I'm considering a ported head along with a couple of other mods and was wondering whether this is a job that I would need to leave to a shop. Basically, I'm trying to figure out the total price to upgrade the head and whether I need to build in hundreds on labor.

What are the big things that need to come off? Turbo, cam gears/belt, intake manifold -- anything else? What's the most difficult part of this install?

I've done head/cam swaps on V8s, but never done engine work on a 4 cyl. other than helping a friend with his cam swap on his Evo and the usual bolt-ons.

Thanks,
Rich

 

There are a bunch of other things that will give you a bigger performance gain and are easier to install. A ported head isn't necessary really until you start pushing a much larger turbo at higher boost levels. Instead of a ported head, maybe some real management?