What intake now? For boost
What intake now? For boost Man, the search function here must suck or my searchfoo must suck. At any rate, why not create the thread? Got some really good info in my head gasket thread and saved myself some $$.....
So heres my situation. 5.3 going in a heavy, low hood clearance 2004 GTO (GTSlow lol). I have a Dorman Ls2 thats hung in there up to 12-13psi. I doubt its going to hang in there much longer for the journey ahead. I Cleaned it up and ported it and in one area i almost broke through, its pretty thin but I filled in with epoxy. Last time the manifold was off, I couldnt even find the spot(evidently the epoxy took on the oily color lol) and its been holding boost. But anyways, I now need something that will hold 20+psi and wont hurt my power. Like I had though about one of those fabricated jobs, but i read too much bad stuff and it'll probably kill my tq. I read were the fast intakes arent the best choice for boost and in my case, arent budget friendly. So what else should I be looking at? Ls6? Ls2? Holley fabricated? Heck jegs has a $499 fabricated intake with fuel rails. Probably the same as the china jobs. I'd expect the quality control of the jegs to be better. I dunno. What you guys suggest?
So heres my situation. 5.3 going in a heavy, low hood clearance 2004 GTO (GTSlow lol). I have a Dorman Ls2 thats hung in there up to 12-13psi. I doubt its going to hang in there much longer for the journey ahead. I Cleaned it up and ported it and in one area i almost broke through, its pretty thin but I filled in with epoxy. Last time the manifold was off, I couldnt even find the spot(evidently the epoxy took on the oily color lol) and its been holding boost. But anyways, I now need something that will hold 20+psi and wont hurt my power. Like I had though about one of those fabricated jobs, but i read too much bad stuff and it'll probably kill my tq. I read were the fast intakes arent the best choice for boost and in my case, arent budget friendly. So what else should I be looking at? Ls6? Ls2? Holley fabricated? Heck jegs has a $499 fabricated intake with fuel rails. Probably the same as the china jobs. I'd expect the quality control of the jegs to be better. I dunno. What you guys suggest?
For a street car a lot of people get caught up on low end tq. Whats funny is most of the same guys that complain also dont have decent tires. I actually try to reduce low end tq on full send to try and help traction. While it sounds lame less low end tq and more traction beats blowing your tires off at 2k rpm like all the LSA cars.
Ive used most all the intakes, sniper, hi-ram, pro-flo, vic jr, super vic, fast, stock, etc. With the intakes that reduce low end tq I’ve never thought man I wish I had more tq. I just control boost and timing to suite my needs and sail past the low end tq blower cars.
That said even the so called shitty chinese holley sniper has easily ran 8’s so none of them are really hurting your street car performance all that much.
Ive used most all the intakes, sniper, hi-ram, pro-flo, vic jr, super vic, fast, stock, etc. With the intakes that reduce low end tq I’ve never thought man I wish I had more tq. I just control boost and timing to suite my needs and sail past the low end tq blower cars.
That said even the so called shitty chinese holley sniper has easily ran 8’s so none of them are really hurting your street car performance all that much.
For a street car a lot of people get caught up on low end tq. Whats funny is most of the same guys that complain also dont have decent tires. I actually try to reduce low end tq on full send to try and help traction. While it sounds lame less low end tq and more traction beats blowing your tires off at 2k rpm like all the LSA cars.
Ive used most all the intakes, sniper, hi-ram, pro-flo, vic jr, super vic, fast, stock, etc. With the intakes that reduce low end tq I’ve never thought man I wish I had more tq. I just control boost and timing to suite my needs and sail past the low end tq blower cars.
That said even the so called shitty chinese holley sniper has easily ran 8’s so none of them are really hurting your street car performance all that much.
Ive used most all the intakes, sniper, hi-ram, pro-flo, vic jr, super vic, fast, stock, etc. With the intakes that reduce low end tq I’ve never thought man I wish I had more tq. I just control boost and timing to suite my needs and sail past the low end tq blower cars.
