new 383 stroker with sad sad dyno results please help

[8388]

I've had no problem achieving a broad power band with a mini ram, but the cam profile has to be right, also you want the heads to flow at least 240 @.400 of lift at 28" of water, while still maintaining good velocity. I can't speak for the Stealth Ram since I have yet to use it, but I understand there are some hood clearance issues when installed on a Corvette.

 

[Edmond]

Grumpy,

Which one of those systems would give you the best bang for the buck?

How about ease of installation?

 

[grumpyvette]

NOTHING CHEAP! A PORT JOB ON THE STOCK TPI WILL BE THE BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK IF YOUR ONLY LOOKING FOR MODEST GAINS, BUT IF YOUR LOOKING FOR MAJOR HP/TQ YOULL NEED matched CAM,HEADS,INTAKE, AND EXHAUST SYSTEM COMPONENTS

the standard stock STEALTH RAM WILL NOT FIT UNDER A C-4 CORVETTE HOOD,IT REQUIRES A CUSTOM PLENUM,BUT THE RESULTS ARE WORTH THE TROUBLE!

THE MINI RAM COSTS ABOUT $1200 (CORVETTE FUEL RAILS)
bye the time you get fuel rails, ETC.
THE SUPER RAM about $1300 (with ACCEL base runners,plenum)
THE SINGLE PLANE ABOUT $900 (YOU NEED NEW FUEL RAILS,REGULATOR,THROTTLE BODY, TPS) and depending on what intake you might need a new distributor
)
THE custom STEALTH RAM about $800 plus small base distributor



the, ported TPI, super ram and STEALTH RAM SEEMED TO BE the best choices Ive found, AFTER TRYING SEVERAL HEADS, CAMS,ETC. BUT the heads flow numbers , converter stall speed, cam, duration, displacement , compression ratio,and rear gearing your corvette has should determine your choice ,should you choose to upgrade from the stock TPI, which is a good intake in the under 4000rpm range, but hopelessLY RESTRICTIVE for max hp, the MODIFIED SINGLE PLANE INTAKE WORKS FINE BUT IS NOT COST EFFECTIVE AND LOOKS WRONG, IN FACT MOST PEOPLE,EVEN PEOPLE WHO DID NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CORVETTES SEEMED TO KNOW SOMETHING LOOKED WRONG!
the mini RAM WORKED FINE BUT AT LEAST ON MY ENGINE TENDED TO BE QUITE PEAKY IN THAT IT CAME ON STRONG ONLY AFTER 5000RPM AND COST MORE THAN THE OTHER INTAKES I HAD TRIED
I CURRENTLY AM RUNNING A CUSTOM STEALTH RAM, AND IT AT LEAST ON MY ENGINE COMBO HAS THE BROADEST AND HIGHEST TORQUE CURVE AND BEST SEAT OF THE PANTS FEEL PLUS ITS RUN THE BEST ET OF ALL FIVE
your combo will of course differ at least slightly

ID JUST SERIOUSLY PORT THE tpi IF I WAS LOOKING FOR UNDER 4500RPM PERFORMANCE ON A STOCK DISPLACEMENT 350 ENGINE ON THE STREET

ID PICK THE SUPER RAM IF i HAD A 350-406 WITH STOCK HEADS AND MILD CAM

ID PICK THE STEALTH RAM IF I HAD A 350-406 WITH HIGH FLOW CYLINDER HEADS,AND CAM,WITH AT LEAST 220 DURATION, AND WAS LOOKING TO MAKE POWER IN THE 4000RPM-6500RPM RANGE

 

[l98vette1986]

btw the ported TRICKFLOW HEADS OUT FLOW THE HEADS YOU SUGGESTED, IVE USED THOSE HEADS ON OTHER ENGINES IN THE PAST BOTH PORTED AND UNPORTED
TPI

