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I'm trying to make my 351w tow better what bolt ons should I add....... Edelbrock Performer vs Performer RPM?....... which comp cam would be the best for towing? Carb? Cfm? Headers?
The single best thing for improving towing performance is increasing the final drive gear ratio.
Start with giving some info on what you are starting with.
What year is the truck?
What size tires are on it?
What gearing does it have?
Is the exhaust stock?
Is the motor stock?
If the tires are a reasonable size and the exhaust and motor are all stock then you're completely wasting your time changing anything on the intake side, start with exhaust and then maybe a cam depending upon what year the motor is, and then if you still want more upgrade the heads and intake at the same time.
There is a sizable torque gain with a 4bbl and single exhaust around the 1500-2000RPM range.
I lost a bit of low end torque on my 302 when I went with duals, but the performance increased everywhere else with duals.
Just adding my 4bbl and intake made it where I could spin off the line. Adding duals I lost that, but gained mpg and probably 20hp on the top end.
I agree about the gearing though, and in hindsight I would do the exhaust first as well.
There is a sizable torque gain with a 4bbl and single exhaust around the 1500-2000RPM range.
I lost a bit of low end torque on my 302 when I went with duals, but the performance increased everywhere else with duals.
Just adding my 4bbl and intake made it where I could spin off the line. Adding duals I lost that, but gained mpg and probably 20hp on the top end.
The smaller primary bores of the 4bbl produce a little higher airspeed through them compared to the 2bbl carb thus a little better fuel atomization at low rpms and torque gains. The dual exhaust is a little too big for the motor which hurts exhaust scavengng at low rpms which manifests itself as torque loss, you could gain that back again with longtube headers and some base timing advance.
Most people go too big when they do exhaust on these motors, a stock 302 really doesn't need anything more than a 2.5" mendrel bent single with a high flow cat and muffler, and that means with duals you don't want anything bigger than 2.25".
The smaller primary bores of the 4bbl produce a little higher airspeed through them compared to the 2bbl carb thus a little better fuel atomization at low rpms and torque gains. The dual exhaust is a little too big for the motor which hurts exhaust scavengng at low rpms which manifests itself as torque loss, you could gain that back again with longtube headers and some base timing advance.
Most people go too big when they do exhaust on these motors, a stock 302 really doesn't need anything more than a 2.5" mendrel bent single with a high flow cat and muffler, and that means with duals you don't want anything bigger than 2.25".
Digging up an old post here, but the the 2bbl and 4bbl I have are the same size bores.
The butterfly valves are nearly identical. Matter of fact I went from annular boosters to dogleg. You'd figure I'd lose on the midrange.
2100, 4100 and Holley 600 are very similar as far as bore and venturi go. The boosters are different, at least on the average Holley.
That's a good point about the bore size vs. venturi size. We tend to judge a carb by looking at or measuring the throttle bores. As I recall, they are typically 1-7/16" on carbs meant for smaller engines, but the venturi can vary.
I have a very small 370cfm Holley with the 1-7/16" throttle bores, but when looking down the carb from above, the tiny venturi are evident.