what h/c/i

jtb19nh

Member
Jul 9, 2005
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i have a 95 gt the engine is stock with 150000 mi. i am looking for more power what h/c/i should i get. it is a daily driver. i am looking to eventually be around 300 rwhp.
 
All of the well known heads will get you to your goal of 300rwhp.

For the most part, you can see the same kind of results with the various well known intakes as well.

IMHO, your choice of cam can be more critical in the success of the combo.

What I find so interesting is if you compare the dyno results of combos you find on these various sites you will quickly see the way they make their power is not the same between them even though they all put up numbers around 300 rwhp.

IMHO, the Question is not about ................
which h/c/i combo is best
but
what are your expectations from a combo?

A great 1/4 mile strip burner most likely won't make the best street car and vice versa.

Grady
 
final5-0 said:
All of the well known heads will get you to your goal of 300rwhp.

For the most part, you can see the same kind of results with the various well known intakes as well.

IMHO, your choice of cam can be more critical in the success of the combo.

What I find so interesting is if you compare the dyno results of combos you find on these various sites you will quickly see the way they make their power is not the same between them even though they all put up numbers around 300 rwhp.

IMHO, the Question is not about ................
which h/c/i combo is best
but
what are your expectations from a combo?

A great 1/4 mile strip burner most likely won't make the best street car and vice versa.

Grady

This is a great response (above).

I'm building a totally street car AND I have to pass emissions. What a pain! But, the good thing is there are plenty of choices out there centered around a mild cam which will take me to the 300rwhp and beyond while remaining streetable and emissions friendly. If I stuck with the 302 NA, I would probably consider the Performer Intake, AFR 165 legal heads, and a mild cam by a reputable company. Add on a full exhaust and whatever else necessary for the new h/c/i to work and I think this would be a great street combo. However, stroking the 302 to 347 would be even more powerful and I could upgrade all of the engine internals and still pass emissions. Of course, a few more things would need to be upgraded to run the 347, but it would all be in the name of added power, driveability, and reliability.

I said all that above for a reason. If emissions weren't a factor and if this wasn't a daily driver, I would go a completely different direction and use different parts. And it would cost less. Good to know all this up front, though.

I'm almost at 150,000 miles, but I'm afraid to do anything to this engine. It has never been cracked open and is still running great. I'm going to run this engine for another 1-2 years and then remove it for a crate motor. Gotta finish the foundation first.
 
Trick Flow, Holley, and Edelbrock all make good H/C/I's. Or you could mix and match pieces. Just remember that new performance parts on the top of the motor will put added stress on the lower half...so make sure the internals are up to par.
 
I don't follow. You want a HCI on your high mileage stock motor for a year or two. They you intend to go with a crate motor. Why spend all that cash twice?

Just put it on the bottle for now, that should give you some power. Then do the crate engine even sooner.
 
GRGT1994 said:
I don't follow. You want a HCI on your high mileage stock motor for a year or two. They you intend to go with a crate motor. Why spend all that cash twice?

:scratch: Huh? The first guy didn't say anything about a crate motor....

Car Nut said:
I'm almost at 150,000 miles, but I'm afraid to do anything to this engine. It has never been cracked open and is still running great. I'm going to run this engine for another 1-2 years and then remove it for a crate motor. Gotta finish the foundation first.

.....but this guy did. I think you thought they were the same.

Grady is right about what you want your car to do. FWIW, a lot of guys (myself included) really enjoy the Trickflow kit, it's pretty much guaranteed to get you almost to 300rwhp by itself, with some boltons and exhaust that usually go with the h/c/i setups, you will see 300. It's a good street combo too, as it still retains decent low-end torque. Gears are a must though, at least 3.73's. Now, I wish I had 4.10's because I rev to 6,000 instead of 5,400. Eh, what can you do though? lol
 
GRGT1994 said:
I don't follow. You want a HCI on your high mileage stock motor for a year or two. They you intend to go with a crate motor. Why spend all that cash twice?

Just put it on the bottle for now, that should give you some power. Then do the crate engine even sooner.

Yeah, I was just throwing out a couple options. I mentioned the crate motor, because with all those miles it would be the safest option, but not cheapest necessarily.

For the guy interested in the h/c/i, you may want to throw in a rebuild kit to freshen things up and strengthen the bottom end (like already mentioned).
 
Car Nut said:
This is a great response (above).

I'm building a totally street car AND I have to pass emissions. What a pain! But, the good thing is there are plenty of choices out there centered around a mild cam which will take me to the 300rwhp and beyond while remaining streetable and emissions friendly. If I stuck with the 302 NA, I would probably consider the Performer Intake, AFR 165 legal heads, and a mild cam by a reputable company. Add on a full exhaust and whatever else necessary for the new h/c/i to work and I think this would be a great street combo. However, stroking the 302 to 347 would be even more powerful and I could upgrade all of the engine internals and still pass emissions. Of course, a few more things would need to be upgraded to run the 347, but it would all be in the name of added power, driveability, and reliability.

I said all that above for a reason. If emissions weren't a factor and if this wasn't a daily driver, I would go a completely different direction and use different parts. And it would cost less. Good to know all this up front, though.

I'm almost at 150,000 miles, but I'm afraid to do anything to this engine. It has never been cracked open and is still running great. I'm going to run this engine for another 1-2 years and then remove it for a crate motor. Gotta finish the foundation first.

From the things I learned with my combo, I would tell you these things:

1) Emissions is no problem

2) Drivability is no problem

3) If I did it again, I'd have my cam guy (Ed Curtis) go hotter with the specs for more power and I still could say the same for items 1 & 2.

It all boils down to my choice of ...... cam & tune.

Grady
 
jtb19nh said:
i have a 95 gt the engine is stock with 150000 mi. i am looking for more power what h/c/i should i get. it is a daily driver. i am looking to eventually be around 300 rwhp.

I did H/C/I then a 347 and have on order Vortech:D

What I really want to say is think hard about a path for your car. Things you do now will affect future steps. I didn't, anyway a powerful street car is easy, but think of the future.

Well I am going off the wall here but have you thought of a Super Charger. You could get to 300 pretty easy and still keep your mileage if you weren't born with a lead foot :) save for a 347 or crate motor.


A 347 or 331 is a lot of fun and I would suggest it to anyone... Can you say torque.


Anyway the main thing is to Have Fun. Think first where am I going with this!!

Steve