GT40p heads and intake
 

Im sure this has been discussed WAY too much on here(I did a search and did not find a definitive answer) but I don't understand what the gain is from the 95-98 explorer heads and intake. On every review article I have searched and read, it says the engine from this year explorer is rated 210-215hp and 285tq. So why would these heads work better on a Mustang 5.0 block? Or are they underrated? I found some 60k mile gt40p heads and upper/lower intake on CL for $300, and im interested based on the popularity of these heads, but no if they will not give me a noticeable gain. Thanks!

they have a slightly larger intake valve than e7 heads 1.84 iirc vs 1.78 and they have a smaller combustion chamber 58cc iirc that'll yield slightly more compression

Ha, so slight + slight = like 20 whp? Might be even more for me considering these heads will have 100k less miles than my current heads. lol.

who knows how much rwhp extra...Imo all the gt-40 stuff in untouched oem form is just a slight improvement over stock, I skipped right over that step and went straight for the aftermarket parts :)

Well mileage on heads arent a performance factor, wear is though! They arent worth the time unless your broke and want a little better than stock numbers!

Plus the P`s have a certain header to fit! if you are going gt40 iron find the reg gt40`s.

the "lack of hp" in the exploders is due to the cam grind, and the tune. It wasnt meant to be a HP monster. HOWEVER, GT-40 or P heads on your stock 302 will have higher compression ratio, which will make a few more HP. Also you have a larger cam from the factory. If you swapped in some 1.7 roller rockers, the effect would be increased.


With all of that being said, after tuning... my Cobra made 276rwhp and over 300 ft/lbs of torque with the stock heads, cam, intake, rockers, shortblock.

Ok well, Im looking at a few different routes here and it kinda sounds like I should just rule out the gt40 mod and save for some good aftermarket heads. Thanks for the input.

If you have the money, yes... its a very wise choice. If you already had the heads, you wouldnt be losing out all that much by putting them on. Most people end up looking for higher HP results than most GT-40 combo's produce.

i have never been a fan of the "p" stuff, the intake is very misleading first off, tiny ports. people refer to the explorer intake as a gt40, its really just a gt40 style intake.

and on the heads.... yes they have good intake valves but 1.46 exhaust valves.

the exhaust is the part that a 5.0 needs MOST.

with that said... i am however a fan of REAL gt40, i have friends who turned very respectable times on stock bottomed gt40 motors.

one was a full weight '92 gt 5-speed..... 4.10, et drag, 125 shot, gt40 tubular stock, gt40 cobra heads with mild exhaust port and touched up intake ports, good valve job.

it went 11.60-11.80's

I also think that you could do better than GT40 stuff, even at $300.....