i have a 1988 5.0 i want to upgrade my upper and lower what would be the best one to get in your opion. i have Gt-40 heads and e 303 cam,full exhaust and all your other bolt ons.. just give me some advice..what would you go with..
I would vote for the Street Heat from Trick Flow if going new, best bang for buck IMO. If you can find a used intake.....shop around. I got my Street Heat for $320 shipped. If you can find a Explorer intake for cheap that would work and you could have some funds for other things like TB/EGR to compliment the intake (if you don't have on already). The Eldelbrock is pretty good as well but usually a little more pricey.
TFS street heat without a doubt.I take it the car has been converted to MAF?? make sure you get a bigger diameter MAF sensor as well bro as the stock one really chokes off the inlet tract.
My vote would be for either the Performer or if you plan to keep on modding to a higher level, the Performer RPM by Edelbrock. It is easily portable but simple. One thing that made me get it what it has such even flow numbers between the ports. I recomend this intake because of personal experience and AFR, and FTI recomend them, and that should tell you.
A buddy of mine that I got the fuel system from was parting out his car and had a TFS Street, and maby I should have swapped them for a run or two to see if I gained any. I doubted it though. The ports are larger than the Edelbrocks, but I didn't like there was this big chunk of metal blocking air flow right after the TB. I've heard about low end tq issues with this intake. I would have swapped intakes if I had time, but it isn't as simple and trying on a pair of pants.
With that spending limit, you have plenty of choices. You will however want to upgrade your t.b. and get a larger egr plate to match.
Your best bet with mild mods would be a performer or a cobra/explorer. They flow well enough to support over 400 h/p...yet they allow you to retain your low end torque. I personally got a performer...as it was a deal I couldnt resist.
Yet another option would be to get your stocker ported by t-moss. He does a mean porting job on the stock intake for a reasonable price. It definatley gives you a sleeper effect when you pop your engine.
I have a used, low mileage mountaineer engine which is the same as the explorer. You can do a search on them to learn more. I'm selling it for less than half of your limit which would leave plenty of room for the other needed supporting mods.
The trick flow street heat out flows the cobra...I would get it...in BLACK... Just my 2cents. Or wait for the reviews of the new BBK SSI...should be out in the next issue of MMFF...