IROCThe5.7L

I love TPI for the looks, torque, and great throttle response. I am running 14.0@98mph with it, and 2.77 gears. I don't like feeling it lose power as the rpms get higher. I don't like when I'm beating cars, and they end up catching up as my TPI loses power up top.

I just purchased AFR 195 heads and a decent sized cam. It would just be plain stupid to slap TPI on top of that. So I got a HSR.

3rdGenFreak1227

really don't understand what you meant by that...find another thread...you sound like one of those guys that get his jollies off by thrashing other people...just remember you may have a decently fast car...but there is always someone just around the corner thats just a little bit faster...

TPI

Im still in shock.

Kidding! hope it does what you want it to do, but the demon inside
me hopes you come crawling back to the womb with your tail in hand...

IROCThe5.7L

Everything I do to my car, I make sure I can 100% return it to stock. Some day WAY down the road if I want to return it to stock, I can. But while I'll be making good power, there will be no TPI. I can't put a bottle neck like that on the engine after spending all the money on AFR's and a cam.

TPI

Yea, that is the cool thing about Chevy's.. Everything fits
without hacking something up too much, hope you have fun!

Im originally from Poughkeepsie, I cant imagine a HSR car being
a everyday street car in New York.. but, then again Buffalo is
pretty open territory.. hardcore smog checks over there?

IROCThe5.7L

Not hardcore at all. It's a visual, and not really enforced heavily. Why can't you see a HSR on a everyday street car?

Toyota h8r

HSR is far better than the tpi in every way....why you think it wouldnt work?

1989GTATransAm

iTrader: (3)

"HSR is far better than the tpi in every way...."

To a stock TPI. However for a highly moded TPI I would disagree.

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

im just going about it another way, im not bashing, but stating that the tpi is not my preffered method for building serious hp. i own a 89 iroc z as well, i ditched the tpi and went with convetional sbc heads and intake. and clicked off a 10.8 n motor. i know for FACT. that i would take more to accomplish the same thing with a N/A tpi engine, JG the guy with the white turbo firebird runs about the same times with a efi tpi system, but this guy knows how to put it together.
im not a bench racer, i dont assume i will destroy cars i ahve never raced or have no info of. as the other guy assumes of embarrasing 4th gens. with tpi.

just like the last guy i raced, since he "destroys" ls1 cars all the time with a sc mach1, my turd gen as he put it, was no different than any other gm car. yet i clicked off a 10.32 with a 125 shot. with him in the next lane running a 11.5.
the thing is the sbc motor purpose is to get a baseline for the susp. and rear end i have. i want it to hook as hard as possible and to strait as arrow all the way down. to have some kind of starting point with the lsx engine.
and thers not 1 guy faster than me, theres more like a million, have more money, hotter gf, bigger house, what have you.

i would actually want to see a low 10sec. or 9 sec. n/a tpi

Toyota h8r

cfm charts dont lie......

Long runner tpi is good only for torque...why do people rip tpi off and go HSR/mini-ram or single plane for racing?

goto race track and look for a 3rd gen......why is it you NEVER find tpi lol


kinda weird......when my 383 is done id race you with my HSR and you bring a over priced over worked stock style tpi.....

Toyota h8r

HAHA that would be epic

TPI

I dont know too much about the system, but my thought
was HSR wasnt 100% smog compliant, probably wrong.

My basic point was, if you throw the TPI into the sacrificial volcano,
just plan for the intake that allow you to drive it on the street at will.

I think it would rock as a street car!

TPI

Id be careful with your tone though, I dont like the way you mock.
Its not our fault your car doesnt run.. Maybe get a MAF car? Its not
like he goes out and spends 3 grand.. He puts "labor" and tons
of research into his tuned port intakes.. Why dont you search?

and on the California street, I bet his TPI car could literally
"DIG" a HSR fbodies grave...

