Port and polish?

Has anyone ever done thier own port and polish? I know its not exactly rocket science but you can screw up your head. I blew a head gasket so I was just trying to get some info to decide wether or not to attempt it while the heads off. Oh, and Im not willing to pay the high price of having it done so thats why Im asking. Im not bad off mechanically so Im just trying to get a feel for labor/cost/difficulty of doing it myself. Any advice from peeps who have actually done this would be appreciated.

www.theoldone.com this page shows how energy dynamics, goes about reworking a head. It even shows some ways to rework the block. If I were you i would try to pick up some trash small block shevy heads and play around with the die grinder and practice some of the techniques and methods on that before you go grinding on a perfectly good head...It may not be rocket science, but i takes time patience and finess, one wrong move and ouch you need a new head..just my .02

i wouldnt use a chevy head. use a Honda head from a junkyard... grinding aluminum is different than grinding steel.

I wasn't sure how easy a honda head would be to come by at a junk yard...

Originally posted by white97ex
I wasn't sure how easy a honda head would be to come by at a junk yard...


easy... no one wants an old A20A from a 3rd gen accord... :D

Very easy to screw up if not done properly, ie. power losses.

All good informative responces but all things considered (especially time) I dont think Ill do it at this point. I think I will however keep my eyes out for a junked head or two and get some practice in for the future. Ive always been fascinated by that level of custom work and I know I could do it myself someday...never hurts to learn. Thanks.

Hey Drift, I used to be cybaoptik on the old ph and hung out there for quite awhile. Is hayden still involved in this new formatt and how much of the old articles/content got transfered from the old site? Just curious.

Originally posted by integr8
Hey Drift, I used to be cybaoptik on the old ph and hung out there for quite awhile. Is hayden still involved in this new formatt and how much of the old articles/content got transfered from the old site? Just curious.


nothing got transferred and hayden is no longer the owner of Purehonda

Originally posted by drift
i wouldnt use a chevy head. use a Honda head from a junkyard... grinding aluminum is different than grinding steel.
My chevy heads are aluminum! :p

But point is well taken :) grinders pull off al about three times as fast as iron. I've done some light porting/polishing work in the past, and it really isn't that difficult if you have a good plan to follow. If you don't have a plan that someone else has very carefully created and flow benched - then forget it - you're more likely to hurt flow, particularly on a good production casting like Honda's.

But I would imagine that most Hondas could do with a little polishing of the exaust ports as well as intake and exhaust manifold matching. Doing this is fairly simple and is hard to screw up.

You need a good quality air or electric die grinder with a 1/4" collet (this is not just a dremel tool!). Standard Abrasives sells a kit with most of the stuff you'll need to port several heads for about $45.

http://www.sa-motorsports.com/diyport.htm

Good luck! :cool:

I'm taking my car to get it ported and polished.
I don't dare doing it myself.
I say it's to risky.:bloated:
*I'm aslo to lazy to do it.

like fritz said, Hondas dont really need porting. they need to stay small for air velocity through the head.

polishing out all the casting marks, removing rough edges, smoothing over the convergence points, and port matching the intake and exhaust are the best things you can do for your head. if you're not familiar with air dynamics, then dont bother grinding any deeper than 1" into each intake/exhaust port or you'll risk losing flow.

but any amateur can portmatch by simply laying a properly sized gasket over the head flange, and using a permanent marker to mark off areas that need material removed to make the port equal in size to the header/intake manifold. just dont exceed 3/4" depth into the head, 1" could be catastrophic if not done right. just funnel it out until all the ink you laid out is gone.

I think it comes down to port matching and polishing are pretty straight forward. Porting or recontouring an intake or exhaust port or combustion chamber is one of those "if you have to ask us, then you shouldn't be doing it in the first place" sorts of questions.

Originally posted by Someguy
Porting or recontouring an intake or exhaust port or combustion chamber is one of those "if you have to ask us, then you shouldn't be doing it in the first place" sorts of questions.


I totaly agree with that.
Iv spent quite a bit of time hanging around a head shop with a guy who thinks the same way air flows, (hes hard to have a conversation with, but brilliant at porting heads). It really is a black art, and something that requires not only a knowledge of the relevant physics, but also lots of experiance with differnt port designs, as well as knowledge of cam shaft design and the effects of things like rod stroke ratios and the physical PRM limits of an engine.

Originally posted by drift



easy... no one wants an old A20A from a 3rd gen accord... :D

Hey now, go easy on the old car jokes:D

Ahh...
So I don't need to Port and Polish my Integra right?:bloated:

easy... no one wants an old A20A from a 3rd gen accord...


careful who you insult! There are more of us than you can imagine!

Originally posted by techlxi88



careful who you insult! There are more of us than you can imagine!

RIGHT!
GO HONDA!
:flipa: