Quote:
Originally Posted by WSSix
If your ECU isn't tuned now for the engine, you should start there before ripping it all out. Sure, it's old but that doesn't mean it doesn't work just fine. There's no inherent reason it wouldn't provide great performance for your combination.
You need to verify your combination will work the way you want. Do not chase a peak power number. No amount of changing ECU's will change the way a combination works. You should do this before you change intakes as well to ensure you're moving in the correct direction.
I'm not a fan of the old school TPI intakes including the Super Ram. They are not bad but there is definitely better and easier to deal with options. I think the dealing with it part is what would make me swap it out. Don't limit yourself to the Stealth Ram. Look at your combination and decide what you want out of the car and build towards that. You may need to go with a "simple" dual plane intake to achieve your performance goals. You may find you have the wrong cam.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the input. Chasing peak power numbers is certainly not what I am after and I hope my post didn't come across that way. What is important to me is driveability, and having the car be reliable and easy to drive. That means starting easily, running cool and able to tell me if something is wrong. I want to trust that my fans are coming on (and going off) when they should, my oil pressure and temps are good and all of that. If I give up a few peak HP to accomplish that then that's an OK trade off for me.
Regarding the intakes, I agree there are a lot of options. See below for why I am leaning towards the Stealth Ram (easy to work on, similar power curve to a Super Ram). I also do not know what cam I have... which definitely could be hampering driveability.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PTAddict
I wouldn't be so fast to ditch the Super Ram. All intakes are compromises of some kind. The Super Ram is quite good at what it was designed to do, which was to move the torque curve higher in the RPM range than the standard TPI, but still in the more usable range. It was John Lingefelter's favorite intake back when he was making packages for the EFI small blocks, because it had a major advantage in torque in the 3000-5000 RPM range compared to the LT1 intake of the day (which made a little more power at peak).
Unfortunately nobody makes a comparable intake in the aftermarket these days. The Stealth Ram is a shorter runner intake, with a power curve more like a 4 barrel single plane. For autocross and road course work, the extra mid range torque is the better tradeoff, IMO. To say nothing of street driving.
I would not run a dual plane in a port injected application. Dual planes have more runner to runner variation through the RPM range, which translates directly to cylinder/cylinder air/fuel variation in a PFI application (it's not really a problem with a carb since the air and fuel are already mixed). It's hard to get optimal injector angle in those runners as well.
If it were my car, I wouldn't give a moment's thought to keeping the stock ECU. You can get it to work, although it usually takes a couple iterations of burning chips, logging on a chassis dyno with wideband, then re-burning to get something close to optimal. These days, a wide band closed loop system like the Holley is so much better in so many ways - if you can swing the price, it's the way to go. Either way, I wouldn't run it too much more on a stock tune, there are likely massive lean spots in the fuel curve.
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Great input and thanks for the comments. I agree the Super Ram has a great power curve... I've read John Lingenfelter's book on making power with small blocks and he definitely raves about it. I recently watched a YouTube video comparing a bunch of small block TPI intakes and below are a couple of screen grabs.
For full credit, the youtube video is by Richer Holdener and the link is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Je1MLTphs&t=731s
The baseline is a 383 with a stock TPI intake (the BLUE line).
The first chart is the Super Ram:
And the second chart is the Stealth Ram:
To me, not a HUGE difference between the 2 but definitely a bit of mid-range torque loss in the 3000 - 4500rpm range. The big question is... is that 20-30 lb-ft loss worth it for the aggravation of installing the Super Ram, and am I a good enough driver to tell the difference? (My guess is not right now
)