ported TB or tune?
ported TB or tune? ok i just dropped my car off today to get my exhaust and UD pulley installed. now my question to you guys, should i buy a ported TB and keep it on stock tune? or try investing in a hand help tuner? which one seems more beneficial? thanks for your help
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From: Lynnwood, WA (North of Seattle)
Ported TB's are nice and everything but I don't think that they require a new tune JUST for that....now once you get LT's on there (the ones in your sig, I presume are not on the car yet), then I would highly recommend a new tune....but if you are just adding a ported TB, I don't think it is cost effective to pay for a tune just for that.....my personal opinion. I got my ported TB on and didn't get a tune for it. Car ran fine....
thanks for your imput, im just worried once all my exhaust and stuff is installed i might need a tune up, so id rather save up possibly for a hand held like diablo sport/crane then to drop another 80$ to get my TB ported
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From: Seattle, WA
Get the ported TB and get Ellis to tune the PCM for you. After you get everything installed it sounds like you are going to need it. And the custom tune will REALLY wake the car up if you have what is in your sig on a stock tune.
You do not need a tune!!! If all your doing is headers and cat-back exhaust............wait for the tune. The tune will not be worth the money at this point. Your car will run wonderfully with the bolt ons your doing. If you are gonna spend the money, go with the ported TB! it will provide you about the same gain as a tune for you at this point in the game! But the ported TB will be a lot cheaper. I agree however that when the time comes for a tune (which should be after a cam or heads and cam install), have Ellis do the tune for you. It will cost you a bit of cash but its worth is. You can get your TB ported for around $50 bucks. You aint gonna get a good tune for no where near that. I paid $350 bucks to have my car tuned after I had my Heads and cam installed while I lived in Texas by Texas Speed and Performance. Tunes are pricey but worth it. IMO, I would wait for the tune till you really need it and go with the ported TB. In fact I don't have mine ported yet and I think I might get that done when I get back from deployment.
JMO though!!!
JMO though!!!
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Originally Posted by sidewayz28
yeah i think ill get my TB ported, thanks for all the advice...and good luck with your deployment..you guys know anyone that does a decent TB porting job locally?
But if you find anyone who does it locally, let me know and the price they charge. Thanks and good luck!
Oh.......you best be hitting the track if your moddin' your ride. You got to see what it'll do "Legally"!
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From: Seattle, WA
Originally Posted by aja342
Hot Rod took a LS1 crate engin too 500+ crank HP on the factory tune and fuel system (they did have a fuel reg. added).
Originally Posted by howierd42
No doubt a LS1 crate engine can make it at the crank. But I know what my car felt like on a stock tune, I know what it felt like on a Hypertech tune, and I know what it feels like on a custom tune. Hands down I will take the custom tune. Not trying to rustle any feathers or spend anyone's money, just saying that a custom tune is not necessarily a bad thing. I would recommend the TB before a tune though since you won't really hurt anything with the stock tune.
Originally Posted by TwoFast4Lv
Porting the TB is a waste of time...
yeah ive read the same...i dont think i plan on putting an after market cam or heads in my motor(itd be nice though!!)...i just want to keep it bolt ons. itll be plenty fast for a daily driven car. and i will try and hit the track when it opens up! hope to see you guys there. again thanks for all the responses!
Originally Posted by sidewayz28
yeah ive read the same...i dont think i plan on putting an after market cam or heads in my motor(itd be nice though!!)...i just want to keep it bolt ons. itll be plenty fast for a daily driven car. and i will try and hit the track when it opens up! hope to see you guys there. again thanks for all the responses!
****......for $300 you could get a good used cam from this site and from what I've heard the cam install on the F-body isn't that bad of a job!
My buddy (a Ford guy) helped his freind put a cam in the guys T/A in an afternoon. Aparently it runs strong too. All I'm trying to say is that its too damn easy to do and the bug will grab you before long. 
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From: LT1 land...the "409" of the 90s!
