Okay so I know this is probably in many threads but I don't really feel like searching them all.. im half way decent with cars and my iroc atm has a stock 350 tpi. Im really wanting more power from my engine and I know that the intake pretty much sucks for higher end power so I was thinking of changing that with maybe some other mods later on such as cam ect.... but is it worth it? Should I save up for a ls1? If not what intake would help me the best. Do bigger throttle bodies help? How about changing the runners to slp? Or getting the weiand stealth ram intake? What are any suggestions you guys have? Any help or insight is appreciated!!

 

i don't want to sound mean but nobody will really want to help you if you say you dont really want to search for your answers.

You are asking way too many general questions. You need to figure out what you want to accomplish, How much money and time you have to spend, then start asking based on those answers.

How much more power do you need? Will 5 HP make you happy? or do you need to be putting 500 to the pavement? Yes an intake will help if you do headers, plenum, and runners as well.

If you have lots of time patience and money then go for the LS1. Those have limitless potential.

It doesn't sound like you know quite what you are after. Do some reading on this board and ask specific Q's and people will be much more willing to lend their advice and experience.

 

For sure , a bigger throttle body is a waste of money on a stock TPI. Like b4ccamaro said, you need to be more specific. If you stay with the TPI and you want more power with a cam and heads etc. you will need to also port the plenum and SLP runners and a ported Edelbrock intake, bigger injectors, new chip tune, etc. You will first have to decide which way you want to go depending on how much power you want to make and where you want your torque curve to be. A lot of un answered questions?

 

There are a few proven approaches you can choose from, which will make more power from your TPI setup, but I don't really feel like typing them.

 

Okay let me reword it. Its not that I don't want to search the threads, (trust me I've searched plenty and not just on this site) im on my phone which is alot harder for me then a computer. Im don't have a ton of money to spend im going to be buying what I wanted one at a time. My torque range I was hoping to have alot of low to mid power torque. The power I was hoping to make was around what a ls1 has. Id love to do a swap but as I mentioned money is a problem. And I don't need to keep the tpi intake. What other options are there besides going carbed?

 

It takes money to make power. If your on a tight budget even a cam and heads and exhaust will run $1500-$3000 not including what type of intake you plan to run. Running heads and cam on a complete stock TPI intake won't gain much because of the intake restriction. You could do the porting yourself and save some $. Even a Intake and carb will be another $500 at best. Then you also have to add all the (little) stuff like gaskets, pushrods, timing gears and chain, ARP studs and bolts, custom chip tune ( if aplicable) etc. Which all can add another $500-$1000. Basically you have to know how much you can spend first and what HP goals are you looking at.

 

Well I was hoping to get the stuff over a time period instead of all at once. Right now im at about 400$. I was hoping to create a torque monster with a decent hp number. Around 320s maybe? I know ill need more money but how can I start out?

 

Save, save, save. You will probably change your mind on different parts, a hundred times. Keep looking at Summit Racing for idea's. Keep searching this forum and other places for more info. One more thing to consider, with more power, there will be more need for a stronger drivetrain. Tranny, rear end, etc. It never ends!!!!

 

My tranny should be good I had it rebuilt and had the guy beef it up.
I was watching this video on youtube and this guy had a modded 350 with afrs 195s, comp cam, hsr intake and a 12 bolt. Would I get about the same results without the 12 bolt? The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8gC9...e_gdata_player

 

That will depend on your gear ratio. I'm probably sure you don't have a 3.73 rear. You may have a 3.27. You can check your RPO codes to make sure.

 

Buy a Holley or edelbrock carb, a decent intake manifold and a HEI Distributor, you'll get results for 1/3 of the cost of trying to beef up that antiquated TPI setup. Yes A HSR would be great then you need injectors, throttlebody, tune and the list goes on and on. If you are on a budget, the simple route works, headers cam and ignition are great and helpful mods, but if you cannot get enough air and fuel in there to take advantage of them, you won't see full potential.
I would of loved to keep my TPI on my 385 it was just too cost prohibitive, and performance prohibitive, for all you purists out there sorry! Eventually I plan on going to a 4 barrel TBI setup from Holley or Fast, in the meantime, I am making lots of power w/my current setup at a fraction of the cost....

 

Stay EFI. You will get way better gas mileage than a Carb.

 

A ported TPI setup is a good way to make power. Here's a link to pics of my ported TPI stuff. The are 2 pages. Let me know if you want to have something done.

