89IrocZ350TPI

I think it is the best looking intake hands down. For street use a full modded TPI setup is great for short races and for long roasty burn outs. I love my tune port injection.

fastsspr

It was in my first car at 16 years old 85 iroc so probably i have mixided emotions not counting for many year it gave me a lot of fun the street and the track.

HtOwNs 87Rs

Wut are u puttin down with ur TPI? Its been suggested to me to switch my heads and get the L98s. How much gain am i lookin to from this? I have the 87 with crane cam and slp headers. Lookin for something to kick me back in the seat without havin to do the Ls swap and breaking the bank.

on forgot its been bored over .30

cam size unknown....all mods done by prev owner who forgot lol

89IrocZ350TPI

Well I still have the stock heads and cam. I am putting down 250wrh, and 340rwt which is good for bottom 13's at alittle over 100 mph. You may have a zz4 or zz9 cam. Those seem to be most popular on TPI engines. Trick flow makes some really good heads. You could see gains anywhere from 40-70 horsepower with better flowing heads. It really depends on the combo.

HtOwNs 87Rs

had it put on the dyno when i 1st got her and only did 209 ran shitty and started backfirin etc. Havnt taken her back since ive gone thru and change all the plugs, wires, and coil. Maybe this wkend ill take her back and see what she does now.

89IrocZ350TPI

What motor do you have? 305 tpi (lb9)?

HtOwNs 87Rs

I have an 87 350 tpi outta of iroc in my 89

86Z

iTrader: (4)

yeah i love the look of the TPI, that's why i converted to it from a carb, my 305 put down 380hp/420ft/lbs to the wheels

pandin

Tire smoke and 20 mpg.

TPI

Because I can keep it running.

Actually a good question, Ive never heard it asked this way before.
Ill list: 19-21 mpg, bone crushing torque, great town car or a weekend
trip car, but it can easily be a good track car.

Not overly obnoxious, passes emissions and.. did I mention a polished look?

And, it runs on all grades of octane, depending on how fat my wallet
is. She runs on 87, 89, or 91.. which cant be said for some powerplants
out there.

marolife03

The look of the TPI is awesome, plus the power, plus the cars they came in. How can I not??..

Toyota h8r

why do i love tpi....uhhh i dont?


you have to spend a lot to get the performance of a single plane carb setup......

case in point i went from a carb'd single plane setup on my 327 to stock tpi with a mild tune/exhaust/24# injectors and car slowed down quite a bit...wont pull past 4800 any more....it will pull past but isnt making horsepower

im stuck at cross road...either band aid tpi by doing HSR/head/cam and then do a 5spd swap......only to blow t5...


OR


do LSX or LTx swap for same amt(ive priced for ls1/t56)

89IrocZ350TPI

Too bad LSX engines are not cheap.

tenpin842

Damn you guys are getting some crazy HP.

I did everything in my sig. for 175rwhp. 211tq.
ARF was at 14.2 which is a little high, but still not bad.
This was on a Mustang Dyno.

And YES I love the look of a nice TPI motor!

BigWhiteGTP

Sorry man, in my 1991 Auto/Lb9 it put down 187/270tq bone stock with a cutout. This was on a Dynojet dyno.

TPI

I would not take those numbers to the bank.. your being hard on yourself.

Toyota h8r

too bad you dont have good junkyards near you

local yards have ls1/t56 combos for decent amount compared to ebay and other sites

tenpin842

LOL...I know. Thanks. Least someone knows the difference lol!

slow305rs

iTrader: (1)

Change your cam and get another chip done.

I have a 305 TPI with an LT1 cam, comp roller rockers, pocket port on the stock heads and intake, no headers, 3" magnaflow exhaust, 4th gen alum. diveshaft and chip. I put down 208 rwhp.

tenpin842

Do your homework on cam "lift"
My cam that I picked out has a larger lift then an LT1 cam.
Sure I could have spent $30.00 on a used LT1 cam off Ebay, but I wanted more.
Hell, I could have even added 1.6 roller rockers if I wanted to. (then I would have had to mess with the valve covers so the rockers wouldn't hit).

