When people swap their intakes, what do they change out? The lower or upper manifold? I think the upper is the most restrictive but I'm not too sure.
Real quick question about intakes.
- Thread starter Chowder Head
- Start date
AznStanger3v
Active Member
upper and lower. if you put a performer upper plenum on that stock lower, youd be wasting money. everything needs to match. with you mani, you need heads. with the heads, you need headers. with a stang, you need a turbo or super 
If you are stock, changing the upper only is not really an option..it's the lower that is so restrictive. We change both, or maybe port out the lower.
If you have an Edelbrock lower, you can put the Performer 5.0 or the RPM.
Some guys put the Performer 5.0 with the Edel. Lower for a fairly stock setup, and then change out to the Performer RPM or RPM II when they get more mods.
Hope this helps.
RC
If you have an Edelbrock lower, you can put the Performer 5.0 or the RPM.
Some guys put the Performer 5.0 with the Edel. Lower for a fairly stock setup, and then change out to the Performer RPM or RPM II when they get more mods.
Disagree...You dont "need" heads. There are many guys that just change the U/L intake, do exhaust, a new MAM, CAI and some pulleys and do ok. The heads make a lot of power, but again, theyre not "needed".17yostanger said:
Hope this helps.
RC
AznStanger3v
Active Member
i used the term "need" very loosely. You are right, you dont NEED heads. our heads are very restrictive though.
BlackVert
15 Year Member
yeah, the lower one is the more restrictive one, but it is hard to replace just that because the ports between the upper and lower need to match up. i got a trick flow street heat upper/lower for $399 ...
VIPERn94Five-0
Founding Member
you CANT put a performer upp manifold on the stock lower...it wont bolt up...17yrOldStanger said:upper and lower. if you put a performer upper plenum on that stock lower, youd be wasting money. everything needs to match. with you mani, you need heads. with the heads, you need headers. with a stang, you need a turbo or super
Anthony
Oh okay so the lower manifold is the most restrictive out of the two?
When would be a good time to get a better upper manifold? Any reccomendations on manifolds or is Edelbrock one of the best out there?
Thanks.
94GTLaserRC said:
When would be a good time to get a better upper manifold? Any reccomendations on manifolds or is Edelbrock one of the best out there?
Thanks.
Chowder Head said:
First off, you should post your mods, so we can better help.
Secondly as mentioned, you will not ONLY REPLACE THE UPPER!.
You have to do them together...
If you are fairly stock, my (and others may disagree) recommendations would be one of the 3:
1. Used Cobra U/L (look nice and they polish and paint up nicely)
2. Edelbrock Performer 5.0 upper with the lower.
3. Trick Flow Street Heat upper and lower
Number 2 of the 3 choices will probably cost the most right now (but not a lot more), but if you upgrade the combo, you can change out the upper only.
If you go #1, you may be able to save some $$ (since it is used), but you have to be careful of what you are buying.
Good luck!
RC
One further note:
A fairly easy upgrade, which my friend had done in 1999 with his 95 stang, was to (well at that time, Steeda did it) replace the U/L intakes, TB, and MAF. He said the car felt like a new "animal"
I would say you could also achieve that with a new MAF, a CAI, and a new U/L intake, but you could save the $$ and keep the stock TB.
RC
A fairly easy upgrade, which my friend had done in 1999 with his 95 stang, was to (well at that time, Steeda did it) replace the U/L intakes, TB, and MAF. He said the car felt like a new "animal"
I would say you could also achieve that with a new MAF, a CAI, and a new U/L intake, but you could save the $$ and keep the stock TB.
RC
94TURBO5 O
New Member
I agree b/c I did the same mods at the same time, MAF, CAI, U/L & 65 mm tb. WOW what a difference it made! Be careful b/c after that you will start modding the hell outta your car after that.94GTLaserRC said:
Another option not mentioned is to get the stock lower intake ported - paste the link in my signature for more info on the results of doing that. Rio5.0 went that route with stock (235RWHP/290RWTQ)and then ported stock heads (255RWHP/311RWTQ). If your on a low budget it's inexpensive compared to the other intakes. If your not going to go beyond stock E7, ported E7 or stock GT40 style heads it's a good match for low bucks. If your going to better heads in the next year or two, go with the other intakes.
tmoss said:
That's because I knew you would jump in here and mention it!
BTW Tom, how would my car do with my mods and stock heads ported?
RC
With a power adder like a blower, it's always good to open up the flow path - both heads and intake.
I know that..I guess what I meant was HOW MUCH would it benefit me, and would it be worth it?tmoss said:
I may have to work on the bottom end of the car someday, and if I do, I may opt to save some $$ and just port the stocker and spend the money on the rods, pistons, etc.
RC
Only the dyno/track numbers can tell. I can tell you that the flow test done on my ported lower showed average flow go from ~140cfm up to 195cfm average, and that was without a clay radius on the lower which would have added 10-15cfm to the numbers according to Greg @ XSR Cylinder Heads.
94GTLaserRC said:
Opps my bad for not listing mods.
Well right now I am stock but I plan to have either a 331 or a 347 stroker in there with a set of AFR 185 heads. Any reccomends on the 3 intakes you mentioned that would do the best for me? Oh BTW, I plan to turbocharger later on too.
Thanks a lot.
Whoops forgot to mention what car I have.
Its a 1995 Ford Mustang.
EDIT: Just forgot I was in the SN95 specific forum. Stupid me.
Its a 1995 Ford Mustang.
EDIT: Just forgot I was in the SN95 specific forum. Stupid me.
Chowder Head said:
If it's gonna be awhile for the stroker (which I bet it is) you will benefit from an Edelbrock Performer 5.0 intake now, and then just swap out the upper for an RPM or RPM II later.
Im not knockin you, but I wish I had a dime for every guy who said "Im doing such and such" when I joined here and they still havent done it...
H3ll..my mods sat in my garage for 8 months before I got them on the car!
RC
94GTLaserRC said:
Well right now there is a good chance that I will get the stroker pretty soon. Ok let's say that it is all good and I have the stroker. What would be the real difference between the RPM and the RPM II?
And that would be the upper intake correct? What do you suggest for a lower or is that also called an RPM?
Thanks.
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