XS Intake Manifold for LS3 V8
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 6,465
Sure wish they'd have included more of the manufacturer's test data / numbers. Its nice they included data for a stock LS3, but honestly thats clearly not the target market here. While its good they made gains everywhere, 8-10 horsepower (presumably crank hp) is pretty mediocre as far as mods go, especially on a 430 hp engine. I don't think they would've bothered bringing it to production if it didn't pick up much more power in some other kind of test as I don't see the bolt on crowd rushing to throw $1000 for whatll amount to maybe 5 whp.
Its clear stock LS3s aren't the target market, but I wonder what is? They talk about gains being better with heads / cam, so perhaps that's where it shines? The tricky part there is that boost is a lot cheaper today than it used to be back when the FAST 90s were selling like hotcakes. Heads / cam / $1k intake + headers is certainly at the entry level boost costs (although granted not everyone wants boost, but it does hurt the marketability).
Its also possible its intended to be a boost manifold as they say its rated for 6 bar. I think this would be a great market if it makes good power gains on boost. There are certainly a few good intake options out there alreast, but they're generally either very expensive or huge (ie holly hi ram / cut a hole in the hood). This has the potential to fill a niche for people that want more power but don't want to spend $6k on a Frankenstein or cut a giant hole (assuming it fits under the c5/6/7 vette hoods).
The one thing I'm not thrilled about is putting the fuel system literally in the intake. I get theres always risk to any fuel system, but I just like to be able to visually look at the connections and such to ensure theres no signs of leakage. Makes me think of the L36s blowing up due to the FPR dribbling tiny amounts of fuel into the intake via a small vac line. Id imagine any kind of leak on this would have the same consequence, and there are certainly a lot more points of opportunity for it to do so.
Its clear stock LS3s aren't the target market, but I wonder what is? They talk about gains being better with heads / cam, so perhaps that's where it shines? The tricky part there is that boost is a lot cheaper today than it used to be back when the FAST 90s were selling like hotcakes. Heads / cam / $1k intake + headers is certainly at the entry level boost costs (although granted not everyone wants boost, but it does hurt the marketability).
Its also possible its intended to be a boost manifold as they say its rated for 6 bar. I think this would be a great market if it makes good power gains on boost. There are certainly a few good intake options out there alreast, but they're generally either very expensive or huge (ie holly hi ram / cut a hole in the hood). This has the potential to fill a niche for people that want more power but don't want to spend $6k on a Frankenstein or cut a giant hole (assuming it fits under the c5/6/7 vette hoods).
The one thing I'm not thrilled about is putting the fuel system literally in the intake. I get theres always risk to any fuel system, but I just like to be able to visually look at the connections and such to ensure theres no signs of leakage. Makes me think of the L36s blowing up due to the FPR dribbling tiny amounts of fuel into the intake via a small vac line. Id imagine any kind of leak on this would have the same consequence, and there are certainly a lot more points of opportunity for it to do so.
Last edited by bumpin96monte; Feb 15, 2023 at 08:15 AM.
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