BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

I was thinking about haveing the IM ported and polished for my 5.5gen. I have the basic bolt-ons now. Would I see any noticable difference?

nismology

iTrader: (8)

Porting and polishing is done to heads. Porting out the intake and exhaust ports and polishing the combustion chamber to eliminate potential hot spots. Not sure where applying the term P&P'ing to intake manifolds came from.....

BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

A guy had it done to his 6th gen

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

Forget trying to port and polish. I did a P&P with my dremel to my lower IM and upper IM (port matching them of course) and bored out the TB behind the throttle plate on the old 3.0 motor. No dyno proof to back it up, but all I felt was faster reving. Felt like a stock vs UDP sort of difference.

All you need is SSIM. If you dont know what it is, search in the AllMotor forums. its quite "elusive" but its PROVEN to work on the 3.5 VI

nismology

iTrader: (8)

You're missing my point. The term "porting and polishing" refers to something that has nothing to do with intake manifolds. If you want to port or port-match a runner, then that's something else.

BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

Well I saw his IM was chromed looking....asked him about it and he said he had it P&P'ed. Thats where I'm getting all this.

nismology

iTrader: (8)

He's mistaken too. See post #2.

BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

I get what you are saying...I'm telling you where I got the info. Then what does he have done to make the IM looked chromed?

jcy98maxse

iTrader: (8)

port and polish has nothing to do with the IM being chromed. The most really you will get out of a P&P is a shinny smooth finish, did that guy had the IM dip in chrome?

nismology

iTrader: (8)

See post #2. P&P'ing has nothing to do with IM's in the first place...

BLK2BLU

iTrader: (4)

I asked what he did to it to make it look like that. (chrome look) He said he had it ported and polished. I came here to ask about it and looks like he and I are wrong. Now I want to know what can be done to give it that look. I have seen some 3.0L IM look this same way. What is it that they do?

meximax

iTrader: (19)

The aluminum can be polished for a "chrome" look. In the gear head world, nismology is correct, you port and polish heads, not intake manifolds.

Without getting all caught up in the semantics of “port and polish”, an intake manifold’s runners can be ported and its surface can be polished/buffed.

For example, my Z33 intake and my A33’ surface used to look the same (rough cast aluminum). I was bored, so I decided to go for a "chrome" look. The options are to dip in chrome, or polish/buff. I opted for the latter.

The Z33 had been handled, so it looks greasy in the pic, but a quick wipe and it looks like a mirror:



Unlike heads, intake manifolds are usually buffed to remove flash from casting in an effort to create smoother flow and not to eliminate hot spots. From a purely fluid mechanics point of view, polishing aids by eliminating head losses associated with a rough surface. I did not dyno before and after polishing, so I cannot attest to any gains associated by polishing the interior of the intake manifold.

This is the "polishing" job I did on my Z33 IM:




.

95BLKMAX

iTrader: (10)

Like they told you already, chrome look and P&P have nothing to do with each other. One is done to the outside (either chrome dipping or polishing like meximax did), and P&P is done on the inside on the runners (so you would never see it from outside). The guy doesnt seem to know his terminlogy, or you might have heard it wrong and confused it with P&P. Its possble.

i30krab

iTrader: (1)

What you may want is porting and polishing and GASKET MATCHING your intake and exhaust manifolds.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

Please elaborate.... I thought the intake and exhaust manifolds matched by default.

LA02MAX

iTrader: (3)

Anyway, what nismology is saying is the TERM port and polish is not used on an IM. It's used for the heads. Porting the IM is something completely different and has to do with the 'boring' out the runners of the IM and matching them to the heads.

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

^^^^ I knew that. I never asked about P and P. My question was to I30Krab and his reference to gasket matching.

i30krab

iTrader: (1)

This hopefully will explain.

Optimize Your Air Flow
Port-matching for better performance



A typical automobile engine is an amazing combination of reliability, efficiency and power, especially when you consider that the manufacturer designed it to be as inexpensive and quick to assemble as possible. That doesn't mean you can't optimize its performance with a few race-engine tricks, however. Simple gasket-matching (the first step in a comprehensive porting job) corrects one of the main mass-production flaws, and just might give you that extra airflow you've been looking for! All you'll need are a few new gaskets, a marker and a die-grinder with an appropriately shaped carbide burr. The work can be done anytime, but is most convenient when you already have the engine disassembled to replace a blown head gasket or have valve work performed.


Make Your Mark

Cast aluminum engine components are lightweight and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, but as with any casting, there's a certain amount of deviation from the original design. This is particularly true with hollow parts that use "cores" to displace metal when the casting is poured. If the core is not positioned exactly right within the mold, then the cavity in that part won't be positioned right either. Bolt two of these imperfect parts together (like the intake manifold to the head) and you can see how air flow could be affected at the junction. Here's the fix: use a new gasket as a tool to help identify obstructions and align uneven casting openings. Drop the gasket over the studs that bolt the parts together and mark the areas of aluminum that protrude into the gasket opening. Move the gasket to the mating component and repeat.

Grind To Match

Remove the gasket and block all orifices in the head or manifold with paper towels. You're going to have to remove all the aluminum shavings prior to reassembling the parts, so do a good job. Ideally you'll be doing this work just before having a valve job done on your head, which should clean it even better. Taking great care not to cut too close to water passages or through thin walls, grind away the marked aluminum so that the openings match the gasket (and now each other) perfectly. Blend your work into each opening, striving for smooth transitions and unrestricted air flow. Do the same on the mating part, and repeat the whole process at every junction from the throttle body to the exhaust manifold. Your work will never be seen by anyone but you, but the optimized air flow will be felt by everyone you take for a ride!

The Wizard

iTrader: (43)

That's exactly what I thought you were going to say... Thanks. I had no idea that the there was that much of an "error" in the parts, especially OEM parts, as far as how they line up with each other. I just did this with my Cattman headers, the tubing was sticking into the flange opening slightly and I grinded it off and made a smooth transition.