I'm not satisfied with the design of the LT1 intake manifold and was wondering what would be a good upgrade. I'm a former LS1 owner, and was very impressed with the intake runner length of those intake manifolds (I think that's where the LS1 has a huge advantage over our LT1s), and I was wondering if anybody made something that flowed similarly as well to say an LS1 style intake. I was looking at the old TPI corvette intakes also, and they too have a long runner which I think would be good for HP, but I haven't really done any research yet. Would the TPI intake even fit on our heads, and would it even be worth the time, or in other words would there be any, expecially, significant gains by going with it?

What are some other good alternatives for upgradint the intake manifold?

TIA,
Ryan

 

AFAIK there are no 'mass produced' intakes for our cars besides the LT4, but then you would have to buy heads also...there are a sheet metal intakes floating around, but for a stock to bolt on car that doesnt rev above 7 grand and needs that kind of air to support it they wont be much help to you

 

Intake on the LT1 isnt all that bad, its more than enough for a stock LT1, you'd net more HP with head work. then you'd have nice flowing heads that cant breath b/c of the so restrictive exhaust manifolds, if you compre an LS1 to and LT1 stock manifolds, you'll see what i mean. What are ur goals for your car btw? any specific hp level or 1/4 mile times you want to hit?

 

As some have already said, there isn't much for options out there. The reason is the LT1 intake already flows much better than what a stock engine needs anyhow. Not until major engine work or power adders are used, would you benifit from something other than the stock intake. The main reason that an LS1 will outrun a LT1 in stock form is due to the head design and flow characteristics. Also, I believe the stock cam in a LS1 is slightly more aggressive. BUT, for whatever reason if you decide that you want an aftermarket intake, there is one option out there (other than LT4), you can go with a racing manifold made by Hogan. Do a search on here and you'll find some info/pictures. They are quite impressive but I think they cost about as much as a set of CNC race ported AFR heads.

Aaron

 

I recently dyno'd 593 rwhp with that "poorly designed" intake! I wouldn't be looking at the intake as the place to start to add horse power. Heads and cam if you want to stay NA; I went the blower route with a touch of nitrous just for fun!

 

right now plans are simple, but of course my ultimate goals are unatainable without the right funding.

I was dynoing close to 400 RWHP with my bolt-on and "mild-cam" LS1 and would like to be close to that again. Is there any way to do that to an LT1 car without changing up the heads? I would honestly be happy with something low to mid 12's, and I know the Torque Converter will help me get there too. I plan on doing Headers and true duals for the exhaust and I'd like to use a LS1 style intake box (fabrication work to beging shortly), and a SSRA with a ported 52mmTB for the intake setup, and I'm wanting to run a semi-mild cam with 1.6 rockers. From what I've seen though, that would only net me something like 320 - 340 RWHP.

Any other thoughts that I've over looked.

BTW OBE1 95Z28 - Great dyno run! I know with the right combo just about anything is possible, but I would have to bet that you could pick up a lot of extra HP with a better designed manifold. Just my thought though.

 

There is no way you are going to get around 400 rwhp na with stock heads. Never gonna happen. You will need to get some ported heads to do that. You could always put a little shot to it. If its small you wont have a problem. It seems like you just need to do a little bit more research on the lt1. The main reason that the ls1 makes more power is the heads, not the intake. Those 18 degree heads just out flow our 23 degree heads. I hate to say it, but it sounds like you should of just kept your ls1. LT1's will make good power, you just have to do a little bit more mods to make them respond.

 

400rwhp is EASILY doable on stock heads. It wont be a hydraulic roller, however, and it sure wont have the nicest manners.

 

Are there companies out there that make say a 15-18 degree head for the LT1s (is it even possible?)? I'm looking at the AFR 210cc or 215cc raised runner heads, but they are still both 23 degree heads, and I'm not sure just hom much that is hindering the performance of the motor.

 

Afraid not. You can always get some Gen I SBC 15-18 degree heads and have them converted over to reverse flow cooling. Not sure if the stock intake would work but with some machining I'm sure that can be done. 15 degree heads like the LS1's would be nice.

 

What would be involved in that conversion and/or which companies offer a 15 - 18 degree head, that have real good flow, and could be used on an LT1 if the reverse flow cooling conversion were performed?

Just tryin' to get as much info as possible

Thanks,
Ryan

 

There arent any companies that make 18 or 15 degree heads, but you can have an sbc set converted, like said. The intake could work, but the angle of the bolts are different. It can be made to work. I just went with an afr 210 lt1 head. We will see what happens.

 

Yeah, give us feedback once you test them out.

 

To get LS1 headflow you do not have to go to 18degree heads, you just need something more than stock, be that ported or an aftermarket or LT4 head. You really are ignorant about the LT1 and need to do a lot more digging before you buy anything. The intake is such a POOR design that Edelbrock and Lingenfelter both tried to come up with alternatives and failed to build anything worth putting into production. The LT4 intake is for LT4 heads and has extra material cast in to allow port matching to those it is not an upgrade over the LT1 intake.

 

Longer runners = more low end Tq and LPE sells the LT1 base for the Super ram intake. To go with any form of the TPI intake other then the Super ram would be a giant step backwards. If you want to make a couple of extra Ft Lbs of Tq and drop probably close to 75 HP, adapting a TPI intake is a great way to do it. Now if you are willing to give up a few ponies up top (Above 6000 RPM) and want to make some monster TQ then the super ram is an option. BTW The LS1 intake is a small reason why the make more HP/TQ take a look at the heads and you will start to see why the LS1 is a better design then the LT1. You will need to select a cam that will compliment the SR if you do decide to go that route because selecting a cam that makes great peak HP and revs to the moon and sticking the SR on top would be another huge exercise in futility.