem with the injectors or the pump, there are plenty of parts here to tweak them, it was already recalibrated but I think the head is too restrictive hence the 20 psi of boost and no big difference in power.

I wanted to know if a diesel port job is substantially different from a gasoline, I have done porting for several years but in gasoline engines only and I'm afraid to apply a regular recipe to this diesel engine.

my common sense tells me what to do but I want to hear if the experience dictates a different route to follow.

what is the main consideration when porting a diesel head? raw flow numbers or velocity, turbulence, etc? bigger valves? more lift?

thanks.

Augusto.

[Augusto]

hey guys, don't leave me alone with this please.

Augusto.

[vegaman04]

Never done any head porting but if you take a normally aspirated gasser and throw a TC or a SC at it, you always have to increase fuel pressure / supply and adjust timing accordingly. Typically you do head porting too. Diesels are just high compression engines, so what would be any different. All your trying to do is stuff more crap, in the same size of space. You cant be restricted in any of those ways, otherwise your power numbers are going to suffer.