Thumper Performance E7 Heads : Who has them and how is the performance?

[Pokageek]

this is turning out to be quite a thread!

As long as it helps everyone to make BETTER decisions by our mistakes and experience , there really is no right or wrong answer. It is a personal decision based on preferences I guess.

 

[final5-0]

Since this thread has kinda made me think about seeing more of the big
picture I did a little experiment

That chart of iron head combos I posted above.

I took that file and sorted those 38 iron head combos by hp lowest to highest

I then omitted the first 10 combos that knocked out the bulk of E7 head combos
which ranged from a low of 191 to a high of 226 rwhp

This then left us with 28 combos consisting of a mix of heads such as ......

ported E7's
E7's with larger valves
gt 40's
gt 40's ported
gt 40p's
gt40p's ported
power heads
thumper
thumper s2
thumper s3
etc

and ... the range here was a low of 230 to a high of 297 rwhp

The average of this last group of heads was 262.5 rwhp

Good or Bad ... You can decide ... The numbers are what they are

Grady

 

[fiveoho]

There is a guy close to me selling gt40p heads for $550 plus shipping
http://www.corral.net/forums/showthread.php?t=980838
I just got back from doing business with him myself and he is an honest seller with one cool (and very attractive) wife.

only thing, gotta spend more money on headers

 

[fiveoho]

Since this thread has kinda made me think about seeing more of the big
picture I did a little experiment

That chart of iron head combos I posted above.

I took that file and sorted those 38 iron head combos by hp lowest to highest

I then omitted the first 10 combos that knocked out the bulk of E7 head combos
which ranged from a low of 191 to a high of 226 rwhp

This then left us with 28 combos consisting of a mix of heads such as ......

ported E7's
E7's with larger valves
gt 40's
gt 40's ported
gt 40p's
gt40p's ported
power heads
thumper
thumper s2
thumper s3
etc

and ... the range here was a low of 230 to a high of 297 rwhp

The average of this last group of heads was 262.5 rwhp

Good or Bad ... You can decide ... The numbers are what they are

Grady

pretty cool conclusion you got there.

if one can yield an average of 262 whp on a true budget build, that sounds like a winner to me

 

[fiveoho]

i also have something to add to those commenting on spending too much on iron heads and not getting any money back ( provided it was later upgraded / changed ). well, if you look on all the forums, ebay, etc. , in most cases you are hard pressed to find a set of nice gt40, gt40p, thumpers for less than $400 ( on average ). if a man puts $600 into a nice set of irons, runs them a while and then sells them for $400....it would stand to reason that $200 worth of fun was obtained. my $.02

 

[gmkillr]

Alot of bad info in this thread.....

 

[95Mustang302]

save your money and go aluminum, you will be grateful you did. I paid 850 SHIPPED for a set of tfs heads with upgraded springs. The deals are out there if you just look...

 

[fiveoho]

i've looked. most alum at that price need a trip to the machine shop. add a machine shop bill to that and budget is no longer budget

not only that, but as stated earlier spending less money on a decent set and using that extra for other parts....BUDGET

 

[Venom351R]

i've looked. most alum at that price need a trip to the machine shop. add a machine shop bill to that and budget is no longer budget

not only that, but as stated earlier spending less money on a decent set and using that extra for other parts....BUDGET

Not all aluminum heads need a trip to the machine shop. Lots of guys off here have bought used aluminum heads and they bolted on fine. It seems to me that the only way you are going to consider this a budget build is by going for ported E7's and with your HP goal of 270-290 your going to be on the bottom end of 270 with iron heads also depending on what else you have for other mods.

What it comes down to is if you want more power further on down the road the only way to get it is by better heads then ported E7's. You have to look down the road and if you have any room to grow. With Aluminum heads you have a lot of room to grow, with ported iron heads that room to grow is much smaller. If your 100% sure that your never going to want more then 250 RWHP then go for the ported stockers. But if you go this route and want more later on down the road your going to kick your self in the ass b/c your going to need better heads to get more then that...N/A

 

[blksn955.o]

Alot of bad info in this thread.....

OK, I will bite,

I know you know your stuff but a reply like that without a quilifier is kinda exactly what your reply meant. It sounds more like an opinion and your WELL within your rights to express that. I do not think your reply was directed at anything I posted so I am not taking offense and mean no offense to you.