And your 208 rwhp, congrats. But I'm sure it wasn't on a Mustang Dyno. They are not as forgiving. As TPI stated above, he knows the difference on the dynos. LOL....I don't think I have heard to many 305 TPI cars that sound as good as mine.

And you don't just "get" a chip. my car spent 3 days on an actual Dyno to fine "tune" it as best we could.

slow305rs

iTrader: (1)

For the work you did not the motor, I'm surprised you didn't get more rwhp.

My stock motor was rated at 230 hp (with dual exhaust) less 20% drivetrain loss = 184 rwhp. This is before any mods (and a stock chip).

Not sure what brand or type of dyno was used since it was dyno'd in Canada at a shop that builds really fast vettes. I'm told the dyno is a little on the conservative side (not very generous).

As for chip buring, it was done by a pro who took the car for two days and used a laptop, a 1/4 mile straight road and a lead foot to pull data and create a chip for me (two actually...one for reg gas).

If you're happy with your numbers then that's all that counts

tenpin842

O I'm happy, It will smoke any 305 that I know around my town. plus with the 3.73 gear in the rear, I'm pretty good.
Mine was tuned on the dyno. And I'm pretty sure my car only had 190hp stock. 350's had 215. (for 1987)
I can whoop my buddys 89 GTA with no problem. And hes got the 350, headers, 24# injectors, air intake, and a tune on the same dyno that tuned my car.

I just really like the looks of the tpi.

3rdGenFreak1227

I just flat out love the looks of the TPI intake....if its polished and all cleaned up its one of the best looking GM intakes hands down. I have stock 87 Z-28 with a 700r4 auto....haven't had it dyno'd yet but there is one here at school that I will be using very soon. I'm sending my ECU out next week to have the EBL flash installed and will tuning on the dyno here very very shortly. I will post numbers here in the next few weeks Lots of mods to come just want to get a stock baseline to work from

uemf

TPI is one of the nicest looking motor setups out there! once the wiring is under control, that is. on a stock carb'd setup you mostly see the breather, newer motors need plastic covers to make them look nice.. not the TPI.

TPI

Yea.. whats the deal with that!

Im surprised I havent heard more people speak up about torque.
It is mostly responsible for the decent mpg's we do get with these
cars.

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

my fast 90 looks better than any tpi
and so does my super victor

TPI

you know what....



I CONCUR!

1bdbrd

iTrader: (1)

I personally hate the tpi. Overcomplicated and never belonged on a performance derived vehicle in the first place. I think its the bain of my car's existance and will be in the trash can as soon as I have a few other pieces put into place. I expect that will REALLY wake the car up and bring it up to the level of current cars on the road.

A proper tune will gain better fuel mileage than most think is possible. I don't think the useless torque that the tpi makes is responsible for the fuel mileage that some are seeing.

J91

Have to agree w/you. For the amount of $$ and mods it takes they just aren't worth it. I like performance and high rpms make power! TPI's just peter out on top. I run a simple Holley and a dual plane manifold w/RHS heads and Erson cam, and make power right up to 6800rpm. When I built my motor I looked at keeping the TPI and there was no way I was gonna spend that kind of $$. I will admit they do look nice, but looks don't go fast!

1bdbrd

iTrader: (1)

Price is something I didn't even touch on. TPI prices are outrageous plain and simple. ESPECIALLY for how even the aftermarket stuff hinders performance.

The TPI doesn't even look all that nice, especially when you are trying to do random work to it. It took me about 2 hours start to finish to swap an injector and a full gasket kit to boot. My lt1 car took 5 minutes to put injectors in. The hardest part of that job was deciding what I wanted to eat before I got started.

3rdGenFreak1227

Two hours to swap an injector won't look so bad when that piece of crap optispark goes out on your lt1....that thing is a pain the neck....gotta be the most retarded ignition setup I have ever seen....TPI power gains are possible....if you aren't lazy and actually enjoy working on your ride you don't mind putting a little work into it....

