• Mustang Forums
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech

Performer Heads

  • Thread starter Thread starter AdamInChains
  • Start date Start date Jul 8, 2006

AdamInChains

Member
Apr 22, 2006
128
0
16
Jul 8, 2006
#1
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #1
I hear a lot of talk about how crappy the Performer intake is when compared to the RPM's. Are the performer heads very bad too?? My 65 coupe has a 347 that i want to be a performance street car. This car will probabally rarely hit a track. I want to have most of my power at the low end when i'm comin off the line. I have an AOD trans so i wont be seeing the high RPM's too much. Will i be losing much power using Performer heads instead of RPM's? And if so how much? My intake is Ford's equivilant to the RPM intake. Thanks!
 

AdamInChains

Member
Apr 22, 2006
128
0
16
Jul 8, 2006
#2
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #2
I also have a pretty mild ford cam.
 

iskwezm

10 Year Member
May 24, 2005
4,159
20
79
Rowland Heights,California
Jul 8, 2006
#3
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #3
i think the only difference is the RPM head isnt smog legal. I have those and put another 1000 bucks into them
 

rbohm

Founding Member
Apr 12, 2002
6,698
550
204
tucson,az
Jul 8, 2006
#4
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #4
actually the people who say the performer intake is crap, are generally either full of it themselves, or used one with a mismatched engine build(they built an engine to run in the 2000-6500 rpm range, and dropped on a performer intake that works in the off idle to 4500 rpm range) and didnt get the results they were expecting. remember that when building any engine, the combination is the key. match components and you build a strong engine. mismatch the components and you get a dog.

as for the heads, the performer and performer rpm heads are the same, and even have the same options, except the performer heads have provision for egr, and air injection, whereas the rpm heads dont.
 
M

mikemustang289

Member
Jan 12, 2006
224
0
16
mesa, az
Jul 8, 2006
#5
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #5
The performer rpm heads have 2.02 valves. The performer heads are 1.90's
 
D

D.Hearne

New Member
Sep 29, 2000
11,730
6
0
south louisiana
Jul 8, 2006
#6
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #6
The Performer intake is basically an aluminum copy of the stock 289/302 iron intake. The RPM intake is better in that it works well in the same lower rpms the performer does, but it's got a bit more plenum volume for higher rpm performance too. And it works the same as the older F4B/C9OX/Shelby Cobra/Ford A321 high rise aluminum intakes do, just here, the runners are unequal. The Performer intake isn't crap, but if you already have a stock 289/302 4 bbl intake (or even the 2 bbl) it's a waste of time and money, other than it's a tad lighter than the iron intake. A 347 with 1.94" intake valve heads will do just what he wants, keep the power lower down the rpm scale. That combined with a dual plane intake is the ticket here.
 

Max Power

Active Member
Jul 31, 2003
1,774
1
36
St Paul
Jul 8, 2006
#7
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #7
mikemustang289 said:
The performer rpm heads have 2.02 valves. The performer heads are 1.90's
Click to expand...

Performer RPM heads are available with either 2.02 intake valves or 1.90 intake valves.
 
D

davishokies

20+ Year Stangneter
Jul 27, 2004
20
0
1
Stafford, VA
Jul 8, 2006
#8
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #8
Rbohm is right on point here! It all depends on what you want your car to do and what rpm range your car will normally be driven in. Matched components are key! I took my stock rebuild 289 2V and put on the Performer intake, Performer 500cfm carb, Performer Heads with roller rockers, Performer-plus cam, lifters, timing chain, plus Tri-Y headers and an h-pipe, and let me tell you, it is a totally different car. Lots of low end torque in town and plenty of pull on the highway to pass slow movers.
 

iskwezm

10 Year Member
May 24, 2005
4,159
20
79
Rowland Heights,California
Jul 8, 2006
#9
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #9
Max Power said:
Performer RPM heads are available with either 2.02 intake valves or 1.90 intake valves.
Click to expand...
 
D

D.Hearne

New Member
Sep 29, 2000
11,730
6
0
south louisiana
Jul 8, 2006
#10
  • Jul 8, 2006
  • #10
rmdhokie said:
Rbohm is right on point here! It all depends on what you want your car to do and what rpm range your car will normally be driven in. Matched components are key! I took my stock rebuild 289 2V and put on the Performer intake, Performer 500cfm carb, Performer Heads with roller rockers, Performer-plus cam, lifters, timing chain, plus Tri-Y headers and an h-pipe, and let me tell you, it is a totally different car. Lots of low end torque in town and plenty of pull on the highway to pass slow movers.
Click to expand...
With an RPM intake, you'd find the same power down low plus more power at the other end of the rpm scale. The intake carb combo you picked could have been duplicated with you old 2 bbl intake with a Holley 500 cfm carb bolted to it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
First post 289 rebuild question!
  • Ddyer2868
  • Nov 24, 2025
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech
Replies
3
Views
230
Classic Mustang Specific Tech Dec 5, 2025
rednotch
351w turbo build.... Turbo guys teach me things...
  • Kid wita 5oh
  • Oct 22, 2025
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
13
Views
1K
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Oct 23, 2025
General karthief
O
Help
  • OnisimusD
  • Oct 13, 2025
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
Replies
16
Views
360
1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk- Oct 14, 2025
OnisimusD
O
J
Help Figuring Motor Choice(Possible future turbo)?
  • jaygee15
  • Dec 14, 2025
  • 1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk-
Replies
13
Views
466
1979 - 1995 (Fox, SN95.0, & 2.3L) -General/Talk- Jan 3, 2026
Jarhead67
J
9
Engine Donor '00 Mountaineer meet '91 Fox
  • 91firecracker
  • May 11, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
  • 2 3
Replies
41
Views
517
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech May 28, 2026
91firecracker
9
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1965 - 1973 Classic Mustangs -General/Talk-
  • Classic Mustang Specific Tech
Menu
Log in

Register

  • Forums
  • What's new
  • Media
  • Resources
  • Contact
  • Sponsor
X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?

X

Privacy & Transparency

We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:

  • Personalized ads and content
  • Content measurement and audience insights

Do you accept cookies and these technologies?