I spend allot of time researching things that was just the case that led me to install Chevy SS Cobalt Brembo calipers, go with a 19% pulley ratio and also to install Meth/Water injection (to address the increase manifold intake temperature from the 19% ratio) that I assembled with parts from a wide variety of vendors. Of late I have been looking at heads. I used to race snowmobiles back in the early 70's so I am well aware how porting and polishing helps performance. I don't autocross nor do I track my car so I am not thinking large valves, 1.8/2.3, but rather something not as large but larger than the OEM such as .5/1.5. With this in mind I have been talking with Mike at Thumper, http://www.thumperheads.com/ . His TPR-2 head along with a ported intake looks very interesting and would appear to mate up well with my RMW 450 Injectors, Dominator Cam and my OBX header. He can even make the exhaust ports match the OBX header ports.
Yes, my intake was ported by him from when I ran the RMW BVH, then this Head was matched to that intake, along with the exhaust matched to my old Mynes V2 Header. The low end torque is similar to any BVH, it is of course lacking compared to stock, but the high end makes up for it in spades.... I did however make up for some low end by using Thumprs Adjusted Cam Gear, brought my torque numbers up starting 500-700 RPM lower in the range, than without the gear. Basically you could really feel the torque kick you in the pants from about 4200-4500 without the gear, and about 3500-3700 with the gear. I couldn't tell you anything more than that since the car only ran about 1500 miles with this Head and my old induction setup for comparisons. There's no way to honestly compare things with my new setup since its so different.
Yes, Jan appears to have only one type of head that being the 1.8/2.3 valve size, but with what my current mods are and based upon my use, I thought that I might not need valves that large. Now there will be those that will say bigger is always better but I have never been one to follow others but rather make up my own decisions based upon my own research. I have dealt with Jan and he always treated me right. I can also say that when I started the conversation with Mike at Thumper, I told him what I had, what I planned on doing and I asked him what he would do. He came back and said his middle unit, the TPR2 would work for me. He did not know me from Adam and very easily could have told me to go with the more expensive top line TPR2-T head that has the 1.8/2.3 valve sizes that Jan uses. I place a high value on any individual that puts the customer over price. At the same time I recognize that both Jan and Mike have probably had issues with something they sold somewhere down the line for as that famous fake American Forrest Gump said, "shit happens."
I am OK with smaller valves and it appears that Jan does not have this type of head nor does he port/polish. I have done enough research to make my mind up that Thumper is an old style craftsman when it comes to machining engine parts. Reminds me of a saying my father had -" I have forgotten more about _________ than most other people will ever know." My dad was a Mason - block, brick and concrete and a very good one. Here is a website about somebody I consider to be like Thumper, be sure to read the part about putting two different displacement motors together. I knew of this guy and all the racers he talks about. The Impossible section, that engine, is in with the 1971 posts. A truly amazing mechanical wizard. https://widowmakers.edrcreations.com/page1.html
Match porting, if done right, can be a big boost to performance. Also, done wrong it can be a mysterious ailment. It takes a whole lot of research, using flow meters and the like, to determine if it is done right. I have never match ported a MINI head, but I'm done a slew of air-cooled VW heads. With the VW heads, it's not only the use of the die grinders but also the 'finish' on the walls that determines the 'flow' of the head. I am sure that if you just match port a head w/o doing the research behind it, you will not end up with the best results and possibly, poor results. The only person I know that can substantiate the research on 'porting' is Jan of RMW. Just my $.02...
Spot on! I couldn't agree more. I remember in the long ago days when I turned a wrench for a living a lot of people thought they could match the head to the header with a die grinder. After that they would polish the intake ports till they were shiny as a mirror. But in the world of carburetors you needed the intake ports to be a little rough to make turbulence to help atomize the fuel. I had a machine make a big valve head for for my X 1/9 we used 40mm valves. it really helped the engine breath.
One of the things that Porsche did and would think the other exotic makers did was to ceramic coat the ports. I will also never forget when I took the heads off my 928 and saw there was not a block but rather just sleeves surrounded by nothing but space.
As for Big Valve Heads BVH the only true aftermarket head that has proven flow and performance gains over all others is the custom CNC flow tested RMW BVH. Each one is made to the exact same high quality standards time and time again with only the highest quality parts. Many have tried to copy it and they have all failed. This is the reason Jan owner of RMW have set the standard for 1st Gen MINI performance and is still the best head on the market bar none.
Thanks but really not interested in a head that has 1.8/2.3 valves, looking for something smaller and Thumper has that. Sneed4Speed also has a variety of heads with different options. What should be considered before doing a mod that will increase HP/TQ is a test to verify the condition of the engine. A dry and wet compression test along with a leak down test is advised by a reputable performance shop and/or provider. The Tritec Engine with the cast iron block is good motor but anytime changes are made that produce more stress on the components there may be issues. The tests I noted above will assist in the determination of whether the mod should proceed but they will not guarantee that the procedure will be problem free.
Personally I agree that linking to a banned vendors website or product page could give cause to review, edit and/or remove a post. But there shouldn't be any problem with having a discussion or even asking a question about any vendors product (active, non-active, never-active or banned) as long as the discussion or question isn't addressed by a banned vendor. Besides, MA is supposed to be "The Friendly Mini Site" not the "Friendly Unless Some of our Other Users disagree With You, Mini Site".
__Sully - edit some none fun rule stuff out__ rest is as is. As far as Thumper and Sneed are concerned they have a proven “non” track record of failures and poor quality parts and are not recommended for use no matter what they “personally say over the phone”. They should not be linked to on M\A just like the NAM and every other car Fourm.
You know there has been some good discussion about BVH here between all the pot shots and BS. As a matter of fact I think I may learn something. Now I don’t really give a flip who started what, that is being handled els where. We all have strong opinions. How about let’s stay on subject talk about the pros and cons and why we each made the choice we did. If you know history about a product share it. Please let’s try and start over and be polite I do have some questions but I will wait and ask them tomorrow, and yes I have my favorite tuner too.
Agreed - I will create a discussion in the site feedback area to discuss rules (written or implied). I will think through them and pose some thoughts for us to discuss and come to agreement on. Until then, let's move forward with discussing what we want to discuss.. cars, tuning, etc.