Fast intake gains

**slade8200** · 02-09-2014, 10:31 AM

So the 102mm intake with throttle body gets about 25hp? Leaves something to be desired for $1600 doesn't it? Or is that the going rate for power these days.

**Too Fast** · 02-09-2014, 10:58 AM

I agree it's pricey. I don't think it's worth the $$$ unless you are heavily modded, since your car already has the LS6 intake.

**slade8200** · 02-09-2014, 12:12 PM

Yeah... I was just trying to see if there was something else on the simpler side (non-heads / cam) I could do after headers.

**0rion** · 02-09-2014, 01:30 PM

I agree with too fast....unless you're heavily modded that money could be spent on better things. For $1500 you can buy one heck of a N2O system

**Firebirdjones** · 02-10-2014, 11:31 AM

My opinion has always been that the FAST intakes were too pricey, but Wilson's stuff has always been top notch from my experience and you pay for it.

I would only use one for an all out effort build looking for every drop, and in doing so I'd probably consider a sheetmetal intake or a carb style intake with a toilet bowl if I went down that road with an LS engine and wanted to keep it fuel injected.

For my money, I'm with Orion. I run the LS6 intake and it's good enough for anything I'll build to run on the street. I'll spend my $1500 on other things.

**freaky57fast** · 02-11-2014, 05:23 PM

I saw a dyno review of it I think it gave like 37rwhp or maybe 27rwhp I don't really remember. But hey port it then who knows, found the pair on sale for like 1150 or so. Still unless you're trying to milk ponies out seems a waste. port the ls6

**98TransAmWs-6** · 02-11-2014, 09:03 PM

I have a FAST 102 and I think it's worth it but then again I am building a stroker and my plans have always been to build a stroker which is why I wanted the FAST, that and I didn't have a ls6 intake to begin with. Funny that you guys say $1500 is too much for around 20 to 30 hp but that's not too much for headers and exhaust? That is what you would spend if you went the Kooks and LM1 route, roughly.

**0rion** · 02-12-2014, 03:50 AM

Originally Posted by 98TransAmWs-6

I have a FAST 102 and I think it's worth it but then again I am building a stroker and my plans have always been to build a stroker which is why I wanted the FAST, that and I didn't have a ls6 intake to begin with. Funny that you guys say $1500 is too much for around 20 to 30 hp but that's not too much for headers and exhaust? That is what you would spend if you went the Kooks and LM1 route, roughly.

I would debate 20-30 HP on an otherwise stock motor.....I wouldn't debate that for headers although I didn't spend near that much on my headers and catback.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-12-2014, 04:00 AM

Actually if I went the FAST route I'd likely spend more than $1500, by the time you get fuel rails and all the other little stuff you need to finish the job. Then there is the issue (if running the bigger 102) of getting a different air intake setup to match the size of the 102 ( I don't think the 90 is available anymore so you're stuck). Otherwise you still have a bottle neck in the system. I can see this running over the $2,000 mark.

I've never spent anywhere close to that for a complete exhaust setup. However you can do that easily if you go for the top notch stuff.

I've gotten by with the Pacesetter headers/ory just fine for about $500. However I did find the ORY from Pacesetter to be subpar with it's "T" connection so I pulled that for a Texas Speed ORY with a nice "Y" connection for another ~$120.
Honestly I haven't needed a catback because our SS's have the factory upgraded dual/dual setup that works as well as any aftermarket 3" catback, so the added cost of another catback isn't necessary. However a nice 3" setup can be had for ~$400 if needed. I'll admit I did spend the money on a 4" Mufflex setup to experiment with ($600). But it's coming off and the dual/dual is going back on. In all I have about $625 in headers/ORY, and they are just painted headers at that. Been working just fine for 6 years on one car and 8 years on the other.

**98TransAmWs-6** · 02-12-2014, 04:29 AM

I guess I lucked out as I already had the lid and other stuff to match my 102 to prevent the bottle neck. My fuel rail, FAST 102 intake, NW TB, and everything required for it came to around $1400 but then again I already which is everything required to prevent a bottle neck. For exhaust I strictly talking about a Kooks exhaust set up not the cheaper bands and was not saying you guys had that only that the general concensus here is that FAST = expensive and nit worth it but Kooks = worth it lol. For me they were around the same price on what I spent on my FAST setup and what a Kooks setup would cost. With that said if you have no plans to stroke it out or cam it then it probably is not worth it, that is when the intake really shines.

**Firebirdjones** · 02-12-2014, 06:58 AM

Kooks are nice headers for sure. If I were building something where I was worried about every last drop of power I'd certainly go with an expensive set of stepped headers.

For our daily driven LS engines, I really don't need anything fancy, don't need stainless or coated. So the cheaper stuff works for me and what I'm doing. I've found down stream is a little more critical. However I have a few classic toys here where I'll spend the coin for the good stuff, but they aren't driven daily and are more for enjoyment.

So I guess it depends on which group of 4th gen owners you fall under.

I personally won't even bother with a FAST setup for a head cam build, or even the stroker I have in the works (408). For a daily street engine, I'm going for grunt and don't care much about peak HP. The LS6 intake will suffice. Even so it will still easily make 425+ RWHP which is more than enough for what I'm doing, and room to grow if we retire the car from daily duty.

**98TransAmWs-6** · 02-12-2014, 07:22 AM

For what you are describing yes I agree with you it isn't worth it. For me however I want the last drop of HP I can squeeze out (otherwise I wouldn't be doing 14.1:1 compression and e85 lol) which is why it makes sense but it also isn't a daily driver. It just depends on what you want out of the vehicle on whether it is worth it. I'll also be spending probably over 2k to upgrade my exhaust for the stroker I am building 2" primaries 3.5" collector with a 4" merge.