I have only seen 3 aftermarket throttle bodies, BBK, Edelbrock, and the Lingenfelter thing. So, obviously, only 2 are an option. Are there others, and what one do you recomend? Oh, also, is the 58mm only for really modded engines, or would that be a must if I had a supercharger? Thanks guys!

 

Dont forget about the Holley TBs. They are very nice compared to the BBK/Edelbrocks which are cast, and then machined. The Holley is only a little more, and is CNCd from billet aluminum. The final finish is almost polished... hit it with a buffer and you have a very nice piece.

Note: the Holley requires trimming the TPS sensor "tang". Other than that, it is a much nicer piece than any I have seen.

You are right, 58mm TBs are for BIG motors.

 

I believe the Edelbrock is a repackaged BBK TB.

 

All of them are a waste of money on a 305, and even on most 350s.

I have a holley on mine and I'm extremely happy with it. The build quality is fantastic. But, I bought mine because my old one looked like hell bolted to my polished plenum & runners. I never had pipe dreams of it making my car faster.

 

A throttle body is unnecessary until you're into the 300hp range and running at least mid-low 13s. There are better ways to spend the money.

 

does tpis make ones..

 

tpis doesn't make one, but they modify stock ones to 52mm. lot of companies do this modification, i have one of tpis's modified units and im very happy, they also machine an airfoil to 52mm to match. an aftermarket TB is no better than a modified stock one IMO.

and a 58 is WAY to big for the majority of motors, thats a 1000cfm TB

 

Wow, I'm getting confuesed here. The local speed shop recommended a 52mm throttle body before runners, intake, even headers! He said that it was a weak point in the induction system of the TPI motors... What should I get?

 

Better advice.

 

hahahaha, this is true, that shop is wrong. think about this the LT4 uses a 48mm (just like your stock one) and it makes over 350 horse (not sure on just how much but i beleive it is towards 400hp) that motor flows a hell of a lot more air than your tpi unit does and it uses a 48 mm TB.... think about it, there is no need for the bigger unit until you are making really good power

 

Ok, sounds like it's more a looks item then, and I sure could use that! Sorry for the many questions, I just want to get as much power as I can, and I'm sick of switching engines! What about the runners, are those worth it? Headers are a no-brainer in my opinion, as I have heard that the stock exhaust manfolds are quite restrictive.

 

headers and the stock base are your 2 biggest restrictions stock. Then you add heads, cam and runners to spice. TB makes sense AFTER heads and cam.

 

Better mods? How about burning your own PROM? This would let you get more out of your current combo than anything else.

In my mind, it tends to be more of a power gained vs. $$$ spent issue.

While alot of people here maintain that a bigger TB won't gain any power, I've seen mildly modded engines pick up a couple of tenths in 1/4 mile ET w/ just a TB swap, but IMHO, I think this would be beneficial only at WOT...

Besides, you can get all the stuff required to start burning your own chips for usually LESS than the cost of a new TB....it's just like tuning a traditional carb / non computerized setup...get the timing curve right, then get the air / fuel right, and you'll make the CURRENT combo run to the best of it's ability.

This is the whole reason there are always guys who can take an IDENTICAL car that someone else has, and run FASTER with no "mods" but tuning.


I plan on getting my T5 swap done, SFC's, my dual fan conversion, serpentine swap ( I'll swap a ZZ4 cam in, JUST BECAUSE it's most convenient while all the accessories are off the engine ) then I'm DEFINITELY swapping in the 165 ECM and I'm going to start "tuning" with burning my own PROM's.

There are so many variables when modding a vehicle, and tuning, whether it be carb or EFI, lets you get the most out of what you have REGARDLESS of anything else.


And alot of times, this makes a bigger difference than people think... I've personally spent alot of time at the strip, tuning, and basing my changes ( ONE AT A TIME ) on 1/4 PERFORMANCE, as time slips don't lie ( traction being the variable ) and SOTP results are VERY inconsistent...

I've seen plenty of cases where a car FELT faster after a mod, but slowed down at the track....


So that's me...

Besides...a 48MM TB w/ airfoil flows 7xx CFM. That's more than enough for most street driven small blocks...Hell, in a MAF based system, a stock type MAF would become the weak link long before the TB, in my opinion.



HTH

 

port your plenum b4 u get a tb... way more worth while

 

Bought a BBK/Edelbrock 52 MM TB for my 91 Z28 (5.7)...haven't installed it yet. Couple buddies of mine have them on there Camaro's....they say they give you a little better throttle response...no real big gains.....they cost like $319 bucks brand new....I got mine for $175....that's really the only reason I bought it...cause of the good deal.....polished it...and it's ready for installation.....