That said even the so called shitty chinese holley sniper has easily ran 8’s so none of them are really hurting your street car performance all that much.
So you think for the $$ one of those fabricated intakes would do the job? They do look cool as hell. And cheap too.
Stay away from the straight from china fabbed intakes. I have one sitting on a shelf now where the angle of the intake does not match the angle of the heads. Even a thick O ring gasket would not make up for the difference, and it is exactly the same on both sides. This leads me to believe the jig they mounted the pieces to before welding them was just set at the wrong angle. I have seen other posts with the same issue on other internet sites. At least if you buy something from a reputable company, even though they may be getting the same china stuff, they QC it before you get it.
Stay away from the straight from china fabbed intakes. I have one sitting on a shelf now where the angle of the intake does not match the angle of the heads. Even a thick O ring gasket would not make up for the difference, and it is exactly the same on both sides. This leads me to believe the jig they mounted the pieces to before welding them was just set at the wrong angle. I have seen other posts with the same issue on other internet sites. At least if you buy something from a reputable company, even though they may be getting the same china stuff, they QC it before you get it.
I would agree with that, I tried an ebay version and the fuel injector bungs were just slightly off. Used multiple Holley versions of the Sniper both LS1 and LS3 versions. Really only complaint is it can sound like you have a Jamaican playing a steel drum under your hood at times on quieter cars. We add a piece of sound dampening to the top panel and seems to help.
damn. That’s not what I wanted to hear (my car is quiet). I was gonna get it from jegs or summit. Does anyone make a cast aluminum version?
Trending Topics
9 Second Club
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 13,616
Likes: 185
From: Norn Iron
Chinese fab intakes. IMO they are *****, and yes I have a Holley one. Quality just ok, fit poor, port alignment poor, and it is noisy. But yes, it does look cool and it was relatively cheap.
And as all such tests show, any short runner intake is going to lose power pretty much everywhere, so unless it's a high rpm screamer, they make almost no sense. But they do look cool....sometimes that's enough lol
The stock long runner intakes and designs like it, seem to perform well up to 6, 6500rpm, and they just work. So for you, stock LS6, ? BBK SSI ? Weiand ? all valid options with few negatives.
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-111
I did use a BBK SSI a while for myself, and would have no complaints. I did fit a new thicker allow base cover onto it though, as the thin steel one just didnt inspire confidence for boost. But for the money it was a decent intake, maybe a bit heavy though.
But the stock types do look kinda crap.
However, in recent days Holley have come up with these. They look cool, but no doubt will be utterly ***** with their very short runners. But they are cast, they look like far better quality than the fabbed stuff....and I kinda like them. Even the bellmouth shape around the runners in the plenum look very nice. If only they'd make something similar, with longer runners and say 8-9" max height ( And no...the horrible mid-ram design doesnt count, even if it doesnt perform as bad as it looks like it should )
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-621
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-620
Launching!
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 36
From: Pennsylvania
When I switched to e85 I tried the stock L92 intake with aftermarket rails and Bosch 210s. I just couldn’t get it to work so I had to buy a new intake. High ram wasn’t an option, edelbrock was back ordered for 6 months and my choices were limited so I bought the Holley “highram” sheet metal intake. I think it’s really nice and the quality seems good. I noticed some extra engine noise with the hood up but nothing different when I drove the car or was inside. Price was right to.
Chinese fab intakes. IMO they are *****, and yes I have a Holley one. Quality just ok, fit poor, port alignment poor, and it is noisy. But yes, it does look cool and it was relatively cheap.
And as all such tests show, any short runner intake is going to lose power pretty much everywhere, so unless it's a high rpm screamer, they make almost no sense. But they do look cool....sometimes that's enough lol
The stock long runner intakes and designs like it, seem to perform well up to 6, 6500rpm, and they just work. So for you, stock LS6, ? BBK SSI ? Weiand ? all valid options with few negatives.
