Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-16-2000 12:16 PM            

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This is a very interesting page by MPG on their port plates;
http://www.mpgheads.com/port_plates.htm

Good reading, but no dyno figures. Anyone have any real life experience with these?

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 787
From: Walnut Creek, CA USA
Registered: JUN 99

posted 03-16-2000 05:51 PM            

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I've got both the intake and exhaust port plates. The intake are stamped steel. The exhaust ports are a brass casting (the good ones compared to stamped steel). I haven't run them yet, but hope to soon.

The machinist building my engine does most of his stuff for hot boats and NHRA engines. I was fearful that he would laugh at me for bringing the plates to him. Quite the contrary, he said they usually work very well, especially for clevelands, and he liked the look of the MPG plates.

I'll find out for sure if they work as soon as I can.

Posts: 26811
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-16-2000 07:09 PM            

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No comment! Alex

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Alex Denysenko Co-Administrator and Moderator
Fleet of FoMoCo's too long to list!

Posts: 787
From: Walnut Creek, CA USA
Registered: JUN 99

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-17-2000 01:11 PM            

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Yeah, what kind of answer is that? Are you getting shy all of a sudden?

Before I plunk down $90 for some sheetmetal, I like to know if it's worth it.

A lot of guys talk about these, but I haven't seen any dyno or quarter mile figures.

Those exhaust plates look like one good high rpm blast would blow those plates right out the other direction once the gas went under the plate and lifted it up.

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 787
From: Walnut Creek, CA USA
Registered: JUN 99

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-17-2000 01:47 PM            

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Their web site only shows a .050" stainless steel exhaust plate. Yours are brass, huh?

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 787
From: Walnut Creek, CA USA
Registered: JUN 99

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-17-2000 03:14 PM            

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I assume you got them from MPG, right? Did they cost more?

I'm just wondering if there was a design change. Maybe the web page is old? Or did you get yours a while ago, and they're using SS now?

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-17-2000 03:17 PM            

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I like the ones for the DOVE heads. Seems like a better design.

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 787
From: Walnut Creek, CA USA
Registered: JUN 99

posted 03-17-2000 04:24 PM            

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Steve, I bought them about a year ago. They look just like the DOVE plates. I can't remember what I paid for them, but they were more than the stamped steel plates.

I thought about polishing them, but my machinist said it would be wasted time. All the flow is up high and polishing stuff in the low velocity region was unnecessary.

Posts: 26811
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-19-2000 11:26 AM            

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Well....maybe I'll say something about my experience with the port plates on a 429 SCJ Torino Cobra and our J/SA 73 351C Mach 1. Alex

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Alex Denysenko Co-Administrator and Moderator
Fleet of FoMoCo's too long to list!

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-19-2000 03:25 PM            

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Please do...

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 961
From: Sioux City, Iowa
Registered: OCT 99

Posts: 26811
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-21-2000 06:31 PM            

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No you don't Joe, you all love the suspense! My problem is, when I do one of these long posts I get interupted so often that I always get logged or bumped off half way or more through it! Very irritating when you've just spent 45 minutes or more composing and typing a post that goes buzzzzzzzzzz.....goodbye! The whole story after dinner. Alex

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Alex Denysenko Co-Administrator and Moderator
Fleet of FoMoCo's too long to list!

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-21-2000 06:55 PM            

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Alex, buddy, I got to teach you how to Copy and Paste. That way you can type it out at your leisure, then post it.

Here's how to do it;

1. Use a word processing program or better yet, your email set-up and type it up.

2. Then put the pointer of your mouse in front on the first letter of the first word, and press down and hold the left mouse button down and drag the mouse pointer down to the period after the last word of your message, then let go. Your message will be highlighted in blue.

3. Then click the right button of the mouse and a box will open up. Select 'Copy.'

4. Go into M&M and click 'Post Reply'

5. When the reply box opens up, put the mouse pointer in it, and click the left button. You will see the cursor blinking in it.