Toyota h8r

haha.....mine doesnt run due to bad injectors(found that out today lol)

watch my tone? what are you my dad?

tpi makes torque and dies off near 5500rpm(modded)....where as HSR flows well into 6000 rpm and above. Not a big deal on stock 350 right? yes for a stock motor but when you build a sbc that spins well into the 7000 rpm range the tpi is useless and is junk. IF tpi is so great.....why did it only last 85-92? and never to make a come back lol.

TPI just looks pretty

1989GTATransAm

iTrader: (3)

"tpi makes torque and dies off near 5500rpm(modded)....

Hehehe. Your not keeping up with the times. My current TPI motor made peak horsepower at 6400 rpm. I in the process of building up another and I expect to be shifting in the 6800 to 7000 rpm range. RWHP with an A4 should be above 400. We have four cars in our club that are making good power into the 6000rpm range with not much drop off and more on the way.

Back to the HSR. It is a fine intake system. However with a moded TPI you can make the runners including length and cross section area about anything you want.

"IF tpi is so great.....why did it only last 85-92?"

They did and repackaged it and it is now known as the LSX intake system.

PS: Thank you for proving my point about a moded TPI being stealthy to the unsuspecting.

Toyota h8r

lsx isnt a long TUBE runner...yes its a long runner design but not long tube that bends nearly 90*.......

and heres a question....how much have you wasted money and time wise making the awesome tpi make hp?

damn i could of bought 2-3 hell maybe 4 steathrams for the cost of a BASE/RUNNERS and messing with the upper plenum(if stock plenum used). THEN you have to port and polish and work the runners to raise the CFM.

but your right im wrong.....LOL

i love how you spend too much and not read articles on dyno information provided in the tech sectin about tpi making lowest horsepower comapred to accel super ram/mini-ram and the HSR

you might be turning 6k+....but do you have dyno charts showing the horsepower increasing PAST 6k?

TPI

That is not what I was intending to sound like, actually Im only
23. But, I started with these motors at 16. When I see a guy with
a 2007 join date ragging on people who have three dozen timeslips
in their console with tuned port, and have been working with
the system for the latter half of 5 years, just miffs my tit.

Let alone this is a TPI forum.. hundreds, if not thousands
of us are in the process of building such a car.

JulieGTA

Why I love TPI:

Stockholm syndrome?

IROCThe5.7L

Nope, you're not wrong. You cannot use your EGR with that intake. I for one am not ripping apart TPI. I like the system. If setup correctly, it can make a really good street car.

Klewis89RS

I prefer the raw power of the throttle body injected LO3, by far the best race motor ever produced by GM

3rdGenFreak1227

Seriously, TBI? Are you insane? TBI not only is that a horribly inefficient type of fuel injection its almost IMPOSSIBLE to get it to distribute fuel evenly to all cylinders to make good even combustion...if you are gonna go with a TBI setup you might as well get yourself a good vacuum gauge and carb slap the thing...if you are gonna go with a wet intake system a carb is definitely the only way to go....best bet is to switch to atleast a TPI or sequential injection....

TPI

I wouldnt rag too hard on the TBI motors either!

Those things are kings of durablity, Ive seen numerous
with 240,000+ miles on 'em and still chugging strong!

But yea.. not exactly a fire breather!

Klewis89RS

HAHA WOW dude clearly sarcasm is lost on you. I was obviously kidding the LO3 is a POS. After all everyone knows the 2.8L MPFI is the best race motor ever made.

vindeezl

iTrader: (2)

GOOD QUESTION!!!

One of the best mods I did to my car was getting rid of it!

1bdbrd

iTrader: (1)

I have a join date of 2002, I started working with my L98 when I was just over 17 and at one point had close to 200 slips in the center console of my car or in my bedroom from a little less than 3 seasons of racing. I still don't see why the tpi makes a good performance intake.