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-111
I did use a BBK SSI a while for myself, and would have no complaints. I did fit a new thicker allow base cover onto it though, as the thin steel one just didnt inspire confidence for boost. But for the money it was a decent intake, maybe a bit heavy though.
But the stock types do look kinda crap.
However, in recent days Holley have come up with these. They look cool, but no doubt will be utterly ***** with their very short runners. But they are cast, they look like far better quality than the fabbed stuff....and I kinda like them. Even the bellmouth shape around the runners in the plenum look very nice. If only they'd make something similar, with longer runners and say 8-9" max height ( And no...the horrible mid-ram design doesnt count, even if it doesnt perform as bad as it looks like it should )
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-621
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-620
And as all such tests show, any short runner intake is going to lose power pretty much everywhere, so unless it's a high rpm screamer, they make almost no sense. But they do look cool....sometimes that's enough lol
The stock long runner intakes and designs like it, seem to perform well up to 6, 6500rpm, and they just work. So for you, stock LS6, ? BBK SSI ? Weiand ? all valid options with few negatives.
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-111
I did use a BBK SSI a while for myself, and would have no complaints. I did fit a new thicker allow base cover onto it though, as the thin steel one just didnt inspire confidence for boost. But for the money it was a decent intake, maybe a bit heavy though.
But the stock types do look kinda crap.
However, in recent days Holley have come up with these. They look cool, but no doubt will be utterly ***** with their very short runners. But they are cast, they look like far better quality than the fabbed stuff....and I kinda like them. Even the bellmouth shape around the runners in the plenum look very nice. If only they'd make something similar, with longer runners and say 8-9" max height ( And no...the horrible mid-ram design doesnt count, even if it doesnt perform as bad as it looks like it should )
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-621
https://www.holley.com/products/inta.../parts/300-620
dude I like that thing! Only things that bother me are the extra weight and heat retention
9 Second Club
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 13,616
Likes: 185
From: Norn Iron
When I switched to e85 I tried the stock L92 intake with aftermarket rails and Bosch 210s. I just couldn’t get it to work so I had to buy a new intake. High ram wasn’t an option, edelbrock was back ordered for 6 months and my choices were limited so I bought the Holley “highram” sheet metal intake. I think it’s really nice and the quality seems good. I noticed some extra engine noise with the hood up but nothing different when I drove the car or was inside. Price was right to.
The Sniper sheet metal stuff are all pretty poor quality, but for the money, that's only to be expected.
At least with those you can remove the lid, porting and port matching would be very easy, and with cast construction should be no concerns about blowing apart under boost, as some of the sheet metal ones have done.
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 312
Likes: 14
From: Stephens city VA
Launching!
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 36
From: Pennsylvania
HiRam's are all cast, not sheet metal.
The Sniper sheet metal stuff are all pretty poor quality, but for the money, that's only to be expected.
At least with those you can remove the lid, porting and port matching would be very easy, and with cast construction should be no concerns about blowing apart under boost, as some of the sheet metal ones have done.
The Sniper sheet metal stuff are all pretty poor quality, but for the money, that's only to be expected.
At least with those you can remove the lid, porting and port matching would be very easy, and with cast construction should be no concerns about blowing apart under boost, as some of the sheet metal ones have done.
Launching!
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 249
Likes: 36
From: Pennsylvania
Its different from their regular fabricated low profile aluminum intake. Longer runners and a little higher. It says hi-Ram directly in the product description.
I bought everything for the motor. Just waiting on rotating assembly to be finished being balanced. I have two aeromotive 340’s to go in, I’m fabricating a aluminum high capacity fuel bucket. And when I swap intakes, the intake will come with fuel rails for a return system, so that’s another reason for the intake. This dorman is going to blow apart so I’m trying to be proactive and sell it before I damage it and I won’t be able to get anything for it.
