Assault racing products? Anyone use them?

[alpha13]

I was looking into getting an air gap manifold for my 360. My buddy is trying to talk me into using an Assault air gap. He is running one on his chevy. I believe they are based out of east Iowa. I don't really want to stray from a known good manufacturing company like Edelbrock, but I thought that if someone had good success or knows more about the Assault air gap or some of their other products I might give it a whirl. The air gap I'm looking at cost $150 or so. So it's kindof tempting.:blob:

 

[318willrun]

I just went through the same thoughts, and I bought the Eddy rpm air gap. Just got it yesterday, I'll be installing it soon. Glad I went with the Eddy, some real gems of the Chinese knock offs having different sized ports, and other issues. Some have bought them and had good luck. I'm glad I spent the extra 140 and got the Eddy....

 

[pishta]

If it doesnt say Edelbrock on it and looks like an air-gap, its the same Chin-take. You can go to B2B websites and have same foundry cast any name into their intake as you want if you order in quantity. http://www.alibaba.com/products/F0/intake_manifold.html

 

[RustyRatRod]

It's the same influx of chinkesium that's flooded the market for years. Procomp, Speedmaster and all the rest.

It's not all bad stuff. I have a Skip White GM style HEI distributor in my Ford truck. Runs good. The stuff has a bad rap because there SO much of it there's bound to be some bad and that's all you ever hear about.

 

[72bluNblu]

The stuff has a bad rap because there SO much of it there's bound to be some bad and that's all you ever hear about.

I totally agree.

That said, I think you need to be a bit more careful because of the quality control. There are good pieces out there and there are bad pieces out there, and in general I think that the QC is a little loose on a lot of those products. Doesn't mean that the majority of the parts aren't fine, but you should take the extra time to make sure your specific part is "one of the good ones".

But that can be said about a lot of the US made parts too, maybe not quite to the same degree. I've heard a few people say they received Edelbrock Air Gap intakes that had a significant amount of core shift. And of course pretty much everyone knows that you need to have the Edelbrock aluminum heads looked over and checked by a machinist to make sure the oil holes are drilled all the way through and the guides aren't too tight.

I think the biggest thing I would do is make sure you buy those parts through a reputable business, so that if there's something about the parts you receive that you don't like you can return them without a hassle. If the intake looks good, great, and if it's core shifted and has lopsided ports you can return it without a headache. For example, I wouldn't have a problem buying a set of Procomp heads, but I would do it through MRL or IMM so that I know that the one's I actually get are right.

 

[alpha13]

I was just curious about it since it's probably one of those things more people have tried.
Also, quick while I'm thinking about it. I read somewhere that putting an air gap on a stock 360 you will feel power gains and mileage. Then in another article I read that on a stock 360 you actually lose power. I would guess that the runners are bigger and you would actually lose some intake velocity until the rpm got a little higher but then would stall quickly because of the low lift cam.
Someone chime in. Oh and by the way I'm not using a stock 360 I was just curious.

 

[alpha13]

Nobody?