HEMCO vs. POWERPLATE

[FJM568]

Hey David, did I ever show you pics of my custom upper plenum that I made for my car???

I'm real curious as to how it flows and distributes air through my intake and runners...I may just make a drawing of it and scan it in and email it to you to show you how I made it...

Lemme know if your interested...

 

[gato]

How fast would you like to go.

Well Tim Stockwell went 10.90 with a completely stock long block, including upper intake, and throttle body. Over 200 passes until he finally blew a head gasket. Motor was OK.

Chris Lyons went 10.40 with a stock upper intake and throttle body, no plenum spacers either.

Red Armstrong just went 10.20's with a stock throttle body(58mm), stock upper(polished only), and no spacer.

Last year I went 10.79 with stock tbody/upper, but did have a phenolic spacer. Picked up 70 more rwhp this year with bigger turbo & better heads. Looking for the elusive 9.99 in TSS trim.

All cars minimum race weight of 3450(without driver), and use stock, or ported stock heads.

Funny how guys will throw hundreds of dollars at their cars to run 11.00-12.00 & Stockwell did it with a totally stock long block.

Save your money & get the car dialed in properly.

But if your going to be foolish about the tuning, I guess it may help you from blowing a head gasket.

 

[Intercooler]

Re: How fast would you like to go.

Originally posted by gato
Well Tim Stockwell went 10.90 with a completely stock long block, including upper intake, and throttle body. Over 200 passes until he finally blew a head gasket. Motor was OK.

Chris Lyons went 10.40 with a stock upper intake and throttle body, no plenum spacers either.

Red Armstrong just went 10.20's with a stock throttle body(58mm), stock upper(polished only), and no spacer.

Last year I went 10.79 with stock tbody/upper, but did have a phenolic spacer. Picked up 70 more rwhp this year with bigger turbo & better heads. Looking for the elusive 9.99 in TSS trim.

All cars minimum race weight of 3450(without driver), and use stock, or ported stock heads.

Funny how guys will throw hundreds of dollars at their cars to run 11.00-12.00 & Stockwell did it with a totally stock long block.

Save your money & get the car dialed in properly.

But if your going to be foolish about the tuning, I guess it may help you from blowing a head gasket.

Kudos! I guess some including myself would like to try the plate as opposed to the Hemco. For the $60 or so it costs it is cheaper than your spacer was at one time. If it is possible to keep a cylinder/s from running lean it is worth a shot.

 

[Red Regal T]

I GET A KICK OUT OF YOU GUYS! ALL THIS INDECISION ABOUT A $59 PART. I'VE SEEN IT OVER AND OVER. YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT "I CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET MY $700 EXHAUST SYSTEM.......MY $1000 TURBO.......MY $300 DRAG RADIALS". I WOULD THINK YOU WOULD GO FOR THE HEMCO. IT'S A NO BRAINER. IT MUST BE BETTER 'CAUSE IT COSTS MUCH MORE THAN YOU NEED TO SPEND.

 

[KEVINS]

Most people don't like running a lot of boost. They'd rather get more air into the cylinders by using cams, ported heads, turbos, ets..
Not me.. GIVE ME BOOST..

 

[Steve Wood]

Hmm, Tim Stockwell might have picked up another tenth for $60.

 

[Carolinaturbot6]

Re: How fast would you like to go.

Originally posted by gato
Well Tim Stockwell went 10.90 with a completely stock long block, including upper intake, and throttle body. Over 200 passes until he finally blew a head gasket. Motor was OK.

Chris Lyons went 10.40 with a stock upper intake and throttle body, no plenum spacers either.

Red Armstrong just went 10.20's with a stock throttle body(58mm), stock upper(polished only), and no spacer.

Last year I went 10.79 with stock tbody/upper, but did have a phenolic spacer. Picked up 70 more rwhp this year with bigger turbo & better heads. Looking for the elusive 9.99 in TSS trim.

All cars minimum race weight of 3450(without driver), and use stock, or ported stock heads.

Funny how guys will throw hundreds of dollars at their cars to run 11.00-12.00 & Stockwell did it with a totally stock long block.

Save your money & get the car dialed in properly.

But if your going to be foolish about the tuning, I guess it may help you from blowing a head gasket.

Just because a few guys have gone fast without this plate doesn't mean it's a waste of money. I think it would be foolish to think that unequal flow distribution won't eventually hurt the motor, regardless of the mods. I'm very new with these cars, but one of the biggest problems I see everyday here is blown headgaskets. If the plate helps distribute the air more evenly, then this would seem to surely help prevent headgasket failure. Sure, some of the problems we have do come from tuning mistakes, but hey, we're human. Even the more experienced make tuning mistakes. If you haven't tried the plate, then how do you know that it won't make your car run even better than it is now? I totally agree that throwing alot of $$ at these cars without tuning them correctly is not too smart, but neither is saving $60-70 because you've gone fast without it.

I'm not trying to argue your point bud, I just don't agree that this plate is for those who tune their car foolishly. If in fact it does perform as advertised, then not buying it probably can be considered foolish. At least to those of us who aren't as adept at tuning as yourself & others you've mentioned.

 

[Silver 6]

Lets be nice here. Why even suggest someone is foolish about tuning their cars because they want to try a simple product which could make it run better or even just idle smoother?

I don't have the knowledge, time, or skill of Tim, Chris, or Red. I don't have easy access to a local strip to do tuning at. The people who make these motors sing know about the inequalities in port flow and they work with it. It could take a VERY long time for me to find the exact set of injectors which work the very best in each cylinder. A long time to adjust each plug to the temperature range and gap that works best in each cylinder.

