Now you're beginning to smell "real life" in the performance business. What hughes is telling you is that they are not as concerned with high peak numbers, but more in low and mid lift numbers. But..and here's the but..his mid and low lift numbers arent any better (or worse) than anybody else. So why then give you peak flow readings at all? Max ported heads of the MW -1 type will usually max out between 330-360cfm from what I've seen. Again, it's misleading to compare readings from two diferent benches IMO. I know of a few sets that touch the 390-400cfm range at peak, but those are sepcial race heads..not something that gets idled thru the local Micky D's. Std ports seem to peter out around 320-350. Eventually you simply cannot get enough air thru the minimum cross section which ends up being the port opening as opposed to the pushrod area. So where's the secret? The secret is, he's just telling you what he thinks you want to hear. There are "secrets" pertaining to valve seat angles, valve type, and back cut angles on the intake valves. But these arent secrets. Everybody uses them. Ask him for flow readings for the range of .100-400". That is the lift range most street cams have their "fat spot" in. They spend the most time off the seat in that range. If the heads flow well (staying stable and fast) thru that range you'll have a good running street/strip engine.
