5.0L Fistfight, part 4 : The Storm Rages On
Okay Car Crafters, stuff just got real. Our 5.0L Fistfight began innocently enough, with a comparison between the stock H.O. 302 Ford and LB9 305 TPI Chevy. Part two brought an array of fuel-injected mods, including TFS aluminum heads, Comp cams, and EFI-specific intakes. We rounded things out in part 3 with the perfect combination of carburetion and nitrous oxide. The use of CNC-ported, 170-cc 11R heads on the Ford allowed it to surge ahead in power production (with no similar heads available for the small-bore 305), but careful tuning in part three allowed the Chevy to make up ground once we added nitrous to the mix. For Chevy fans still complaining about the 11R head swap on the Ford, rest assured the Chevy will exact revenge here in part 4, but you’ll have to wait until the end to find out how. For part four, we decided to introduce boost to the equation by adding a TorqStorm centrifugal supercharger to the mix. In keeping with the spirit of the competition, both the Ford and Chevy received the same supercharger, pulley ratios and blow-through carburetor. How did they do? Let’s find out!
The Forgotten IR Intake Add 29HP And Lose Nothing Else!
The sad truth is, in terms of popularity, the modern Dodge Hemi takes a back seat to GM’s LS motor. If the Chevy is indeed the prom king, think of the Hemi as the guy in a leather jacket and tattoos who just crashed the party. Every bit as fit, the Hemi is just slightly less polished and proper, and real Dodge boys (and girls) would have it no other way. Yep, the Hemi is the bad boy of the bunch, and for good reason. Sporting the most recognizable name in the automotive industry, the modern Hemi had some big shoes to fill. The previous generations racked up countless wins in almost every form of motorsports, the most famous being those Top Fuel rocket ships. Even in stock trim, the 426 Hemis were serious contenders, ranking at or near the top of the performance heap during the original muscle car era. One needs to look no further than the auctions sites at the current pricing of Hemi-powered ’Cudas to see how much value enthusiasts place on the power of the pachyderm.
Testing Boost Theory on a Pair of LS Engines
One of the greatest inventions since the introduction of the internal combustion engine has to be boost. Nothing adds power to a combination like the introduction of some positive pressure, especially when it comes from an efficient twin-screw supercharger like the one we tested from Kenne Bell. Adding modest boost to your engine will transform even the wimpiest LS powerplant. Heck, even boosting a stock engine will offer serious gains, but the real power comes from the combination of boost and performance mods. The very best supercharged engines have something in common, they all started out as powerful naturally aspirated combinations. The more power your engine makes in naturally aspirated trim, the more power it will make under boost. What better way to illustrate our naturally aspirated/boost theory than with the application of boost to a pair of different LS powerplants?
Dyno Tested Speedmasters 8V Intake System on a Gen III Hemi
The Dodge Hemi has a lot going for it, not the least of which is arguably the most recognizable name in automotive industry. The modern, fuel-injected Hemi has carried on the tradition of performance and the latest 6.4L, 392ci Hemi offers serious power numbers that are easily on par with any engine produced during the original muscle-car era. Toss in the reliability, fuel mileage, and low emissions, and it’s easy to see why the Gen III Hemi has such a loyal following.
How to Bolt a Traditional 671 Blower to Your Modern LS Engine
Chevrolet all but reinvented small-block performance with the introduction of the LS engine family. A potent and worthy successor to the original small-block, the LS has proven its power potential time and time again. The one possible complaint about the LS was that the factory fuel-injected combinations left out the early carbureted contingent, after all, the LS quickly became the swap candidate for trucks, street rods, and early muscle cars (and everything else). Companies like Edelbrock, Holley, and MSD soon stepped in to provide both carbureted intake manifolds and ignition controllers to allow the carburetor crowd to take advantage of everything the LS had to offer. This test is for those who have an even greater need for old-school speed, as we apply boost to a carbureted combo. Nothing screams performance like a big 6-71 supercharger sticking out of the hood. As we found out, adding a dual-quad 6-71 supercharger to the already efficient LS made not only an impressive visual statement, but plenty of power as well.
Speedmaster LS7 Downdraft Intake Test
In the hierarchy of the LS engine family, one designation stands above the rest: LS7. We know the LS9 makes more power and (numerically speaking) was two better than the seven, but it took forced induction for Chevy to finally top what was likely the most powerful production engine to date. Certainly the most powerful small-block, the all-aluminum, dry-sump 427 even offered more power than the legendary big-blocks of yesteryear. In a battle of the 427s, we’d put the LS7 over the wild L88 and ZL-1 combinations any day. The question now is, as good as the LS7 is in stock trim, how do you make one even better? What if we told you there was a way to not only dramatically improve the performance of your LS7 (or any LS7-headed combination), but make a powerful visual statement to boot. Did we mention that said system was also affordably priced? Enter the Speedmaster individual-runner intake manifold.