What are some indicators of weld separation when it happens, in order to easily identify the issue? (asking for a friend)

 

Youll see it normally. You can also hear it. Its very noticeable.
Ive used quite a few dorman intakes esp the 4.3,.57 vortec and the ford ohc and 3800 intakes. Ive seriously never had an issue. Esp when they address the weak spots in factory intakes like the tb coolant holes for the 3800 and tstat housing issues with th Ford's.
I have not used one on an ls...yet, but we do have the ls2 dormans available now with billet rails and tbs for way less even than the price of just the bare fast92. We have the dorman ls6 also. Both apparentl flow well and have quite a bit figured out.

 

let me clear something up. The dorman truck intake is of solid construction. The base (bottom section) that houses the injectors, intake port sealing etc is very sturdy compared to stock. The intake base is a copy of there fast intakes base so there should be an increase of RPM and flow. They add what I can only describe as a swirl ramp into the intake port where it meets the head. 10 min with a electric grinder an an aluminum carbide bit and its all gone and fully open.

The negative is where the intake (upper half) meets the bottom half and is held together via a "rail" at the front and back like a china wall which uses fasteners to screw the halfs together. Then the sides of the intake, injectors/intake runners side is held down via the intake bolts. The issue is the "china" walls of the intake (front and back) will flex slightly as the intake is torqued down. The seam that meets very closely when unbolted will open slightly and create a gap and thus your potential leak point. This is with engine vacuum and not even boost yet. The fix would be to unbolt the intake (if its off the motor) its just the front and back and use a nylon adhesive/sealer at the china rails and then bolt it together. Problem solved. Then you get to enjoy the more more generous plenum volume and runner design/fast base port entry over the stocker. Gaskets are also simular to the fast intakes as well.

The rest of the intake seems to be of decent quality for the price. It did bolt on and clear my steam lines. I should also clarify that I did not actually have a vacuum leak with this intake. Another member who was testing it out with me did, he sealed his with the nylon adhesive and I haven't yet. I removed the intake to rule it out as a potential leak. I will be modifying it with sealer to run it as I have heard from the other member that hes had to add a bunch of fuel above 2500 rpms as hes now running leaner with the dorman. That means the air flow is there and thus requiring more fuel. Due to the flex that I saw I wasn't going to chance it when I have boost running through it so I will fix it before putting it back on.

Alot of these chinese companies with copy a USA made part to the T (tial knock offs, aeromotive knock offs, MSD box knock offs) and the amount of work to shut the company down (if its even a real company) is long and tedious. When they will just create a new company and sell the product immediately.

 

You usually get fuel trims trying to overcompensate. On the worse ones you can actually see the gap open as the intake is bolted down. We have to replace 4.6 2v on fords all the time because of coolant cracking, leaking etc.. Since ford has stopped selling and making alot of the npi intakes now you are left with only a few options. Every Dorman I have tried, and I mean none of them have left the shop due to driveability problems made by the "new" Dorman intakes. Yeah, they may not be made in China but you would not know that if you worked around them everyday.

 

But, to each his own. You guys running them with no problems I give it to you. But, when any driveability problems rear their heads go right for the intake .

 

I believe your suspicion is correct on many counts. The X is supposedly made by Super Auto and sold by True Blue . But the X is too true in every aspect to be a knock off. The only difference is part # cast in the bottom ! I believe it is the same company making both the Dorman and the X . If it is a knock off, the Chinese have really stepped their game up. If the Dorman is better or different post up a clip. Here is a clip of the Super Auto X

 

Right off the batt my real dorman intake doesn't have 2 bolts in the baseto the runner area on the underside. Otherwise they seem on par.







stock intake above is like 10lbs. Dorman below is heavier by like 1lbs.

 

Which two bolts are you speaking of ? Close up pic. Is your hardware kit the same ? It looks like the Dorman weight is 11 lbs is that correct ? Any thing else you see different.

 

Ok its runner 3 and 6 belly side that have the bolts on the X. That your speaking of.

 

See attached picture (red markings) showing the zinc headed bolts in the X intake that my dorman does not have (you can see just plastic on my intake pics).




I couple of otherthings after watching the video alittle more closely. THe PCV hose on the X intake is much "shinier" and looks plasticy. The hardware while brief in the video is slightly different. The screws included in my dorman have a large hex head and washer built in and very corse thread but no point. The X intake hardware looks like zinc coated phillips wood screws. The X base has the part number casted in and the Dorman just has the dorman logo casted in. Dorman also has the torque info etc casted into the top cover... couldnt see that in the video on the X intake.

I haven't had it apart yet to comment on the internals. But the Base of the dorman (on the inside)looks like the OE nylon (dull look and can see the fibers) where the X intake looks very shiny in the video. Please refer to my pics posted in the last post to see what I'm talking about. In the inside shot you can see the dullness compared to the shinny upper half.

 

Its real easy, there is a Dorman rep on here posting. Have him go and video them making this intake in the U.S.A.. You might be surprised

 

Yup! I know the older Dorman version had all the recessed circle looking areas under the Runners fitted with bolts but have done away with that (prob due to leak points). Remember the bolt has the pass through the base and into a runner to thread down. Once you enter the base you create a leak point. No idea how they would keep that from leaking. But I know they covered the bolts in the early version by melting the plastic around it to encase the bolt head so it couldnt be tampered with. Probably a manufacturing process so help assmble and align the parts, then melted them to keep people from unbolting them.

 

Yes that right .... Rockauto still has a pic on their website that shows the early ones with melted over bolt heads .

 

Super Auto is on the top/left, Dorman on the right

 

Most aspects seem on par, but the last pic has me wondering.

The vacuum hose is actually pretty nice, it's silicone coated. The opening to the vacuum ports is only about 1/16" though which seems small; not sure how that compares to stock or to the Dorman.







The Dorman seems to be molded much more accurately here.

Hardware:

 

seems close but those intake ports on the X intake look jacked. Not only at the top but also the port is "bowed" or has a curve to it. The hardware and injector orings look on point with the dorman by the pic above.

 

Yeah it's weird, the intakes are clearly made from the same base design and also very close to the FAST intake design. It almost looks like FAST has sold molds with gradually degraded designs in order to capitalize on their designs without directly competing with their own products, and also capturing different price tiers.

FAST: Base design, +25hp over stock with 102mm throttle body ($1,600 for +25hp)
Dorman: Degraded via smaller TB and square inclusion on corner of runners
Super Auto: Further degraded via malformed runner opening

Just a theory though. I suspect the malformed runner has a very minimal effect on flow. I'd love to see dyno results compared to the FAST setup, to see just how much HP $1,600 buys vs this $130 intake and a stock TB.

 

Thx for posting those pics they tell quite a bit . Seeing them side by side shows more difference than I thought at first. As for the sheen of the Dorman, it is made from Nylon 6 , Im not sure what the X is made from, it could be Nylon 66 or some hybrid. This might explain the difference in finish. Nylon 66 is what most oem LS intakes are made from, and it has a higher glass fiber content and other characteristics .

 

That X port has some MAJOR scoliosis goin on!

 

We have no association with Super Auto or ANY of their intake manifolds. The 615-183X is not a Dorman part period. If you see any intakes floating around the web with an "X" - it is not Dorman.