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/album.php?albumid=4181

 

Did you do all of that yourself, looks like some nice work, what were your power gains????

 

What kind of power gains did you get over stock??

 

Yes, I did all that myself. Gains differ depending on other mods, but the factory TPI is restrictive. I've seen 25hp on a stock TPI with a max ported base. It's good to have a free flowing TPI if you're going to do other mods like heads, cam, etc... Otherwise it's a waste of time because the stock TPI will choke the engine.

 

What max rpm is that setup good for? That was my biggest complaint w/ the TPI setup...

 

If you want rpm, then TPI is not going to be what you want. The long curvy intake design limits rpm greatly. You do get a little more rpm when you use ported siamesed runners, but not much. A cam can help with rpm too, but needs to be kind of modest on the duration. If you want cheap rpm switch to a carb setup. It's not very state if the art and can be a real gas hog, but you'll have more power and rpm potential.
I like TPI personally. You don't really need a ton of rpm for most driving anyway. You can make big power and tq down low with TPI.

 

Im not looking for big hp numbers. Just big power. So I see the tpi is tpi is the most restrictive for this engine to make big power. Would I be better off porting the stock tpi or buying a new intake? Like weialnd or anything else you guys suggest? Im guessing ill need new runners to?

 

You are not gonna make big power w/a TPI unless you spend alot of $$, and even then it's limited, the runners are way too long, it's an old platform w/ limited capabilities, if you stick w/ FI, go w/a Fast XFI or Holley StealthRam setup. You'll find guys on here who love TPI, but it is not an efficient platform at all. Not to metion the control issue w/OBD1 stuff. It's nothing short of a pain in the *** to tune. The TPI setup is a good daily driver setup, not performance oriented...

 

If $ is tight then work with what you have, anything else will be more than you want to spend.

It sounds like you just want something fun to tear around with so do the porting on the intake since that won't cost much more than time.

Either way you will need a good exhaust system and that alone can be over a grand.

I think that would give you what you are looking for.

 

you can always modify an LT1/LT4 intake to work for you, ive seen that before but it is a lot of work but probably works out to be cheaper than buying another intake, just a thought

 

dont know if it applies to you but if you have to pass smog/inspection carb is a no go keep the tbi

 

Your first post says you want top end power so forget about a TPI you wont find it.

Short runner intakes better for HP builds

Long runner intakes build good torque.
On the street torque is usually king, its what pins you in the seat.

Torque motors are funner to drive on the street and way cheaper to build.

I build for max hp but wouldnt recommend it, not for everyone and wouldnt want to drive it everyday; reqiuires maintenance and expensive to do.
Personal preference


Whats your end goal for the car, how are you going to use it, what do you expect out of it and how much can you spend, plan from there.

Remember always build the bigger motor if you can afford it.

 

I think im leaning more towards torque motor. My end goal is to have a good street car that canget off the line quick and that could hang in there. Im not looking for high hp like 400. God no maybe around 280-300 hp and has a nice amount of torque. And doesn't completely die at 4800 rpms lol

 

So how long it take you to port those accel pieces ?




.

 

Do a stealth ram or pro flo XT. Do all the other bolt ons you can, from headers, underdrive pulleys, and 1.6 rockers. Gut the TPI air box, remove the MAF screens if you have MAF (looking at your name, 88 I'm assuming).

Then get the tuning equipment and a cheap laptop. Adjust the timing curve, and play with the fuel curve alittle. Usually stock cars will run slightly rich so some power can be found by leaning it out some.

Those mods will dyno 250-270 whp depending on the air/tune/dyno/etc. It will peak around 5100-5200 rpm on stock L98 cam and should shift by 5500. On the right car with full suspension, slicks, and 2800 stall or so with 3.42 gears, it will have capability to go high 12's. Thats mild/stock LS1 territory. Should be fun for now. IF you want more after that, hit it with a 125 shot.

 

Thats some pretty nice work there bro!!!! Love it! Hows it perform?

 

Your best HP gains is a full exhaust system. Go with Magnaflow muffler. Up to $1200. Next will be a complete used aftermarket TPI system. Up to $600. This doesn't include labor and gaskets. So far up to $2100.

If you still stay home with your parents, don't have a girlfriend but do have a job, don't buy lunch, be a homebody then you can save your money in a couple of months to buy the stuff you need. If you have a girlfriend, con her into buying some parts for you. If your birthday is coming up soon, tell everyone what you want for your birthday.

 

does that work if youre in a marrage and im the only one working