• Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech

Stage 1 Head Swap

  • Thread starter Thread starter stng
  • Start date Start date Feb 24, 2006
S

stng

New Member
Jul 27, 2005
182
0
0
Feb 24, 2006
#1
  • Feb 24, 2006
  • #1
So I am trying to decide on a major mod upgrade. Everyone seems to go with cams but I am wondering what the results would be with a head swap vs a cam swap...

Say one was to go with Steen Racing Stage 1 Heads $1459.00 (Or another company with similar specs) and there flow #'s @ .50lift are 201/170 cfm vs the stock flow #'s @ .50 179/150 cfm. Thats an increase of 22/20 cfm of flow. How does that translate into horsepower? This is all assuming that the stock cams have .50 of lift... I am just curious what the gains would be of doing a head swap but going with the stock grind cams. The advantages being no rough idle, easier to tune, no problems with faulty cams, cost, ect... There are also stage 2 heads with bigger valves and significantly increased cfm flow but I am thinking that a stock intake manifold would probably be the weak link and therefore you probably wouldnt be able to take advantage of the increase without some type of a power adder. But I dont know... Has anyone any input on this? Would this be worthwhile, or are aftermarket cams necessary to take advantage of bigger heads?

My car is my daily driver so I just I would throw this out there...
 

DropTopPony

Noob Slayer
Founding Member
Aug 13, 2002
2,570
3
48
south jersey
Feb 24, 2006
#2
  • Feb 24, 2006
  • #2
Ported heads and more aggressive cams go hand in hand. Your right about the stock intake being the weak link but its not that bad of a design.
 
0

01Steeda

New Member
May 29, 2005
732
0
0
Baton Rouge, LA
Feb 24, 2006
#3
  • Feb 24, 2006
  • #3
I have seen test where the intake has flown well past the point of ported heads capability.
 

Mike97gt

it doe snot
Founding Member
Jan 26, 1999
10,633
7
89
the people's republic of massachusetts
Feb 24, 2006
#4
  • Feb 24, 2006
  • #4
lift at zero lash for the stock cams is .51 intake and .53 for the exhaust side.
 
S

stng

New Member
Jul 27, 2005
182
0
0
Feb 24, 2006
#5
  • Feb 24, 2006
  • #5
So then with the factory cams the ported heads would roughy flow 11 percent more cfm. What would the equate to in performance?
 

DropTopPony

Noob Slayer
Founding Member
Aug 13, 2002
2,570
3
48
south jersey
Feb 25, 2006
#6
  • Feb 25, 2006
  • #6
stng said:
So then with the factory cams the ported heads would roughy flow 11 percent more cfm. What would the equate to in performance?
Click to expand...
Its hard to equate CFM to HP. Its more about a package, You can get a better flowing head but if your intake/exhaust is a cork then big gains are not going to be seen. Same with cams etc...you have to have all the supporting mods to benefit from the Ported heads.

In the research i've done I typically see @ a 15HP gain from ported heads with other mild boltons to support.
 

Rickyll7

Member
Dec 16, 2005
718
4
19
Feb 25, 2006
#7
  • Feb 25, 2006
  • #7
STOCK-__pi heads,___npi heads
lift (in)__int__exh____int___exh (cfm)
.050____25___24____25____22
.100____51___49____47____40
.150____76___68____64____60
.200___102___84____83____80
.250___124___96____99____96
.300___138__107___114___108
.350___149__116___125___112
.400___153__123___136___115
.450___155__130___147___116
.500___156__133___156___117
.550___159__136___163___117
.600___160__138___166___117
 

ADRENLN

Active Member
Apr 16, 2003
2,342
3
49
NJ
Feb 25, 2006
#8
  • Feb 25, 2006
  • #8
i was in the same boat as you when i was looking to do my swap. i wanted to do just heads so i wouldnt have to worry about emissions with cams.

let me save you some trouble. with out better cams you wont see much of anything from just ported heads considering your n/a. even when i was on the phone ordering from fox, they told me i would need cams to utilize the head porting. stag1 one headsare a waste of time. if you feel the need to do heads get stage 2.

you see what i wound up with, i bit the bullet and got the cams too and very glad i did. you can get a very mile custom grind just enough to utilize the ported heads. that is what i said to them on the phone. you cant even tell i have cams in, but the power lets you know they are there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
4.6l auto to 5.4l 6 speed
  • EastanF5
  • Jan 22, 2026
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech
Replies
0
Views
194
SN95 4.6L Mustang Tech Jan 22, 2026
EastanF5
E
Engine Hiccup at full throttle
  • keel
  • Jun 2, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
  • 2
Replies
31
Views
670
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech Jul 30, 2026
keel
Ford truck engine swap issues
  • keel
  • Jul 7, 2026
  • Other Auto Tech
Replies
17
Views
319
Other Auto Tech Jul 13, 2026
General karthief
9
Engine Donor '00 Mountaineer meet '91 Fox
  • 91firecracker
  • May 11, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
  • 2 3
Replies
41
Views
931
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech May 28, 2026
91firecracker
9
Engine Suggestions on an engine rebuild. Stock cam/GT40Ps or aftermarket on both for a fun weekend driver?
  • MadSquirrelTech
  • Apr 28, 2026
  • Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech
  • 2
Replies
23
Views
855
Fox 5.0 Mustang Tech May 7, 2026
MadSquirrelTech
Share:
Bluesky Email Share Link
  • Mustang Forums
  • 1996 - 2004 SN95 Mustang -General/Talk-
  • SN95 4.6L Mustang 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?