[bracketeer]

I have recently swapped a torker II intake for an airgap. Being winter I haven't tried it yet. Now today, I see two postings where people have swapped or want to swap airgaps for perf/rpms.

http://hotrodders.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=57345
airman_turtle first post says he swapped an airgap for a perf/rpm.

http://hotrodders.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48136
Edelbrock Performer Air Gap (want to get a Performer RPM though)

The airgap is more expensive. It is a dual plane, same as the perf/rpm. It also has a cooler intake charge.

I am going to call Edelbrock and ask them which is the superior intake. In the meantime, I would like to get some of your opinions on why someone would want to make this swap?

[stepside454]

bracketeer, the pirst one was a Performer Air Gap switched to Performer RPM...went from a 5500 RPM intake to a 6500 RPM intake, what is better depends on usage.

[bracketeer]

I see both postings saying the same thing. Thanks for pointing that out. I missed it.

Well that scared me I had to go check the part # on the box to make sure I didn't do the same thing. I purchased the RPM air gap 1500-6500 rpm.

[firestone]

I would stick with the air gap. It is a better design. I have heard from edelbrock that on a mild 350 hp 350 it made 8 more hp than the performer RPM. Thats not huge, but enough to keep it if you already have it I would think.

Adam

[bracketeer]

I have the Victor Jr on my other car. So I know the air gaps cooler charge is a better design. I just thought I may have bought the 5500 rpm intake by accident.

[firestone]

No, you are right about the 1500-6500 RPM range of the perf. RPM air gap.

Adam

[lluciano77]

The Air Gap is a better intake. It is modeled after the single plane intakes that have seperated runners. They got the idea for the seperated runners from Pontiac intakes. Stock Pontiac intakes are "Air Gaps".

[underdog305]

I have a performer Air Gap and I dont believe that the air/fuel charge is any cooler. I had a edlebrock #3701 and the Air Gap is much better in my opinion. Aluminum is a great heat conductor after 10-15 min's of run time it's as hot as everthing else. I think edlebrock is splitting hairs on that selling point. Sounds good in theory, but it cant be that drastic..

[stepside454]

see, i see where the confusion is coming from, people are doing it themselves.
Underdog said"I have a performer airgap& I dont believe the air/fuel is any cooler". than goes on to say I had a #3701 & the airgap is much better " huh ?

[tornado-tech]

The air-gap is a better intake unless you drive the vehicle in cold weather. The Performer RPM is pretty well a start and go driving. The Airgap will need the motor to warm up since the runners tend to ice up but once the motor is warm, you shouldn't have a problem.

[454C10]

I had throttle responce problems with my air-gap this winter. Under 50 degrees and the engine needs 15 minutes of warm-up time to run right. I would get the regular rpm intake.

Plus I'm always lossing screws under the intake!

The charge is only cooler after extended WOT which cools the intake. Once everything is warmed up under the engine, it is all the same temperature. There was a recent tech write up in chevy hi performance or Hotrod (??) that came up with this conclusion.

[underdog305]

Hey Stepside: There are 2 different air gap manifolds the RPM Air Gap (1500-6500rpm) p/n 7501 and the Performer Air Gap (idle-5500 rpm) p/n 2601. The #3701 is a performer non egr standard dual plane manifold. Where's the confusion? I took the #3701 off and installed the #2601. Look at your summit catalog.

[bracketeer]

I am aware of the cold temp problem. I only drive this car in summer.

I have also dropped bolts under my Vic Jr. I fish them out with a magnetic prod.

[onebadmerc]

I think the air gap is more of a gimmick to sell more intakes. If cold air can flow underneath them so can hot air. I can also see where they would cause problems when the engine is cold. I think if a person could enclose the intake and hook it up to a ram or cowl hood it would work better. By having the hood only open once the motor is warmed up, the cold air then could flow beneath the intake instead of hot engine air, but this is only my opinion.

[underdog305]

Merc you nailed it. I think it's a play on words that Edelbrock has come up with. Has anyone seen the technical data supporting that claim? And... What kind of test method did they use to come up with that cooler charge claim? Lies, it's all lies. Good salesmanship though, I bought one.