You have a fair assessment of how i feel, basically i think gt40 iron have good use to get a car back up and running because you need it, or you blew your engine and need another one while being broke.
Do i think people should go out of their way to get them as a modification? Not really. In a world where v6 mustangs and hyundai's run 13 second time slips right off the showroom floor, i just don't think they offer as much bang as needed to stay ahead of the curve.
It wasn't that long ago people laughed at japanese car enthusiasts who put money their front wheel drive rides, only to make them no quicker than bone stock american rwd vehicles. Gt40 heads aren't far from that idea.
Not many camaro's are stock these days either. I'm no camaro fanboy, but i have alot of respect for them. The fact that someone has to change the entire top end of their mustang to almost be at par with one, says enough.
Maybe it's just me and that as time has gone i've tired of doing things twice, more time, more money, more headaches.
I'd rather just economize with the best (or close to it).
for the original poster, yeah nitrous I suppose is cheapest way but how often are you gonna use it on the street and you gotta keep filling the dang bottle. Heads and or forced induction is the really the only other way to make real power, bolt ons like cold air, and pulleys ect do nothing pretty much. Pulleys cause more problems than anything in my experience. As far as beating camaros Im not saying it can't be done but its tough on a budget. He's driving an 89 so theres at least a 70 hp difference to make up. 95 camaros were rated 275 hp at the fly and the foxes had what like 210 or some odd? The '94-95 stangs were rated at 215
Honestly, if it's just a weekend warrior, I might be inclined to give one of the On3 Performance turbo kits a try. Jeg's has them pretty cheap, and even with a cheapo turbo, they're still going to put you in the ~400 HP range on a stock top end. You're going to need probably $3-400 worth of supporting parts (injectors, MAF, fuel pump) and a tune for another $500ish, but for around $2500, it's pretty hard to argue with the results. If I picked up a Fox, that's exactly what I'd do.
Honestly, if it's just a weekend warrior, I might be inclined to give one of the On3 Performance turbo kits a try. Jeg's has them pretty cheap, and even with a cheapo turbo, they're still going to put you in the ~400 HP range on a stock top end. You're going to need probably $3-400 worth of supporting parts (injectors, MAF, fuel pump) and a tune for another $500ish, but for around $2500, it's pretty hard to argue with the results. If I picked up a Fox, that's exactly what I'd do.
And when it doesn't fit, like almost all of them don't, you will be paying a chassis shop out the ass to fix it.
Those kits are garbage, that's why they are so cheap.
It's one of those cases of you get what you pay for.
They're supposed to have improved a lot. There's a progress thread in 4.6 Talk right now of one that fit just fine. Check it out and see what you think
You have a fair assessment of how i feel, basically i think gt40 iron have good use to get a car back up and running because you need it, or you blew your engine and need another one while being broke.
Do i think people should go out of their way to get them as a modification? Not really. In a world where v6 mustangs and hyundai's run 13 second time slips right off the showroom floor, i just don't think they offer as much bang as needed to stay ahead of the curve.
It wasn't that long ago people laughed at japanese car enthusiasts who put money their front wheel drive rides, only to make them no quicker than bone stock american rwd vehicles. Gt40 heads aren't far from that idea.
Not many camaro's are stock these days either. I'm no camaro fanboy, but i have alot of respect for them. The fact that someone has to change the entire top end of their mustang to almost be at par with one, says enough.
Maybe it's just me and that as time has gone i've tired of doing things twice, more time, more money, more headaches.
I'd rather just economize with the best (or close to it).
im not trying to start anything between anyone..lol i might take it to the track on a "run what you brung" night but just for fun..i only mentioned a camaro because a good friend of mine has an '84 that has nice heads,,nice cam and some other small bolt on stuff that runs solid..hes always talkin trash..lol but its all in fun..my engine guy said that if i find a nice set of heads that are stock or not he will port them and upgrade the valves and what not and install a cam for next to nothing..like someone said "get the power your making to the ground" is what im focusing on also..i have the frame ties but i want your opions on things like control arms,,coil overs and stuff like that..when we race its not all out drag..we run maybe a 1/4 mile then we make a couple turns and its another straight..kinda like a short road track in the city..lol i wanna be able to up my speeds in the corners safely...but without a doubt i really appreciate all the advice and input good or bad..thanks
im not trying to start anything between anyone..lol i might take it to the track on a "run what you brung" night but just for fun..i only mentioned a camaro because a good friend of mine has an '84 that has nice heads,,nice cam and some other small bolt on stuff that runs solid..hes always talkin trash..lol but its all in fun..my engine guy said that if i find a nice set of heads that are stock or not he will port them and upgrade the valves and what not and install a cam for next to nothing..like someone said "get the power your making to the ground" is what im focusing on also..i have the frame ties but i want your opions on things like control arms,,coil overs and stuff like that..when we race its not all out drag..we run maybe a 1/4 mile then we make a couple turns and its another straight..kinda like a short road track in the city..lol i wanna be able to up my speeds in the corners safely...but without a doubt i really appreciate all the advice and input good or bad..thanks
Not sure what cheap is to you, but valve springs and valves alone are going to cost you $300+, then you need seals, retainers etc. On top of that, nobody does a valve job or head porting for free. Combine those number with gt4op heads at $250 and you just could have bought used aluminum heads that make 40 more rwhp.
Do not invest in E7 heads period and with P's be very careful what you spend extra on them.
Good used aluminum heads can be had in the $700 range.