Zman

Well, this is one of the best posts regards useful, valuable information in the last months... fing02.gif
Thanks Man.


Actually a debate weather it's better to have a p&p head OR an AirRam is kinda weird, because you can have:

OEM Head + OEM IM
OEM Head + p&p IM
OEM Head + AirRam
p&p Head + OEM IM (*)
p&p Head + p&p IM
p&P Head + AirRam

So, comparing them is like talking about different things; weather one is better than the other one is just reference; it's like telling someone they cannot put a header if they don't improve the intake first, of course headers will work better when adm. and exhaust are modded, but you usually do this things by steps...
the alternative marked with (*) is the only one I consider worthless, because going through all the hassle and cost of p&p the head just to mate it to a OEM IM would be useless.

I think the logical order for doing this is:
Get an AirRam (because the AirRam is better than a p&p IM --no wonder there, the plenum and runners are too different for a OEM to catch an AirRam, on top of that they are mirror polished on the inside--) so that you can install and enjoy it while you get the decission/time/money to pay for a p&p head, then you should buy a nice set of headers, prior to the p&p job, because you want to gasket match both intake and exhaust sides. So it's:

Buy AirRam (install and enjoy ASAP)
Buy Headers (ditto)
Save to have a good p&p head.
Camshafts could go last or first, as long as they are not something that could affect the p&p job (which would be very unlikely) they are a paralel mod.

monkihead

have ya'll looked into enlarging the valves to gain more airflow? if im not mistaken, ferrea made some valves that were 1mm oversized for that particular head.

OdessitPashka

He said he was getting this done for free as a project in his school. And if you have a stock IM to give him to test it, then there is no need for me to send mine to him.

'treezy

guys there are two tests running here...

TEST ONE: to find out just how BAD our stock heads flow...which is shown here in this thread as , well BAD.

TEST TWO: to compare the improvements, over a stock IM, with an airram and a PP IM.

Now^^ test two is not done. We need to compare the results with the cfm of a stock IM. we ALREADY know the airram will flow more, but how MUCH more.

So, yes REDZ is right and has always been right, (I think it says it somewhere in the bible).

But, is the airram worth the extra 300dollars?

for example:
if the stock IM flows 150cfm then:

the PP IM flows 22 more cfm

and the airram flows 32 more cfm
___________________________
if the stock IM flows, say 165cfm, then:

the PP IM only flows 7 more cfm (i.e. NOT WORTH THE MONEY)

and the airram would flow 17 more CFM. (i/e worth the money).

all depens on how much the stocker flows...we'll see soon. wink1.gif

OdessitPashka

I just did a little research and came up with rough formula for cfm to hp, which is 1.5cfm per hp at 100% efficiency. So with stock head at 60% efficiency AIRRAM would net 4 extra hp over PP IM at the engine. These are rough estimates, but you should get the idea.

With ported head and AIRRAM you could get up to 6-7hp over ported IM. So, of course if you are trying to squeez every HP out of your engine then AIRRAM is great, but for guys on the budget ported IM would be more than enough, IMO.

So, of course you are right Redz that AIRRAM will flow better then ported IM, I think I always said that, but the extra 3-5hp just isn't worth the extra $300 unless you are going FI or really trying to get the last hp out of your NA car. But that's just my opinion and no one has to agree if they don't want to.

zoned019

Redz and OP are both right.
These results show that the P&P IM do make some nice gains, and for the price, I'd say it's worth it.
But on the other hand, these results also show how much the AirRam really owns P&P, but it costs a lot more.
BUT, I guess if you really want to find out what's the better deal, do the math and figure out how much cfm you're gaining per dollar, AirRam vs P&P. LOL.

JonGTR

Personally, I think if you're gonna go with any setup, then the Airam is worth getting anyways since it looks 10x's nicer and does a better job. If you're gonna replace something for performance, why go half-assed about it???

OdessitPashka

Simply because not everyone has $500 to spend on IM, just like not everyone has APEXi exhaust. We all know it's the best one outtthere, but not everyone could afford it. PP IM would be perfect for people on the budget, AIRRAM would be perfect for someone who has money and wants every bit of power out of the engine.

JonGTR

Last I checked, Extrude Hone costs the same as an airam. You're not gonna get any kind of gains just dremeling the TB opening.

Screwdriver

JonGTR is right, in my humble opinion. Unless you want to incrementally work on your IM, AIRRAM seems to me to be the way to go. And you can't beat the sound of that sucker when you pair it with an AEM intake. My GOD!! It doesn't hurt that it looks sexy too.

A P&P'd IM would be a nice compromise till one could afford one, me thinks.

Also, the Apexi isn't available. Even if everyone had the moolah, last I checked, Rick is not doing good business.

(OP, Im not hating on you, I promise)