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

+1 didnt make sense to me to build a tpi either. the heads and intake are lacking for any serious n/a hp

+1 that opti bastard and me have parted ways forever, any kind of carbon tracking will cause it to misfire, and even moisture from rain.
i used to charge 350$ to r/r opti with wires/plugs, and got down around to under an hour. threw away a box of opti carcasses last yr that i had for parts.

TPI

I like this guy, you hit on a great point.

Shadygrady

iTrader: (3)

Did you expect an intake that,by design,doesnt make make power past 4800 rpm or so to make your car pull hard past 4800?The tpi was designed for the 305,and to pump up its low end back when chevy was planning on doing away with the 350.The Stock tpi does hit a wall at that level.You can pick up used aftermarket stuff cheap to get it to pull 5500 or so and more with port work.I`m sure you non tpi cars are faster than mine.Seems they should be but ive seen you and couple other guys seem to bash tpi alot.If you know its limits why`d you even mess with it.I love my tpi.Good for what it was designed for just like most intakes.There are plenty of people making good power with modded tpi.Yes it takes more money but thats the route I`m choosing to take,knowing what i`m getting into.I just dont know why some guys get on the tpi board and bash the tpi.

3rdGenFreak1227

exactly! I like this guy...makes a good point. I love my TPI...I'm getting an EBL flash installed next week so I can start tuning it..I'm super excited!

1bdbrd

iTrader: (1)

If I were to ever put an lt1 into my car it would be with megasquirt and a rear mounted distributor. The difficulty of working with a TPI setup, the lack of performance, and the outrageous price of mods makes this system the incorrect choice for anyone wanting a truly good performing car.

quickbrad

I cant stand tpi. I would rather have a good carb anyday.. my

TPI

That is pretty a pretty general statement, but it all
depends on usage.

a mid 13 second TPI car getting 22mpg compared to that of a budget
edelbrock carb/intake combo? Id be willing to shed a few sec's off my
e/t for the classy drive. Did I mention mid 13's with OEM equipment?

And LT1 swaps? If they were nearly as cheap/easy like TPI swaps
are for the common garage guy, you'd see a helluva lot more of them
around wouldnt you?

TPI will fade in time, but pipe down guys..... it aint time.
Plus, BBK should have that Turtle shell TPI intake out now,
and yet the hi revv'ing lead footers still whine.

3rdGenFreak1227

Its probably because you don't fully understand fuel injection...its actually a crap load easier than a carb...and ridiculously more efficient...more volumetric efficiency = more power...

...and honestly..if you aren't a TPI guy..find another post...there are tons of them on here...find one that suits your tastes...

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

undrstanding efi has nothing to do with it, the problem is the heads and intake. if u want to go fast on motor tpi is wrong direction.
i own a powerful efi car that gets excellent mpg.
but my race car runs a carb.

tenpin842

Just like anything stock.
When you build a motor...do you leave anything stock if you want to make some real power?

SO...going fast on a motor and having a TPI CAN happen. And if you read the forums, its already been done.

1bdbrd

iTrader: (1)

Don't get me wrong, I love port fuel injection and would rather have a TPI setup over a carb any day. However, a mid 13 second car doesn't really impress me, nor is it really all that fast. That said, mid to low 13s is all my car will be good for in its current state but that's child's play compared to a lot of the street cars around here. 22mpg is alright and is what my DD gets but isn't much to brag about either. 25-30 is where I would like to be with my car fully tuned and the crap *** auto out of it.

Lt1 swaps are NOT hard at all. TPI swaps are more common because

1. they are cheaper
2. they were made in MUCH larger numbers
3. they are much older (therefore more engines than original cars they came in)

Most lt1s are going for around the same price as the less commonly used Gen III motors so more people are going with the Gen III stuff instead.

