About the only thing you can do is see if Badger State would allow you to run them. But I know they're not permitted at PPL pulls. The sad part is, the builder of the head knew they were not ppl legal as of about June of 2016.
Actually we did not know this. The problem is that this was supposed to be worked on over the fall with us involved. As well as other manufacturers. What happened was a very closed meeting. And if a decision was made in Dec. Then it should have been posted then, not in the spring.
Here are the facts:
Other heads that are 5-8 pieces are being used. (Wagler Aluminum Heads with steel or ductile iron inserts. And yes that is more than one.) They just eliminated those heads from competition. And if you come back with that is the seat, I have a patent that says other wise. And also in regards to that. Our valves ride on the bottom part of head too with out the traditional seat. So I guess ours would also be the seat too if you want to play that game.
Replica - Are any of the aftermarket heads perfect replicas of the original. No.
So here is why our heads meet the 2016 rule.
1.) Head is factory Length
2.) Head is factory Width
3.) Head is factory Height
4.) Uses stock valve cover
5.) Uses stock Injector Body
6.) Can bolt stock accessories on such as alternator, and steering pump
7.) Can be produced with water jackets and used on a stock truck.
8.) Utilizes stock intake, and exhaust manifold bolt patterns.
9.) Material is cast ductile iron
10.) The heads visually resembles the factory heads.
11.) Retains OEM valve angle.
Here the 2015 and 2016 rules state: 8A. Cylinder head must be OEM or OEM replica for that brand engine. Outside of cylinder head must measure factory width, and length. Head must retain OEM valve angle.
2017 rule: b. Head must be OEM or OEM one piece cast replica for that brand engine. No billet heads of any material. Outside dimensions of cylinder head must measure factory width and length. Head must retain OEM valve angle. Yes this rule is being made to eliminate our head from competition, but it just eliminated a lot more than ours too. If you want fair and consistent easy to understand rules, we can have that. This isn't it, and it not will keep cost down.
No where in the rules did it state you even have to have a cast head in 2015/2016, but we still did use a cast material. No where did it state it could not be made of more than 1 piece in 2015/2016. No where in any of the rules does it state the process to be used to make the cylinder head.
Yet there is one thing completely missing from leveling the playing field, and actually keeping things in check. Maximum Height.
Here are some more facts for everyone to consider.
At the end of 2015 customers of ours brought to our attention the problems they were having with the durability of their cylinder heads. This was causing them to miss a significant amount of pulls, and eat into their daily work schedules for repairs. We knew from our experience that the material and manufacturing process need to be changed to be able to take the heating and cooling that was causing the problems. So we looked over the application, and cost constraints. We also look over the rules in both PPL and NTPA organizations.
So next we looked at the current product offering in all of pulling. Stock filled heads were costing pullers $5500 - $8000, and not very durable. Current aftermarket Duramax heads ported, and ready for a pull truck were $8600.00. Aftermarket tractor heads that are cast are in a price range from $10,000.00 - $12,000.00. We felt that the $10,500.00 for Duramax and $8250 for Cummins would be an acceptable price if we produced a durable product. We knew we could do that based on the heads we had built for tractors using the same method. The tractor heads had 16 years of service on them at this time. So really a possible cost of $656.25 dollar per year, and maybe even better given that most of those head would continue to be used. The current cost of the current products offered at that time ranged anywhere from $4300 - $8600/ year. This didn't even count other damaged parts that could come from failed heads, as well as labor time to fix the engines. Quite a cost savings could be had with our design. This also meant we could keep trucks on the track too. A win for the pullers, and a win for the pulling leagues.
So why two pieces. Well in order to keep initial costs low we needed to use existing equipment, and that meant we needed to produce the cylinder heads on a 4 axis vertical machining center. Because the Duramax has a complex port that turn almost 90 degrees the port could not be finished machined on a 4th axis machine. It would require a 5th axis machine, at a cost of $350,000.00. So we proceeded to engineer the head so we had access to machine the ports with the current machine. Another value of the two piece design for the puller was that if the seat area or deck of the head was to ever become damaged, we could replace it with a new bottom for a very significant cost savings.
Besides the rules we also looked at other available products at that time that were currently being used.
1.) Wagler aluminum cast with ductile iron pieces (8) inserted into the cylinder head. The ductile iron pieces make the head more than one piece. The ductile piece replaces part of the port, the combustion face, and injector pocket. So not an identical replica, but none the less was legal, and currently being used. Now per 2017 rules this head would be illegal, and cause many pullers to spend more money converting CAST cylinder heads.
2.) Hamilton Original 12v Cummins cylinder head. This head was cast one piece and fit the rules. This is pretty close to a replica. A few visual features can be distinguished between stock, but to me looked legal, and was legal.
3.) Hamilton new War Head. Visually less like stock. The head is taller than stock. Not an identical replica. Legal to be used. So with all this information and precedent set by the league we feel our head conformed to the 2016 rules.
4.) There are also some Wagler heads that are taller as well. Currenty being tested.
So what where the results of using this cylinder head in 2016.
In 2016 the heads were were installed on the John Humpe's Trouble Maker Truck. We started out by rigorously testing the engine on the dyno. We made a total of 50 dyno runs on the engine. We then knew the head was going to be durable. John then competed on the Ohio State PPL circuit. He earned a second place points finish. Below are the placing for Josh Bowers first place points finish and Johns Humpe's Second Place Points finish.
