06 heads on 05 Heritage

[farmer1949]

I bought a pair of 06 takeoff heads on eBay...They really do look like nearly 0 miles....my questions are 1) To put them on my 05 stock Heritage, do I only need new intake flanges? 2) I would like the heads be as good as they can be...thinking of the $299 Big Boyz porting....should I have them cc'd?.....The most radical I would eventually go would be a 95" (I have a pair of take off jugs already) and SE204 type cam...my driving is 95% solo, rarely go above 4,500 rpm and cruise at about 3,000rpm and drive about 5,000 miles/year mainly foothills of Central CA.... I plan to keep it 88" for awhile, just want to be able to gradually upgrade w/o wasting effort.....Current setup: Stock 88, stage I, SE a/c, V&H longshots, with PCIII in the mail .....am nearly happy with current performance, averaging 43mpg and "good" acceleration

Any and all comments greatly apreciated.

And thanks for having this type of forum. It is so great to be able to get this kind of information.

[Mike]

The 05's will work with the flange change you mentioned. You may have to relieve the manifold for the right side flange bolts to clear (not needed on stock manifolds). We have test data on one set of Big Boyz heads and it made pretty good power. But it is typ. "you get what you pay for", the price seems low compared to most who charge $650-750 for mild porting and $1200-1500 for full porting (Zippers, T-Man, Baisley). When you want "the best" it's best to go to the best. CC'ing would be good to know so compression can be exactly calculated and corrected but addss cost. Most street applications do not require this level of detail since the compression will be reasonably close (unless the porter sunk the valves really deep into the heads as part of the porting) as a function of the parts selected. This cost is typically part of the higher price for fully ported heads and is done routinely at this level. Of course cam selection will be critical and will dictate required compression and if cc'ing is required to correct. With 204 cams and flat top pistons cc'ing should not be required. Problem is, cam choices for different compressions, heads, and engine size differ making it difficult to select the correct cam for one combo to be used with another at a later time. Select parts that maximize the final package knowing that, until it is complete, it may not be well optimized (though most cams that work best with ported heads will not bolt into stock heads). Your air cleaner and PCIII (should be USB version) will work well but the pipes are not the best choice. But I would not change them until you've had a chance to see how they work with the completed combo and your riding style, then consider a change if needed.
Thanks, Mike