Actually what you do by porting the TB is screw up the way the car idles most of all. Yes it 'feels' like it has a ton more power but it is an illussion 
what happens is the ramp that gets cut out was put there on purpose and is calculated into the idle tables..
The removed bump IS what gives you the feeling of more power. Why? Because you get alot more air sooned in the lower throttle areas so it takes less throttle to get the same power. Kind of like the way they gave the Corvette a different throttle cam then the F-body. the Corvette snapps the throttle open faster the the F-body so it feels like it has more when over all it does not Ask Tranzor
If you want to port your TB go for it. I just see no use full reason for doing it Most of the people I know who have it done now do it so there Throttle body will get polished or coated a nice color
for people with Fly by wire I say get a LS2 TB and intake (stock or other) to match it
JUST a reminder. People used to hack up there MAFs on a regular basis to...this is also a waste of time as we now know
what happens is the ramp that gets cut out was put there on purpose and is calculated into the idle tables..The removed bump IS what gives you the feeling of more power. Why? Because you get alot more air sooned in the lower throttle areas so it takes less throttle to get the same power. Kind of like the way they gave the Corvette a different throttle cam then the F-body. the Corvette snapps the throttle open faster the the F-body so it feels like it has more when over all it does not
Ask Tranzor If you want to port your TB go for it. I just see no use full reason for doing it
Most of the people I know who have it done now do it so there Throttle body will get polished or coated a nice color for people with Fly by wire I say get a LS2 TB and intake (stock or other) to match it
JUST a reminder. People used to hack up there MAFs on a regular basis to...this is also a waste of time as we now know
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From: Kent WA
Originally Posted by TwoFast4Lv
The removed bump IS what gives you the feeling of more power. Why? Because you get alot more air sooned in the lower throttle areas so it takes less throttle to get the same power. Kind of like the way they gave the Corvette a different throttle cam then the F-body. the Corvette snapps the throttle open faster the the F-body so it feels like it has more when over all it does not Ask Tranzor
Ask Tranzor 
You can always port your own TB. I did mine and it wasn't hard at all. Most people claim roughly 10 RWHP from a ported TB. I didn't notice any idle issues and the car definitely snaps to attention quicker. But then again, Ellis is the man and his advice should be taken seriously. I just know of several people who noticed positive horsepower increases from this simple and cheap mod. Worst case scenario, you won't lose anything but the cost of some sandpaper and a dremel tool. As for the tune, definitely go for a custom tune when it comes time. The hand helds are generic tunes......"one size fits all". A custom tune (by Ellis) will tailor the tune to your cars specific parameters and net you a lot more gain. I have yet to get a tune done with my mods and the car runs great. I've had the LT's and TD's for almost a year. I pulled my 12.98 at Bremerton on the stock tune. I'm sure a tune would wake her up even more, but the cash hasn't been available as of yet. Just my .02.
I gained 0 from my ported TB. But it does look better. And I imagine if you have a *****-out motor setup, you might gain a little top end. But a stock LS1 certainly doesn't need more than the 800 cfm a stock 78mm tb will flow.
Now it might reduce turbulence but you'd better be a rocket scientist if that is what you are doing. Many people have learned the hard way that certain things that cause turbulence (the bump in the intake runner on the LS1 heads comes to mind) actually make our motors perform better, and removing them will hurt performance. Not to mention the IAC inlet in the top of the tb requires a certain amount of air movement to funtion normally (& some morons epoxy it shut).
IMO you'd gain more from the free tb bump-stop mod. That changes the WOT blade position from 85% to 100%.
Now it might reduce turbulence but you'd better be a rocket scientist if that is what you are doing. Many people have learned the hard way that certain things that cause turbulence (the bump in the intake runner on the LS1 heads comes to mind) actually make our motors perform better, and removing them will hurt performance. Not to mention the IAC inlet in the top of the tb requires a certain amount of air movement to funtion normally (& some morons epoxy it shut).
IMO you'd gain more from the free tb bump-stop mod. That changes the WOT blade position from 85% to 100%.