if i still had my AEB head id show you the physical differences. not just in overal port size, but the throat leading into the bowls have LESS material in the casting on the Small port head (awd/ww/wp) which limits you to have much porting of the actually runner you can do.
sure you can deburr and gasket match the port opening, but bowl work is very limited on a small port casting.
theres a reason why people run AEB castings.
stock AEB vs “ported small port” shows about the same flow. alot of the big power 1.8t guys use stock casting AEBs with upgraded valvetrain(ferrea!!! dont go supertech) and a set of CAT cams. more recently the 3658s have proven to be the best match for larger frame turbos while not killing spool but making big top end gains.
just make sure the cams get degree’d correctly, the CATs dont have any markings on the gears so if you can do it on a stand where its easy to work, and not in the car.
rent the torque plate from IE when you end up doing the cylinder work. i already talked with Hunts about it when i was going to rebuild my engine. he has the old vw stuff, but nothing for the newer watercooled engines.0
i know that head. top notch parts went into it. it almost ended up on my car :thumb