Flow bech #'s mean jack....
They dont take into account valve overlap, back pressure, compression, opening, andclosing of the valve..or any other REAL WORLD SCENARIO.....
I have seen a stock L98 w/ unported heads, and a stock cam, and only a ported TPI intake, and exhaust run 8.30's on the 1/8th. on the motor w/ 120,000miles on it.
Looking at your flow #'s on your head, you should use a single pattern cam. If not you will over scavenge the combustion chamber which isnt very big in your case.. You see your heads may flow to good for your application.. Which is what YOU ARE NOT TAKING INTO ACCOUNT.... Your small combustion chamber heads are not what is going to help your motor the most.. Another thing.. If you are not running a cam w/ lifet higher than 500 i would suggest a set of Edelbrock Performer RPM's.. They are better heads as far as flow from 150" to 350" lift..which is where your valves will spend most of thier time...but you alreadly knew that since you have tried 5 different intakes.. The problem is not the intake.... My 350 runs 7.80s on the 1/8 all motor w/ a 216 duration@50 cam and a 3.07 gear w/ only edelbrock performer heads...I still have EGR, and pass emmisions.

 

[l98vette1986]

Another thing.. on the cam.. the RPM range will be different for every motor w/ of heads/intake/exhaust/// cam companys dont tell you that... my car idles like glass, you would swear it is a stock cam.. And i would be happy to tell any jack ass its stock. afterall.. anything under 236 is considered stock now a days..

 

[grumpyvette]

MY CAM WITH MY 1.6 RATIO ROCKERS HAS 230+/238+ DURATION
.575 LIFT/.595 LIFT

http://dab7.cranecams.com/SpecCard/DisplayCatalogCard.asp?PN=119661&B1=Display+Card

THE STEALTH RAM MADE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT IN THE WAY THE CORVETTE RUNS

 

[l98vette1986]

MY CAM WITH MY 1.6 RATIO ROCKERS HAS 230+/238+ DURATION
.575 LIFT/.595 LIFT

http://dab7.cranecams.com/SpecCard/DisplayCatalogCard.asp?PN=119661&B1=Display+Card

THE STEALTH RAM MADE A HUGE IMPROVEMENT IN THE WAY THE CORVETTE RUNS

What size header are you running?
Edit: it looks like a 1-3/4..
Looking at the flow #'s on your heads, you are over-cammed. I would swear that you will pick up from coming down on your cam size..(the RPM range on my cam is 1200-4,500RPMS, It pulls strong to 6,200) The reason is b/c the high flow components increase the eficientcy of the cam.. Put a single patter cam of about 218int/218 ex. to 224int/224ext. Do not have more duration on the exhaust side.. This will kill your performance b/c most of the air/fuel mixture is flowing right out the exhaust...

 

[8388]

Here's a pic of my current mini ram combo.
383 8.5 to 1 comp. Paxton 6-7 lbs/boost 570 rwhp and 580 tq. SAE Runs on pump gas.

Ran almost the exact combo without the blower and 9 to 1 comp. on my old 91 GTA , which ran 118 mph in the 1/4 mile, also on pump gas.

 

[grumpyvette]

damn if id only known! I guess building the last 150 plus engines over the last 33 years and running several corvettes in the low 11s and one in the low 10,s was all a mistake! ... JUST KIDDING WITH YOU,IM NOT TRYING TO START ANY ARGUEMENTS,
YOUR POINTS would be valid if MY ENGINE WAS CLOSER TO ORIGINAL.AND IF...

I WAS SHIFTING AT ABOUT 5500RPM
IM not I DO MANUALLY SHIFT AT 6400RPM WITH A TRANS KIT
IF i WAS NOT USEING nitrous
I am,YOU did happen to notice the 200hp NITROUS system Im running,THE ENGINE IS DESIGNED AROUND THAT.(YES THE PICTURE WAS TAKEN BEFORE THE NITROUS PLATE WAS INSTALLED)
IF I HAD A STOCK STALL CONVERTER
I DON,T. IT STALLS CLOSER TO 2800RPM
IF I HAD STOCK 2.57 REAR GEARS
I DON,T



look Im not saying your ideas are wrong, IN FACT IF THE ENGINE WAS CLOSER TO STOCK YOU WOULD BE CLOSE TO CORRECT, only that there are several ways to build an engine to get a corvette to run well, and mine runs as fast as I care to at the moment, with the engine I built for it!

