# AEB head on a BEA (2003+ VVT) motor



## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

A buddy of mine is going to sell me his AEB head for $100. Sounds like its a pretty good deal. But Im wondering if its gonna be compatable with my motor. I know The AEB would be minus the VVT, and from what Joe says, theres no EGR port on the head. Anyone know what all is involved in the swap/retro fitting?


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## l88m22vette (Mar 2, 2006)

Swap everything over from the BEA head. If you have ditched SAI, no worries about the port, it is where the kombi valve bolts on. If you have SAI still, you'll have to get rid of it


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## MKllllvr28 (Sep 15, 2005)

If you change your mind about using that aeb head send it my way! I could use another couple of hp's lol.


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

l88m22vette said:


> Swap everything over from the BEA head. If you have ditched SAI, no worries about the port, it is where the kombi valve bolts on. If you have SAI still, you'll have to get rid of it


I dont have my SAI crap any more. Is it really as easy as that?



MKllllvr28 said:


> If you change your mind about using that aeb head send it my way! I could use another couple of hp's lol.


lol, will do. If I can get it to work, Im def. gonna keep it.


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## madmax199 (Oct 28, 2009)

warranty225cpe said:


> I dont have my SAI crap any more. Is it really as easy as that?
> 
> 
> 
> lol, will do. If I can get it to work, Im def. gonna keep it.


Make sure you get it hot tanked and magnafluxed, you lucky bastard you !


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

madmax199 said:


> Make sure you get it hot tanked and magnafluxed, you lucky bastard you !


I will. Is it really that big of a deal/worth doing (AEB swap)? Hes running it on his big turbo motor right now. I know its been gone through, but Id like to have it cleaned, and polished. I plan on adding E85 and frankenturbo to the mix as well. I wonder what kind of power id be looking at..


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## l88m22vette (Mar 2, 2006)

warranty225cpe said:


> I dont have my SAI crap any more. Is it really as easy as that?


Yep, the cores are the same aside from the port sizing (intake and exhaust are both bigger); you'll want to get a transition spacer for the intake manifold (or get one of the several big-ports available). 



warranty225cpe said:


> I will. Is it really that big of a deal/worth doing (AEB swap)? Hes running it on his big turbo motor right now. I know its been gone through, but Id like to have it cleaned, ported and polished. I plan on adding E85 and frankenturbo to the mix as well. I wonder what kind of power id be looking at..


Don't worry about a p/p, its not worth the effort, put the money toward rods, injectors, and the other crap you'll need. p/p comes after doing everything else (that stuff + cams, intake manifold, etc.), and you're using a small turbo anyway, put the money where it will be most well-spent


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## madmax199 (Oct 28, 2009)

warranty225cpe said:


> I will. Is it really that big of a deal/worth doing (AEB swap)? Hes running it on his big turbo motor right now. I know its been gone through, but Id like to have it cleaned, and polished. I plan on adding E85 and frankenturbo to the mix as well. I wonder what kind of power id be looking at..


No polishing please, just cleaned and checked for internal cracks not visible to the naked eye. 

The big port is that big of a deal even on a stock frame turbo. Besides better flow, the AEB head has been tested to have much better knock threshold than a small port head. That means the ability to run more advance timing and more agressive tune without the risk of detonation(bad) and pre-ignition(worse).


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## RabbitGTDguy (Jul 9, 2002)

So lucky...and if your sai is gone (lucky again) even better. I have been toying with this idea as well but had not found one yet. When putting it together throw in rods as well to save yourself time and effort down the road.

I need to check the pick a part...

Joe


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

RabbitGTDguy said:


> So lucky...and if your sai is gone (lucky again) even better. I have been toying with this idea as well but had not found one yet. When putting it together throw in rods as well to save yourself time and effort down the road.
> 
> I need to check the pick a part...
> 
> Joe


Yeah, I plan on doing rods at the same time. Time to start hoarding parts..:facepalm:


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

MKllllvr28 said:


> If you change your mind about using that aeb head send it my way! I could use another couple of hp's lol.


Are you looking to put an AEB on your car? If so PM me.

OP: I'm doing the same thing for my setup. I'm actually using a AWP bottom end and AEB head. SAI has been gone for awhile.

If you're really in the mood you can drill and tap the block for the larger AEB headstuds (11mm over standard 1.8T 10mm). I already have 10mm ARP studs so I'm skipping this step. If I were you I would not skip building the head. At a minimum you want to do aftermarket exhaust valves no matter what. I caused epic destruction by melting an exhaust valve stem because the stocks are hollow. Put my whole car off the road for the last six months and is costing me thousands to get it back. New motor & turbo...


