{"id":72485,"date":"2020-05-14T12:25:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:25:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/?p=72485"},"modified":"2020-05-14T12:25:01","modified_gmt":"2020-05-14T19:25:01","slug":"head-games-inside-the-brodix-bb-3-xtra-lineup-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/head-games-inside-the-brodix-bb-3-xtra-lineup-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Games: Inside The Brodix BB-3 XTRA Lineup Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Last issue, we took a brief look at the direct bolt-on Brodix Race Rite series of cylinder heads<\/a> (https:\/\/brodix.com<\/a>). If you spin your browser back to that article, you\u2019ll see that complete series of cylinder heads (big and small block Chevy) are engineered to work with many OEM components, including intake manifolds, stock location headers and factory accessories.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great concept and virtually all of the cylinder heads in that lineup offer considerable performance improvements over factory hardware.<\/p>\n

\"\"
When Brodix raised the exhaust port on heads like the BB-2 Plus and the BB-3 XTRA 345, they also increased port flow dramatically.\u00a0 The flow improves right across the range of lift figures. At the top end, it\u2019s up almost 27%.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Honestly, I was initially \u201call in\u201d on the Race Rite BB-3 Xtra heads.\u00a0 I had used a set of the regular Xtra O\u2019s\u00a0 (not the Race Rites) on a previous project and it proved to be an absolute beast from the power production end of the equation. The really big question though was exhaust port flow. Without raising the exhaust port on the Race Rites, Brodix can\u2019t provide huge-by-large flow numbers on the exhaust side.\u00a0 We all have to understand that flow isn\u2019t everything when it comes to cylinder heads, but at least they provide a comparison tool.\u00a0 And it\u2019s particularly useful when comparing different heads from one manufacturer.\u00a0 Here are the intake and exhaust flow numbers for the BB-3 XTRA 345 Race Rite (with stock exhaust port location) direct from Brodix:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Valve Lift:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .200\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .300\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .400\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .500\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .600\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .700\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .800-inch<\/p>\n

____________________________________________________<\/p>\n

2.30-inch Intake:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 162\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 244\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 312\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 355\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 389\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 406\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 414<\/p>\n

1.88-inch Exhaust:\u00a0 112\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 146\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 178\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 203\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 222\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 235\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 238<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As you can see, the intake side moves copious amounts of air. And that\u2019s from a pretty much as-cast port (the intakes are lightly gasket matched).\u00a0 But I wasn\u2019t quite done yet. In conversations with the folks at Brodix, they suggested that the head I should really consider for my own combination is a regular BB-3 XTRA 345 head with a raised exhaust port. The intake ports are identical to the Race Rites shown above, but there\u2019s a huge difference when it comes to the exhaust:<\/p>\n

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Another difference is the valve cover rail. Check out the differences between the two different heads in the Brodix lineup. The BB-2 Plus head has a raised rail. The STS Race-Rite does not.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Valve Lift:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .200\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .300\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .400\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .500\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .600\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .700\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 .800-inch<\/p>\n

