Until now, Danger Mouse (DM) has been making some good power. But on the dyno recently, DM made some GREAT power numbers! So good, in fact, that we think this combination of torque, horsepower, and the drivability it would produce, is the best combo we've ever tested. Sure there've been tests with more power, but none of them were as affordable as this. And the coolest thing about all of this power is that if you've already got a flat-top piston 350, you could duplicate it. This really is what Danger Mouse is all about. We work to find the best combinations and then share the info with you so you can have it all. It just doesn't get any better than this.
In this month's story, Pt. 28 - Test 45, we bolted on Edelbrock's new E-Tec 170cc heads and a Performer RPM Air Gap intake manifold to see how they'd compare to last month's test with the E-Tec 200s and Super Victor manifold. The results were way better than we expected, especially in the horsepower department. Not only did the E-Tec 170s, with their smaller runner volumes increase torque by over 40 ft-lb at 4,000 rpm, but power also increased by as much as 34 hp at 4,400 rpm! And peak power never dropped way over 5 percent. That might not seem like a big number, but to put it in perspective, that's an average increase of 22 ft-lb of torque and 18 hp from 2,500 to 6,500 rpm! And all this is compared to last month's combination that was no slouch indeed. In fact, the 485 peak hp DM made last month in Pt. 27 meant that it'd kick some serious booty on the blvd. Now this new combination in Pt 28 would kick even more serious booty!
Why'd It Do It?We're really glad that for this month's test we DID NOT change the cam or carburetor. The only parts changed were the heads and intake. We did try a few jetting and ignition timing adjustments on the dyno, just to see if things could be improved. And it turned out that this month's parts were running just a hair richer, so we removed two jet sizes from the primary side of the Mighty Demon carb and found just a bit more power. The increase in overall power and torque can mostly be attributed to the smaller runners and valves in the E-Tec 170 heads. We keep saying this over and over, and we think it's beginning to sink in; the right combination of parts will make your ride scream.
And this little, 355-cid small-block with its hydraulic roller camshaft and pump-gas friendly 10:1 compression doesn't need a big 200cc cylinder head. It's that simple. The smaller runners and valves in the E-Tec 170s we tried this month kept velocities high and that meant more flow where the engine needed it most. It's was a happy accident that the Edelbrock HR cam (234/238 at .050, 296/300 adv, .574/.584 lift with COMP 1.6:1 rockers, 112 lobe separation), worked so well with this combination, and to be completely honest, before the test began, we'd questioned whether or not the cam would be too big. The results proved our doubts were unfounded.
Once again we've spelled it out for you in black and white. You'd be hard-pressed to create a better combination for the money, and if you find one, please let us know because we're dying to try it out!
Dyno Testing Part 28Danger Mouse specs for Part 27 - Test 44Last Test From Previous Month355 cid, 10.0:1 cr, 4.030-bore 4-bolt Motown block, 3.48-stroke Lunati crank, 5.7-inch Lunati rods, Lunati flat-top forged pistons, Speed-Pro moly rings, Edelbrock E-Tec 200 heads (64cc chambers, 200cc runners, 2.02" intake valves, 1.60" exhaust valves), Edelbrock Super Victor Vortec intake manifold, Edelbrock Performer RPM hydraulic roller camshaft installed at 105-degree intake CL (234/238 @ .050, 296/300 adv, .574/.584 lift w/ COMP 1.6:1 rockers, 112 LS), 36 degrees total advance, 91-octane. Tested on Speed-O-Motive's DTS dyno.
 Another top end, another power...  Another top end, another power improvement: That about sums it up for this month's test using Edelbrock's new E-Tec 170cc heads and Performer RPM Air Gap intake manifold. Nothing else was changed. |  Since it worked so well last...  Since it worked so well last month, we reused the same Edelbrock Hydraulic Roller cam this time and even though we thought it might be a bit too big it proved a stellar performer. |  We'd just about worn out the...  We'd just about worn out the plug wires DM had been running for quite some time, so Pertronix gave us a set of their wires to go with the Flame Thrower distributor and Pertronix Second Strike ignition box that we've been running for several months now. |