I am well aware of this being the TPI section but I looked at it as a source of information about the port injected efi engines in these cars more so than just tpi. I am also aware of their being an alternative intake section but there really isn't the tech in that section that there is here.

3rdGenFreak1227

haha good stuff....I'm glad you were joking...

Rolling Thunder

Well heres another few things to concider. First if were going to look at these intakes from a strictly raceing point of view i think its important too look at first the type of race were talking about. Now as we all know the long tube runners of the factory TPI favor low end torque vs other intakes like the stealth ram which build high end hp. Now in a circle track race or even the 1/4 mile to a degree much of the time is spent in the high RPM which means placeing emphisis on the high RPM will make a faster car. However what about the 1/8th mile? Here the added torque of a TPI set up may tip the scales in its favor over say a stealth ram because not as much time is spent in the high end. Another thing is looking at the praticality of the larger intakes. Factory SBC max RPM is usually rated at what 5.5k so does it make sence to sacrafice the low end torque to try and build hp up to 7k when you cant actually get there anyways? Now i know someones going to claim that they take there factory SBC up to 6.5k all the time with no ill effects but that just shows a lack of experiance because i can tell you it does hurt you just dont realize it yet and wont untill its too late. Its not really like things work fine untill they break wear grows exponetially with RPM untill a cataclismic failure occures but theres a point between normal wear and tear and cataclismic failure where its really not called wear its more accelerated wear aka slowly self destructing. Further more another praticality concern TPI hands down makes for a better daily driver than intakes like the stealth ram. This is again because the high RPM orented intakes like the steath ram's power band is shifted into the higher RPMs how unfortunet that for street driveing your mostly in the low RPMs. This in turn leads less torque for that great pressed into the seat feel, less throttle responce, less fuel economy, and so on and so forth. So for the vast majority of people who drive there cars year round and race maby a few times a year its not really such a good idea to build a race car for a daily drive just like it wouldnt make sence to try and be a competative racer with a daily driver orented car. One last point ive read magazine articals on TPI compatisons ect and when you look at the dyno sheets of a heavily modded TPI set up vs something like the steath ram in most cases the aftermarket intakes like the steath ram only out perform the heavily modded TPI set up at about the 5k + range give or take a few hundred RPMs and again assumeing a 5.5k red line doesnt make sence to build a motor that sacrafices low end performance only gets a few more hp than the modded TPI for roughly 500 RPMs. Now again with a motor built to withstand 7k TPI probably just ont cut it even modded but for just about ever other situation a well modded TPI set up is about the best choice in my oppinion. Its only real significant downside is its expencive. As for times achieved with TPI, although in the 13s is pretty much the norm for lightly to moderatly modded TPIs theres a thread about fastest TPI times and there are a few posted down in the 11s and 12s so you can make these cars pleanty fast. Heck even in one of the car magazies a while back they had a "street legal" formula 350 running 10s with TPI. Granted by the time it actually ran 10s it wasnt legal but while it was fully street legal the owner got it into the high 11s low 12s i believe with NOS. So they can be quick and streetable at the same time unlike alot of other set ups.

TPI

But the person I was referring to has really got his hands
dirty by welding, grinding, & machining intake bases/runners
since I joined up in 2004. I Just didnt like the mocking language,
lacks respect.. If he had been around the past few years, he'd
know about his efforts instead of poke fun at what he does.

You dam right imma go to bat for him, and when his crew patents an LTR
intake that can flow like a wind tunnel and still breaks your spinal chord
down low.. Hopefully I get one for free.

pandin

I really enjoy reading all these posts. It is funny that the question was

"Why do you love TPI?"

But the answers are more about who is the fastest, best performance, or 1/4 mile time.

None of these answers have anything to do with the OP's original question.

If you don't even like a TPI then why even post, or better yet, start your own post.

Like just the opposite "Why I hate TPI!", or go to the carb section and ask "Why do you love a Carb?".

Some of these answers are like somebody made a challenge, about what?

