The parts in this test consist of a K&N E-1650 element, a 66-1400 top, and a Moroso 659XX 14″ drop base. The average pressure drop per venture was one cubic foot of air! I’ll give up four CFM for extended engine life and not miss that one bit!
Want to know what I got out of a K&N stub stack added to a Holley #0-4779-750 carb? Seven CFM per hole, and I didn’t do anything more than removing the choke shaft and plate, and installing the K&N contoured air entry! Now you know how to gain 24 CFM and protect your investment!
Examining the “Over-Kill” fallacy
If there’s one thing I’ve heard over and over from visitors to trade shows and races it’s,“Your fasteners are great.
I’m not having any problems but I’m being told, by your competitors, that ARP® is over-kill and therefore I’m wasting some money when I buy ARP® pan bolts, manifold bolts or just about everything except for certain critical engine, drive train or suspension fasteners.”
But the subject is worth talking about. Cost is an important consideration when you choose a particular vendor’s offering. Still, if you use lesser quality fasteners and they were not subject to many assembly and disassembly cycles, by people with varying skills from professional to rank amateur.
Maybe, just maybe, you could make a case for minimum grade fasteners that are over designed, size-wise, to allow a reasonably safe application for conservative usage.
Now, lets get back in our world. The real world. We can expect the engines and vehicles to be leaned on, from a little to beyond any sensible extreme. We can expect 10 or more assembly/disassembly cycles.
We can expect over-torquing, which will leave the fastener looking 100%—but actually in a condition RED, semi-failed mode. We can expect some fasteners that are minimal in quality to end up in a critical, high stress area.
We can’t expect everyone to be able to look at a fastener and determine its quality—by looks, or even by markings.
So we leave ourselves wide open for expensive and possibly dangerous results.
For the amount of money saved by “type rating” every fastener’s capability, and consideration of a long range view of the best mix of customers—I recommend all fasteners be of a quality that does exceed the minimum standards.