All things being equal, you will ALWAYS make more power with aluminum heads. The compression loss from the aluminum heads would have to significant to see a power drop off. Never mind the 50+ lb advantage the aluminum heads give.
Fox What to do with heads
- Thread starter Jimmer009
- Start date
Ah bin lurnin.....That is true, you were not specific:
' a '97 didn't come with the 5.0l'
You have a 97 mustang with a push rod 5.0? Cool
You are correct sir!
Thank you . He could prob mill 3-4cc out of the chamber and be ahead
Unless something's mechanically wrong, leave what you have in there. Jimmer, go down the turbo path if you want to, I have 2 turbo foxes, but have the whole plan ready to execute before you tear the car apart. Most turbo projects end with a sold car that's still on blocks. That said, if you have a complete solution before you start, understand the full cost and labor requirement before you get to work, then 500 hp (at crank or tires) is definitely doable.
Some people put a lot of money into a stroker kit, super duper heads/cam/intake etc... The truth with an intercooled turbo car is that at 15psi on pump gas, you can turn a 250 rwhp car into a 500 rwhp car, as long as you have the tune and fuel system to support it. Further, the stock block is never going to be reliable beyond that power level, regardless of the rotating assembly, or block reinforcement. So, when turboing I'm the biggest fan of keeping the H/C/I combo simple and putting your time/effort/money into getting the turbo kit right. Plus, it makes it a lot cheaper to replace the shortblock when it's just the stocker, not anything special.
Some people put a lot of money into a stroker kit, super duper heads/cam/intake etc... The truth with an intercooled turbo car is that at 15psi on pump gas, you can turn a 250 rwhp car into a 500 rwhp car, as long as you have the tune and fuel system to support it. Further, the stock block is never going to be reliable beyond that power level, regardless of the rotating assembly, or block reinforcement. So, when turboing I'm the biggest fan of keeping the H/C/I combo simple and putting your time/effort/money into getting the turbo kit right. Plus, it makes it a lot cheaper to replace the shortblock when it's just the stocker, not anything special.
CAMTWO1070
Active Member
From what I see you are missing the camshaft specs and type plus from what I remember from when I was looking for heads for my 408w extreme torquer low rpm low buck project out of the box all of their sbf heads have a .550" max lift and rev to 5500rpm's max and are for flat tappet camshafts only too like my Edelbrock E-Street heads so if you wanna run a roller cam larger than .550" lift or even rev higher than 5500rpm's Id go with better heads...
Last edited:
A couple of thoughts; first you may want to sell the Speedmaster heads and buy better ones. They barely flow better than stock cast iron GT40's.
View: https://youtu.be/BU2zuT4eoWk
Secondly, if you put those heads with a 2.02 valve and an X303 cam on a stock piston, I'm betting you have some bent intake valves which are leaving you with the disappointing power levels from what you were expecting. With a 500hp goal I'd recommend you go with a 408W with a good set of heads (AFR or TrickFlow) and a XFI-236 Comp. cam. This combo should give you around 530 flywheel hp with a Performer RPM intake or around 550 with a Victor Jr. If you want to stay with the 302 block, a 347 strocker kit is in order
View: https://youtu.be/BU2zuT4eoWk
Secondly, if you put those heads with a 2.02 valve and an X303 cam on a stock piston, I'm betting you have some bent intake valves which are leaving you with the disappointing power levels from what you were expecting. With a 500hp goal I'd recommend you go with a 408W with a good set of heads (AFR or TrickFlow) and a XFI-236 Comp. cam. This combo should give you around 530 flywheel hp with a Performer RPM intake or around 550 with a Victor Jr. If you want to stay with the 302 block, a 347 strocker kit is in order
Interesting video, so speedmaster heads are really pro comp heads?
At first thought, i figured if he already has aluminum heads, send them out, valve job, milling etc.
Now knowing they are pro comp, sell them.
If that video is correct and the aluminum is of poor quality, i'm sure that's not good for stuffing boost into them.
IMO, Forget about the turbo setup, me personally i don't ever see a turbo setup as something that should be done on a fixed budget, because there is about zero chance the budget holds.
At first thought, i figured if he already has aluminum heads, send them out, valve job, milling etc.
Now knowing they are pro comp, sell them.
If that video is correct and the aluminum is of poor quality, i'm sure that's not good for stuffing boost into them.
IMO, Forget about the turbo setup, me personally i don't ever see a turbo setup as something that should be done on a fixed budget, because there is about zero chance the budget holds.
Yes speed master and pro comp are the same thing....the majority of there stuff is garbage. There's a few China sbf sourced heads and if there decent they get rebranded like crazy , only 3 I would use, is the dart 180 clone. That's the casting afr uses as the enforcer.
Promaxx sells the other 2 but others have as well. The maxx series is mostly an edelbrock clone. The same basic casting was used for the sbf heads lmr/sve used to sell and had a few as cast options.
The other head they have the x series it is mostly an afr205 clone, but can be order with smaller as cast ports, its becoming like the afr enforcer head, in the way everyone is starting to private label it.. Flotek sold it as the 2005 hammer head, dart is now hawking it as the Shp 205.. Yep even dart is doing the China head deal now... It's probably the best " budget " head a DIY guy building a decent set up not using a stock bottom end could pick up right now.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qifIFi3icN8
Promaxx sells the other 2 but others have as well. The maxx series is mostly an edelbrock clone. The same basic casting was used for the sbf heads lmr/sve used to sell and had a few as cast options.
