I just added on a edelbrock 14 inch open element and was just wondering if they k&n xtreme lid is worth it, and also should i buy a spacer kit or just attempt to do it myself?

 

Just get a 3" K&N air filter if you don't already have one. That'll give your Lo3 engine more than enough air to breathe until you do more major modifications. There are different opinions on the TBI Spacer. Some people say the spacer just gives you better gas mileage and others say it's not worth it. If you do decide to put it on make sure not to make or buy one over half an inch tall or your throttle cable won't reach and you might have hood clearance problems.

 

The X-Stream lid is cool, but unless you get it really cheap, I don't think it's worth the cash (unless you have a cowl hood, then you might benefit).

 

its maybe worth the money if you have a cowl hood

 

Hey! Do you think you could hold that LT1 cam for a couple more months?!?! I want it but I'm broke right now!

 

Well, I picked up one of the much ridiculed helix power towers fer damn near nothing. Anyways - I am gonna put it in next time I open my hood- but the fuel lines a metal - will that pose a problwm (as I will be increasing the distance they must go by about 1")?

 

The extream lid is a bad choice for TBI. Figure that many street carbs have some restrictions but ever notice the TBI's injector pod? It's like installing 2 golf ***** an inch away from the TPI throttle body! Same idea...sort of. The injector pod on TBI is a nasty side effect for the advantages of EFI. The way to work around the problem is to suck the majority of air from the sides and perimeter of the throttle bores. This is why flat base air cleaners should be used if you've got the clearance. Just take a look and try and visualize smoke going into your throttle body, what is the smoothest path? If you've got a carb then it'll work better. Now for an even better reason not to use the x-stream lid. The hood is right their in the way, only inchs away from the top/lid. Find a paper towel carb board role and put it up against the computer monitor, now try and breath in slowely, no problem right? now try and breathing deeper and faster, notice some problems? Same thing goes for the engine. Yes more air filtration air is a good thing but sometimes there are undisirable side effects that do more harm then good. You might gain an extra 300cfm or air but it might be a negative number at higher rpm operation when you really need it.
A 14x3 air cleaner is plenty for most 350's and a cowl hood would let you either run a larger element or better yet, isolate the air cleaner from the engine bay.
My plans when I get a cowl hood are to use the x-tream lid isolated with the hood and use my dual snorkel HO air cleaner to suck in more air. I'm not expecting it'll flow more air than a 14x3 but it should be plenty and if it's sucking in cooler air, better performance. It's either that or I'll be making my own air cleaner with dual 3" pipes going to 3" cone air cleaners. I'm just really bored and I want cold air .
If you want more proof that the air cleaner against hood is a bad idea, get a rid in my friends camaro with his velocity stack on. It's like an inch away from the cowl hood top but after about 3000rpm you can feel the engine stop pulling.

 

i plan on getting a cowl hood pretty soon and i was wondering if you benefit from those air cleaner that are raised up and are really tall...**** i cant think of what its called well its an open element on top of a tall plastic piece...well actually it probably wouldnt since all the air would be coming from the top like you said its restrictive there.....well another question the cowl would let cooler air into the engine bay so wouldnt that help performance with an open element