The BBK intake was being talked about before I sold my current car to my friend over 2 years ago. Now the car is back in my possession and it STILL isn't out. I also believe it will be only marginally better than the SuperRam setup based off design alone. I know for sure that it won't be getting my money. The only intake set to be released that I would even consider owning is the new Edelbrock intake.

1989GTATransAm

iTrader: (3)

Couple of reasons.

1. The looks as posted above.

2. Everyone knows that the TPI intake system runs out of steam by 5000 rpm. With a modded TPI we have the stealth intake system. In fact we are going to show the 4th Gen crowd what it is all about at the F-Body LA Invasion drag race on Memorial Day. They are going to be embarrassed that they got beat by a lowly TPI intake system.

3rdGenFreak1227

the heads don't have anything to do with the TPI...if you simply change the heads and do some intake work...its VERY possible to make good power with the TPI setup...TPI have very long runners which makes it great for low end not so much top end...but with a change in runners (shorter) the top end comes back...its all about setup and what you actually want to do with the car....so saying that tpi won't make power is...for lack of a better word...retarded...you can make power with ANYTHING...you just have to go about it in the right manner....

3rdGenFreak1227

and a mid 13 second street car on stock parts defiinitely is nothing to spit on...mid 13s with decent gas mileage is very good....now when you get into straight race cars...yea 13s are pretty slow...but knocking on someones 13 street car is kinda wrong....

Shadygrady

iTrader: (3)

For me it boils down to this.If I was trying to build a race car i wouldnt use tpi.I prolly wouldnt use a camaro either.This is the TPI board on a camaro site.Building a race car is not my intention with this car.Its a fun street car that sees the track some times for fun,not a race car.Put some juice on it,or any mid/low 13 second car,And you got a pretty quick street car.

I always wanted an older car to play around with and drive for fun as an antique.I`m almost there,and it holds its own with alot of newer cars on the road today.

3rdGenFreak1227

EXACTLY! lol

TPI

Its not even so much the runners as it is the TPI intake base.
Even the aftermarket intake bases arent perfect, they just aid
what is already the overall design.

1989GTATransAM was able to get a TPI system to flow a ton of
air but, still hit a wall not due to the runners but, the intake
base no?

I could be mistaken.

Rolling Thunder

Well heres my take on TPI. For starters you see alot of people bashing on TPI because if they swapped to a carb and edelbrock victory jr or something on thier 350 it out performs the factory TPI. Now i have three problems with that statement. First wow thats a real objective comparison an aftermarket carbed intake designed with a high RPM powerband for max performance in mind against a factory fuel injection system designed with a low RPM power band for performance fuel economy ect. Never guessed whoed come out on top of that fight. However lets compare a factory carb system with an aftermarket TPI set up youll be forced to come to the exact opposite conclution. Find me a carbed set up that will out perform and get better MPGs over the same powerband as TPI then ill be impressed. Second people say it sucks because on their 350 it starves for air at around 4.5k. Concidering the intake was designed around the 305 and then was installed on a 350 what were you really expecting to happen? On 305s they perform great as is. If GM produced a equivalent TPI system for the 350 then all this would be a different story. Lastly People say it sucks because it dosnt flow well in the high RPM. Now yea thats true but its like saying screw drivers suck because i tried to use it as a chisle and it didnt work so well. The factory system was designed around the low end performance and economy. So for what TPI was designed to do its phenominal. Great low end performance, economy, reliability, ect. Personally i think its the best intake for a street SBC. Now all of this is given a factory TPI system if you go aftermarket everything changes. With enough money you can get it to support about whatever powerband you want reasonably speaking. People can argue that it may be more expencive than a carb system you can argue on a high 8k RPM stirp car its not the best choice however i dont think anyone can say TPI blindly sucks because for what it was designed to do it did it way better than carbs ever could and for street cars and even street strip cars its deffinetly worth concidering.

NemeSS-TyranT

iTrader: (1)

i want to go fast as in 10's or better on motor. not 13's my pickup truck runs hi 13's with a 5.3.
not interested in trying to match civics. n/a tpi is not the way to go for fast car. reading comprehension owns ya.


low end/top end