Is it worth porting stock heads?

[clarkjr]

if i port the stock heads is it worth it? how much of gain do you think i would get? Also how much would it run?

Depends on what your goals are. A decent port job, 3-angle valve job, the correct intake, cam, exhaust and gears, fuel pump, tune, etc, you can get a 5 -spd car in the mid/low 12's in the qtr. If you are on a budget and can port them yourself, you can make good power for super cheap.

I would encourage you to try and port them yourself. May want to get a junk head from a machine shop and if you buy the Standard Abrasives kit, it will come with instructions. Just get a set of calipers for measuring too.

 

[5.0ina66]

what is the most CC's you can get porting the E7's?

Typical seems to be 215i/165e @ 28" @ .5 lift if you know what you're doing. I've seen 225/17x many times, and a really, really good porter has been able to get around 240cfm on the intake. (I wish I was even close to being that good! amnit: )

 

[bcd]

i just got a set of ported e7s for 175. they need a spring kit. the guy who had them was running 8.20s (1/8th) NA with the stock cam.

 

[emagdnim]

Id say dont waste money on it unless you do everything yourself then you see increased performance for no money. Thats the route I took.. Backyard valve job anyone? Hey its pulls hard thats all that matters

 

[vikingpower]

WOW, You guys are brave! I thought doing a mild port job my TW heads was a friggin project... I cant imagine what a pain in the ass porting a stock iron head would be like. having to cut out and smooth the hard iron and then try to keep them all identical at the same time! Not to mention those tiny exhaust ports, working those over what a NIGHTMARE!
And the improvement in gas mileage from swapping to the TW's will more than make up for the cost!

 

[Autobodypro_1]

stock heads

It all depends how fast you ultimately want to go and how much you have to spend. If you are working on a strict budget and just want a real good running street car, the small cam/ported stock heads/gt-40 intake/exhaust will deliver....low end power is where it's at with small blocks on the street.I would not spend more than $500 on stock heads....there are way too many good aluminum ones out there new or on e-bay...$1000 stock heads are not worth it

 

[criticman]

I have been emailing Thumper. He knows what he is doing.

There is an issue though. Each Thumper ported E7 head weighs 51 lbs. GT40 heads weigh 22 lbs. each I believe.

I am not sure how much AFR heads weigh.

So, if you want to cut your 1/4 time, go for GT40's (PAW has them for $525 + shipping, a pair, fully assembled) with a little less flow than Thumper's but 58 lbs. less combined weight. Get that useless weight off of the front end to improve weight transfer, traction, and acceleration.

 

[TheUser]

I have been emailing Thumper. He knows what he is doing.

There is an issue though. Each Thumper ported E7 head weighs 51 lbs. GT40 heads weigh 22 lbs. each I believe.

.

I assume you're speaking of the GT-40x's...just to clear that up. My GT-40p's weighed more like 49lbs when I weighed them.

 

[criticman]

Yeah, GT40X...heh, not those huge iron p's. I was referencing the aluminum heads.

 

[jackchan]

PAW has them for $525 + shipping, a pair, fully assembled

you may be talking about the aluminum heads but there is no way those prices from PAW are aluminum!

the GT-40's GT-40 "P"s and E7's should all weight about the same with maybe the GT-40's/GT-40 "P"'s coming in at 2 or 3 lbs lighter than E7's!

 

[2000xp8]

gt40y's new are now $699 and i've seen the gt40x's for $899.
I seriously doubt $525

 

[25thmustang]

My friend did GT-40 aluminums, B-cam, Cobra intake, all the bolt ons and on Drag Radials went 13.3 @ 103. My car at that time had a stock motor, bolt ons, and on ET Streets went 13.0 @ 103. Both cars were full weight white LX hatchs...

I will say it is ALL about the right combo and making it all work. People bolt parts on and expect the red sea to part, and that usually doesnt just happen. The guys with the parts running the good times, have done their research and experimenting to run the numbers!

Its all about what you want to do. For the average street guy an out of the box head, mild cam and all the bolt ons work well... this is why TFS and such have kits out there, makes it easy to get 250-300 rwhp for the average street guy!

In regaurds to that, Im not the average street guys, although you would never know if you met me, unless we started talking about the track and such!

 

[notchback]

i don't think so, the best budget head combo you can do is iron gt-40's,

not p's though

port the exhaust a litle and clean up the intakes, w/ a valve job you might have $400 in it, plus $300 for the heads.

my buddy went 11.80 on a set of heads like that, w/ a 125 shot and box stock gt40 intake.

i've never seen anyone go fast on e7's...some claim to....but i believe they are lying.just embarassed to say

 

[smittyb]

Well, I'll find out if I ever get my ported E7's on. Of course I have a buddy at a machine shop, so thet only cost me the price of parts. I still have a little money in them after 1.94/1.54 valves, new guides, and the trickflow spring kit. For what it's worth I had another buddy running a set ported by the same guy, and he was running 6.7x in the 1/8. He was spraying a lot (forget how much at the time), and running slicks, but not bad for low cost E7's.

 

[25thmustang]

i don't think so, the best budget head combo you can do is iron gt-40's,

not p's though

port the exhaust a litle and clean up the intakes, w/ a valve job you might have $400 in it, plus $300 for the heads.

my buddy went 11.80 on a set of heads like that, w/ a 125 shot and box stock gt40 intake.

i've never seen anyone go fast on e7's...some claim to....but i believe they are lying.just embarassed to say

My dad on unported Ps and a stock cam has been 12.1 @ 110, and since doing a little more work, 12.2 @ 112 on DRs and 12.1 @ 110 with more weight. All motor as well!

Also I have been quick on E7s, but I must be lying!

 

[criticman]

I win!

To everyone who thought I was wrong or talking about iron heads or per head price...see the attached image. This is from page 37 of the 2005 Fall/Spring PAW catalog. Read it, "aluminum cylinder head special", "25 lbs lighter than iron", GT40 Turbo Swirl.

 

[vikingpower]

To everyone who thought I was wrong or talking about iron heads or per head price...see the attached image. This is from page 37 of the 2005 Fall/Spring PAW catalog. Read it, "aluminum cylinder head special", "25 lbs lighter than iron", GT40 Turbo Swirl.

Makes you wonder why they're so cheap...

 

[aleborjas]

i would not spend my time on E7's heads!

 

[criticman]

Makes you wonder why they're so cheap...

Yeah, I do wonder. I checked the part # to say, buyfordracing.com since they always advertise in MMFF and 5.0 $999.99 "PER PAIR, NOT A MISPRINT". It matches.

I know PAW makes SOME money by selling their catalog instead of tossing it around for free...but that is indeed some serious savings - so I can see why people doubted me when I quoted the price.

Depending on what the local machine shop quotes me on porting my E7s, I may be giving PAW a call.

 

[vikingpower]

Depending on what the local machine shop quotes me on porting my E7s, I may be giving PAW a call.

By any means get rid of the E7's, they are heavy and they suck!