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

DougLoBue said:


> Are you looking to put an AEB on your car? If so PM me.
> 
> OP: I'm doing the same thing for my setup. I'm actually using a AWP bottom end and AEB head. SAI has been gone for awhile.
> 
> If you're really in the mood you can drill and tap the block for the larger AEB headstuds (11mm over standard 1.8T 10mm). I already have 10mm ARP studs so I'm skipping this step. If I were you I would not skip building the head. At a minimum you want to do aftermarket exhaust valves no matter what. I caused epic destruction by melting an exhaust valve stem because the stocks are hollow. Put my whole car off the road for the last six months and is costing me thousands to get it back. New motor & turbo...


Id like to completely build the head. But I dont plan on going "big turbo". So I dont think I want to get crazy. But I will go through and change valves, springs, but Im not messing with the cams.


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## Doooglasss (Aug 28, 2009)

Cams are easy to do later without opening up the motor.

FYI: $100 is a GREAT deal. I spent $450 on mine...

Go Ferrea :thumbup::thumbup:

That's what I did:


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## RabbitGTDguy (Jul 9, 2002)

Hate to say it but if you are headed BT in the short term then I am honestly not sure that the aeb head is worth the cost, etc in fitting. The small port head flows plenty and if anythings is better for our stock turbos, k04, k03/s, or anything OEM. even a frankenturbo I do t believe according to the specs won't do it. 
Big ports really benefit and show gains due to higher flow capacities and volume...flow specs that only a properly sized BT setup would really take advantage of...

Your call...but if the BT isn't in the future plans then I am not sure whether I would make that investment. I would love to find one myself...but I am also ready to start finding another block, etc to work towards a build.

Joe


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## warranty225cpe (Dec 3, 2008)

I hear you Joe. But I kinda disagree.. If only for the fact that more flow is always better. Ad the fact that the head will be super cheap = no brainer IMO. I can take my time and slowly build it. Then I can do rods get turbo, injectors, and all the other e85 essentials while I wait.


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## RabbitGTDguy (Jul 9, 2002)

If it's in your future (a BT) then yes. If not...no. 

Flow is flow "is right". Fact is...you don't have the "flow" to max the current head and outflow it...making the large port head gains nominal...if at all. There has been much debate on this here and elsewhere. 

You can do it, well worth it for future considerations...but don't expect any gains without having the source for "more flow" along with adding the support for it (the AEB head )

Joe


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## 20psi now (Feb 26, 2009)

im sure if he would go the madmax way he would be able to put the head to good use....25-30psi on the f23 plus e85 im sure you would still make power off a aeb head vs the stocker if you use the same setup and psi.. id say do it, if i could find one for 100 bucks id buy it and use it... even though im on a stock tune id still use it just because i got a great deal on it..


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## RabbitGTDguy (Jul 9, 2002)

$100 bucks? Hells yeah...I would for that and put it towards a build.
Most here have a lot of work to do to get to where Max is with the KO4 and even there...without supporting mods to cool the intake charge your just increasing the "volume" of area that hot air can hold as that is well out of the efficiency range of the turbo itself. Supported works...but you still won't see the improvements.

Though...prove me wrong! There has never been definitive word on the big port vs. small with stock turbos, pushed to the limit with full bolt-ons and supporting mods to help keep IATs down.

Dyno before...dyno after. More power to ya if it's cheap! Def on my list but with the right support to use it to it's full potential.

Additionally, maybe max will chime in...but there was a discussion where he was involved (I believe) not too long ago where it came down to talking large port vs. Small port...valve pathway design differences between the two and othe considerations!

Joe


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## madmax199 (Oct 28, 2009)

RabbitGTDguy said:


> Additionally, maybe max will chime in...but there was a discussion where he was involved (I believe) not too long ago where it came down to talking large port vs. Small port...valve pathway design differences between the two and othe considerations!
> 
> Joe


The verdict is big port head is going to be superior to the small ported stocker because of a *combination of things* but only if you are capable of pushing everything else to take advantage of it. If you are going for mild boost and normal timing, even on a slightly bigger turbo, you will actually lose power over the small port. The biggest gain from the big port is the ability to take much advanced timing without detonation and pre-ignition. There is some flow advantage but you need to be pushing a lot of air (28+psi on small frame turbos) with all the choke points freed up. All of the following need attention to make use of the flow:

-Pressure loss through the intercooler(s) and lengthy/curvy OEM piping
-Intake manifold
-Exhaust manifold (biggest choke point in the system)
-Downpipe and exhaust (no pointless bends, splits and chambered mufflers)

I have found the limit of how much timing advance the small port can take (you can get a few more degrees but I kept a safety net, so I could sleep better). If I had a big port head, I could have made the timing curve even nastier than the maxed out one I run now.

Timing curve is almost flat and very advanced because of Ethanol and *should not* be attempted even on C16.




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## RabbitGTDguy (Jul 9, 2002)

Exactly...nominal gains without supporting mods and/or properly sized snail. Still worth the buck though if it's cheap...just have a plan 

Joe


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