hello

I am only speaking my opinion about porting tpi so that others may aviod a great deal of headache. i dont want an argument, but i want to spell it out to other young guys like me of how much a pain in the @$$ it is to siamese slp runners. I made the decision to save a few bucks and siamese slp runners and the stock plenum instead of getting the superram. Now that i have done a full slp runner siamese and a full sand and polish on the plenum and runners, i am urging you not to do it.

With the money i spent on the runners, an air die grinder, carbide bits, flapper wheels, sanding roles, sand paper, polish, compound,etc. i could have just bought a good used superram, that will probably work better for soooo much less headache.

Not to mention the time, ooooo god that was the worst part, i have well over 40 hours into my intake, It took forever... keep in mind im only 16 and all i do is work on my car and go to school. I find it very hard to beleive the guys with full time jobs, and a life find the time to do this mod. And dont forget the mess and the noise. If you try to do this anywhere near people [neighbors] they will hate you...think about it well over 40 hours of someone making a high pitched grinder scream non stop for hours on end. THe mess is also brutal, you would have to quarantine off a spot somewhere to do this, there was billions of aluminum slivers and the fine dust on everything.

I would NEVER even consider doing this again. As ridiculous as it sounds the cheaper and much much easier way to go is with a good used superram.

I also just loved the look of tpi, but by the end i was soo sick of grinding and sanding and polishing that if i could turn back the clock and read a post like this then i would have just bought the damn superram, lived with the way it looks and saved myself a massive headache.

thats my angle on modifying a tpi.

Lee

 

you know, i wouldnt say it wasnt worth it...the superam is a nice setup but its a big pain to install. TPI isnt too bad just takes time with all the bolts. Superam tho, you can search all the threads about how hard it is to install and sometimes you run into sealing issues.

but i'd say you did a very nice job! that is one crazy siamesed job.

 

Hehehe. In your lists of tools I did not see a mill on the list. Sure saves a lot of time. I have to agree that is something you only want to do once. That is just one of the reasons I wanted to use my already modded SLP runners on the First intake manifold. They had most of the features I needed. I did not want to start over again with the First intake runners.

 

.... just be glad you already realized this at only 16!

 

nice job man. i spent about that much time to do mine also, but i also ported the base manifold. the main reason most people go with the slp's is because they keep your car smog legal.

 

Did you remove the dividing wall all together?if so what rpm are you planning on turning?did you do the base also or just the runners?

 

yep, no more wall.. its fully siamesed, there is only one small bump in the middle in each that i could not reach but its minor. I hope to be breathing up to 5800 rpm for my cam. The base is not siamesed but it is port matched to the oversized mr gasket gaskets. Ive heard horror stories about siameseing the base and i wanted some runner length because essentially the runners start now at the manifold.

 

Could I please have the part numbers to the bigger runner gaskets?

Does Fel-Pro make a larger than stock diameter runner gasket set?

Thanks!

 

dont know about fel pro. Mine are the Mr Gasket 146. They have 1 and 3/4 ports.

 

Hehe, I can so relate to what you're saying Speed. I ported my own heads, and after that, I never wanted to port anything else for the same reasons you listed. The time, the mess, the noise, etc. I took the lazy way out and bought a set of SLP runners off the boards here that were already ported really nice. Then I made that whole deal obsolete by purchasing a used Super Ram from another member here. Porting my heads was a big waste of time too. After all that time and effort, I ended up buying a set of AFR's. Lol. Oh well, after I get my combo all together and running, I guess I can make someone else here a good deal on some ported L98 heads and some ported SLP runners.

 

Hmm....

Haven't installed the twin turbo's on my '91 Formula just yet, and I think I might have just found the reason for the strange delay....

 

I sent you a PM on the runners

 

Speed,

I have to say that I am impressed with your work!!!! Yes, it was a POA but look what you have learned and the tools you now own to do other work with. I have witnessed guys 2 -3 times your age screw something up like that. Plus you have bragging rights of doing it yourself which is really what this hobby is all about! I hope in time that you see the work you did in a different light and continue to take on other projects like that. My hat is off to you, you have earned my respect! and I have been doing this stuff for 30+ yrs. GOOD JOB!!!!

Bill

 

I ported my stock base so hard that it was physically lighter. After that I've ported a 3 Mustang throttle bodies, an intake bellows to a Mustang, 2 5.0 liter Mustang bases, 2 other TPI plenums, radiused another set of runners and did a few other odd jobs. I have absolutly no problem porting stuff anymore, I've got so much better at it it's unreal. Also I don't mess with the sanding crap and polishing stuff, smooth it out with the carbide bits and hit it with some glass bead material from a sand blaster it does those final steps for you. One thing that will make life SO much easier is whenever you're actually cutting away material with the double cut carbide dies, dip them in some water or better yet a little grease; you'll be shocked how much better it cuts after that. I usually use grease anymore because it keeps the flakes down and afterwards I rinse the entire part out with some carb cleaner. Regardless of how much work it takes you there is absolutly no feeling like knowing you're responsible for the power you gained.

 

yes, i used a ton of gear oil, it really does help.