Threre was a discussion much like this on E85 fuel for our cars. In support of my position on that topic, there are now three gallons of E85 in my tank added with the last fill. My 87T seems to like it. And a power plate is certainly on my project list.

 

[G McCall]

Re: How fast would you like to go.

Originally posted by gato
Well Tim Stockwell went 10.90 with a completely stock long block, including upper intake, and throttle body. Over 200 passes until he finally blew a head gasket. Motor was OK.

Chris Lyons went 10.40 with a stock upper intake and throttle body, no plenum spacers either.

Red Armstrong just went 10.20's with a stock throttle body(58mm), stock upper(polished only), and no spacer.

Last year I went 10.79 with stock tbody/upper, but did have a phenolic spacer. Picked up 70 more rwhp this year with bigger turbo & better heads. Looking for the elusive 9.99 in TSS trim.

All cars minimum race weight of 3450(without driver), and use stock, or ported stock heads.

Funny how guys will throw hundreds of dollars at their cars to run 11.00-12.00 & Stockwell did it with a totally stock long block.

Save your money & get the car dialed in properly.

But if your going to be foolish about the tuning, I guess it may help you from blowing a head gasket.

I couldn't pass this comment up.

First of all Red Armstrongs runs don't count. His accomplishments are out of most guys reach.

However, the other ET times you speak of are with the highest octane and higher boosts than most guys would even chance, if they could fine tune an engine that well. I do agree that TUNING IS THE KEY.
In addition, most of us know, there are street cars trying to turn low times on pump gas and still drive the car on the street, and without ruining an O2 every few miles. That engine combo is much different than Stockwells, who was running well+++ over 30Ibs of boost.

The engine combo that takes 30+ Ibs of boost to run 10.90s and the engine combo to run the same times on pump gas are obviously much different in price. Its to each his on (and how much money you have you can spend).

 

[YGETV8]

I guess my thoughts on this are that since I only get to the track 2-3 times per car per year, and most of my tuning is done by seat of the pants, I'll never reach the super-tuned-every-weekend-at-the-track ETs that the above mentioned guys/gals have acheived. Should I be disappointed that I can't get my WE4, with a fairly similar combo to Tim's, into the 10s? Not!

If it takes me a few "extra" parts and $$$ to come closer to those ETs, then so be it. I've not spent as much money on track visits, either, which can add up very quickly, too!

Case in point: Did I need my 62mm TB, 3" DP, and a 2.5" IC neck to get 111.97mph in my "basically" stock GN? Maybe not. But I was damn pleased with it's performance as all I was really hoping for was 108mph and eek out a 12.9999999! Mid 12s on "real" radials, hmmm... you can bet I haven't taken those parts off!

Another: Many have gone 115 mph plus with stock ICs, yet that is a very popular item to upgrade. Did all those people waste their money? I don't think so, but that's just my $.02.

I've got a power plate on it's way to me as we speak, FWIW, so I'll be trying it on my cars, too! $60 to toy with is relatively cheap in the "speed world!"

 

[Red Regal T]

Hey Jay.....I bet you like that Power plate!

 

[Nicksturbo]

Power plate

I was running 1600 EGTs On my GN, and 1575 0n my TTA. Put a power plate on each car, and EGTs were 1400, and 1350. I don't know how much more boost that means I can but I will let you know. Does anybody have a guess.
Nick

 

[Steve Wood]

Hey, Nick!

I would say 1-2# but, I am one of those guys that would rather put a plate in there than learn to tune my car!

 

[jsta6]

BUMP

good reading...

 

[turbot2496]

The power plate controversy still rages to this day.

 

[Randy Greenoe]

The Hemco worked for me!
Without the Hemco.
!st pass, 12.03
2nd pass, 12.01

Installed the Hemco one week later.
1st pass. Up in smoke
2nd pass, 11.78 dropped the air in the drag radials to 17#
Weather conditions were similar and boost was set at18# on all runs. If the Hemco didn't work then I must have had a baad plenum leak.

 

[turbosam6]

Whoever bumped this thread needs and ass whopping. Seriously people. Sure, the hemco is better than nothing, but the plate is better than the hemco. Plus, its waaaay cheaper. This thread needs locked before morons start in with the "its a restriction" crap again.

 

[jsta6]

Originally posted by turbosam6
Whoever bumped this thread needs and ass whopping. Seriously people. Sure, the hemco is better than nothing, but the plate is better than the hemco. Plus, its waaaay cheaper. This thread needs locked before morons start in with the "its a restriction" crap again.

LOL.



Not trying to stir sh!t. Just thought it was interesting, especially Silver 6's comments.

If I want to stir sh!t, I will post a thread asking what back space, spark plugs, oil and oil filters to use.

 

[turbot2496]

Never has a $60 part generated so much discussion. LOL I have to admit that my non-buick buddys thought I was nuts when I installed that plate on mine. Seems to work ok though I guess.

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Howdy,

I think this is best summed up by saying to each thier own. Personally I don't like Aluminum heads on Iron blocks nor do I like Speed Density EFI systems. I know other people run both with no problems but you won't catch me with either. Some people may like the Hemco and it probably does works, others like the power plate and it probably does work too. Which one works better, until I see someone take a motor on the dyno with both and side by side compare the power curves and the engines tollerance for booste and timing, I'll keep my mouth shut. What I want to see is someone design a complete new intake system for our engines that gets rid of the issue of mass flow differentials between cylinders, personally I see it looking something like an LT1 intake, I'd even want the twin throttle body aswell.

Just my $.01,