grumpyvette
Well-known member
I was asked?"will the steath ram flow enough air to make max power"
well lets do the math,
the steath ram is designed for the sbc engine, the largest normally built sbc displacement is the 434cid engine. the 434 engine spinning 7000rpm (thats well over the normall rpm for that engine even in race form) can use about 880cfm at 100% efficiency. the steath ram is cut to fit a 58-60mm twin throttle body bore size. that bore size flows about 1000cfm, well above the level thats necessary to feed even that larger than normal displacement.
now holley says that the ports in the steath ram flow about 300cfm
and several people have flowed the intake and thats true, but keep in mind that flow benches measure steady state flow, also keep in mind that the 4 cycle engine has a total of 720 degs in the total repetitive cycle and only about 250 (THE CAMS INTAKE DURRATION) of those 720 degrees are used to flow air into the cylinders on the intake stroke and if you carefully take the time to measure youll find that about 85% of that 250 degrees is flowing a usefull amount of airflow for a total of about 259cfm at a time per cycle trying to move into a single cylinder. now since the cylinder on a 434 spinning 7000rpm only needs 110 cfm even at a steady state flow into the cylinder and the cylinder can only hold that aproximate 110cfm the intake (steath ram) flows more than enough air to make max power , and more than enough air to to feed the largest flowing heads that normally fit the steathrams intake ports (like the 195cc AFR cnc heads)now as Ive said before an engines power depends a great deal on how much air/fuel mix you can stuff into, burn effectively and get out of the cylinders per second, now without power adders like nitrous or a supercharger your going to be limited to about 1.25-1.35 hp per cubic inch of displacement and the small block engine is phyisically limited in size to about 440 cid without very expensive parts. since the potential power potential can be approximately be figured with the formula (.257 x cylinderhead flow x 8=hp potential) and the best heads and intakes combined flow about 310cfm or about 625hp max potentially, the steath rams airflow falls right in at the max flow/horse power potential. most other intake systems like the TPI,super ram, performer RPM, etc. now available lack this high level of air flow when matched and flowed with the heads now available thus limiting the rate at which fuel/air mix can be drawn in, burned and expelled fron the sbc cylinders. short answer, the steath ram ,matched to a great set of cylinder heads, good roller cam and headers, makes a great combo that can come near to the max potential hp. most other intakes lower the total airflow into the engine, the steath ram being a modifyed tunnel ram intake does not and as such has the potential to make max hp in the 575-625hp range for a non-assisted sbc useing the older style 23 degree cylinderheads
yes that still leaves the problem that the steath ram is 1" too tall to fit under the stock C-4 hood unless a hood scoop is used or mods are done to the plenum on the steath ram but its still a great option compared to that worthless TPI intake system that limits you to a max of about 400hp even when ported
well lets do the math,
the steath ram is designed for the sbc engine, the largest normally built sbc displacement is the 434cid engine. the 434 engine spinning 7000rpm (thats well over the normall rpm for that engine even in race form) can use about 880cfm at 100% efficiency. the steath ram is cut to fit a 58-60mm twin throttle body bore size. that bore size flows about 1000cfm, well above the level thats necessary to feed even that larger than normal displacement.
now holley says that the ports in the steath ram flow about 300cfm
and several people have flowed the intake and thats true, but keep in mind that flow benches measure steady state flow, also keep in mind that the 4 cycle engine has a total of 720 degs in the total repetitive cycle and only about 250 (THE CAMS INTAKE DURRATION) of those 720 degrees are used to flow air into the cylinders on the intake stroke and if you carefully take the time to measure youll find that about 85% of that 250 degrees is flowing a usefull amount of airflow for a total of about 259cfm at a time per cycle trying to move into a single cylinder. now since the cylinder on a 434 spinning 7000rpm only needs 110 cfm even at a steady state flow into the cylinder and the cylinder can only hold that aproximate 110cfm the intake (steath ram) flows more than enough air to make max power , and more than enough air to to feed the largest flowing heads that normally fit the steathrams intake ports (like the 195cc AFR cnc heads)now as Ive said before an engines power depends a great deal on how much air/fuel mix you can stuff into, burn effectively and get out of the cylinders per second, now without power adders like nitrous or a supercharger your going to be limited to about 1.25-1.35 hp per cubic inch of displacement and the small block engine is phyisically limited in size to about 440 cid without very expensive parts. since the potential power potential can be approximately be figured with the formula (.257 x cylinderhead flow x 8=hp potential) and the best heads and intakes combined flow about 310cfm or about 625hp max potentially, the steath rams airflow falls right in at the max flow/horse power potential. most other intake systems like the TPI,super ram, performer RPM, etc. now available lack this high level of air flow when matched and flowed with the heads now available thus limiting the rate at which fuel/air mix can be drawn in, burned and expelled fron the sbc cylinders. short answer, the steath ram ,matched to a great set of cylinder heads, good roller cam and headers, makes a great combo that can come near to the max potential hp. most other intakes lower the total airflow into the engine, the steath ram being a modifyed tunnel ram intake does not and as such has the potential to make max hp in the 575-625hp range for a non-assisted sbc useing the older style 23 degree cylinderheads
yes that still leaves the problem that the steath ram is 1" too tall to fit under the stock C-4 hood unless a hood scoop is used or mods are done to the plenum on the steath ram but its still a great option compared to that worthless TPI intake system that limits you to a max of about 400hp even when ported