Date John Humpe - Josh Bowers
6-11-16 7th - 2nd
7-2-16 1st - 2nd
7-3-16 16th - 5th
7-17-16 10th - 1st
7-22-16 7th - 1st
7-23-16 1st - DNR
7-30-16 10th - 3rd
7-31-16 9th - 4th
8-4-16 6th - 2nd
8-5-16 7th - 2nd
8-6-16 3rd - 2nd
8-9-16 4th - 2nd
8-17-16 2nd - 3rd
9-3-16 12th - 2nd
9-14-16 8th - 1st
10-4-16 2nd - 1st
So comparing final points without drops, Josh Bowers had total points of 485, and missed 1 pull. John in 2nd place had 468 points, and made all the pulls. John was one of three trucks to make all pulls, and I believe he was the only Duramax to make all pulls. 15 Total hooks. Reviewing the results one could say John Humpe was competitive, and by not missing any hooks, it helped him secure a 2nd place finish. But he was far from dominating the class. In fact Josh Bowers results show that he dominated the class.
John Humpe also competed at pulls other than PPL for a total of 50 hooks. This combined with the 50 dyno passes, this was like having 2 seasons on the engine. The heads required zero maintenance, and the engine also had no maintenance as well. That was a big improvement over previous years.
John Mears has told me this. PPL wants to keep trucks on the track at a reasonable cost. They also do not want to turn the heads into the next turbo problem. So I will address this.
1.) Keeping Trucks on the track. John Humpe had zero missed pulls, he had zero engine problems. Johns engine made 100 total runs. That is incredible. Also the head has been checked over, and is ready to go. Zero Maintenance.
2.) Cost. As referenced before, our yearly cost is very low, and if you consider John Humpe's engine made 100 passes the per hook cost to date is $105.00. Before that the per pass hook was $533.00 plus maintenance, and that was if the puller could make 15 hooks. We reduced the per hook by 5 times.
3.) Escalation of a head war. So what will allow a cylinder head to make more horse power. We all could agree that if a head makes a significant amount more CFM ( amount of air the head can flow) with enough fuel, and enough air from the turbo, then horse power will be gained. So what allows a cylinder head to have more CFM. Larger valves, Longer Head, and a Taller head. So once again here are the rules. 2015/2016 - 8A. Cylinder head must be OEM or OEM replica for that brand engine. Outside of cylinder head must measure factory width, and length. Head must retain OEM valve angle. 2017: b. Head must be OEM or OEM one piece cast replica for that brand engine. No billet heads of any material. Outside dimensions of cylinder head must measure factory width and length. Head must retain OEM valve angle.
How do these rules limit the class and promote what PPL wants?
1.) The rules do not limit valves size. But this is limited by the engine blocks bore, and the fact that the OEM engine block must be used. It also is limited by the cubic inch rule. The cubic rule thus limits the bore and stroke sizes that can be combined to make maximum cubic inch. This keeps the valve size within the constraints that are wanted.
2.) The rule limits the length of the head. This dimension helps, but this part of the head was already limited by having to use the OEM bolt patterns to mount to the OEM block. The location of the injector holes, and pushrod holes also limit the size and shape of the ports because we do not want to intersect them, and by design they can’t be moved.
3.) Cylinder Head Height: The rules do not limit cylinder head height. This is one of the dimensions of the cylinder head that can have the biggest impact on cylinder head CFM. As the head is taller the ports can be raised, allowing for a longer radius entering the valve seat area. Doing this can significantly improve CFM. Yet the rule doesn't address this. As the heads are made taller and taller we will see a race to obtain the most flow in an attempt to have the most horse power. This increases the cost through continuous purchasing of new better flowing heads. So far not many heads have pushed this , but it has started with the Hamilton War Head. The casting is taller, and the ports are noticeably raise up. This head is currently approved.
So how else does the rules though written word and interpretation try to control performance, and cost. It tries by dictating material, and manufacturing process. Neither of which are easy to enforce, and neither of these things help improve horse power levels, and control costs. In fact this part of the rule is costing pullers money. The materials manufacturers are held to, such as castings specifically from core boxes (even though not required in the written rules, but interpreted by some this way) are inherently weaker, and eventually will crack regardless of the grade, and material. The material has no specific link to head performance. It only is linked to durability. But materials are linked to costs. Most materials are significantly similar in cost with the exception of exotic alloys like titanium. With titanium as an example, this material would be expensive even for the weight savings being weight is not an issue, and that titanium would not be great for heat that the cylinder head will be subject to. So it is a poor choice. It virtually eliminated itself. Most material that work great for cylinder heads are low cost. So as you can see material really doesn't matter when it comes to controlling cost and performance. Only durability.
Process: Process of manufacturing also has zero effect on performance. A cylinder head cast from a core box can be as tall, wide, and long as needed or wanted to be. It also can have simple to very complex port designs. On the opposite end of the spectrum for example, big bad scary billet, can have only the same level of design as a casting. Especially if we put constraints on dimensions. It can't do anything more than the casting in performance. This is determined by head length, and height. Both processes culminate at the same performance level, and have zero advantage over each other. Performance is only tied to physical dimensions. Process however is tied to durability. Core box castings are inherently weak, where as forgings are stronger. Also casting a solid piece, then machining that piece is also much stronger.
So to address PPL concerns I have drafted a rule proposal that will help the league and pullers. It also will make the enforcement much easier.
Head Rule: Cylinder head can be OEM or Aftermarket. Cylinder Head must measure factory length +.0625, and factory width +.0625. Cylinder Head must have a maximum height of 4.250 +.0625 inches. Head must retain OEM valve angle. Head must use all stock head bolt hole locations.
The rule is much simpler and clear. It restrains the heads so they can not get out of control, and will make tech and enforcement easier. Obviously open for discussion.
I also have pictures of the different heads including ours.