6. Right click on your mouse and a box will open up. Click on 'Paste.' and your entire message will appear.

It's alot easier than it sounds.

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

[This message has been edited by SteveLaRiviere (edited 03-21-2000).]

Posts: 26811
From: Lyons, IL, USA
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-22-2000 10:37 AM            

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OK, so it's after breakfast LOL ! A couple of years ago we were involved with an IHRA pure stocker 429 SCJ Torino Cobra. IHRA pure stock rules do not allow headers (without mufflers), but open exhaust is ok. We got some of the MPG exhaust "port plates" and set out to test them at the track. Tests were made at the same track on the same day as back to back as we could. No plates 13.20's @ 100 MPH 2 runs. Installed plates and went 13.40's at 98 MPH. Leaned the carb and slowed even more. Removed the plates and rejeted the carb to the previous specs. 10 degrees hotter and the car went right back to the 13.20's at 100 MPH. Last year unbeknownst to me, out J/SA car owner purchased and installed some MPG plates on his 73 351C Mach 1. We were on a test session at RT.66 and the car would not run out of the 13 teen's on a 12.75 NHRA index. I began to throw every trick that I knew at it to try and pick it back up to its previous 12.80's. Result was a miserable 13.03 @ 99 MPH. In desperation I began to remove the spark plugs and noticed "THE PLATES"! After some VERY choice adjectives, we unbolted the headers and removed the things. I re-adjusted the timing and we made another pass. Result.....12.77 @ 102 MPH! Moral of the story....they don't work with stock manifolds or store bought "box" headers. I have pondered on this considerably and have come to the conclusion that they could be of a benifit with either custom (which won't fit in the confines of most of our cars)or Zoomie headers. Without going into another 3 or 4 paragraphs of detail, I feel that they need a "straight shot" out of the exhaust port to show any horsepower gain. Otherwise my testing has proved them to be a restriction that deters rather than enhances performance. Both sets are hanging up on our shop "wall of shame" with a bunch of other parts that should have, could have, would have worked! Alex

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Alex Denysenko Co-Administrator and Moderator
Fleet of FoMoCo's too long to list!

Posts: 44921
From: Saco, Maine
Registered: MAY 99

posted 03-22-2000 11:54 AM            

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Thank you!

That exactly what I thought! They seem like more of a restriction and turbulence creators to me. I know the 351C heads will get better bottom end response with smaller ports, but I'm not willing to lose the top end horsepower.

What gave me a red flag was the lack of dyno/track results on the ads or web site. Especially when you know they have access to a dyno.

I wanted real life ancedotal reports. Thanks Alex, that was worth the wait! lol

"Ask the man that owns one."

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SteveLaRiviere/Administrator
'72 Mustang Sprint 351C 4V/FMX/4.30 Trac-Loc
'94 F-150 XL 5.8L/E4OD/3.55 Limited Slip
'97 Probe GTS 2.5L DOHC/CD4E

Posts: 1808
From: Vicksburg, MS
Registered: DEC 99

posted 03-22-2000 12:48 PM            

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Back when I lived down south I built motors for boats. A lot of the jet boats and some of the custom ski boats run 429/460's. We would put plates in the CJ's in ski boats only. The ski boats dont ever get past 4000 rpm with these big motors. The CJ ports were way too big. I had guys wanting to trade CJ heads for PI heads which was a great head for a ski boat. The ski boat folks really liked any extra bottom end for getting out of the hole.

BUT the jet boats are seldom BELOW 4000 and the plates would take 4 or 5 top end MPH out. And for those of you that don't know, it takes a LOT of power to move a boat 80+ mph and a 5 MPH drop means we were dropping some serious power.

BTW, I am only talking about the INTAKE plates, never messed with the exhaust stuff cause we were using all sorts of custom water cooled cast iron stuff. (AND cause the coast guard inspector is a really picky bastard.

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Jay Kilroy
68' Fastback GT 390