I have searched but to no avail. My question is. Would it be praticle or possible to buy a ZZ4 crate motor and and throw my ported TPI set up on it with now problems? Will my TPI base plate and everything bolt right up to the the motor? if so will there be thing I will have to change? I Like the ZZ4 as a base becasue everything is forged and I could build off of it eventualy without having to touch the long block and it has 350 hp off the start. One more question. Will the TPI set up affect the HP and torque the motor produces compaired to a carb? will it be more or less? thanks

 

It should work, but you will need a aftermarket or corvette intake and A tube from your exhaust to your intake mainfold like a vette for the EGR operation and for the intake bolt pattern. If I havent forgot something else anyways.

 

The ZZ4 is not 100% forged on the bottom side. Only the crankshaft is "forged" or at least, the forged that you are PROBABLY thinking of. The rods are the PM rods like those in the LT-series engines. The ZZ4 runs hypereutectic pistons, which are cast, just a higher amount of silicon alloy (12%+), but still cast none the less. However, that doesn't make them any less of a base to build off of.

Your TPI will bolt up. You wont be the first member here to bolt a TPI up to a ZZ4 block. But, like above, you will need to route the EGR somehow. Keep in mind though, the "Ratings" given by GM are under the assumptions of a carb setup.

 

why in this day and age do they assume a carb setup. you can pick up a TPI setup from ebay and you can buy a holley stealth ram feul injection pretty easily.....not bashing carbeurators, I'm running one myself right now but there are so many more options

 

Every think of the Scoggin Dickey TPI crate motor. Has hot cam and vortec heads with manifold for less money than ZZ4. Its Rated at 357 hp and 416 lb-ft, with highflow tpi system. Great deal if you ask me.

 

I've thougth about the ZZ4/TPI also. I think it's a natural progression that you see in our hobby. The all around best crate motor with the most plentiful FI set-up.

...Chevy tests them with carbs because it's the most common, cheapest, easiest and one of the highest performing intakes for a motor. It's a LOT easier than a FI set-up, and remember that "technically" it's a non-emissions motor. You can sell the motor with the intake manifold bolted down, and the distributor already in and timed, and all you need is a carb. For FI, you can't sell the motor that close to turnkey. What intake would you chose? LT1/HSR/MR set-ups need NO manifold. The TPI and Super Ram share the same intake, but due to their flow potentials, aren't necessarily suited for the same cam. If you can't determine the intake, then you can't have the distributor set-up. It's a LOT farther from turnkey than the current motor. That's not even taking into consideration all your sensors and your PROM. That all being said, you're really only looking at a shortblock and heads. The draw of a crate motor is that you can drop it in and start it almost immediately. There's a LOT of work left with just a shortblock and heads.

 

annyone know if the HP and tq woul go up or down with properly tuned TPI? And to asnwer Abubaca, I would probably go with my TPI set up. becasue it is already ported and all pretty. but I do like HSR too. thanks for the info, keep it coming.

 

I ran a TPI/ZZ4 combo for a few years, before switching to the Mini-Ram (a major improvement IMO).

I had SLP runners and an Edelbrock Base. The plenum was pretty much stock and I had a 52 mm throttle body (which I still have)

It's definitely a torquey setup between 2800 and 4200 rpm. MAN, there was a lot of torque.

I never dynoed it, but I suspect it was making well over 400 ft-lbs of torque (higher than the ZZ4's 405 rating due to the manifold design). I also wouldn't be surprised if it was making the rated 355 hp (or close to it) with the higher-flowing manifold.

 

my TPI is the same as yours except I also have 26lb injectors.

I just looked at the SD motor and it is only a 2bolt main

 

Call Scoggin Dickey and tell them you want a 4-bolt main, they'll custom build anything you want. That's where I got my crate engine from. At the time they were selling what they called an L98 replacement crate motor: 2-bolt block, ZZ4 rotating assembly and Edelbrock 6085 heads, but the puniest cam. I don't remember the specs, but it was smaller than the stock L98 cam. I called them up and said I wanted the LT4 hot cam and 1.6 rr's and they just tacked on the cost of the parts to the engine, and credited me back the cost of the original cam and rockers. There wasn't any extra labor because they still only had to assemble the engine once.

Besides, how much HP are you planning on making? Unless you get over 400 rwhp, a 2-bolt block should be fine anyway.

 

Yeah, eventualy I would like around 400+ at the wheels but not for a while. thanks for the info.

 

ULTM8Z, I'm very curious about the difference the change to the MiniRam made. Did you change just the intake, for a before/after comparison? Did it wake up the top end that much? How much rpm?

Any hints would be appreciated. thanks.

 

I am interested in knowing what you changed and how much the min ram improved too.

 

Yes, at first it was a straight manifold swap- TPI to MiniRam. What I noticed was more off the line torque, a little less in the mid-range (especially noticeable if you stab the throttle while hanging in 1st gear at 3000 rpm), and increasingly more torque after about 4500 rpm. I'll only wind my engine up to about 6000 max, so I couldn't tell you what goes on above that. However, I'm certain the increase in power would be even more apparent. The power increase is very nice on the highway if I dump it into 3rd from overdrive and hit 3500 rpm. It hauls a$$ pretty good.

Since the manifold swap, I've replaced the ZZ4 cam with a little more radical one from Comp.