Trickflow Street Heat on a stock motor ?

[fiveoho]

i searched the forums best i could and got some answers but still have some questions.

like always things come up, which tends to put the HCI on the backburner...again and again and again. anyway, i already have, and have had, a TFS street heat upper and lower. heres some questions:

is it worth the trouble to install on a stock 302?
is it really that big of a deal to do, what all is involved?
will i 'feel' a difference? what kind of guestimate HP would it net?
will it clear under my factory strut tower brace?
i have a BBK 70mm throttle body, shoud that be installed with it along with the TFS elbow?
i also have a 75mm prom mass air calibrated for 24's and i have the 24's too, but that should not be installed at this time, correct?

also, what mm is the factory mass air and throttle body?

current mods on car are in sig below

thanks guys

 

[BlackVert]

that was my first mod, a street heat intake

since then i have gone on and done a couple more things to it

air-flow wise, the stock lower intake is usually thought of as the most restrictive piece in the engine. people usually see 30-40 horses from an upgrade like this, mostly in the upper rpm range. i bet you would notice that.

it is actually not that big of a deal to do, a few hours. i was very anxious the first time i took off the lower intake. and i was very slow and deliberate the first time, so it took longer.

one of the most time consuming things is scraping the gasket material off the cylinder heads after taking the stock lower out. a gasket scraper from somewhere like sears really makes that easier.

and make sure to put balled up paper towels or something into the intake runners in the cylinder heads while you have it apart so that small things (like nuts or bolts) don't fall in there by mistake. that happened to me (a bolt fell in) and i almost had to take a head off to get it out, but luckily i was able to get it with a magnet.

the 70mm throttle body is a better match for the trick flow intake, i'd put it in at this time.

i'd leave the mass air and injectors as they are for now.

i don't remember for sure if the stock STB fits, but i think it does *NOT* fit around the street heat.

 

[95opal]

Pretty much what BlackVert said. I had it on my stock set up before I did my current motor and could definately feel a significant gain.

 

[fiveoho]

"air-flow wise, the stock lower intake is usually thought of as the most restrictive piece in the engine. people usually see 30-40 horses from an upgrade like this. i bet you would notice that"



is that a typo???? 30-40 hp gain just from a intake swap???

 

[BlackVert]

nope not a typo, 30-40 hp

 

[fiveoho]

holy crap.

im glad i made this post. i just didnt figure on it making that big of a difference. since it is a street heat, my bottom end shouldnt suffer any, right? will the power difference be noticeable all over the band or just on the top?

remember...i still have stock heads...

 

[Hef5.0weisen]

I did the street heat a while ago, but I sold it and got a better intake, really made a difference (thank you Kenne Bell)

I liked it when I had it, I felt more pull on the top end, just me though, everyone's stuff is different. If you do your own wrenching it isn't bad to install, actually really simple. I suggest a Haynes manual or some type of reference book, the search function here always helps, but, good to have something like that...for reference, pictures in case you forget where something goes. I'm no tuning expert, but I beleive you'd be fine with leaving the stock injectors in there, I tried one of those cal'd maf's and bigger injectors, learned alot from it, (what not to do) when I dig into this stuff again (soon) I'll be doing the tweecer route or using lasota racing to get it running proper.

either way, go for it and good luck, you won't be dissapointed

 

[red95gtconvert]

On a stock motor with decent exhaust you will see about 15 hp, on my car it was noticed in the mid to upper rpms. For sure you will make a gain from the intake swap, throw some heads into the mix and you will have a really have a strong running engine.

 

[5spd GT]

Um, don't expect 30-40 HP from an intake swap

 

[95BlueStallion]

Id say 15 hp gain sounds about right. I felt it in the top end when I put mine on, but I dont think I felt 30 hp if my rear end feels correctly... STB does not fit. My mistake was not putting enough RTV on the backside of the block during the first install. It was 20-30 degrees in my garage on new years day! Sprung a coolant leak and had to re-do the whole job. First time took about 5-6 hours cause I was cold and dropping things like crazy, but the second time took about 45 minutes cause I got it down pat. Make sure to clean your stock intake first so you dont get dirt and sand in your combustion chambers like I did when you popped it off! Oh and did I mention to put a good 1/4-1/2 inch bead of RTV on the front and back of the block?!

 

[fiveoho]

so is it worth it? yes?

 

[red95gtconvert]

Yes, it is worth it.

 

[Black95GTS]

so is it worth it? yes?

so is it worth it? yes?

Yes its worth it. I don't think you're getting 30 horse from it, but the gains come under the curve as well. The 4.10s will love it. Extended my shift point from 5K to about 5300.

With pretty much the same setup you'll have if you do it, I ran mid 13s on drag radials to give you an idea. I never had my car dynoed, just tuned it with a wide band and TwEECer.

Definitely do the 70mm throttle body. Do the mass air and injectors too, but you don't need them yet. Might have some small tuning issues if you do that.

Yes you will feel it, but its not mind blowing. I felt the gear swap a lot more. Add some ASP pullies too, thats a legit 1mph.

Adam

 

[fiveoho]

i dont expect to get plastered back into the seat but a noticable gain would be nice. maybe with the intake and the 70mm tb, it would net me 15 hp?

if i do the intake and 70 tb, will the mass air be my bottle neck? or will it matter since the mass air is before the TB and intake? i heard the intake system is only as good as its smallest opening

 

[Black95GTS]

i dont expect to get plastered back into the seat but a noticable gain would be nice. maybe with the intake and the 70mm tb, it would net me 15 hp?

If i do the intake and 70 tb, will the mass air be my bottle neck? or will it matter since the mass air is before the TB and intake? i heard the intake system is only as good as its smallest opening

I would say most likely. The biggest "feeling" I got from the intake swap was the engine seem to rev easier.

After you do the intake I would say your biggest bottle neck would be the cylinder heads. Are you on a quest for some HP number? Why don't you give us that and we can help you more. Unless you step up to N2O, a super charger, or a turbo, you won't make a lot of HP, period, with a 302 and a shift point in the low 5Ks.

Adam

 

[Venom351R]

Doing that intake on a stock motor is a good foundation to build from. You wont get the full potential from the Street Heat w/ out better heads or better airflow coming into the motor, IE TB, MAF

 

[fiveoho]

black95gts & redline :

you guys are right. i know the stock heads are boat anchors. i basically have all my stuff to do a HCI, minus the heads. i've had the intake laying around in plastic for three years. i thought if it wasnt too big of deal to do, id just put it on along with the 70mm tb and get at least a little gain. my heads will restrict me immensely but surely the intake swap will help some. i hear lots of people bad mouth the stock intake on how restrictive it is

 

[95BlueStallion]

I had this same discussion with Grady when I first bought my intake. The heads are the next biggest restriction. You can spend a bunch of money on a new MAF, throttle body, etc. for a 4 hp gain, or you can save all that money and put it toward some better flowing heads and gain much more than 4 hp! The thing with buying new heads is that you will then need injectors, a maf to work with those injectors, a bigger fuel pump and probably a new cam to make it all work to its fullest potential. I did the intake, and Im just going to wait until I have the cash to dive into the heads and supporting mods all at once. But yes, I think the intake by itself is worth it.

 

[fiveoho]

with stock valve covers, will i have to still run a spacer or not? if so, what size and where to buy?

will it clear my factory strut tower brace?

 

[95opal]

I think I had to run a 3/8 spacer for the EGR to clear the stock covers and no the stock STB will not clear the intake. JFYI summitt sells the spacer.