i was playing with the numbers between a tpi and a single plane on my desktop dyno. And the single plane seems to make a whole hell of alot more power, is this true, would I be better to swap my tpi for a single plane manifold. I have a ZZ4 GM.

 

I think for more "power" the carb setup is better. The ZZ4 makes lots of power at higher RPMs, but the TPI drops off at about 4000 RPM. TPI is designed for low end tourque and will have lots on a ZZ4, but for the best overall performance go with the single plane, it can handle the higher RPMs. Good Luck!

 

Go with the Miniram if you want high rpm power, it will make atleast as much as a single plane. Probable as much as a tunnel-ram intake, but a Superram would make a nice balance of midrange torque and high rpm power

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91 B4C 305 TPI - SOON TO BE 383
TREMEC 5-SP, STOCK 1-BOLT REAREAND w/342 GEARS, K&N, AIRFOIL
EDELBROCK HEADERS, DUAL CAT TO HOMEMADE Y-PIPE & 3.5" SINGLE PIPE W/ FLOWMASTER, CRANK PULLEY, MSD, FUEL PRESS REG, COWL HOOD, WELD WHEELS
14.1@ 98MPH
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OTHER RIDE
67 CAMARO - STREET CAR, BIG BLOCK, PUMP GAS
350TH w/ATI 10", 12-BOLT w/373 GEARS
10.94@124.13 ON MOTOR - ET-STREETs w/MUFFLERS

 

Why not just go the route of the Accel Pro-Ram? It is fuel injection based on a single plane manifold. Not to bag on carbs, but that’s old technology and you just can’t get the drivability and mileage of EFI. With EFI, you can control the whole range of your RPM band. The thing I hated about carbs was that if you tuned for higher RPM speeds, you low RPM speeds suffered a bit and vice versa.
With ASM siamesed runners you would see a lot more HP that with the regular long tube runners. With the ASM siamesed runners I saw a shift point around 5800RPM, more than enough of an RPM range for a street motor.
The other alternative is the Miniram, which is great, I use it myself, but the Pro-Ram will have better airflow distribution. Airflow to all cylinders is a lot more even as opposed to the Miniram. I feel that the Miniram could use a lot more plenum area.
The Superram is also another great manifold I’ve used, although fully ported. Using the Superram and Miniram, I’ve found the Superram to be more civil on the street and have had a few friends that have ran 10’s on fully ported Superrams.
Just my opinion, so take it for what it’s worth. Hope this helps.


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N/A 406, TPIS Miniram, 58mm TB, 30lbs injectors, Custom Ground Elgin Cam, Ported TFS heads, SLP 1-3/4", & DFI computer.
11.70@117mph

 

How much money do you have to spend...? For Street and Drag Racing you want torque. (Torque gets you moving - Horsepower keeps you moving/Horsepower is a byproduct of torque). For a heavy car like the Thirdgen F-body you want as much low-end torque as you can get.(I would much rather have a car that had 270 HP and 350 TQ than 350 HP and 270 TQ -unless the car was very light). Consider that -Gearing, Cam choice, vehicle weight, Converter stall speed all have to be changed along with a well built bottom end ( so you can spin the motor to 7000 RPM) when moving up to a short runner setup. (single plane-carb or mini-ram) You can't just change to a single plane/mini-ram without spending money on all the items I mentioned. The power band of a single plane is 3000 - 6500 RPM that means that below 3500-3000 RPM its a DOG. You will need a 2800-3500 RPM Stall speed converter, 3.73-4.10 Gears, a much bigger cam, a very well built engine and reduced vehicle weight. Don't have that much money? Stay with the TPI and build it for as much low speed torque as you can get. You can build a low reving TPI to run mid to low 12s on the motor. Don't forget that you will be getting much better gas mileage with the low RPM - high geared TPI.

... Just another guys opinion.
... and you know what they say about opinions.