What I've learned so far:
First, there are two ports that cannot be made equal to the other four without welding them on the outside. The same is actually true of the 86/87 intakes. The ports have a nasty twist and are necked down right behind the injector boss.
Second, checking individual ports on a flow bench WILL NOT tell you about air distribution. You can make each port flow EXACTLY the same, but that DOES NOT guarantee that each port will get the same amount of air when the engine runs.
Third, plenum design and shape is why there are air distribution problems.
Fourth, the stock plenum is divided and restricted, that's why there does not seem to be a problem with the stock plenum.
Fifth, some modified plenums have SERIOUS problems and may have SEVERE air distribution problems due to their design.
Sixth, the way to test for equal airflow is beyond the capability of most flow benches and operators. No, I'm NOT going to divulge how to do it, because I'm not telling everyone how to do what cost me a great deal of time and money to figure out, I do this for a living. Ask Jason Cramer about it, the plenum plate he makes is designed to solve the air distribution problem in the 86/87 intake, and the hot air intake is harder to work with.
I've seen a serious flaw in the design of the Turbo Motion open plenum intake, and what happened to Lee leads me to believe that flaw causes a major problem, because Lee's problem proves my theory on what that plenum flaw will do.
I think I can solve the plenum design problem, when I do, I'll say I did, and if I can't I'll say I can't. In fact, I'm pretty sure I already have solved it. Do not expect me to post pictures showing everyone how to duplicate what I do since it has cost me plenty of time and money.
Not everyone needs or wants the fully modified open plenum intake, and I'm not going to try to sell them. I'm developing an intake because I want one for myself, and I have a couple of friends interested. Few if any will want to pay what I'll have to charge for these intakes anyway, because I'm not going to fool with making them for intercooler setups. It takes about 40 hours to make one of these intakes work to the point I have them now.
Much like Lee Thompson's custom hot air headers, it is practically impossible to charge what it is worth or to make money on them. If you throw out the cost of materials, wear and tear on equipment, and R&D time, just the labor is actually worth $2K. If I sold them at $800 each, most would say they were way over priced and I would actually lose money on every single one. Selling them at $800 would work out to $20 an hour for labor and $0 for shop use and R&D time which would have to be amortized into the cost of each intake for profitability. Try getting anything done for $20 an hour and you'll see what I mean. The only reason for me to even TRY to sell these is to recoup what I've spent doing this for myself, so doing them real cheap isn't even worth thinking about.
First, there are two ports that cannot be made equal to the other four without welding them on the outside. The same is actually true of the 86/87 intakes. The ports have a nasty twist and are necked down right behind the injector boss.
Second, checking individual ports on a flow bench WILL NOT tell you about air distribution. You can make each port flow EXACTLY the same, but that DOES NOT guarantee that each port will get the same amount of air when the engine runs.
Third, plenum design and shape is why there are air distribution problems.
Fourth, the stock plenum is divided and restricted, that's why there does not seem to be a problem with the stock plenum.
Fifth, some modified plenums have SERIOUS problems and may have SEVERE air distribution problems due to their design.
Sixth, the way to test for equal airflow is beyond the capability of most flow benches and operators. No, I'm NOT going to divulge how to do it, because I'm not telling everyone how to do what cost me a great deal of time and money to figure out, I do this for a living. Ask Jason Cramer about it, the plenum plate he makes is designed to solve the air distribution problem in the 86/87 intake, and the hot air intake is harder to work with.
I've seen a serious flaw in the design of the Turbo Motion open plenum intake, and what happened to Lee leads me to believe that flaw causes a major problem, because Lee's problem proves my theory on what that plenum flaw will do.
I think I can solve the plenum design problem, when I do, I'll say I did, and if I can't I'll say I can't. In fact, I'm pretty sure I already have solved it. Do not expect me to post pictures showing everyone how to duplicate what I do since it has cost me plenty of time and money.
Not everyone needs or wants the fully modified open plenum intake, and I'm not going to try to sell them. I'm developing an intake because I want one for myself, and I have a couple of friends interested. Few if any will want to pay what I'll have to charge for these intakes anyway, because I'm not going to fool with making them for intercooler setups. It takes about 40 hours to make one of these intakes work to the point I have them now.
Much like Lee Thompson's custom hot air headers, it is practically impossible to charge what it is worth or to make money on them. If you throw out the cost of materials, wear and tear on equipment, and R&D time, just the labor is actually worth $2K. If I sold them at $800 each, most would say they were way over priced and I would actually lose money on every single one. Selling them at $800 would work out to $20 an hour for labor and $0 for shop use and R&D time which would have to be amortized into the cost of each intake for profitability. Try getting anything done for $20 an hour and you'll see what I mean. The only reason for me to even TRY to sell these is to recoup what I've spent doing this for myself, so doing them real cheap isn't even worth thinking about.
