CYLINDER HEAD 101

In today’s world of FBOs and flash tunes, a modified cylinder head and hot camshaft may seem a bit old school, but this classic combo still offers big performance increases if executed properly. All MINI engines were and still are manufactured to a very strict budget using mass-produced castings and emissions-compliant settings, which may be great for the average daily driver but are not conducive to extracting the absolute maximum flow, and thus maximum horsepower possible from your car.

Luckily for us, there are still some excellent engine builders and cylinder head modifiers out there, one being SC Porting, who agreed to talk us through some of the key work and components that go into a ported and polished (aka gas flowed) cylinder head, and what kind of power increases are likely.

PRE-PORTING CHECKS

on the modifying process, all cylinder heads are visually checked for exterior cracks, broken bolts, and damaged threads. If the head passes these checks, it’s then pressure tested, which involves blanking off the water outlets and pressurising the head with compressed air. This finds any internal cracks, signified