To be honest, I'd revisit the cam. I've read a lot about the TFS1 cam being soft down low, while gaining top end steam. Not sure if swapping the intake out would give you more low end grunt than a custom grind cam suited for your AOD setup.
Looking To Replace My Intake --with ???
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A used Systemax will run you around $450. I would spend that money on a custom grind, sell off the TFS 1 and you will have $ to have the explorer ported.
I like my Systemax, but miss the look of the cobra intake under the hood.
Best advice in this thread so far.
I always chuckle when I hear/see 5.0 guys stressing over low end torque and avoiding "high" RPM builds like the plague. You have 5L of displacement in a ~3100 lb car. If it's doggy anywhere in the powerband, your parts are mismatched, your tune is garbage, or both.
Not that porting the intake is a bad idea, but IMO I'd be thinking about both an intake AND a cam swap (to a custom grind).
Play your cards right and there is no reason you can't have a car that makes tire shedding low end torque AND pulls hard past 6k RPM.
I have a Holley Systemax 2 on my car, because my heads demand that much flow. I'm going to put another recommendation in for Tmoss. Incredible value and customer service. It will amplify the torque on those 170cc heads better than an aftermarket intake. A bigger intake will kill the air velocity down low, and the heads will suffocate before the intake and you will lose all the top end too. If you look at the multiple dyno tests on the different intakes, it takes a lot of head and cam before the Cobra style (Explorer Intake) starts to run out of steam.
Kurt
Kurt
Man, I left this board for just a couple years and you guys are back to talking about "velocity down low"? Were my efforts all in vain?
Man, I left this board for just a couple years and you guys are back to talking about "velocity down low"? Were my efforts all in vain?
I am all in favor of a bigger intake, but you can't argue with dyno results.
Kurt
I have not been around that long, can I have a refresher on that? Just curious if my thinking is correctMan, I left this board for just a couple years and you guys are back to talking about "velocity down low"? Were my efforts all in vain?
Like I said, a ported GT-40 style intake isn't a bad idea, but there are a plethora of examples of OOTB TW 170s with good cams and "big" intakes making fantastic power while still being fully enjoyable on the street. I don't think he would be making a bad choice if he went with something like a Systemax II, Performer RPM II or even a TFS-R. Although, I would definitely suggest a custom cam to go along with any of those to really get the full benefit.
Just my $.02.
My build was kind of intended to debunk the whole "big heads/intakes hurt velocity and streetability" myth that was pushed pretty hard back in 2010/2011 when I originally built it (while at the same time setting me up with parts that would be happy on a 351W... which is still holding down my engine stand). It turned out to be a success- nobody who drives this car leaves it without grinning like an idiot, myself included.
Like a lot of stuff around here, my build thread is a cluttered mess, but I believe it's still under 100 pages so it's not entirely unmanageable. Take a gander.
I feel like the LS and Coyote engines have kind of changed the way people think about H/C/I stuff, so a build like mine isn't as crazy sounding as it once was, although I do still get some funny reactions from old Mustang guys when I tell them I have TW 205s on a 302.
I still think the OP should revisit the camshaft.
Even I'm reconsidering my decision to run a TFS1 cam. I'll see how much $$ I've got kicking around when the time comes
But my combo will be similar. Tfs170s, tmoss ported Cobra, 75mm tb and a TFS1 cam
Even I'm reconsidering my decision to run a TFS1 cam. I'll see how much $$ I've got kicking around when the time comes
But my combo will be similar. Tfs170s, tmoss ported Cobra, 75mm tb and a TFS1 cam
I would always always always suggest a custom cam. In the grand scheme of things cams, even custom, are cheap, and they play such a huge role in the performance and drivability of a car.
Big intakes are a pain in the butt. There is no reason to put a huge intake on a small set of heads. It just means busted knucles, making parts fit, getting nickel and dimed to death on hardware. Hoods that don't clear, strut tower braces that don't fit, you get the idea. I have been taking off and putting back on the same Systemax 2 intake for 18 years now. If someone came out tomorrow and said they could make a stock Cobra intake flow 290cfms, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. An Explorer intake with a Tmoss port job is going to be around $400, top and bottom. And even Tmoss himself admits you really don't need the top done. It flows 250cfms, way more than a small cylinder head does.
As for the custom cam, I could go either way. I spent the money to get a custom cam, but the engine builder personally knew the guy at Comp Cams that does them. The cam seems dead on. Other people have had mixed results. There are so many cams available now, I doubt you wouldn't be able to get one that is close enough off the shelf.
Kurt
As for the custom cam, I could go either way. I spent the money to get a custom cam, but the engine builder personally knew the guy at Comp Cams that does them. The cam seems dead on. Other people have had mixed results. There are so many cams available now, I doubt you wouldn't be able to get one that is close enough off the shelf.
Kurt
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
The brown truck dropped this off today- polished, ported and painted. Intake side opened to 75MM.
If anyone is into the bling bling I would highly recommend this guy.
If anyone is into the bling bling I would highly recommend this guy.
The brown truck dropped this off today- polished, ported and painted. Intake side opened to 75MM.
If anyone is into the bling bling I would highly recommend this guy.
Awesome finish job. I did that to an intake....twice. It's a lot of work though.
Kurt
The brown truck dropped this off today- polished, ported and painted. Intake side opened to 75MM.
If anyone is into the bling bling I would highly recommend this guy.
Damn, that is beautiful. I've always liked the looks of a cleaned up Explorer intake.
mikestang63
SN Certified Technician
Mike- yes he can polish just about anything.. hit him up at Ortiz Polishing on FB, His name is Fransisco Ortiz.
Kurt- I have polished many parts over the years and i can telll you he has at least 10-15 hours of time in this The thing is flawless..
Kurt- I have polished many parts over the years and i can telll you he has at least 10-15 hours of time in this The thing is flawless..
It took me a lot god damn longer than 15 hours, but I was 17 years old and didn't know what the hell I was doing. It involved a 3M paint and rust remover on a drill, followed by a bunch of sandpaper, and then two tubes of something or other from Home Depot applied to a cotton wheel on a drill. But damn, when I was done with it, you could have shot a picture of my 17 year old self on the intake and counted the pimples.
Kurt
I'm with you on this, but just because I am not 100% happy with it, the TFS 1 is by no means a "bad" cam. It just has it's limitations like everything else and those limitations don't always agree with the way I drive the car. The rare chance I do get a WOT pull from 2nd all the way through 3rd, well, no complaints from me about the TFS1 cam then.
@NIKwoaC I will agree that the cost difference is minimal in the long run.
@revhead347 nothing is worse than a TFS street/track heat intake as far as size. They are huge and look ugly AF IMO.
I think my limitations on how i'll drive my car are the same as yours. I'll probably do a lot more rolling on the throttle from 2000RPM driving in a single gear, than WOT rips through 3 gears.
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