 

So would you say I made a sound decision putting on a 52mm TB using AFR 190s and LT4 hot cam. I also ported and siamesed my SLP runners 2.5 inches on each side as well as 2.5" of siamesesing of an Edlebrock base?

 

I'd say that was a smart mod...but the $64k question is...Have you burned a custom PROM to YOUR application yet? I think you'd be shocked at how much more you could get out of your combo with the right tune.





Just my 2 cents

 

I'm about to order a 360hp crate motor from SDPC on March 1st. It's got Vortec heads and the LT4 hot cam in it; it's going behind my 305 headers/exhaust and I'm putting SLP intake runners on top of the Vortec TPI intake manifold it comes with. Would a 52mm TB be a good idea on this motor, or can I save money and stick with the TB off of my old 305?

 

IF it were me, I'd stick with the stock TB, at least until you get everything running right...just one less thing to worry about.




You are going to start burning your own PROM's.....right ?







Chris
85 IROC
03 GMC Z71

 

Well, I bought the Jet stage 2 chip, is that any good, or should I try to find someone to make me one custom?

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=104792

 

Good link Ed.

And let me clarify..I haven't started burning my own PROM's yet..there's other things with the car I want to get done, and then when I can concentrate SOLELY on tuning, I'm going to start having fun

Plus, I still have to do the 165 conversion, and my T5 swap etc.

I've been reading everything I can on it, and hopefully will have squashed the learning curve enough that I can get past the basics, and onto the "good stuff" with minimal trouble. It's not hard to follow a beaten path...

To me, PROM burning is JUST LIKE the "old way" of tuning...changing the timing curve with weights and springs..then fattening up or leaning out the carb, it's all the same...

I truly believe, the guys who have alot of experience tweaking non ECM controlled carbed setups will have the biggest advantage to PROM burning if they get past the "Technology" issue.....I Remember old farts griping about how points ignitions were sooo much easier to work on than HEI etc...haven't heard that in awhile...I for one was tired of having those stiff dual point sets go flying across the room



Just my highly inflated 2 cents


Chris
85 IROC
03 Z71

 

I had a prom burned by Fastchip. Even though it started and ran pretty good on a 305 Hypertech chip, I didn't drive it do to the injector programing differences.
Suprisingly enough the custom chip I got makes the car run very NICE! I expected to have to sent it back after a scan but there were no codes and the power is definetly there. Idles great and pulls past 5K w/no prob.
As far as burning my own chips, I'm still considering it. But in order to tune the car optimally I would have to first learn it, buy all the assosiated equipment and second run my car at the track several times, and/ or find dyno services near me. With free time being at a premium I just don't know.

 

I just took my old dual point distributor apart the other day so I could spin the oil pump in the new motor.
I always hated having to put the points in that thing.

 

i agree that throttle bodies are a waste till you get into a bigger motor last year i ran a 12.4@111 with a stock 48mm throttle body on my 383 with afr 195cc heads ill admit i did buy a holley 52mm jus this winter but i also installed a bigger cam im now running the cc305 cam i bought everything else i needed before the throttle body like my mufflex 4" exhuast
my friends were all telling me like 2 yrs ago "you need a bigger tb and that was when i was running 13.7 they were trying to tell me my stock one was holding me back ill admit if it wasnt for this board i prob would of bought one sooner so thanks guys you all have help me sooooooo much so spend your $$$$ else ware for now later

 

12.4 huh? That ain't too shabby, ESPECIALLY at 111 mph.


You mind sharing some of your setup for curiousity sake?

LT1 intake I presume.

Cam for that 111 mph run? Gears? Header type?

What suspension mods and what were you 60 ft times?


Thanks
Chris
85 IROC Some mods...T5 on the way
03 GMC Z71...03 Chevy's are U-G-L-Y

 

here was my set up last year
lt1 intake
hooker long tubes with 4" mufflex
afr 195cc heads ported by them
harland 1.65 rr
compucam cam 2032 214-220 495 510 lift "with 1.65 rr"
373 rearend
STOCK TB
87 computer "maf set up"
10.5-1 compression 383 stroker
2800 vig stall
700 r4 tranny
24# lt1 injectors
ed wright chip still burned for my 355 i had
heres what ive done this winter
switched to 7730 ecm
ed wright chip again but for my set up "plan to start burning my own soon"
30# svo injectors
ported my lt1 to 1205 gaskets
comp cams cc305 with comp pro mag 1.6 rr 544 544 lift
holley 52mm tb
hooker long tubes again but bought some coated ones
my 60fts were like 1.6 "waiting for my 10 bolt to go clunk"

hoping for 11's i dont think i forgot anything any more ques jus ask later

 

1.6 60 ft's huh?

What chassis mods?




Thanks again
Chris

 

hotckis lower control arms and strut tower brace subframe conectors thats it