When working on a new engine combination it's always nice to get some good flow numbers from the intake manifold and carburetor combination. This homemade fixture allows me to do just that, one runner at a time. As you can see in the picture I just use duct tape to seal all but the runner being tested, works slick all the way up to about 10 or 12 inches of water, that's all the tape can handle! The type of carburetor, it's size and number of venturis plays a very big role in the overall flow picture as far as the intake manifold is concerned, like this Edelbrock 2116 pictured here, do you think it was ever intended to be fitted with a 4412 Holley 2 barrel?
The Superflow bench allows the testing of the whole combination as well. Here is a picture of the same 2116 Edelbrock with a 4412 but this time it's attached to the Chevy Vortec cylinder head which is mounted on the cylinder adaptor. Most people would be amazed by the results this test produces, where do you think there is more room for improvement, the cylinder head or the intake manifold?
The Superflow FloCom is a self contained computer that allows you to see the amount of flow in real time. Also, it allows you to connect the flow bench to a PC for automated testing and data loging. I've equiped the flowbench with the FlowCom electronics, motor controller, and on the connected PC I'm using PortFlow Analyzer by Performance Trends software. This software package makes graphing data on flow and velocity a snap. The software allows me to easily compare one cylinder head to another and it helps to spot trends that might help point the way toward improved performance in the future.
