I am trying to get more compression for my 2002 chevy cavalier with a 2.2. I took the cylinder head off the car. I was wondering if i could shave the head to make more compression? Problem is i dont know how much to shave it
before the pistons start to hit on the valves. Any ideas?

You shouldn't bother to shave it if you don't know what your doing i would take it to a machine shop and they will do it for you thats what i had done to my 2.2 but it doesn't make much of a difference unless you change other things also if you take it to a machine shop you could get it ported and polished


Erik Packard

I am getting it port and polished to. I just want to know how much to tell the machine shop to shave off is all. Just some ideas. Thanks

not a whole lot can be shaved on these heads before you have to start worrying about valvetrain angles.



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How much do you think?

2 inches





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Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Monday, March 22, 2010 5:06 PM


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I hope that 2 inches was a joke there is no way you can shave a head that much maybe .060 inches most


Erik Packard

Ricozero wrote:I hope that 2 inches was a joke there is no way you can shave a head that much maybe .060 inches most

im pretty sure it's closer to .020 before the geometry starts playing dirty.



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Rich Grayo Jr. wrote:

Ricozero wrote:I hope that 2 inches was a joke there is no way you can shave a head that much maybe .060 inches most

im pretty sure it's closer to .020 before the geometry starts playing dirty.

Right on thats how much i shaved my 2.2 but i thought it could go more wasnt sure but thanks for the clarification but i knew it wasnt anywhere near 2 inches


Erik Packard

So 0.020 is the safe zone for shaving the head?

Yes, it seems to work great on my car


Erik Packard

Ok getting the heads shaved to 0.020 as we speak. Now, do i need to do anything like adjusting the valves or rocker arms when i put the shaved head on?

Just dont put the adjustment plate on upside down or anything stupid and as for the rocker arms just find the torque spec and have your valves seated and it should work great


Erik Packard

Thanks for all your help.

Let us know how this works out, I'm interested.


"In Oldskool we trust"

I will let you know on april 12th.

if its a 2.2 ohv theres an indicator on the head which shows the minimal thickness.
its in the middle on the intake side i think and its probably closer to 35 or 40 not 20


94 cav mini stock
93 cav track bitch

It helped a little. All i did was port and polish the head and cut o.020 off the head. It wasnt enough. Any ideas of what else i need to do to give me more power?

Theres a lot you can do heres a short list Cam, higher compression pistons, bigger fuel injectors, better exhaust, bigger air intake, roller rockers, and a header would help performance wise


Erik Packard

Problem is i cant do so much to it. It is a short track race car. I probably would be better off building a whole new motor.

Shawn Blitz wrote:if its a 2.2 ohv theres an indicator on the head which shows the minimal thickness.
its in the middle on the intake side i think and its probably closer to 35 or 40 not 20

there's a difference between minimal possible thickness and thickness before needing to get new (custom) pushrods made.



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Im thinking about shaving a little more off the head and putting a felpro gasket on. What is the best spark plugs to use?

I personally use NGK Iridums and they work great but will not add anymore horsepower


Erik Packard

What do you think about shaving more off the head?