"considering lt1 intake upgrade for L98"

[sxyvet]

hi there guys,
hope you all had a great indepentance day ,the other day!
i have been thinking the pros and cons about buying the lt1 intake up grade kit form www.lt1intake.com for my L98 1991 corvette!
i have been qouted for the whole complete kit from start to finish about the $700.00 u.s dolllars plus shipping !
now the tpis mini ram will cost me with fuel rails about the $1,350 u.s dollars plus shipping!
so that will save me nearly $748 u.s dollar which will be about$1,100 australian dollars!
when you look at the tpis mini ram and the lt1 intake they are both very similar in design,height wise ect,ect!
with the whole complet kit there should not be any outstading problems hopefully to fit/install it!

what are your opoiuns guys?

should i go for the lt1 intake conversion or not?

what about performance between the two intakes?

whats better value for money and performance wise?

hope you guys can shed some info and comments please!
thanks kindly
glen
sxyvet
Australia

 

[Mad-Mic]

Glen i'm about to run out of the house but you can look at my cardomain site and see what it entails to do.

it's not a bad setup it actually ranks even with a tpis mini ram but takes alittle finesse to get it all setup right.

i got some pics somewhere from one of the guys over on CF that i will try to dig up if i can.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/madmic

 

[sxyvet]

Glen i'm about to run out of the house but you can look at my cardomain site and see what it entails to do.

it's not a bad setup it actually ranks even with a tpis mini ram but takes alittle finesse to get it all setup right.

i got some pics somewhere from one of the guys over on CF that i will try to dig up if i can.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/madmic

hi madmic,
thanks for the info mate!
im really pleased to hear that the lt1 intake is on par with the tpis mini ram!
especailly coming from you with so much experience and all!
i was mainly trying to save some money going the lt1 intake thats all!

what sort of hp gain from just going for the intake bye its self at all?

will i loose much bottom end power at all?

thanks for the reply mate and i hope you can get hold of some more info/pictures may be!
i did do search but not much come up at all!
thanks
have a great weekend mate!
glen
sxyvet
Australia

 

[tonylong]

Glad to see you're having fun upgrading your Vette.
I've been looking at a Jag but found it's RHD !
I think Ausralia is RHD - is your Vette RHD ?
If not, what's it like driving LHD car in a RHD world ?
Especially on the roundabouts ?

 

[sxyvet]

Glad to see you're having fun upgrading your Vette.
I've been looking at a Jag but found it's RHD !
I think Ausralia is RHD - is your Vette RHD ?
If not, what's it like driving LHD car in a RHD world ?
Especially on the roundabouts ?

hi there mate,
how are you!
yep australia is rhd!
yeah i love modifying my vette for sure!
still got along way to go yet though!
im still paying my loan off on the vette which was $35,000 aus dollars!
yep my vette is rhd and when it was converted it took 4 weeks and cost, not me but $20,000 aus dollars which is about $15,000 u.s dollars to convert!
im used to driving rhd cars!
thanks
glen
sxyvet
australia

 

[Edmond]

i was mainly trying to save some money going the lt1 intake thats all!

what sort of hp gain from just going for the intake bye its self at all?

will i loose much bottom end power at all?

Glen,

One factor I would consider for you is the availability/price of parts. If the availability/price of parts is a problem for you, just get the MR and be done with it. With the LT1 conversion, you'll have to do some extra work on there. I'm not saying you can't do the work, I'm sure you can. However, when you factor in time/money to acquire the extra parts, how much of a difference is there?

With the intake itself, I wouldn't expect anything eye opening because you're still restricted by the heads, a small cam and a wimpty exhaust system from the manifolds all the way to the mufflers. Did you know that the stock L98 mufflers only have one functional outlet?

As for losing low end power, you will lose a small amount. However, the amount of overall power you pick up will make the non-TPI intake more than worth it. That's assuming you have the gears to get the car into the high RPM band, that's where the non-TPI intakes really shine.

 

[sxyvet]

hi edmond,
how are ya!
thanks for the reply back mate!
at the moment i have a 3.45 gear ratio running zf6 speed box!
also are running 1/3/4" long headers with 2/1/2" twin mandrel exhausts with x-pipe cross over and high flow cats running magnflow rear mufflers/lt1 tips!
i found some good info from vader86 and it seems the accel super ram set up may be the way to go as it retains god low hp torque along with good mid range and some rpm /hp power up top as well!
so you are geting best of all the three worlds i guess!
iam planning on buying the tpis zz9x cam i think it is ,plus the afr/tpis ported heads ,383 stroker crank down the track some time!
i appreciate your good advice edmond and what you are saying about the extra work and all makes sense!
thanks mate
see ya
glen
sxyvet
Australia

 

[Edmond]

Glen,

If my memory is correct, I believe that the TPIS Mini Ram was actually a great bit of inspiration and "borrowed" engineering from GM.

I have read more nightmare stories about the Super Ram than any other intake out there. One of the biggest praises about the MR is that it is a one piece system. The SR is another multi piece unit like the TPI. If you can't get everything installed right, I have read too many instances of leaks and that can be a real PITA.

