I called A.R.D. yesterday about making a date for me to drop the gs off, and talked with a mechanic about what all they do there.
He said they port and polish the heads, intake mani., and bore throttle body(that's all we talked about anyways).
He said p&p of heads would yeild significant gains in hp(40-50hp) and that boring tb and p&p of intake would add around 8hp.
He said 300 for labor and p&p of intake mani, and bored tb.
He said around 500 for p&p on heads.(assuming i take my car in and let them do all work)

Does everyone agree with these numbers?
TIA,
Keanan

40-50 hp for port and polish? No way imo. You're lucky if you get 5-10. You need a turbo in order to see huge gains with porting the head, and even with a turbo, I'd be surprised if it gave more than 20 hp unless you were pushing 400+ hp already.

Vegasdsmer posted some writeups and one was a how to dremel your intake manifold out. Is this advisable??

You can dremel your intake manifold out, but unless you know exactly what you're trying to accomplish it's not adviseable. Making power in a normally aspirated engine is all about velocity and keeping or making as much of it as possible.

Unless you know exactly how to make the air move faster or have a higher volume of air move at the same speed as you have now, then all you're doing is slowing things down and could potentially loose power.

You will need high compression pistons, the porting you are getting and cam shafts that will move enough air in and out of the engine to get 40 - 50 HP. You are only doing 1/3 of the things you should be doing to see that much power.


________________________________________________________________________________________
current status - No 3rd Gear synchro


http://hometown.aol.com/ohshootuhh/
www.Fast420A.com

i have a stage 3 port and polish head from westside performance and i would say its only like 25-30 hp. It would definately be a bigger gain with turbo or in my case with NOS. I can feel a really big difference with the p&p heads and my 100 shot, but all it really does is help air flow for the forced induction applications

and like fast420 said its really just a setup for a motor rebuild. run 10.5:1 or 11:1 comp pistons and get some good cams, then you can feel that big gain.

Ok, I'm gonna be the first picky, technical bitch here. Its head. We only have one cylinder head. No heads. Just a head. A little head, but not too little... ;)

HEAD! my bad mr saberkahn sir! lol!!:P

it's funny how everyone still says "heads" and "headers" because of the time when the only thing you would thinking about mod'n was V8's. hehe. the lingo still carries though, even though we have an Inline engine. cracks me up.

Thats quite alright. Just dont let it happen again! ;)

Will someone answer my question???

faster....you can dremel the intake manifold but it wont be nearly as good as the one from ARD because they port all throughout the runners if im not mistakin. you will only be able to do the ports.

Thanks you two... damn I have to cry to get my question answered?? lol

You would need a flex extension on your dermel to do the runners. And I would practice on something before you tear into your manifold, at least get a spare...

Una salus victus.
It's not about being invincible, it's about being ready; for anything.



Michael J. Kulaga
e-mail: Michael_97RS@2gntDSM.zzn.com aol IM: MJKulga
http://highlander.dsmpower.com/

Injen CAI, 55mm TB, Hooker 4-1 Stepped Header, GS-T Muffler, AFX UDP, S-AFC, 8.5mm Magnecor Wires, Crane Fireball HI-6DI2, SS Clutch Line, NRG Susp. Motor Mount Ins., FU/RU/RL STBs, TSW Blade 17x7.5, Bridgestone Potenza RE730 215/45ZR-17. Front KVR Cross-Drilled Rotors & Carbon Fiber Pads

To Be Installed: P&P Intake Manifold 1/2, P&P Milled Head, Rear Disc Brakes, Rear KVR Cross Drilled Rotors & Carbon Fiber Kevlar Pads, SS Brake Lines

the ard p&p intake mani i received was only ported about 5-6inches from each port. there are some areas that did not get touched, and left "abrasive"...
i will compare it to my stocker after i pull it off ;-)

it will be installed soon ;-) and i will post my findings ;-)

tia

I hate to correct Owen, bacause he is my friend and i frequently both have work done at and bring work to his shop, but what he is advertising is untrue.

For a forced induction application, making high HP on a stock head, stock cams, stock valves, YES, Owen's P&P job will yeild great gains. If you are totally stock, naturally aspirated, minimal mods and mostly boltons, well then NO, you aren't going to see anything close to what he says. Owen from ARD never opened his shop to specialize in DSM's, although he does particularly enjoy the 420A powerplant for its ability, potential, and simplicity. ARD is used to dealing with people like me, people like Joe, FI situations where thier services and knowledge are of benefit- (Owen has a 10second MK3, after all) -whereas stock.. they have no working knowledge of stock. NA, you won't get the same gains as far as airflow from a P&P head, where in a FI application you will.

Don't missunderstand. The gains they advertise are perfectly possibly and even common, when given a stage 3 setup and a stock head. You are misteken if you believe you'll get the same benefit from the same service for a mostly stock setup.

OMGosh.... DarkOne, you are the master. Thanx for the info, you rock!
Should i get the intake P&P and bore the tb, or is it not even worth having without a turbo? I feel doing these mods will help my engine to function in a more efficient way for racing. I don't have 1000's of dollars to spend, but i would love to do some engine work! Lemme know what ya think!


Later,
Keanan

As Dino said, unless you have major engine work or serious boost, you wont see big gains. I myself plan on P&P the manifold and boring the TB. It may not make the advertised 40hp, but Todd noticed a recordable difference with his worked over manifold. Also, a bored TB will give you better throttle response, and if combined with the CAI, header and free flowing exhaust, it may make a few ponies if youre lucky :D So, I say go for it if you dont have the big bucks to spend on a turbo and if you've already gotten the other bolt ons. CAI, header, exhaust and UDP.