The other head they have the x series it is mostly an afr205 clone, but can be order with smaller as cast ports, its becoming like the afr enforcer head, in the way everyone is starting to private label it.. Flotek sold it as the 2005 hammer head, dart is now hawking it as the Shp 205.. Yep even dart is doing the China head deal now... It's probably the best " budget " head a DIY guy building a decent set up not using a stock bottom end could pick up right now.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qifIFi3icN8
Last edited:
I can say for sure that none of my NA builds have stayed on budget so boosted or not it’s called discipline of which I seem to loose when building a motor.
Yep, I'm embarassed to admit it, but I tried a set of Speedmasters. They took soooo much work to get decent numbers out of them... I could have bought a good set of heads for less money than I had to invest into them. Not to mention the pending sense of doom you feel on every pass crossing your fingers that they don't fail.
You aren't the only one that has bought those heads or others like them, you just may be the first around here to admit you bought them and they were crap.
Sorry I didn't get back to you guys for awhile. I guess I need to look for better heads. I got a good deal these heads. So I'm not out much. So does anyone have a set of heads for sale??? I have a 351w block. But it needs everything as I cleaned it using electrologists. But I can do it all in house. Just need to get past Xmas
And another thing, I don't plan to stay in budget, and I'll never sell the car. Unless I could go directly and buy a better foxbody.
I'm gonna do a compression check this week and I'll report the numbers. I hate to say it's a bent valve as it runs good. I really am leaning more on the intake being restriction. I see there cheap heads, I wish I got better ones. But I'm gonna keep my eyes open for a deal on a better set.
Either way I go on the build turbo or n/a, it will be ready for the spring. But I do agree with spending the money on 351w. It's just turbo is cheaper I need all new bearings and freeze plugs before I even start with the cool parts.
So I did the compression check. I did do the motor cold. And I did the fuel pump off and work. All cylinders ranged from 110-130. I had the also tested the valve springs. Coil bind is .575, 300lbs cracking pressure and 150 compression. I think my restriction is just my intake. Tmoss or trick flow will probably be my next step.
I do think the xcam is not the best for what I want to do. It moves the power curve and the lost torque makes it feel doggy. Especially with a restrictive intake.
So I didn't want to start a new thread so 2 years later here we are. The current mods are speed master aluminum heads, xcam, mega squirt 2 ECU, and an on3 turbo kit (70mm turbo) msd 6al, 3924 plugs
The car runs good and feels great in boost. I've done all the tuning myself and enjoyed learning it. My two biggest things I learned is ve is simply how full do you think the intake is and two, timing is the most destructive thing you can put into an engine.
The point of this post is to ask a question though. I currently have an e cam on the shelf. I know I'd love comp cam or even a custom grind. But if I was to replace the x with an e how would it be. The x only pulls about 8-10inkg's at idle (it's hard for the computer to control). It chops great and really comes alive with turbo. Im thinking the e cam will have better manners for a daily driver. But is it at the cost of high rpm power???
Thanks for all the info so far
The car runs good and feels great in boost. I've done all the tuning myself and enjoyed learning it. My two biggest things I learned is ve is simply how full do you think the intake is and two, timing is the most destructive thing you can put into an engine.
The point of this post is to ask a question though. I currently have an e cam on the shelf. I know I'd love comp cam or even a custom grind. But if I was to replace the x with an e how would it be. The x only pulls about 8-10inkg's at idle (it's hard for the computer to control). It chops great and really comes alive with turbo. Im thinking the e cam will have better manners for a daily driver. But is it at the cost of high rpm power???
Thanks for all the info so far
Drop from the 3924 plug to the 3923 for a bit better detonation resistance.
You seem to have the right idea about the E vs the x-cam. X has 6 more degrees of overlap. Going to the E, you'd gain steet manners at the *possible* expense of top end. But what are we talking here, man? Get the better manners and possibly quicker spool, and *if* power comes down a tad, add another pound of boost and give the motor back the power. The Cobra intake's strength is low end torque anyways.
Proud of ya for getting the turbo together and self tuning. Good job! Sounds like a riot of a car.
You seem to have the right idea about the E vs the x-cam. X has 6 more degrees of overlap. Going to the E, you'd gain steet manners at the *possible* expense of top end. But what are we talking here, man? Get the better manners and possibly quicker spool, and *if* power comes down a tad, add another pound of boost and give the motor back the power. The Cobra intake's strength is low end torque anyways.
Proud of ya for getting the turbo together and self tuning. Good job! Sounds like a riot of a car.
So I've kept a good eye on the plugs and look great. I do use iridium plugs. And replace them every spring. I know people hate that idea but it works for me, and I need stuff to do during the winter.
So I'm currently running 15psi. I know there room for growth as it's tuned up to about 20 to be safe. Currently I am modding the the mega squirt board so it will be able to run a electric boost controller. I just got to soder in a transistor.
But thanks for the help so far. I need to get back into checking the forums. Maybe I'll start a build post.
So I'm currently running 15psi. I know there room for growth as it's tuned up to about 20 to be safe. Currently I am modding the the mega squirt board so it will be able to run a electric boost controller. I just got to soder in a transistor.
But thanks for the help so far. I need to get back into checking the forums. Maybe I'll start a build post.
And looking back at this post there was some less than love for the speed master products. These heads I have have been great. I haven't had a single problem with them. Also I checked the piston to valve clearance when I put the x cam .542 lift (1.6 rockers) and I had a ton (.040 head gasket ) I also had them flow checked at a machine shop. The number were good. Better than Cobra Intake. There not trick flows, but for the money a good head.
Similar threads