With your 3.45's on that 6 speed, I'm sure that you will have absolutely no problem getting into the MR's sweet spot. In fact, I rode in a car that had a ZZ4 crate motor with a MR sitting on top of it. It had a 6 speed like yours but I'm not familiar with the gearing. It had well over 400HP at the crank and that thing pulled hard!

With your gears and that 6 speed, I would go with the MR. Maybe I'm biased because I want things simple and that I'm tired of working on cars and trying to diagnose problems.

 

[sxyvet]

ok then, i just have to sit and ponder on it all now i guess!
the lt1 intake is proberely to much mucking around,
the holley stealth sits a little too high /mods needed or new plenum modified but very good indeed!
the super ram good,but has some fittment/leaking issues
the mini ram more for high rpm applications with loss of torque!
so now who knows what to go for???
thanks
glen

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

The Super Ram is not as bad of a nightmare as we have been led to believe. If you put the whole thing together on the dining table and have a good look at it before you try to bolt it into the car, inventory the +/- 100 screws, nuts and bolts, and follow the instructions you will not have any problems. I have mounted both Mini and Super Rams on SBCs without any real grief.

However, knowing how creative you folks from Oz are you should try the LT1 conversion just for kicks. (I have met the people who did the RHD conversions on Vettes and F-Bodies. Give these guys some scrap aluminum and a few old Butane heaters and they will give you back a Boeing 747.) Most of the parts for the SBC powered TLC rock climber were sourced from down under, i.e., Marks Adaptors and the quality of workmanship – precision fit, etc was superior to any other aftermarket parts that I have ever used.

If I had it to do over again I would just supercharge the stock TPI and be down with it. I have seen ProChargers on eBay for not much more money than a Mini or Super Ram setup.

 

[sxyvet]

hi there spanishvettes,
how are you!
i know of marks adaptors!
he is based in dandenong and makes 4wd kits to install v8,s into any 4wds!
is that who you know off as well?,what a small world hey?
so what would be better between the tpis mini ram and the accel super ram do you thing please?
thanks
glen
sxyvet
dandenong
Australia

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

hi there spanishvettes,
how are you!
i know of marks adaptors!
he is based in dandenong and makes 4wd kits to install v8,s into any 4wds!
is that who you know off as well?,what a small world hey?
so what would be better between the tpis mini ram and the accel super ram do you thing please?
thanks
glen
sxyvet
dandenong
Australia

Yelp that is the same Mark. I built a Toyota BJ-73 with a 350 HP SBC, TH400, Gear Venders OD and double reduction gears. Mark made all of the adaptors and everything bolted up perfectly. 25 MPG in top gear at 120KPH on the hi-way and in the bottom ratios (+/- 100:1) I could set the RPMs at 3000, get out, walk around the back, open the door, get a brew out of the cooler, walk around the other side, around the front and get back in before the beast covered 5 meters. Unfortunately I could not get the thing legal here in Euro-land for any amount of $$ so the drive train is on the shelf waiting for another project.

If I remember correctly your 1st gear is 2.68:1 so with a 3.45 rearend your overall ratio is about the same as my Auto with 3.08s your big advantage is that you do not have to cover the 1 – 2 hole that we Auto-boys have. I lose 2500 RPMs on the 1 – 2 shift.

Even with the 6 speed I would stay away from the MiniRam unless you are going to a lower rear gear. The numbers do not look that different on paper but in daily driving you will feel a major seat of the pants difference and find yourself shifting a lot more with the Mini Ram.

Of course if you just want to Haul @$$ across Oz at top speed then the Mini is your induction of choice.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

hi edmond,
how are ya!
thanks for the reply back mate!
at the moment i have a 3.45 gear ratio running zf6 speed box!
also are running 1/3/4" long headers with 2/1/2" twin mandrel exhausts with x-pipe cross over and high flow cats running magnflow rear mufflers/lt1 tips!
i found some good info from vader86 and it seems the accel super ram set up may be the way to go as it retains god low hp torque along with good mid range and some rpm /hp power up top as well!
so you are geting best of all the three worlds i guess!
iam planning on buying the tpis zz9x cam i think it is ,plus the afr/tpis ported heads ,383 stroker crank down the track some time!
i appreciate your good advice edmond and what you are saying about the extra work and all makes sense!
thanks mate
see ya
glen
sxyvet
Australia

Missed this post.
After these mods you will be close to the same motor as Thunder. Thunder does over 450 ftlb of torque and the curve is almost flat from 2000 revs up. Thunder has a well ported TPI with bigmouth base plate, big, simonized and ported some more runners & a 52+ MM TB. (I built the TB myself and it came out to about 52.5MM on one side and a bit more on the other.:W) I am running 315 tires on the rear and still have a hard time hooking up on a cold or damp day. On a full throttle 1-2 upshift the rearend brakes a loose under any conditions.

Unless you have free access to a machine shop you would be nuts to do as much porting as I did. It is a lot quicker/cheaper to buy the bits off of eBay. It was a slow winter when Thunders induction was dreamed up and we had lots of new tools in the shop that I needed to tryout.:crazy