I love TPI for the same reasons I love Harley Davidson, Indian, Corvette, Jack Daniels, Blonds, DD's, and a bunch of other stuff. I would not expect everyone else to love, what I do or to even understand why.

slow305rs

iTrader: (1)

I'd be interested in seeing some TPI vs FAST intake flow and 1/4 mile numbers. It looks very nice.

Might have to start saving up for one. My TFS heads are on the way along with a new Comp cam, roller rockers and cm pushrods.

ml258-89iroc

i have owned many iroc's and a few lt1 and ls1 powered cars. i like each of them for what they are. i really love the performance of a ls1 engine. my "new iroc" i want the best of both worlds but i admit i miss the look of a stock tpi. i seen a group purchase of first intakes i would love to hear how what they think of the first vs the tpi.

Shadygrady

iTrader: (3)

I`ll say this.I plan on dipping into the 12`s with a mildly ported aftermarket tpi.To me that sounds like a pretty tough streetcar.Thats what i have is a street car.Not a race car.This car will remain port fuel injection even if I go HSR,but it will probably stay aftermarket tpi.I should see 11`s with the juice.Thats fast enough for me...for now.

You swapped heads and intake only and went 10.8 on an l98?What heads ,intake and carb got you there.

I do have future plans for a race car that will not be street driven other than to the track and maybe occasionaly around town for kicks.It will be an ugly stripped down bare bones car.It will either be a carb or lsx style set-up because that is what seems to make a good track car.But if you`re bracket racing none of it really matters cause its all about consistency.

TPI

+1

Id like a mid 12 second thirdgen that will blow peoples minds
at weekend car hops when you pop the hood. Also, the street
legal part in all 50 states is great peace of mind for a pending
military dude.. and, I am not willing to cut up my car for a LSX swap.

It's my childhood relic..

Anyway, You can bet Im hauling her where ever my **** lands!

Chris`s85Z28

i used to like TPI, now i ****ING HATE IT!!!

ask me again when i get it running right.

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

Here is a picture of why I like TPI(OK I have a super ram). This is coming off a corner in 2nd gear at an autocross last summer. Hooray for 500+ftlbs..

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

the heads are edelbrock rpm that flow 255cfm with 2.02 valve, intake is vic. jr, roller 230* duration cam. holley hp 750. the car i bought came with knocking tpi 350. made more sense to me to go with sbc induction and carb. this is not a gutted race car, if anyhting it looks better than most ole 3rd gens i see on the street, and it is a street car, a carb does not equal race car, i drove to and from gtg, meets, the beach, drive thrus, raced a supra on the fwy, stoplights, pissed of a c6. etc. drove to dyno days, track nights, dont let anyone tell u you u cant ride around with a vic jr. and 750 on the street.

mpg not so great, instant response with violent acceleration, very good
assembled the sbc to baseline my susp. for lsx which is around 50ci bigger, more compression, super victor. bigger carb, 4200 stall, etc.

TPI

Sweet ride, these cars perform best when NOT going down a 1/4
mile strip in my opinion. And, you can utilize all that torque on your
way out the other side.

Super ram is still technically a pure TPI intake in my eyes, in box form.
I still keep my "10's on a stock L98 short block" article close by.. That
superam car was in the low 11's all motor, and some spray got it into
the vaunted 10's. *drool*

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

so by that logic theres no need for any perf. parts to make the car accelerate any quicker or cover ground faster, an auto-x session does not require an aggressive engine. its more of driver talent and vehicle control
why have an aggressive looking and sounding 3rd gen? all bark.
but what about when a hot engine stang or 4th gen, come along?
and they will.
that 1/4 mile oriented performance will wipe the smirks off real quick

TPI

I wont disagree there, I was merely saying twisty tracks tend to fall in the
favor of a TPI engines optimal powerband and exceptional maneuvering.
But of course you should always tune for the betterment of both worlds!