If you feel information is bad how so?

I know alum. heads will make more power and you can find deals out there on those alum. heads.

I am just asking if the information is bad...what information is bad so those reading can make a better choice based on there budget/goals and how they want to reach those. If one chooses a path you did not but CAN reach his goals, is it wrong?

Paul, Grady, and others have expressed there reasons to disagree and they bring up very valid points...your not saying what they posted is bad are you since you did not say what info was bad?

I do not claim to know it all, and if there is something that can help make a combo if it is an alum. head or iron head run better...I am all ears.

It is not like the guy is selling his car for a Vtec 4 door civic with a fart can. It just sucks that in this hobby things get so opinionated(sp?) it happens every time with this iron/alum. thing, with the TFS vs. AFR, shop vs. shop, tuner vs. tuner, and on and on.

 

[final5-0]

This has been an interesting thread here to say the least

I commend everybody for keeping things civil

Some of the time on these various sites ......

You see some folk feel they have to defend their decisions or choices
or they tend to get personal and usually after that kind of thing
surfaces ... the thread quickly goes down the tubes

Once more ... you see the uniqueness (is that a real word )
and high class of the peeps who hang here :Word:

I've already stated my opinion about .........
its better to wait for the funds to become available and build on a more
efficient kind of foundation

Hey ... Its only an opinion ...
That don't make it the best method for everybody

I would like to just touch on something that was said about used heads

Iron or Aluminum ... and no matter the purchase price .........

They very well could have
tired springs
faulty seals
faulty guides
bad v job
etc

Then there is the issue of ported used heads

Just cause they have been ported ...
That don't always mean they were ported ... correctly

You just have to have them checked over ... Real Good

Anyway ... Good Tread ............ Carry On

Grady

 

[Pokageek]

You guys are GREAT!!:SNSign:

LOL, but there is ZERO bad information on this thread.

There is a lot of Experience and FACTS and I think a lot of one-sided ness. Come on guys, without getting mad or anything..lots of you are Give me aluminum or give me DEATH and forgetting that"

1. The numbers are relatively close. It just depends on what your definition of acceptable is.

2. We've presented our arguments both ways and Grady has come up with some great numbers for comparison.

3. Some of you are track guys and some of you are street guys.

So don't get mad at people cuz they dont agree! OR tell them they are wrong. There is no right or wrong preference.

I would like to mention...his original question was...

"Thumper Performance E7 Heads : Who has them and how is the performance? - 01-25-08, 11:07 AM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.hunterstyle.com/thumper/index.php

who has a set of these on their 302/306? looking for some feedback and input on these heads and how well they work with a mild cam and intake with supporting mods.


thanks guys"

Has ANYONE (including me) answered the question?

 

[fiveoho]

Not all aluminum heads need a trip to the machine shop. Lots of guys off here have bought used aluminum heads and they bolted on fine. It seems to me that the only way you are going to consider this a budget build is by going for ported E7's and with your HP goal of 270-290 your going to be on the bottom end of 270 with iron heads also depending on what else you have for other mods.

What it comes down to is if you want more power further on down the road the only way to get it is by better heads then ported E7's. You have to look down the road and if you have any room to grow. With Aluminum heads you have a lot of room to grow, with ported iron heads that room to grow is much smaller. If your 100% sure that your never going to want more then 250 RWHP then go for the ported stockers. But if you go this route and want more later on down the road your going to kick your self in the ass b/c your going to need better heads to get more then that...N/A

buying a used set of heads of any kind without having them checked out at the machine shop before bolting them on would make me nervous.

i understand the concept of growing capabilities with the alum's....have for a while now.

 

[RIO5.0]

I run a Thumper combo... I have no complaints... A budget combo is what i wanted and it meet the goals I set for myself. I wanted something to get me to the mid 13's and they did that.

Doing HCI from stock to these is a noticable gain for sure...mines like 302 FWHP so from stock that's decent gain... I got mine for 500.00 and did the spring upgrade myself..Just got the springs from Mike.

I must be satisfied as I have yet to yank the heads and replace with some alum's...I would like to add a single turbo to the motor as it sits.