____________________________________________________<\/p>\n

1.88-inch Exhaust:\u00a0 138\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 190\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 227\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 256\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 275\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 296\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 301<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Raising the exhaust port (in this case, by 0.600-inch) really offers considerable performance advantages, provided you\u2019re willing to deal with custom headers.\u00a0 And the truth is, for my application, it wasn\u2019t a tough deal to locate headers \u2013 they\u2019re available on an order basis from Lemons Headers.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Looking closely at a Brodix BB-3 XTRA 345 head, you can see why the rail must be raised when the exhaust port is raised significantly (this head is like the BB-2 Plus job with a 0.600-inch raised exhaust port). It pretty much eliminates the chance for oil pooling and consequently, valve cover gasket leaks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The really great part about the entire Brodix BB-3Xtra series is the fact they\u2019re available with rectangular-shaped or oval-shaped intake port configurations, and two of them are offered completely CNC ported.\u00a0\u00a0Brodix points out the out-of-the-box version is available in three port volumes, 327 cc, 345 cc or 363 cc, with CNC ported 119 cc combustion chambers, CNC machined bowls are blended and the ports are gasket matched.\u00a0 The BB-3 XTRA full CNC ported rectangular port version is available in two intake volumes, 366 cc and 380 cc.\u00a0\u00a0The 380 cc version flows over 440 cfm.\u00a0\u00a0The BB-3 XTRA CNC ported oval ports are available in three port volumes:\u00a0\u00a0332 cc, 351 cc, and 365 cc.\u00a0\u00a0This wide range of port volumes allows the oval port to complement virtually any engine combination available.\u00a0\u00a0In all of the heads in the BB-3Xtra lineup, the port design, port velocity, and overall layout have made them a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Brodix offers their BB-3 XTRA heads in a wide range of port volumes and chamber configurations.\u00a0 You can get them in the 119-cc range, but on other ends of the scale, they can be reduced right down to 112-cc\u2019s such as this example.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We touched on combustion chambers above. Brodix can reduce the chamber volume right down to a minimum of 112-cc\u2019s. Obviously, if you combine the reduced combustion chamber volume with a thinner head gasket, this allows one to raise the compression on a BBC without getting into a super big dome (of course, keeping finished deck height into consideration).\u00a0 By the way, on a big block Chevy, if you have the heads flat milled, the chamber volume will be reduced by one cc for every 0.005-inch removed.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The BB-3 XTRA 345 heads shown here have 11\/32-inch stem diameter valves.\u00a0 The valves are longer than stock (see the text)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Brodix BB-3 XTRA series of heads are engineered with a raised valve cover rail.\u00a0 One big reason for raising the rail is because of the potential for oil pooling. Some manufacturers do not raise the rail on cylinder heads with raised exhaust ports. Because the exhaust ports are raised, there\u2019s little space between the valve cover rail (on the header side) and the top of the exhaust port. With this setup, there\u2019s a pretty good chance the valve covers will leak, simply because oil can pool and there\u2019s no place for it to drain back easily.\u00a0 And yes, the rail is drilled to accept a stock 7-bolt pattern valve cover.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Note to the beefy bosses for the rocker studs.\u00a0 That\u2019s a definite weak spot for many production line (and some aftermarket) Chevy head castings. Brodix obviously has the fix here!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Valve dimensions and rocker geometry changes are also common on many aftermarket heads. Yes, they\u2019re good news for the application, but they can also cost you serious dollars if you\u2019re not prepared.\u00a0 If you do your homework, you\u2019ll see that a number of aftermarket big block Chevy\u2019s mandate valve train components that differ from stock (rockers and stud girdles are good examples, and as you know, swapping out valve train hardware isn\u2019t without costs).\u00a0 Similarly, revised valve (stem) length can have an effect on your valve train hardware.\u00a0 But in the case of Brodix, it\u2019s all engineered within the package. For example, the BB3 XTRA heads shown in the accompanying photos are fitted with 11\/32-inch stem exhaust valves that measure 5.494-inches in length and on the intake side, the 11\/32-inch stem valves measure 5.568-inches in length.\u00a0 In comparison (and depending upon who you ask), factory big blocks were all produced with exhaust valves measuring 5.350-inches in length. Meanwhile, the intake valves measure 5.218-inches in length. In stock form, the stems are 3\/8-inch in diameter.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The BB-3 XTRA line up accepts stock accessories up front. That means an OEM style alternator bracket can fit. Ditto with some electric water pump drives and other hardware.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stock definitely isn\u2019t good when it comes to rocker stud supports. Stock Chevy aluminum heads (particularly those patterned after production line castings) are often woefully inadequate here.\u00a0 Simply stated, they tend to crack in the rocker stud boss areas.\u00a0 Added support here is pretty much mandatory and when you look at the BB-3 XTRA heads, you\u2019ll note the stud bosses are massive and pretty much a complete departure from anything Chevy built on the production line.\u00a0\u00a0 The other good news is Brodix lays out the rocker arm location for the BB-3 XTRA heads in the stock location. That means a standard stud girdle fits. It also means you can use conventional rocker arms along with OEM style pushrod guide plates.\u00a0 Because the ports are larger, you\u2019ll most likely have to use a 3\/8-inch pushrod. But if you chose to use an aftermarket shaft rocker setup (Jesel and T&D both offer them), you can have the pushrod cup offset slightly. This allows for larger 7\/16-inch pushrods.<\/p>\n

Finally, accessory mounts (or more correctly, the lack of them) can also create grief with some aftermarket heads.\u00a0 Some do not have provisions for things like alternator mounts, or for some electric water pump drives.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t sound like trouble until you start mounting hardware.\u00a0 You\u2019ll note the BB3 XTRA heads use a stock mount layout in the stock location. That means you can use production line alternator brackets if you choose.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a wrap for this segment.\u00a0 Next issue, we\u2019ll dig deeper into the BB3 head series from Brodix. You might be surprised at the level of sophistication Brodix has when it comes to cylinder heads.\u00a0 Watch for it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Inside The Brodix BB-3 XTRA Lineup part 2 with Wayne Scraba. <\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":72487,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5028,5008,17,11,3470],"tags":[4011,5717,1856,218,281,41,461,321],"class_list":["post-72485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fuel-delivery","category-engine","category-guest-column","category-how-tos","category-news","tag-brodix","tag-cylinder-heads","tag-engine","tag-guest-columns","tag-how-to","tag-news","tag-tech-tips-2","tag-wayne-scraba"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/1-min-1-scaled-e1589483771167.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p42YSK-iR7","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72485","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72485"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72485\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72861,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72485\/revisions\/72861"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72487"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.racingjunk.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}