 

[69MyWay]

Before any of this gets out of hand, let me add my .02, and you decide.

Grumpy makes some great points about the Stealth Ram. Obviously from the "been there, done it" files, he has statistical information to prove his point.

As many of you know, I am a miniram convert. I have wanted one on a C4 every since I first heard of them. The numbers are impressive on paper. Now that I have one on my car, I KNOW the numbers are impressive, because I feel it in my fat butt when I nail the throttle.

If I could get even more power....I would certainly go for it...considering the cost comparison as pointed out by Grump.

The main plus/minus comes down to ONE thing. The Stealth ram will NOT fit under a stock hood. Most fellows don't want to cut the hood and destroy the neat clean lines of the C4, or spend the extra money for a scoop, body work, and paint work to finish the job. If you factor that into the overall cost....the Stealthram just went up by $1,000 over the miniram and up to a month or more longer to complete when you factor in the body work needed to get the hood back on the car.

Finally, most fellows don't have access to a good aluminum fabrication/welding shop that is capable of cutting the manifold down and welding it back up. Even if they do, the added cost of paying a shop to do that conversion to the intake now pushes the price up again between $100 to $500 depending on the deal you get from the shop. Not to mention, the additional time it takes to schedule it in for the conversion and waiting for it to be done.


Bottom line...The Stealthram KICKS butt over all others. Bottom line, the realistic chance that the average to above average do it yourselfer, or shop would take the time for the additional mods to use is are slim to none.

Therefore, the best bang for the buck is a miniram....less the items mentioned above.

I think that would be a fair statement.

Grump...thoughts?

 

[Edmond]

What's the difference between the mini ram and the super ram? I read here on the forums that the super ram is better suited for an automatic while the mini ram is better suited for the 6 speeds.

the mini ram was developed by TPIS right? The super ram was developed by Lingenfelter right? Aren't those two the premier Corvette tuners?

 

[grumpyvette]

custom plenum stealth rams are available here custom stealthrams
http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~davis/z28/winter01/dyno/dyno021105/webpage021105.html
TPI

super ram

miniram

custom stealth ram

custom plenum stealth rams are available here custom stealthrams

MODIFIED SINGLE PLANE

IVE RUN ALL FIVE

 

[bossvette]

I would like to contribute $.02 also, I saw the 383 tpi but did not notice it was for C-4s till later. Making changes to any engine can be frustrating if you do not take the whole package into consideration. Set a goal and choose your intake, cam, heads, ignition, exhaust and gearing to all work together. How many times have you heard people say they put a "hot" cam in their car and it runs like crap.
In my particular case I purchased a 76 l-48 3 years ago and was not satisfied with the performance. I wanted a daily driver that ran like the Vettes I remember from the late 60's. I had an old 383 in my barn (turned down 400 crank) with Brodix heads on it that I fitted with an Isky Hyd roller cam and kit designed for speed density TPI and the rpm range I planned to drive in. I backed it up with a Tremec TKO, Hooker sidepipes and many other goodies as a package. I went with a Holley Commander ECU for easy tuning about the only other tuneable tpi type aftermarket system availabe at that time was the Accel system which was still using DOS. Holley was quick to answer my questions and provided me with part numbers for everything I needed for my ap and I have been very pleased with it
<img src='http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/222440/33.jpg'>
I would think if Holley recieved enough requests for a stealth ram that fit under a C-4 hood they may just build one. Maybe something allong the lines of this
"Will a stealth ram fit under the hood of a C-4 I am undecided between the stealth ram and a mini-ram and I am leaning towards a stealth ram but have heard they would not fit under the hood of a C-4 is that true?
thanks
Craig sr."
Any way the point I am tring to make is If the parts are carefully chosen to work together with the whole car taken into consideration you will not be disappointed.
I will e-mail Holley and get the ball rolling for you guys

 

[bossvette]

http://www.villagephotos.com/viewpubimage.asp?id_=2955132
should have been in previous post