 

[fiveoho]

I run a Thumper combo... I have no complaints... A budget combo is what i wanted and it meet the goals I set for myself. I wanted something to get me to the mid 13's and they did that.

Doing HCI from stock to these is a noticable gain for sure...mines like 302 FWHP so from stock that's decent gain... I got mine for 500.00 and did the spring upgrade myself..Just got the springs from Mike.

I must be satisfied as I have yet to yank the heads and replace with some alum's...I would like to add a single turbo to the motor as it sits.

awesome . glad to hear you like it. how fun is the car on the street? is the car tuned? how does the steeda cam do with our pcm....i hear its one of the better choices.

thanks!

 

[RIO5.0]

awesome . glad to hear you like it. how fun is the car on the street? is the car tuned? how does the steeda cam do with our pcm....i hear its one of the better choices.

thanks!

Cars been super dependable with no gremlins to speak of... street manners are fine.. the mid range pull is sweet.. its got plenty of sack. I don't beat the snot out of this one like when i was younger.... been there done that. In the hands of a rookie it will come around sideways and get you in trouble...

I always go to a dyno to check thigs out after parts were added...mostly for the AFR, other than that is just timing if your state of tune is good....in other words its not running like ass before you dyno..

I picked the Steeda for that very reason... its been fine and no complaints.. I run the stock computer and a RPM Extender to boot...
If i were to do it again I would go a custom cam with a decent LSA...The 19 is kinda soft til 2800 or so then pulls hard all the way..the loss on the botton end is noticable so i added 373s to help some..It sound pretty decent to..I got an exhaust/idle vid to post up.

 

[fiveoho]

Cars been super dependable with no gremlins to speak of... street manners are fine.. the mid range pull is sweet.. its got plenty of sack. I don't beat the snot out of this one like when i was younger.... been there done that. In the hands of a rookie it will come around sideways and get you in trouble...

I always go to a dyno to check thigs out after parts were added...mostly for the AFR, other than that is just timing if your state of tune is good....in other words its not running like ass before you dyno..

I picked the Steeda for that very reason... its been fine and no complaints.. I run the stock computer and a RPM Extender to boot...
If i were to do it again I would go a custom cam with a decent LSA...The 19 is kinda soft til 2800 or so then pulls hard all the way..the loss on the botton end is noticable so i added 373s to help some..It sound pretty decent to..I got an exhaust/idle vid to post up.

post it up

 

[RIO5.0]

I have to find a site and join, then I'll post it up..

 

[final5-0]

You guys are GREAT!!:SNSign:

LOL, but there is ZERO bad information on this thread.

There is a lot of Experience and FACTS and I think a lot of one-sided ness. Come on guys, without getting mad or anything..lots of you are Give me aluminum or give me DEATH and forgetting that"

1. The numbers are relatively close. It just depends on what your definition of acceptable is.

A way to look at the differences ... Graphically

Earlier in this thread, We talked about a 15% difference exists between the
oem stuff and aftermarket stuff. The focus of that general rule of thumb was
on peak rwhp you see on typical dyno charts.

The difference in rwhp on these two is less than that rule of thumb at 12%
but
Take a look here and focus on the torque curves

When I look at dyno tq curves ...
15#'s difference is the starting point where I become interested

With these two examples we see the following .......

From 3K to 4K 20 to 25#'s difference
From 4K to 5K 25 to 30#'s difference

You're gonna feel this difference on the street
and
It is not gonna be a subtle kind of difference

I see the two combos being setup as pretty typical of what someone might
do if going down a budget or aftermarket path

As for the #1 comment above ..........

Sure ... I gotta agree ... Everyone has to make up their mind about what
they consider is ... acceptable

Now ... Relatively Close

Well ... I don't see it as being ... quite ... that close

The info here is not meant to be argumentative

It is given to ... stand on its on merits
as
It is nothing more than ... hard data

Now ... I can post up some oem iron head combos that have better looking
curves if anybody cares to see them

but

As Paul pointed out above ... they got other parts that would not be
considered as budget parts.

Grady

 

[Venom351R]

I have to find a site and join, then I'll post it up..

Your cars awesome, Ive always liked it since I saw it at that dyno day in N.H.

You ever go to epping to run it?