Cracked Head on R53, replace with OEM or performance?
 

So sadly my lil' girl Maren has a cracked cylinder head. On a car with ~130,000 miles on it would it be viable to replace the head with a performance head, or just to replace it with an OEM head? Also, should I go with a new one or something that has been used? I wasn't looking at a jesus head or anything, but some more performance gains would be nice. When I replace the head, will I have better engine longevity? Tons of noob questions I know, but thanks for taking the time to answer them :)

It really depends on the overall state of your engine--I'd have it thoroughly checked out before replacing the head, to make sure there aren't any other issues with lines/hoses,rings, pistons, etc. 130,000 miles is a fair amount, I'd want to make sure everything is perfect before adding more power. I'd be less leery about replacing with a stock head, but it depends on what you're after.

I would go for perfomance head and I did actually (after cracking the old one :lol:) but you should find the reason why it did crack in the first place..Bad injectors maybe? Over heating? any other mod's in the car?

Since the old head is junk, you will be buying a stock head or paying a core fee...be sure to work that into your cost estimates.
Some agressivly ported heads may have less longevity than stock....but more fun to drive....go figure.
porting can improve drivability....bigger valves can change the torque band, and even shift the tq band...higher so it is better for a race car....so be sure to buy the correct head. Same for a cam if you get a different one....buy based upon your driving style, not based up some post saying 300 hp....where the power is made rpm wise makes a bigger diffeance on how fun a car is to drive imo.

I actually ordered a stock head from a guy here on nam, it's more so in my price range right now. I wasn't watching my coolant levels, and I had the stock expansion chamber (which was leaky) so I pretty much overheated when I ran outta coolant. I already replaced the tank, and got a head gasket hoping that's all it was, but no dice. At this point I think reliability is better than a few extra hp. Thanks for the response guys :)